by Nathan Rogers

Created on: July 28, 2009

Growing up, the family dog was more than just a pet. It was a member of the family and went every where with us. For us, it was a given that if we were camping, the dog was going to be there. As with any family member it is important to remember to look after them with care. Part of that is being aware of the hazards that the family dog might find while camping. The hazards most likely to be found will vary with where you are camping. It is also important to remember that there are multiple types of hazards out there and there are times where it seems like the dog is actively seeking them out!

If you are camping at a campground such as a state park, the most common hazard is going to be cars and other dogs. It is best to keep your dog on a leash at all times to prevent your dog from wandering off into traffic or from wandering into another campsite where there might be larger dogs that are less friendly. This is particularly true when dealing with small breeds. It is possible to occasionally encounter other more dangerous hazards as well depending on where you are camping. In some parks such as in California or Yellowstone, it is possible to come across bears which can occasionally find dogs to be a convenient meal on a string.

Unfortunately there is little recourse with bears as they are able to enter vehicles, tents and just about anything else when something catches their fancy and lets face it, placing Fido in the bear proof food storage containers provided in some California parks is not acceptable! The more common hazards your dog will face in most parks though is more mundane things such as heat and thorns. Heat is always a dangerous thing to deal with. In hot environments, dogs have been known to play until they dropped from heat stroke and were often times unable to recover so it is best to only play for short times and to regularly water your dog and monitor its overall behavior and health. Thorns can be a very painful thing for a dog to have in its paw. A thorn in the pad of a dog's foot would be the equivalent of stepping on a massive nail and then being expected to run around all day on it.

In wilderness camping there are even more animal hazards such as skunks and porcupines. We have all smelled skunks and believe me the prospect of spending hours with a skunk-sprayed dog in the car is less than appealing. Porcupines can also be very dangerous and in the case of non-removed quills, potentially deadly to your dog. Depending on where you are camping, there is also the potential for issues to come up from salmon poisoning. If a dog consumes raw salmon or trout it is possible to get poisoned with death often resulting in less than 14 days if left untreated. According to veterinary experts, only 10% of dogs will survive if this poisoning is left untreated.

It is important to make sure you watch your pets when camping to make sure that they are doing OK and not finding trouble. Pets are important to us and they rely on us.

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