Travelling and Camping With Two Dogs

If you're anything like us, no holiday is quite complete without a dog (or two)

Have you ever thought about travelling in a campervan with your dog? A campervan is the best, most underrated holiday to take with your companion. There are endless fun-filled outdoor activities from walking in the fresh air to kayaking and swimming.

We have had our converted van for a year now and have explored the Brecon Beacons, Anglesey, Snowdon, the Peak District, Cornwall, and our biggest adventure yet, Scotland!

We were filled with excitement and apprehension as we travelled nearly 300 miles to Scotland. This marked our first time travelling such a long distance for a long period of time with our two spaniels, but they were both incredible.

If you’re planning a camping trip with your dog, you’ll definitely want to keep reading. Below, you can find our top tips for travelling with a dog, including things to pack, things to do and our product recommendations.

Top Tips when Travelling with Dogs

During a campervan holiday, there will obviously be a lot of travelling involved.
While some dogs are perfectly comfortable with life on the road others might suffer with travel sickness or struggle to settle.

• Make sure your dog in comfortable in the vehicle. Even if its just for an hour or two, make sure you take your dog out in the car before you head off on a big trip, so this isn’t their first time in the vehicle. If your dog is travel sick or gets stressed easily speak to your vet before you go, they may be able to prescribe a medication or recommend a supplement to help
• Secure them in the vehicle, this can be in a travel crate or via a seat belt (we use the Twiggy Tags Adventure Seatbelt), depending on where they travel, in a boot or on the back seats.
• Tire them out before travel. For a dog, it can be difficult to relax when there is so much going on. Take them on a long walk before the journey, that way they’ll be more likely to settle.
• To prevent accidents on the back seats schedule plenty of toilet stops. Look ahead and try to find areas of grass or dog friendly services. If it’s a long journey you should consider stopping overnight to break it up
• Always carry food and water just in case you break down or get stuck in traffic

Top Tips when Camping with Dogs

• Keep to your routine … as much as possible!
  Feed the same food (this is difficult if you feed raw as its harder to store) but feeding their normal food is less likely to cause upset.
  Bring their beds, blankets, and favourite toys from home, this will help them settle in and ensure they are comfortable, surrounded by familiar smells and sights

• Make a plan
  You don’t need to plan every detail but having campsites booked will make everything easier. Book in advance, check what facilities they have and make sure they are dog friendly!
  Do they have a dog walking area? Do they have a dog wash area? Do you have to pay extra to bring your dogs? Are you limited on the number of dogs you can bring? Preparation is key.

• Organise the van/tent
  Living in a small space can be hard, let alone adding dogs into the mix! It doesn’t matter if you are camping in a tent or travelling in a campervan, space will be limited. Make sure you organise any cupboards, bring storage boxes and pack light! It's important to keep your space tidy and clean, as it can become messy quickly.

• Remember the dogs
  This may sound an obvious one but when travelling with dogs you must remember you can’t necessarily do everything YOU want to do, it’s about them just as much as you.
  - where is dog friendly?
  - where can you walk? Can they be let off lead?
  - where can you eat?
  More and more places in the UK are becoming dog friendly but not everywhere so always double check.
  It might mean you can’t eat in the restaurant and have to have a takeaway instead, or you can’t visit the local beach at certain times of the year with dogs, so you have to find an alternative walk.
  Leaving a dog behind in a tent is not an option as its not secure and I personally wouldn’t leave them in a camper either as it can be stressful to be left alone in an unfamiliar environment

So there are our top tips for travelling in a campervan with a dog, now, what to pack!

What to Pack!?

There's a lot to think about when packing for a dog but here’s my list:

• Dog beds (for indoor and outdoor use)
• Towels (lots and lots of towels)
• Coats/fleece (for when the weather is bad or at night if you’re in a tent)
• Food and treats (enough for the whole trip and spare)
• Travel water bowl and bottle for hikes/days out
• Twiggy Tags Adventure Collars (with up to date ID tags)
• Leads (think about the types of walks you want to do, multi-way leads/extendable ect..)
• Ground spike (super handy!!)
• Toys/enrichment
• Twiggy Tags Compostable Poo Bags
• Mud Daddy or equivalent (A life saver! Helps keep the living space clean)
• A brush (Essential for spaniel ears!)
• Cool mat/dog shade tent (depends on the forecast)
• Twiggy Tags Adventure Seatbelt for travelling (don’t forget it’s the law to have dogs restrained)
• First aid kit (this is a must!! You never know how far away a vet is.) You can buy pre-packaged kits which contain all the essentials. These include bandages, tick twisters, scissors, saline and more.

So there it is, everything you need to know for travelling in a campervan with your dogs!