Can I take my puppy camping? It’s going to be extremely hot. Will it hurt her in any way?

December 26, 2009 by admin · 13 Comments
Filed under: Dogs 
camping
misa asked:

I’m planning to go camping on the river (Colorado River) in August and I hear it’s going to be hot. Maybe over 100 degrees. Is this bad for dogs? If so I won’t take her but I’ve always wanted to take her everywhere with me. Leaving her home would break my heart because I want her to experience almost everything I experience. Please let me know.
Here are a few more details to get more specifications. She is a maltese/shih-tzu and is about 4-5 months old. She does have hair.. its growing more and more everyday but it isn’t long. I can take a guess that it’s about 2 inches long? Some people have mentioned that I shouldn’t take her a long and others have mentioned I have but with this new detail, I hope I can get some better answers that are more relavant since the breed is mentioned. Thanks a lot guys!

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13 Responses to “Can I take my puppy camping? It’s going to be extremely hot. Will it hurt her in any way?”
  1. yamapi<33 says:
    December 28, 2009 at 9:53 pm

    i understand how you want to take ur dog everywhere with you, but u gotta think of the consequenses. dogs can’t sweat. they have to release their humidity from they’re tongues, which is why they pant whenever it’s hot. If the river is going to be even near 100 degrees, i wouldnt recommend taking her. it would be too much for a dog, esp a puppy. ur puppy will be new to the hot environment, and the sudden change in climate may affect her. yamapi<33

  2. Jessica Y says:
    December 30, 2009 at 5:55 am

    i will say no it wont “hurt” her but if you do then shave her bald and bring a fan, lots of water and more water maybe frozen. Jessica Y

  3. rreddr1 says:
    January 2, 2010 at 5:33 pm

    She should be ok, just make sure there is a place she can cool down & have lots of water.
    But watchout for the ticks!!!! rreddr1

  4. Cavalier MOMx3 says:
    January 3, 2010 at 4:42 am

    If you do take her camping just make sure she has shoes to wear on her feet. The painment, sand, rocks, cement etc. will be extremely hot and her feet may burn. And just keep her cooled off by getting her wet in the river often and keep her hydrated. Have ice handy at all times so if she should become overheated you could rub the ice on the bottoms of her feet and it will cool her down instantly. The bottoms of the feet are where the sweet glands are on a dog. Don’t shave your dog otherwise her skin will be exposed and she will get sunburned. Also put sunsceen on top of her nose on top of muzzle and her belly because she will most likely get sunburnt in those places. I took my Boxer to Lake Havasu a few times in the extreme hot weather over 100* in June. She did alright because i kept her in the shade and kept her cool. She loved going everywhere with me. Cavalier MOMx3

  5. Jennifer T says:
    January 6, 2010 at 2:05 am

    You just have to take the same precautions you would if it were hot at home. Keep plenty of water for her. Look up the signs of heat stroke in dogs, and maybe take a list of them with you.

    Here’ an inexpensive tip. Take a pillowcase, and put a *little* polyfil pillow stufing from the craft store in it. Then get a jar of those gel crystals that greenhouses and florists carry. DARN! I can’t remember the name of them! But they are made to keep the plants from drying out and you usually mix them with the soil. Anyhow, put 1/2 cup of those into the pillow case, and shake it up. Sew the open end shut. Now wet it until just damp in a shower or hose. Presto! Instant dog cooling bed! Mine LOVE them. :-) Jennifer T

  6. daviimom says:
    January 9, 2010 at 10:55 am

    It would break your heart even more for something to happen to her. The heat would be a lot on a puppy. Is this a trip where you have to bring your own water? That’s also a consideration. Lastly there’s the danger of drowning. IMO leave her at home or preferably with a trusted friend so that she’ll be there for you to love when you get back. Better to miss her for a few days than to have regrets for a lifetime. JMHO daviimom

  7. Wild_Fury1 says:
    January 10, 2010 at 2:24 am

    where is she from, what temp is she used to. I have dogs that came from alaska and live in Alabama and adapted well you just have to help them. When you set up camp. make sure she has access to has much cool water as possible. Let her go swimming if she likes the river, and dip her paws in cold water and put water on her face as often as possible, those are some places that cool them off other than panting. If you notice that she is getting to hot, cool her off with water, If she is long haired I suggest shaving her before you leave. I think she would love to go with you. Wild_Fury1

  8. Sil says:
    January 11, 2010 at 10:52 pm

    That is pretty hot for a dog. However, it really depends on how long and thick the pups coat is and how active the pup is going to be. If she has a thick coat and you’ll be hiking up rocks with her in the heat, it would be dangerous for her. She may get a heat stroke.

    If she has a shorter coat and/or you won’t be active during the hot part of the day, then she should be ok with shade and fresh water always available. If you plan on hiking, do so early in the morning before it gets to hot and take fresh water and something for her to drink it out of for the hike.

    Edited to say: I’m assuming this is an older puppy, over six months. Otherwise don’t take her. Also, DO NOT SHAVE your dog, as she will get sunburned. Sil

  9. teenytiny says:
    January 13, 2010 at 8:56 am

    by puppy how young and has she had all her shots, if it’s going to be that hot any dog under 8 months needs to stay home, young puppies don’t know when to stop playing and can and will make themselves sick in the heat, older dogs will seek out a cool place to rest or taking along water and keeping a good pace in a shaded area is fine, older dogs can regulate their temp. better and maybe you should keep a dog whose not old enough to be really well trained away from a river, pups are fast and a cool deep may be to enticing, best left at home until next year when she’s physically mature and a trained adult. teenytiny

  10. last action hero says:
    January 16, 2010 at 4:52 am

    If you have a new puppy, you know already that they like to chew. Not only do puppies LIKE to chew, they really NEED to chew. Chewing is more than entertainment for puppies. It helps them teeth, and it relaxes them. They are able to relieve themselves of frustration and anxiety by chewing.

    Destructive chewing usually begins quite innocently for the puppy, but it can rapidly escalate into a serious problem if the puppy is not supervised and directed properly.

    Here is a typical scenario:

    Owner has new puppy. Owner leaves new puppy unsupervised. Puppy gets anxious, and looks for something to soothe itself with. It comes across a shoe. (or anything else that smells like the owner) Immediately the puppy is comforted by the scent of the owner. Then it will begin to chew the object that smells like the owner to relieve it’s frustration and anxiety. As the puppy chews, he feels much better. The amount of reinforcement a puppy gets from this activity cannot be over emphasized. The liklihood of a puppy expressly seeking out your personal items goes up exponentially after even only ONE incident where he’s allowed to relieve his anxiety in this manner. This is why careful confinement and supervision is SO IMPORTANT. You can never remove that reinforcement the puppy got while he was chewing the object that smells like you.

    So what do we do? We confine and supervise the puppy very carefully, and we make sure she has a GREAT toybox with a variety of very interesting chew items. You can use a box or basket of any type as long as the puppy can easily get to it to take out chew items. Some things that can go in the box are kong toys, nyla bones, real bones…..use your imagination and keep it interesting and varied. For the first week or so, put a tiny smear of peanut butter or cheez whiz on each toy once a day.

    So now you have your toy box set up, and your pup is out playing. Of course the pup will choose a toy from the box to start. But eventually the pup will decide to investigate something that’s not his business. This is why you MUST watch a puppy EVERY SECOND he is loose in your house in the beginning. You don’t want to miss an opportunity to TEACH. So, when the puppy focuses on something he should not have (this means LOOKING AT, SNIFFING, or PUTTING HIS MOUTH on any object you don’t want him to chew) immediately interrupt him. I usually say AH AH, as I move towards the puppy. Once you have his attention, rush him happily and cheerfully to the toy box, and help him find a cool toy to play with and chew. Encourage him with a little tug game, or a few tosses.

    Do this each time your puppy focuses on something he should not have. I also interrupt and redirect in this manner each time the puppy looks up at tabletops, countertops, stovetops, trash can, etc.

    If you are consistent, and if you supervise CAREFULLY, in several weeks you will have a puppy who will consistently choose articles from the toy box to play with and chew.

    Keep the box in one place, and never miss an opportunity to encourage the puppy towards the toy box when he wants something to play with. last action hero

  11. nattiej1976 says:
    January 18, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    We take our dog camping with us every time we go and it usually very hot where we go too. many things you can do to help make it and comfortable and enjoyable trip for both of you.

    1. have lots and lots of water avail to your dog and check to make sure the water in the area, if avail, is clean and drinkable, otherwise, if you have to take your own dont forget to add several litres extra a day for the dog too.

    2. Make sure you know what the rules are in relation to dogs in the eara. Where we go camping dogs are allowed but must be on lead at all times- not easy when you are camping for several days or more, so we have a long line that we keep the dog on in these instances, and we just make sure it is in a nice shady place.

    3. Not sure what its like where you are going camping but where we go there are many ticks to be found so we a week before leaving use the advantage tick guard, not 100% effective but certainly better protection than nothing.

    4. take a collapsable elevated bed that pup can lay on and get good air circulation around the body when resting, also the elevated ones are good because it can keep some of the other disruptive creepy crawlies away.

    5. Have some sort of cooling blanket, vest or wet towel around to put over pup if it does start gettin really warm, and keep pup in shady areas without too much activity through the hottest part of the day.

    6. take pup lots to the water to swim, cool down and have some fun.

    7. I know this may sound silly, but have a puppy first aid kit avail, things that could help with (god forbid it happen) snake bite, other insect bite or irritation, vegitation irritation, combs and brushes to keep the mucko that might end up in fur at bay.

    You can purchase from good pet stores all sorts of camping gear for dogs, bowls, food and treat carry bags, collapsable water bladders and the list goes on. All of these really good, because they are light weight, and pack down to nothing when they are empty and not in use.

    I promise you it is soooooo much fun camping with the dog, you have your best friend with you when you are at your most relaxed, he will end up being his most relaxed too, and you will have a ball.

    I will add the post now but I am downloading on to photobucket some puppy camping photos I will edit post and add them in if you like :)

    good luck and enjoy. it is worth the effort.

    heres one very dirty puppy in his camping bed (it has a shelter over the top too which helped at this camping site we had very little shade with that one)

    Puppies very first camping trip and very first time at the beach, he was about 18 weeks old at this time.

    Chilling out at the end of another day of fun in the sun, enjoying a laze around the camp fire. nattiej1976

  12. Alexis R says:
    January 20, 2010 at 2:34 am

    You said you would be heart broken leaving your dog, but would you be heart broken if your dog was safely boarded at a kennel , or dead on your camping trip due to heat stroke? Honestly, think about it that way. 100 degree temps are deadly for all breeds of dogs. A human can sweat and drink tons of water at that temperature. You can also go straight home or to the doctor is you have heat exhaustion. Dogs can’t do that . Dogs succume to heat a lot faster than people and at that temp your dog will really have zero chance of coolling him or herself. You didn’t mention what breed you have, but take into consideration that flat nose breeds are especially prone to die in heat. But, really any breed can possibly die at that high of a temperature. I really wouldn’t risk it, its dangerous. Leave your dog with someone you trust or a very good boarding kennel. Alexis R

  13. dancecutie91 says:
    January 21, 2010 at 10:22 am

    it depends on the breed of dog it is…like i know for a fact that pugs cant stand heat like that…but i dont know what breed ur dog is so if ur type of dog can handle that like some dog breeds can like an afghan but find out from like ur vet or somebody if ur breed can handle heat…have fun! dancecutie91

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