# Training dog to be okay sleeping outside.. sometimes?



## MyWifeIsBoss (Apr 27, 2020)

So, we want to do hiking/camping/multi-night stuff with our dog eventually but he's only 12 weeks.

At campsites, he will likely be sleeping in the car (or in the alcove of the tent?) but when we do overnight hikes, we won't be able to be in or under the DOC huts.

So, he'll need to be tethered to a tree outside. Is the best way to get him used to this for me to simply rig up a flysheet for him to sleep under while he's a pup and get him used to it? I imagine he will scream like farq for the neighbours.

If we camp and he sleeps in the tent alcove but not IN the tent, how does this affect our dynamic? Is it the same as getting him up on the couch or your bed? Or is it simply.. the boundary he doesn't sleep WITH you? i.e. the boundary is that he's in the alcove and not in the tent proper.

Cheers!


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

What? Are you refusing to let your dog sleep in your tent because it might equate to letting him get up on the bed or the couch? If so, what happens if it does? Something magical? JK, but confused....


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

well first, my dogs have all done all of the above with no special training. i imagine it will be much more confusing and distressful to him to “practice” by being left tethered out in your yard unless you guys are all camping in the backyard together. you mentioned he was independent... so with confidence and maturity, he may do fine later down the line but i personally think it’s unnecessary. my dogs do however sleep inside the tent with me... even if he can care less, i do it for the bonding, my protection and for his safety (bears, etc). i also find with all the additional physical and mental stimulation - he sleeps very soundly.


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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

DOC huts are Dept of Conservation huts, dogs wouldn't be pemitted inside.


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## MyWifeIsBoss (Apr 27, 2020)

MineAreWorkingline said:


> What? Are you refusing to let your dog sleep in your tent because it might equate to letting him get up on the bed or the couch? If so, what happens if it does? Something magical? JK, but confused....


If it does equate to him being more "equal" with us then he'd sleep in the car. It's one of those rules/boundaries things that people always go on about.


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## MyWifeIsBoss (Apr 27, 2020)

Dunkirk said:


> DOC huts are Dept of Conservation huts, dogs wouldn't be pemitted inside.


Correct. That's why I said he can't be inside or under and has to be tethered to a tree away from the hut.


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## MyWifeIsBoss (Apr 27, 2020)

Fodder said:


> well first, my dogs have all done all of the above with no special training. i imagine it will be much more confusing and distressful to him to “practice” by being left tethered out in your yard unless you guys are all camping in the backyard together. you mentioned he was independent... so with confidence and maturity, he may do fine later down the line but i personally think it’s unnecessary. my dogs do however sleep inside the tent with me... even if he can care less, i do it for the bonding, my protection and for his safety (bears, etc). i also find with all the additional physical and mental stimulation - he sleeps very soundly.


Okay. Awesome. No worries about bears or anything like that over here - we only have Australian tourists for dangerous animals. 
We do have pigs, though - I think I might do our best to camp if poss. I do have an ultralight set-up. And I'll get him a good sat/tracking collar.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

wolves? red ants? skunks? badgers? mosquitos? nothin???


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

What rules/boundaries? The whole "don't let your dog on furniture or in bed because it elevates their status" crap?


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)




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## Dunkirk (May 7, 2015)

Fodder said:


> wolves? red ants? skunks? badgers? mosquitos? nothin???


OP is in New Zealand. Mosquitoes would be as bad as it gets. No snakes, bears, wolves...


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## chuckd (Jul 16, 2019)

FWIW, I used to do 2-night "mini" backpacking trips with my boxer, Spike. I let him sleep inside the (2 person) tent with me. It took him about an hour to acclimate to the tent walls swaying & flapping in the breeze- but just that 1st night. It was easy after that. I always liked the idea of having him inside with me, so I didn't have to worry about tying him out.

I did put down an extra DIY Tyvek footprint inside the tent first, to protect the floor from his nails.


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## CeraDean (Jul 9, 2019)

Before camping with my pup I spent some late nights with him out on my deck doing LAT. Not sure about your neighborhood, but in mine he got to hear the owls come out, the foxes yip and the deer crunch through leaves. I feel this prep work helped a lot when he slept in the tent with me. 
Opossum scurrying was fine, pack of coyotes closing in on camp, not fine. He knew when to bark 👍

I know the OP is in a different country but I wouldn’t camp somewhere my dog had to be tied out. I want him with me for his and my own protection.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

David Winners said:


> View attachment 562757


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## MyWifeIsBoss (Apr 27, 2020)

Dunkirk said:


> OP is in New Zealand. Mosquitoes would be as bad as it gets. No snakes, bears, wolves...





David Winners said:


> View attachment 562757


Ffs lol


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## MyWifeIsBoss (Apr 27, 2020)

David Winners said:


> What rules/boundaries? The whole "don't let your dog on furniture or in bed because it elevates their status" crap?


Yes! I genuinely thought was actually a thing. (This is why I wanted a chat, funnily enough. 😂)


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

if its a boundary issue for you, i’m sure you use at the very least a sleeping bag, probably a sleep pad, maybe an air mattress, or cot... you get the idea. just keep him off your sleeping set up. Keystone has his own pad.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Can you bring the crate and put him in there?


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

MyWifeIsBoss said:


> Yes! I genuinely thought was actually a thing. (This is why I wanted a chat, funnily enough. 😂)


Still want a chat. The restaurant has needed me several times during my afternoon off. I'm available tomorrow!


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## MyWifeIsBoss (Apr 27, 2020)

David Winners said:


> Still want a chat. The restaurant has needed me several times during my afternoon off. I'm available tomorrow!


Yes! Thanks mate. Sorry to rush ya.


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## MyWifeIsBoss (Apr 27, 2020)

Sunflowers said:


> Can you bring the crate and put him in there?


I.. I never considered this. I suppose I could!



Fodder said:


> if its a boundary issue for you, i’m sure you use at the very least a sleeping bag, probably a sleep pad, maybe an air mattress, or cot... you get the idea. just keep him off your sleeping set up. Keystone has his own pad.


Honestly, it's not a boundary for us. My wife and I would both love to have him on the couch and bed.. I just genuinely thought it was a boundary you were supposed to keep.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

Not at all. My life is just a bit crazy right now.

In the winter in the mountains, I used to stuff Fama into my sleeping bag with me. I never got cold.
#handlersrule


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

MyWifeIsBoss said:


> Yes! I genuinely thought was actually a thing. (This is why I wanted a chat, funnily enough. 😂)


My only boundaries with my dogs are if I say move you better, and moving does not mean wiggling or rolling over for belly tickles! 
When I camp with Punk, she sleeps with me but usually on her own bedding because sand and stuff. Usually. Lol. I did nothing to prep her for the tent, just said bedtime and went to bed. She was restless for a bit but settled quickly. 
I would be uncomfortable with my dog tied out away from me, but that's me.


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## MyWifeIsBoss (Apr 27, 2020)

This is awesome. Maybe we will have him in/just outside the tent, then.
Huts are a different story but we'll see if we can camp instead.. we'll see.


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

Might be a difference in terminology, but there’s nothing whatsoever wrong with teaching your dog to sleep in the vestibule- the covered area under a full rainfly on a heavy 3 or regular 4 season tent is separated from the tent proper by a zipper.

I teach puppies to sleep in tents by setting a tent up in my yard. The tent is for sleeping, not wrestling or being goofy. Teach them to settle quietly when it’s thunderstorming or snowing or whatever odd weather you expect to encounter. Make sure they’ll eat in a dark thunderstorm and potty in the same.

I do teach my dogs to sit and be silent if I tie them to a tree and go out of sight. I’ve never had them sleep in that manner (my personal choice - they sleep in the tent with me), but if you need to buy groceries or do laundry or whatever, you may need your dog to sit quietly while you go about your business.


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## David Winners (Apr 30, 2012)

WIBackpacker said:


> Might be a difference in terminology, but there’s nothing whatsoever wrong with teaching your dog to sleep in the vestibule- the covered area under a full rainfly on a heavy 3 or regular 4 season tent is separated from the tent proper by a zipper.
> 
> I teach puppies to sleep in tents by setting a tent up in my yard. The tent is for sleeping, not wrestling or being goofy. Teach them to settle quietly when it’s thunderstorming or snowing or whatever odd weather you expect to encounter. Make sure they’ll eat in a dark thunderstorm and potty in the same.
> 
> I do teach my dogs to sit and be silent if I tie them to a tree and go out of sight. I’ve never had them sleep in that manner (my personal choice - they sleep in the tent with me), but if you need to buy groceries or do laundry or whatever, you may need your dog to sit quietly while you go about your business.


Expert advice here.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

My dogs are never on the bed or the furniture (personal choice but not for any hierarchy type thing, I just don't think dogs belong where I lie). They have their own beds both beside the couch where I watch TV and on either side of my bed.

However, I have camped many times with my dog including Winter camping in tents, hay filled shelters and hand made snow shelters. That dog sleeps in with me on those occasions, no question and if the snow shelter is dug properly, you stay quite warm..


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Get him a Pup tent.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

LuvShepherds said:


> Get him a Pup tent.


🤣


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## MyWifeIsBoss (Apr 27, 2020)

LuvShepherds said:


> Get him a Pup tent.


Lol. Tres bien


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

MyWifeIsBoss said:


> Honestly, it's not a boundary for us. My wife and I would both love to have him on the couch and bed.. I just genuinely thought it was a boundary you were supposed to keep.


IF you are having rank issues with your dog, IF he's already displaying guardy behaviors, IF he keeps jumping on the bed or furniture and won't get off or growls if you try to physically remove him, it might be a "thing" for that particular dog. But you can certainly start training him to jump up and jump off furniture and that he only gets to come up with you when invited (if he gets up on his own, make him get off, wait a few seconds or minutes, then invite him back up).

We didn't allow dogs on the furniture for many, many years - Sneaker, Cassidy, Dena, and Keefer were not allowed on the couch. They could hang out on the bed until it was bedtime, and then they go into the crate. That, we still do. Halo broke the no furniture rule around 10 years ago, and we've never re-instituted it, lol. At first it was "invitation only" on the couch with her, and then it was "okay, whatever". 🤣 Cava climbs up on the couch with me (or without me!) whenever she feels like it. No rank issues whatsoever, and if I did tell her to get off, she would. I'm not at all concerned that she's trying to rule the world, or even control our household.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Who wouldn't want this cuddly girl on the couch with them? 🥰


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I never allowed dogs on the couch or other furniture. Then I had a puppy with pano and the only place he was comfortable was the couch. At least that is what he told me. Now one end is his spot, even when we have company.


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## dojoson41 (Oct 14, 2018)

MyWifeIsBoss said:


> So, we want to do hiking/camping/multi-night stuff with our dog eventually but he's only 12 weeks.
> 
> At campsites, he will likely be sleeping in the car (or in the alcove of the tent?) but when we do overnight hikes, we won't be able to be in or under the DOC huts.
> 
> ...


so you are going to leave a 12 week old(small) puppy outside in no KENNEL/CAGE where there IS danger/predators/hawks/owls/eagles/birds of prey-yeh they can kill a puppy at that age easy/humans/other dogs/snakes! you need to STAY with you puppy. unless you have a dog trailer connected to your truck in very close to your hut in case of fire/break ins, if not then NO NO NO NO!!!! YOUR PUPPY NEEDS TO STAY HOME WHERE IT IS SAFE until its large enough-one year old at least and still needs protection


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## dojoson41 (Oct 14, 2018)

MyWifeIsBoss said:


> Okay. Awesome. No worries about bears or anything like that over here - we only have Australian tourists for dangerous animals.
> We do have pigs, though - I think I might do our best to camp if poss. I do have an ultralight set-up. And I'll get him a good sat/tracking collar.


pigs kill dogs


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

dojoson41 said:


> so you are going to leave a 12 week old(small) puppy outside in no KENNEL/CAGE where there IS danger/predators/hawks/owls/eagles/birds of prey-yeh they can kill a puppy at that age easy/humans/other dogs/snakes! you need to STAY with you puppy. unless you have a dog trailer connected to your truck in very close to your hut in case of fire/break ins, if not then NO NO NO NO!!!! YOUR PUPPY NEEDS TO STAY HOME WHERE IT IS SAFE until its large enough-one year old at least and still needs protection


OP said _eventually._


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## CeraDean (Jul 9, 2019)

Definitely guilty of couch sharing as well. But how can I resist?


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