Camping with Three Dogs

We took the whole pack to Fort Worden Historic State Park for one night of camping. The park is located on the Admiralty Inlet in Port Townsend, Washington, where the Straits of Juan de Fuca meet Puget Sound. It is a beautiful area and one of my favorites.

The last time we camped, we took Clover and Dart and left Raven with our son. Dart was grumpy in close quarters with the puppy, so we knew it would be challenging with both puppies. Dart is now on two types of pain medication because he has severe arthritis. I was hoping that Dart would handle the puppies better in the close quarters of the motorhome if he was on pain medication and if the puppies were not as rambunctious after abundant exercise.

I took the puppies to the local dog park in Bremerton before we left on the trip and they got to play with their favorite Aussie, Reba. The puppies like to chase running dogs. Reba has a large ball she pushes around like a soccer ball. She is fast and the puppies like to chase her while she chases her ball. When people toss balls for their dogs, the puppies chase the dog chasing the ball. The puppies get worn out and generally sleep the bulk of the day after returning home. I was successful in getting the puppies worn out before we left the driveway.

After we arrived, I walked both puppies several times through the campground and on the beach and they thoroughly enjoyed exploring. It was warm and they were tired out by the time we called it a night. The evening/night in the motorhome went well. There was no drama. The puppies were worn out and Dart did not get cranky. The biggest problem I had was both puppies deciding to sleep in front of the bathroom door. They were too tired and did not want to get up, so I had to push them both out of the way.

The next morning, I got up before the sunrise and took Dart out first. He was cooperative and did what he needed to do, so I could put him back in the motorhome and grabbed the puppies for a walk on the beach at sunrise. It is my favorite time of day. I find the beach is usually deserted at that time and the wildlife is stirring as the sky turns beautiful colors.

Shortly after taking the above picture, the puppies got a burst of energy. It was nearly impossible to restrain them, so I dropped their leashes to let them have a brief run. Because I do not trust their recall, I was reluctant to leave them go long.

It was nearly impossible to walk them back to the motorhome with that much energy. Until I have them better trained together on the leash and/or have dog park options at the local campground, it will be difficult to pull off camping with all three dogs at the same time.