OurnewfDarwin
New member
We went camping last night. It was awfully cold, so we ended up coming home early this morning. 38 degrees is not happy for this California girl who rarely sees temps below 55!
Darwin did not care for camping at all. We were in a family camp ground where dogs had to be leashed or tethered (but not to a tree). So we used a 15-20 rope with a clip attached to the picnic table. This allowed him to come sit next to the fire, or sit outside the tent if we were in there. He just could not get the hang of being tied to something. He kept getting his feet all tangled up/hog tied. If we were walking outside his range, we would tell him to sit/stay before reaching the end. But the kids didn't have this same forethought.
Well, my daughter had befriended the kids at the next site and was running over to play, Darwin was following her, and when he reached the end of the rope, with it between his legs, he did a full flip onto his back. It was awful to watch! We were unloading the car, so I had an arm full of supplies that I dropped when I saw it happen. He got up and shook it off--including all the dust and stuff. But I spent the next hour or two worrying about what could have happened to his back!
When bed time came, we were getting everyone ready, and planning to walk him around the grounds one more time before bringing him into the tent. As a side-note, I was amazed at how quickly he associated the site as our space and wouldn't pee on the two trees he could reach. Well, he was watching us go in and out of the tent, closing the door each time to keep the bugs out, and he seemed to think we were going to leave him out there, in the dark, IN THE DIRT!! He was not impressed.
When we were all done walking and peeing, we went into the tent to settle down. He was thrilled at the prospect of laying with us...but once the thrill wore off, he didn't know what to do. He paced and tossed and turned, and moved from person to person, to corner to corner. Any creak of tree or animal outside stressed him out and he would growl a bit.
Let's just say my newf is as much a princess as I am--and we will not camp again!
Darwin did not care for camping at all. We were in a family camp ground where dogs had to be leashed or tethered (but not to a tree). So we used a 15-20 rope with a clip attached to the picnic table. This allowed him to come sit next to the fire, or sit outside the tent if we were in there. He just could not get the hang of being tied to something. He kept getting his feet all tangled up/hog tied. If we were walking outside his range, we would tell him to sit/stay before reaching the end. But the kids didn't have this same forethought.
Well, my daughter had befriended the kids at the next site and was running over to play, Darwin was following her, and when he reached the end of the rope, with it between his legs, he did a full flip onto his back. It was awful to watch! We were unloading the car, so I had an arm full of supplies that I dropped when I saw it happen. He got up and shook it off--including all the dust and stuff. But I spent the next hour or two worrying about what could have happened to his back!
When bed time came, we were getting everyone ready, and planning to walk him around the grounds one more time before bringing him into the tent. As a side-note, I was amazed at how quickly he associated the site as our space and wouldn't pee on the two trees he could reach. Well, he was watching us go in and out of the tent, closing the door each time to keep the bugs out, and he seemed to think we were going to leave him out there, in the dark, IN THE DIRT!! He was not impressed.
When we were all done walking and peeing, we went into the tent to settle down. He was thrilled at the prospect of laying with us...but once the thrill wore off, he didn't know what to do. He paced and tossed and turned, and moved from person to person, to corner to corner. Any creak of tree or animal outside stressed him out and he would growl a bit.
Let's just say my newf is as much a princess as I am--and we will not camp again!
I bet he has slept very well since coming home
