Guest normaandburrell Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 We camped with our first grey, in a van. Making sure he was kept cool in summer and warm in winter was a big priority. We didn't even own a crate, so the next biggest challenge was making sure he didn't wander off. Oh, except at night when I wanted to use the bathroom, then he had to be right by my side. The first time I tried to leave him in the tent, he howled and woke up the whole campground. Overall, it worked really well and I think he enjoyed it. We just haven't got around to doing it with our current hound, but I think he would love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greyt_dog_lover Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 They make very lightweight soft sided octagon shaped crates that are collapsible. check this out: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=22226 We have the largest one and it fits two hounds at once (as long as they dont mind touching). I have actually had 3 in the crate at once with muzzles on for a short period of time. The entire thing when in its travel sling weighs under a few pounds, so it could easily be carried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarryOnAMusing Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 This is very uplifting for me as I was informed greyhounds are just too focused on all the wildlife camping that the person made it sound like they didn't ever sleep. I found that hard to believe, especially if you'd been hiking with them. She was speaking not from her own experience either but just mentioned one friend returning within a single day of attempting to camp with her hound. We just bought the largest of that soft-sided octagon crates we could find (I hope it is the largest since I couldn't find anything large than 58" diameter). It is initially to be used as confinement for our motor-deficient kitty when we travel and because of her issues can't be confined in a wire crate and a hard-sided airline crate is too much of a pain to haul. We got the biggest one so it could be used later for greyhounds (we have a three person at the moment, we'll be upgrading certainly!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greyt_dog_lover Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 What group did you adopt through? I just noticed where you are from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarryOnAMusing Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 We haven't adopted just yet but hope to have a hound by summer -- we're going to adopt through Greyhounds Only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest OPointyDog Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Mine love to go for walks, but one overheats very easily and the other has arthritis, corns and a recovering leg injury.... So we don't hike much. Our male, Mika, hates the water, but our female, Zoe, LOVES the water, especially kiddie pools. We don't have one in our yard, but when we go to Grapehounds, she hogs the pool in the babysitting area. And last year she shoved the other dogs out of the one by the vendor tent and then lounged in it, refusing to get out. Sometimes she shreds the water first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FloridaGirl Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 OH LORD that is the neatest thing ever. I love that crate. Thanks for the info!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnnziggy Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 (edited) My female loves to swim! Our friends have a pond and she loves it. Our younger male saw her and thought it looked fun. I thought I was going to have to go in to get him but he figured it out and swam a bit too. We take many short walks instead of really long ones. Our one male would walk forever. He would gladly take walks for an hour or two. We go camping with our three greys but we have a camper. It is a hybrid so it is sort of like a pop-up camper but it has 2 double beds, a queen-size bed, and a sofa. Everyone has a grey to sleep with. Sometimes I have two. They love it! Except . . . and this is weird, but our female is freaked out the first night and we have to use a nightlight. After that, she is fine. I forgot to say that no one is crated. We just use their muzzles when we leave . They are really good! Most people don't realize that we have dogs until they have seen them. Edited March 7, 2015 by Dawnnziggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 (edited) I think the longest hike I've done with mine was 14 strenuous (and I mean a good amount of elevation change in Shenandoah NP) miles. We routinely hiked for up to 10 miles at a time although often more moderate elevation before we tackled that. They just worked up to it with me. Having said that, I fostered for years and always adopted a foster when I was ready to adopt and the right one came along so I was looking for dogs that would enjoy that sort of thing. As for conditioning them to heat, no. These guys are just too prone to heat related illnesses to risk it imo. You can mitigate a bit by keeping them wet and stopping frequently to offer water, but if you don't have access to water on the hike that can be a lot of water to carry and more importantly, I think there's a limit to how hot OR humid it can be without it being too risky. Search for Violet's thread in H&M about her rhabdomyolysis incident and you'll get the idea. Sadly that's not the first time I've had a greyhound overheat from exertion in hot weather. And yes, avid camper. My dogs have never had issues camping with me. I'm old now, well oldish so now we carcamp and I bring an x-pen with me for the dogs. In the past they just got tethered via harness to whatever when we were hanging out and I needed hands. They've always been fine snuggling up in the tent with me. Good luck with the new pup! ETA: If you backpack it's easy enough to bring a lightweight tent that will fit a person and a greyhound. The biggest issue with backpacking with a dog imo is carrying their food. Dehydrated raw is a good way to go to eliminate that extra weight but you need access to plenty of water. You'd probably also want to carry a second smaller sleeping pad for the dog (they do make inflatable backpacking type pads for dogs that are the right size and thus lighter). Edited March 7, 2015 by NeylasMom Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HeatherLee Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 I hike with Gambler all the time. I just started taking him on longer and longer walks to begin with and let him set the pace. I found that he still wanted to keep going even when I didn't. I eventually took him on some light trails to see how he did and just led him lead. He surprises me all the time and really loves climbing rocks and steep paths now. One this I absolutely insist on is wearing a harness instead of a collar. #1 because if he slips I don't want to end up choking him. it's easier to help him down steep paths if I can support him with the harness and if something happens and he slips down a steep decline, the thought of him being strangled by a collar holding up his body weight freaks me out. (seriously bothers me to see others with just a collar hiking with their dogs) #2 He's strong and helps me up those steep inclines and the harness helps him pull ME up, haha. I always bring water. I got a hydration backpack for me and a pop up water bowl for him. I can just squirt water into his bowl when I need to. I pour the excess water he doesn't drink on his neck, back and chest. (This is another thing I'm crazy about, I'm always wetting him down.) His safety and health is always my #1 priority. Especially since we live in the desert and overheating is a huge issue. Once it hits 85+ we don't go out unless there's tons of shade. I also have a little first aid kit in my backpack. I would suggest just getting to know your dog and letting them tell you what they can do, they'll show signs if they're not happy. I also pack some mace with me. Only bc there's always some *&@%! out there who doesn't believe in leashing their dogs when they're hiking and just let them run up to whomever. I've never had to use it though. I've found that my 6 ft leash is too short. I've almost tripped over him a few times because it just isn't long enough. I know people on here might flame me but I use a retractable 10 ft leash ON A HARNESS ONLY. Those few extra feet really help, and the retractable helps keep the slack from creating a hazard. Also, Gambler loves water. He hates it being splashed on him but loves to play at beaches and creeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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