What to do with a wet dog while camping
I thought about this question a while ago and have yet to find an answer. We have a small two person tent, just enough for my wife and I, and our dog. The issue is drying said dog when it is raining. Even with a towel his fur is too long to properly dry, here is the little demon:
He is only 14 inches (35 cm) to the shoulder but the amount of fur is ridiculous. Even with a coat it seeps through. In about two years this won't be an issue as he will grow a waterproof overcoat, but until then he is equivalent to a sponge. I am sure some of you go camping with dogs so the question is:
How do you dry a dog when they are soaking wet?
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/10714. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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If you are backpacking or trying to travel light, bring a separate tent for the dog. There are lots of small tents built with this in mind. Even a small tarp will do the trick, if you aren't worried about bugs. A patch of grass under the tarp will make him perfectly happy. (You'll need to use a tie-out if you go with a tarp, of course.)
For car camping, we have a ridiculously large Coleman tent that has a screened-in porch on one end. That's where the inevitably wet and muddy (and covered in deer poop if she can find any) dog sleeps. My dog is a husky who can take a full day or more to dry, depending on the weather, so separate sleeping arrangements are essential.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/10730. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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One very helpful thing is to brush him while you're towel drying. The brushing will help separate the hair to keep it from matting and will allow more air drying to occur.
Also, if you use chamois leather to dry him off initially it will keep you from soaking a towel right away. The chamois will absorb a lot of water, but is easily wrung out to absorb more. This trick will get him mostly dry, and then you can finish drying him with a towel if you'd like.
One last thing I'd suggest is a small bottle of deodorizing spray. I have a St. Bernard and the wet dog smell can be overpowering in a small area, but the spray will help mask some of the lingering smell. This of course is optional.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/10715. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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