Tents and Big Puppies

My dog is a 100 lb lab, and we’ve used a variety of different shelters.

The smallest we’ve slept in is my Khufu pyramid, with and without an inner tent. Plenty of room but it can get steamy in there when the door is closed.

Ryan, what is your favorite shelter, with bug protection, for you and your lab?

Yeah, this puppy is almost a hundred pounds…but she’s only seven months old.  We fully expect her to go 130 to 150, and the biggest issue we have is that she likes to stretch out in hot weather.  I’m sure she’ll curl up in a ball when it gets cold, but her tendency to take up LOTS of room is something we’re having to work around.  I’ve considered a pyramid, but due to my limited experience with them I’m not even sure of how much room we might need.

Bonzo, you gotta let the pup inside, for starters. I’m not sure why people put dogs in vestibules.

Big dogs lying down, particularly in warmer seasons, are rectangular in a way that humans are not (almost as wide as tall). This makes rectangular inner tents problematic. The best shape I’ve found for man + dog is a hexagon. Hexagonal inner tents are not a great use of space for multiple humans – there are invariably unused corners – but dog bodies fit nices into those corners.

The GoLite Hex 3/Shangri-La 3 would have worked, but no longer made. The 3F UL Cangyuan is a replica, and a very good one. Pretty cheap, which is perfect for someone with limited mid experience/unsure if mids are your thing. You can buy them on Aliexpress and maybe also Amazon. It’s not perfect – with full inner you don’t have a dry entry, and it’s a little heavy by UL standards – but the comfort for man + dog is superb. He’ll have several places/positions/postures to choose from and you’ll have your own side of the inner all your own.

Thank you so much for the suggestion!  I’ll put those models on my radar and start doing some research on them.  As far as “why keep a dog in a vestibule” is concerned… well, I’ll tell you:

She’s a digger…and not just any digger, but a very accomplished one.  I also have a pet bunny, and I’m pretty sure the dog has been taking lessons from the bun when I’m not watching.  She can go through an area rug like it was made of crepe paper…and although she’s still a puppy, I have the feeling that she’s always going to be something of a digger.  I have no worries about her when we’re out on trails because she’s going to do no more damage than any other four-legged fuzzball, but even the stoutest of ripstop won’t last long against her paws.  Also, she doesn’t like sleeping right next to my wife and I: she’s a livestock dog, so she’s happier being a few feet away with a barrier between us.  She feels like she’s guarding us at night when we’re all tucked away in our room/tent, and she’s outside doing her job while lightly sleeping.  Honestly, she’s an amazing pup…but when you combine the digging behavior with her desire to maintain the correct distance while we’re asleep, and we have a recipe for a dog that will be happiest when sleeping just outside the tent.  Now, this is not to say that we can’t get her to eventually be comfortable and safe inside the tent, but it’s going to be an uphill struggle.  That said: a sleeping pad and an unused hexagonal corner are good thoughts.

If its three of you, then a larger mid like a Supermid would be better, given the pup’s requirements. I keep my dog inside for a couple reasons, but probably the biggest is keeping him from slipping under the fly bottom at night and running after bumps in the night. An inner tent keeps a dog contained. The other reasons are mosquitos in summer and ticks fall and spring.

From my experience most dogs would rather sleep in the vestibule than a tent. If they are wanderers you may have to keep them in with you and same if the bugs are bad. Otherwise a good  dog is happier close but not as separated from the outdoors.
When I still had shelters :( , the pyramid ( Seek Outside) seemed like the best option for a bigger dog.

This just made me miss that shelter so bad I am going to post a wanted thread on gear swap …

If its three of you, then a larger mid like a Supermid would be better, given the pup’s requirements. I keep my dog inside for a couple reasons, but probably the biggest is keeping him from slipping under the fly bottom at night and running after bumps in the night. An inner tent keeps a dog contained. The other reasons are mosquitos in summer and ticks fall and spring.

I do worry a bit about bugs if she sleeps in a vestibule, but between her coat and her monthly anti-parasite preventatives, we’re much less concerned about bugs than we would normally be.  Even on her face where the hair is the thinnest and shortest, it’s still a very solid barrier.  That said, the Supermid has been on my short list for awhile because it seems like it has plenty of space for everyone.  We both move around a bit when we sleep, which is why a smaller shelter with a larger vestibule – ex. Stratospire 2 – is just a bit too small.  If there was such a thing as a Stratospire 3 –  same height, a bit wider in the tent body, and with a slightly larger vestibule – we would likely have already solved this issue.

From my experience most dogs would rather sleep in the vestibule than a tent. If they are wanderers you may have to keep them in with you and same if the bugs are bad. Otherwise a good  dog is happier close but not as separated from the outdoors.  When I still had shelters :( , the pyramid ( Seek Outside) seemed like the best option for a bigger dog.

I know this one certainly likes being on the ground instead of being on fabric; she doesn’t enjoy sleeping on beds…unless it’s cold, which is a fun new experience for her.  I’m going to get her a small sleeping pad and see if we can get her to stay put on it and not use it as a chew toy (futile effort at seven months, but whatevs).

To which of the Seek Outside pyramids are you referring?

I had the BT2, pretty sure. No floor so that worked well but I only took my dog out on two overnighters in it so I don’t really  have extensive experience with it. He seemed to like it and we had plenty of room.

I had the BT2, pretty sure. No floor so that worked well but I only took my dog out on two overnighters in it so I don’t really  have extensive experience with it. He seemed to like it and we had plenty of room.

I’ll have to look that one up; I’m not very familiar with anything from Seek Outside.

While I’m thinking about it: why isn’t there a Stratospire 3?  Is there some kind of design prohibition that limits the size of shelters with this design, or is it just a question of weight and demand?

Bonzo, I think as the tent gets bigger its panels get large enough that the wind stability afforded by its complex geometry diminishes radically.

In my opinion, what sets Tarptent apart from most other UL tent companies is that Henry’s designs have geometries that make them quite wind-resistant.

two pups resting contently inside an Ultamid 4 with the floorless bug netting:

Bonzo, I think as the tent gets bigger its panels get large enough that the wind stability afforded by its complex geometry diminishes radically.

That makes sense.  Still, I really wish there was a Stratospire 3.  Hell, I’d take a 2+, even.

two pups resting contently inside an Ultamid 4 with the floorless bug netting:

The size looks roughly analogous to the Supermid.  Are there any truly functional differences between the two, past the fabric properties?

The size looks roughly analogous to the Supermid.  Are there any truly functional differences between the two, past the fabric properties?

Nope. Same thingy. Different manufacturer. It’s light, simple, and durable. And having no floor is very helpful,  especially with dogs.

I poked around on the interwebs looking for pictures of both, and it looks like the only difference is the cut of the fabric on the lower edges.  Hmm.

Just to throw a wrench into things: I’m starting to more fully consider a Stratospire 2…just not the Li version.  The 52″ floor width of the 2 offers a lot of extra space over the 2 Li, but I’m still not sure that the vestibules are going to be large enough.  52″ is barely enough space for our normal sleeping system, and I can save the extra weight of the non-Li version for less money elsewhere.

Update.

Leia is 9.5 months old, now.  She’s 29″ at the shoulder, 111 pounds, and spends equal amounts of time stretched-out and curled-up when she’s asleep.  She can do five or six miles without a break, and somehow eats less than my 50-pound Brittany.  The vet thinks she’ll hit 150-ish, if not more.

This being the case, we’re definitely having to look at larger shelters.  I still like the SS2 for an option on unpuppied trips, but I’m looking at the larger pyramids, now, and I’m also considering the Eolus from Seek Outside.  It has massive vestibules, decent internal room, and it’s still pretty lightweight.  Not much feedback on it, though: does anyone have any experience with it beyond what’s in the couple of threads that I found that detail it?

I can’t speak for the Eolus, so this is a thread drift really…but floor-less mids and tipis from Seek Outside are outstanding in built and ease of set up. I was gifted a Redcliff, which is huge! I set it up a couple days ago for the first time just to give it a try. As you can see it’s a great option for us with dogs, even though this one is a portable palace :) 

That thing is HUGE, Kat: how many people are coming to that party?

It’ll be our two person plus one or two dogs and, depending on temperature and fire restrictions, a stove. It would make a really nice shelter in the snow..all that room for gear.

It is described as a 6 person or 3+ a stove.

That amount of space would be absolutely palatial on any site that would host it, winter gear or no.  And it’s not terribly heavy for the size.