You've all met Abe . Today I set up my tent in the back yard to air it out, hose it down to check for leaks, etc. He was pretty scared of the tent. I got him inside, but it was obvious he didn't like the crinkley sound of the nylon underneath him and wanted out pretty bad. Thoughts?

JD

You're in the backyard and his safe place (the house)is right there. I'm thinking if you go into the woods, state park, somewhere away from his safe place, he may behave differently. If you put your clothes, sleeping gear, etc. in the tent, go into the tent and lay down, he will be much more comfortable in there. Also, you will probably have some sort of blanket down and he wouldn't be walking directly on the nylon will help.

I never tried getting the dogs in the tent before going in the woods. We got to where we were going, made camp, dogs saw where our stuff was and decided that's we're staying!

When it gets dark, they go sit by the tent. I think they feel safer in there. However, if they hear something other than us outside, they want out to join the pack. I had to patch a door screen on one trip because the dog was trying to get out. Now I just it open enough for them to bolt through.

I wouldn't over think it too much. If he considers himself part of your pack, he will want to be with you.

Never considered it before. I never introduced my dog to the tent. Like Drought, I just brought him camping and he went in the tent once he saw thats the best sleeping spot. Never was a big deal.

I'm guessing its probably because he's not used to the tent being set up in his yard. Its new and different and something to be suspicious of. Out in the woods everything is new and different so it doesn't get looked at with as much suspicion.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I'm sure he'll catch on when he's got a comfy place to lay down at the end of long day on the trail.

Another thought. Dogs sense of smell is in a completely different world than ours. Maybe throw some things in the tent that he's familiar with (yourself, clothes, something he sleeps on, etc.). That might make if smell "OK" to him. But I agree with the other posts. When you are in the BWCA and you are in the tent getting ready for bed, I suspect he's going to want to be in the "cave" with you.

So my dog is a Velcro dog like no other. On her first trip she had no problem adjusting to the tent.

A few months after her first trip, my buddy and his wife watched her for a weekend. In their living room they had some Disney princess popup castle set up for their daughter. She remembered the tent. My dog and their kid, my god-daughter, spent three days basically living in that tent.

Long story short, hang out in the tent a while and your dog will get the jist of it. My dog is crate trained for when I'm at work, she loves her crate, so the tent as home base was an easy sell.

Addendum: by crate trained, I mean she stays in the laundry room, usually jumping in and sleeping in the hamper.

Just like the canoe, I wanted to get my dog familiar with the tent in the yard before his first trip. He was a bit spooked by the tent at first too. I left it up with both doors open for a bit while I did yard chores, then eventually I just went in it and layed down. He came in and out a few times, and shortly came in and sat down. Very quickly it became a safe place.

Whether you get him use to the tent in the woods or in the yard, I'd just suggest being careful not to re-enforce any fear by trying to comfort him. Like when people inadvertently teach their dogs to fear lightning and thunder by rewarding their fearful behavior with comfort - it can just make it worse.

Like most of the others, we introduced Piwi to the tent on a first trip - a quick overnight to a campsite we could paddle to nearby as a test run before a real wilderness trip. We got to camp, set up the tent and put our gear inside, and she immediately wanted in. She still sees it as a safe "den" and usually wants in before we are ready to hit the sack on trips. However, she has to wait for us!

In contrast, sometimes we run into tents in areas that Piwi is familiar with without tents, and then she tends to be very suspicious of them. This happens most often when walking or skiing on lakes in the winter and we encounters a portable ice fishing shelter. Sometimes Piwi barks at them, sometimes she gives them a wide berth, but she never likes them. Similarly when our seasonal neighbors set up a screen tent near our property - Piwi was very suspicious of it.

I think this is consistent with the theory above that setting up the tent in the yard - an unfamiliar object in a familiar place - made it seem more like an intruder in the dog's environment. But just hanging out in it some, either in the yard or on a trip, should dispel that feeling, and then I'm pretty sure your dog will love being in the tent as much as most dogs do.

I introduced my dog, Willow, to a tent in our yard. She helped me set it up so it didn't surprise her seeing it there. It wasn't something that just magically appeared out of nowhere. She was fine with it then. We slept in it that night and she did very well.

My dog quickly figured out that the tent was an escape from flies and mosquitoes. It's a safe den where he gets to spend the night with his family (pack-mates).

I borrowed my brother's ultra light super expensive tent once and set it up in the yard. To see how my dog would handle it I put her in... and then I went and bought my brother a new super expensive tent because the one we borrowed now had several large holes in it. Seriously, it took about 8 seconds for Molly to rip her way out the screen door, and I was in the tent with her.

But she does love tents, just not very fragile expensive tents.

Calcifer often surprises me by wanting to be in the tent even when we're not. But then, he likes his crate too, and Molly never did adjust to a crate.