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Source: https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/5898
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

<p>In a few months my fiance and I will be joining two friends camping. My friends chocolate labrador will be joining us for the weekend. My fiance and I, whilst both dog lovers, have no experience camping with a dog. </p>

<p>We have a decent four man tent with a large living area, which you can easily stand upright in and a bucket ground sheet. So there should be plenty of room for the four of us and the dog.</p>

<p>The dog is well trained but as a chocolate lab is rather excitable at times and has a tendency to want to play with wild animals (especially squirrels!). </p>

<p>What would be a good way to:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Keep her entertained in the tent whilst we are not hiking?</p></li>
<li><p>Keep her free to move at night but not allow her to escape and run amok?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Edit: Just to say this is regular camping (not wild) but would likely be on farmland in North Wales.</p>

<p>Second edit: Also predominantly on the first night we won't have hiked at all and we would have driven for a few hours so she will likely be excitable then, as stated by both answers and comments I understand she will be knackered after our main days hiking.</p>

<p><em>Just an addition</em> as I made some assumptions which lead to some confusion (I'll know better next time I ask a question), firstly that it would be understood a bucket groundsheet is separated from the main tent - this assumption is due to the bi-annual tent show we go to never having a connected groundsheet for 4 man or larger tents so my apologies there! And also for the confusion about where the dog would have to sleep as leaving her outside the tent in the UK is not an option (despite the high chance for rain, we wouldn't want a kind soul calling the RSPCA on us for neglect, or risk her running off, or the slim chance she would be stolen...) so apologies for that confusion also.</p>

<p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> From advice from some family friends we're staging a trial run in a few weekends to see how the dog gets on with our tent (and allow us to prep it) thanks again for all the wonderful answers / advice here.</p>