Bringing your furry friend along on a camping trip can be a great experience, but traveling with a pet means thinking your pet’s environmental impacts, too. Before you head for the woods, make sure you’re prepared for green travel with your dog.
photo by Laertes
- Plan ahead. Camping is one of the most environmentally-friend ways to travel and there are tons of dog-friendly campgrounds and parks. Just make sure your destination is one of them. Call the park of your choice ahead of time to confirm that they allow dogs or search for a dog-friendly park in the US or Canada on DogFriendly or PetFriendlyTravel.
- Pack reusable pet supplies. Instead of dumping your organic dog food into a disposable plastic bag, look around the house for an old cloth bag that you can convert into reusable pet food container. And if you don’t want to carry bulky dog bowls with you, you can invest in recycled, reusable, portable pet food and water containers. Not sure where to start? GreenPeople’s list of where to find green pet supplies across the world is a great resource.
- Keep your dog on a leash. Even if your dog is dandy off-leash at the neighborhood park, in an unfamiliar environment he might get excited and run away. Remember that rules are there for your pet’s protection, too, especially when you’re hiking or camping. If your dog runs off and barks up the wrong tree — say one with a bear in it — you and your dog could both be in real danger.
- Don’t let your pup get out of control. It’s easy to think that one dog can’t do any real damage, but disturbing wildlife or digging up trails can have real consequences. If your dog start misbehaving, correct his behavior just like you would at home.
- Pick up (and throw away) poop. Yes, poop is natural and biodegradable, but your dog’s poop isn’t indigenous to the woods you’re hiking through. When you’re traveling green, you strive to ensure the place you’re leaving is in same condition it was in when you arrived. So preserve the environment by cleaning up after your dog and using biodegradable dog bags
. And make sure you dispose of your dog’s waste only in trash cans.
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Great tips! Ok, so I guess it has been a while since I went camping, but I did get an eco-friendly dog carrier recently for traveling with my little dog..Who knew they had those? ( http://www.carryharry.com/eco-friendly-pet-tote.html )
Our dog loves camping but I never thought of camping green with him. Appreciate your tips and this summer we will find an old cloth bag for his food and some biodegradeable poop bags. Wonderful tips great site.
Have you tried Flush Doggy flushable dog poop bags before? It’s so easy to use and no more stinky garbage.
Great post, I especially found your comments helpful. I’ve always felt we should leave nature better off than when we find it.
Seams I’m always picking up trash no matter how remote the trail.
And espeacially anoying to track Poop into your tent after a long day on the trail.
Love animals
I always bring with me a driving stake to put in the ground to let my pup run around while we’re around the site. I like for him to get a feel for the site so that he can rest easy at night. Anyways, great post!
I would like to thank Michael for the tip on Flush Doggy flushable dog poop bags. Very good product and a great tip.
I have to admit that I haven’t always been as good as I should be about cleaning up after my dog in the woods. This article got me thinking about that. Thanks
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