Hanging with dogs, what do your's sleep on?

[AppalachianHammock]

If it's not cold out, ours usually just sleeps on the ground/leaves. In the winter, or mountain camping, we bring along a ccf pad, but if there are sufficient leaves/pinestraw around, I build her about a 12'' high "nest" to sleep in. Then she climbs on and gets it how she wants. If it is REALLY cold(ie below freezing) then I will also pile pinestraw on top of her in the nest.

[sunshower]

I have 2 Huskies... In the Summer they lay on a cut piece of Tyvek.
In the Winter, it's the Tyvek, then half of a Zlite foam pad, and a fleece dog bed bt Ollydogs. Works for them.

[g2outdoors]

I need to figure this out as well. There's no one I'd rather have with me in the woods than Parker.

Since he's a lab, he tends to jump in any water he can find. I have no problem with that, but sometimes he gets in too late in the day and doesn't dry before the sun goes down. When he's wet and tired and it's getting dark, he tends to get really cold.

Also, where we hike/hang in CO there tends to be a LOT of pine sap. When he sleeps on the ground, all of that sap gets in his coat and it's a PITA to get it out.

I'm thinking about making some sort of little "A" frame "tent" out of Reflectix/CCF. That way his body heat would keep him warm and the wind could be mostly blocked. I could also get him one of the duck hunting neoprene vests that would probably do the trick.

I've got to figure out a lightweight system that he can carry in his small pack. I'm willing to add some weight to my load for his comfort as well. He's the best hiking partner ever!

[Sidewinder]

if it's cold enough my dog will wear a fleece and a synth coat. he'll sleep on tyvek with a cut down ridge rest pad. I had a custom jarbrigde quilt made for him that I will fold him into. he'll also sleep under my tarp pulled to the ground. he good down to 0* with this setup.

S

[stravis]

I need to figure this out as well. There's no one I'd rather have with me in the woods than Parker.

Since he's a lab, he tends to jump in any water he can find. I have no problem with that, but sometimes he gets in too late in the day and doesn't dry before the sun goes down. When he's wet and tired and it's getting dark, he tends to get really cold.

I've got a lab as well and I go through the same thing with him getting wet later in the day. When we duck hunt in really cold weather, I use a sham-wow (my in-laws gave us a set a couple of years ago) to dry him off after a retrieve so he's not soaking wet and freezing. They work very very well, and they're small and light. I started to bring it backpacking also to dry him off at night if needed. You might try something similar.


Thanks for all the responses, guys. It's interesting to see how others approach it.

[GT]

I don't know why but this just popped into my head.

It looks like a little speed bag...please don't play with it. Oh sorry.

[Bobbinheadlodge]

Molly has saddlebags, carries her own gear. For ground it's a 18x30 piece of refectix. I'm designing a lightweight 2x3 tent, maybe ill post wnen complete.

Oh yeah, she also has a neoprene vest we bought from cabelas. That thing is great, use mostly in winter, added booties when in Alaska.

A few trips ago I made her a 6" bed of ferns on top of a group of 2" branches. kept her hi, dri and warm.

[Seeker]

I've trained my dog to stay on a piece of blue foam mat in the canoe (which he usually does). So when I take him camping, I bring that along, and he knows it's his... I just lay it under my tarp and he sleeps on the ground (he lays on the bare tile floor at home sometimes, in preference to his $40 memory foam dog bed. IDK. maybe it's cooler). I've brought along a small 5x7 tarp to make him his own hootch in the past, but he likes being closer to me.

edit: When it got cold some nights, I'd throw my jacket over him, but he usually ended up working it off in a couple hours.

[g2outdoors]

I use a sham-wow (my in-laws gave us a set a couple of years ago) to dry him off after a retrieve so he's not soaking wet and freezing. They work very very well, and they're small and light. I started to bring it backpacking also to dry him off at night if needed. You might try something similar.

That's a good idea. I have a couple knock-offs I got from Walmart that would probably work. When he's dry, he's usually fine down into the mid-40s.

[MrClean417]

I made mine a tent. He still prefers the dirt but now has figured out how to weasel his way into a hammock with someone in it. He rests his cute little puppy dig chin in the edge and most people can't resist. He's a 50# mutt and I can't blame him for liking hammocks over tents.

Yup, just like the cammels nose pretty soon the whole dog is in snuggled up with me and the grandkids. But hey, my mother had the exact opposite view of dogs. She wanted to have one, she never wanted it in the house. She did buy a doghouse for it to stay in outside. Later when there weren't any of us around to pick up the yard my parents built a 10x10 pen and kept them in that, all the way back in the back of the yard. We looked at each other with the same contempt when we visited each others pets. Her's kept like a couple hogs 75 yards from the house and mine sleeping with their heads in my lap on the sofa.

Dogs left to themselves will find some place to sleep. Huskys will burrow a bit and let the snow cover them. But that doesn't mean some pups don't like a little extra comfort if they can get it.

And I think it's the movie "Hondo" that really had my parents view on dogs, though they would feed the animals.