Dog Beds in the backcountry

[Adam Rothermich]

I haven't taken my dog hiking yet, but he goes car camping with the wife and I. He always manages to find a way to sneak onto a self-inflating mat. One night my wife froze out and slept in the car, when I woke up the dog was curled up on her Thermarest. He also has a propensity for hopping on my down quilt as soon as I get out of it. We bring along an old GG Nightlight torso pad for him to lay on but as soon as he sees an opening on something more comfortable he takes it. I just ordered a bunch of stuff to make my wife a synthetic bag and I think I'm going to use the scraps to make a packable dog bed. I draw the line at getting him a self-inflating pad though :D

Adam

[Nico .]

When I take my dog camping, I bring a Torso length GG Nightlight pad for him to use. I carry it during the day (it serves as the backpanel/frame for my pack) and use it as a seat during breaks or in camp. At night, it goes in the tent.

I'm sure outside of winter, the dog doesn't NEED it, but he mostly sleeps on a bed at home and curls up onto his pad when we camp and stays put for the night, so it seems like he enjoys it.

Like others, I'll let the dog carry some of my other items for me in exchange.

[Mary D]

It appears that a lot of dogs are using this one!

Most dogs do need the insulation from the ground. That's especially true if they are short-haired or if they sleep indoors at home.

[Steven Adeff]

I've tried multiple "beds" for my boy and he never really uses any of them so I've stopped trying. We'll see what he says in the snow, but he's half Huskey and I've seen them sleep in their self made snow beds in much colder conditions, so who knows…

[Mary D]

You can take the bed for the dog, but you can't make him sleep on it! :-)

[jim draucker]

I spoon with my Jack Russell. She has better eyes and ears than me and keeps the boogie man at bay:)

Jim

[Jesse H.]

^ +1!

Only mine is a yorkshire terrier, she even has a pack :D

[Jason G]

Here's my buddies dog's setup. He's got a ruff wear bed, 4 days of food AND a dog fleece in his pack here..
and his bowl..

this was up at emigrant wilderness in late aug. and my buddy and i ended up getting separated on the 2nd day of our 4 day trip and his dog happened to be with me at the time so he ended up sleeping in my Hexamid SOLO! very tight fit(im 6'3). He keep trying to nudge over on to my brand new neoair small and highlite but i keep him off. everything and everyone survived!

[Johnny Duke]

I remember camping about 12 years ago with my dad and brother and cousin and our yellow lab. My cousin at the time was lucky enough to get the air mattress, but when he woke up he was on the floor. Our dog had nudged him off in the middle of the night and claimed the bed. We were probably 8 or 9 at the time.

I don't know if I actually remember that or not, but I've heard it so many times from my dad laughing that I feel like I remember it.

[Mark Regalia]

I tried a few things. I wanted something that I could roll up and put in their packs. If my dogs want to come they have to carry their own gear. I get razzed enough already by my packing buddies for how well I treat my dogs.

That pretty much left out standard ccf. I tried a fabric type but they get wet.

I bought an extra thin yoga mat, which is closed cell foam. I cut it in half, one for each dog. It folds up and fits in their packs. It's bulky but is light.

[Art Tyszka]

No matter what I do my Shepherd will always choose my bag and pad as first preference. I've tried a few different things for him, last trip was a small fleece blanket. I'm thinking of an inflatable of some kind now after reading this thread, maybe take an older pad and cut it down and re-seal it. Hmm. The other thought I had was to find a cheap synthetic bag, cut it down and sew it up so it's just big enough for him, that too should fit in his REI dog pack.

This is a terrible pic, but you get the idea. Until I kick him off, he'll pick my side every time. When we're outside, any spot on the ground is fine, and at home, the hardwood floor is just fine half the time. But when he get's the chance he'll lay on my inflatable and down bag in a heartbeat, so he obviously has a preference.

[Dale Wambaugh]

For my Aussie, I use a chunk of 5mm EVA foam that can be folded or rolled in his pack or mine. It packs up better than the old blue foam I used in the past. It has enough R-value to keep him comfortable.

I picked up an REI Dog Dome the other day in a thrift store and set it up in my basement computer room. He seems to like it. 1lb 12oz and 45"x30" x 31" tall. It is more entertainment than serious gear. I'm sure it could be lightened with some surgery.

I could rig up a small tarp for him, but he refuses to use trekking poles ;)

[Megan P]

I just found this one. It's MUCH cheaper and seems just as good.

http://abogear.com/en/pet-down/536-pet-down.html

[Max Dilthey]

Keep in mind, Labs are very tolerant dogs. They can have painful toothaches for years and never let on. If your dog is cold, it won't tell you.

I would bring at least a foam pad in cold weather. Treat your dog's body about 75% as warm as you would treat your own body, since the dog has fur.

To the "Dogs were born outside" train, a lot of those wild dogs slept in packs, in burrows or caves during cold nights. Your dog can at least have the company of his pack; you!

[Matt Sanger]

"He always manages to find a way to sneak onto a self-inflating mat."

This is what my aussie does…curls up at the foot and sneaks onto one or both of our thermarests, in the hollow behind our legs. We tried keeping him out of the tent or in the vestibule, but there would inevitably be a swarm of bugs biting his nose. Now when we get to camp, he waits anxiously for the tent to be set up so he can go crash for a while, preferably on some nice soft down.

He just carries food and trash, and (in this pic) confers with my wife on route selection…

[Mary D]

The for what it's worth department: After I bought a 2.5" thick insulated air pad, I found that my dog was no longer shoving me off my pad during the night.

Whether or not your dog needs insulation over the top as well depends on the thickness of his coat, the low temperature at night and whether or not he sleeps indoors at home. My daughter's Vizsla needed a coat on whenever the temp got down below 60*, or he'd start shivering. Mine (mostly Lab with a little Golden mixed in, who sleeps in my bedroom) starts shivering at about 32*. It's really interesting to hear a dog's teeth chatter!

[Dena Kelley]

"After I bought a 2.5" thick insulated air pad, I found that my dog was no longer shoving me off my pad during the night."

Do you mean after you bought the dog a 2.5" thick mattress, or bought you one? Wondering if the dog had an aversion to the thick mattress, or left you alone because he had his own.

[David Olsen]

I have made several for my and friends dogs. Use polyfill and silnylon to make a large insulated stuffsack. The dogs carry it along
with their food and water. A dog pack helps keep enthusiastic animals slowed down.

If it is bitter cold, windy, or freezing rain, they get drawcorded up inside with just enough opening to escape if needed. Use
elastic cord. I have toyed with making some to sell, but since I don't do anything with insulation other wise, I haven't got around to it. Here is my current dog Boreas.
He is a bony little guy, so needs cushioning anywhere he lays down.

o

[Stuart .]

They do say "Height determines hierarchy". Maybe the 2.5" pad was just enough to put Mary back on top.

We do similar with our son who trashes around at night and tries to go perpendicular to his pad. He has a 1.5" Prolite Plus which gets hemmed in between two 2.8" Exped pads. It's not perfect, but we don't get smacked by flailing limbs anywhere near as often.

[Matthew Perry]

I just use a Gossamer Gear foam pad and an enLIGHTened Equipment quilt for my dog. My dog is getting old and really needs the cushion and insulation. Tim and I worked it out so there was a zipper in the middle of the quilt that is backed by a draft tube. When un-zipped in half, it makes for well balanced loads in his doggy pack. Before his split quilt, Bennie's pack was always lop-sided, now it's perfectly balanced! Tim makes these out of his Prodigy kids quilts and my dog loves his! It can also be folded in half, snapped and used as a "doggy parka". I carry the GG foam pad in my pack as a frame and use it as my sit-pad during the day. Works out great for both of us.

[BlackHatGuy]

That's one happy, warm pup Matthew!

[Adam Rothermich]

Since this thread was started I've made my dog a bed out of some scraps of 5oz Apex and 1.9oz nylon. I usually put that on top of my old Nightlight torso and he likes it a lot. He still prefers to lay on my Thermarest and down quilt but goes straight for the synthetic and foam when I kick him off. I don't think I could make him a blanket if it got too cold, he moves around a lot at night and would just end up on top of it. Luckily he's a long-haired dog and I don't like being out when its below freezing so I think we've got a pretty good solution worked out.

Adam

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