Dogs in Elk Camp

[swampbear]

I would just start taking a dump in their camp. Maybe they’ll think it was the dog, and leave it home next time.

[gaddy]

I don't and wont bring my dog to camp. Too busy to worry about them. Had people camped a ways down the road from me one year that had dogs. It was non stop barking at any thing that smelled or came near their camp, or they were yipping and wining about being tied up while owners were away and they were tied up. You could hear them all down the canyons and draws. Spend a few hrs hiking from camp and still hear dog's ? I hunt out of camp and don't figure there will be any game anywhere close to dogs barking at all hours.

full choke-- A dick move ? I'm sure JDHasty was being facetious, but If you have invested a season scouting, planning, setting up camp, fuel, the whole nine yards and some "dick" shows up with his dog and ruins your set up, your piece of mind and every thing you were looking forward to in this hunt, I think you could understand his frustration.

[yakimanoob]

I wouldn't hesitate to bring my dogs to an elk camp, but I would also never leave them unattended nor let them disturb the camps nearby. 

In other words, +1 for this being an owner problem and not a dog problem. 


[Also rest assured if you poison my dog I will leverage every means necessary to make sure you never do it to anyone again].

[NOCK NOCK]

I wouldn't hesitate to bring my dogs to an elk camp, but I would also never leave them unattended nor let them disturb the camps nearby. 

In other words, +1 for this being an owner problem and not a dog problem. 


[Also rest assured if you poison my dog I will leverage every means necessary to make sure you never do it to anyone again].

 

[mtn muley madness]

My Chesapeake goes to deer camp every year, and so did her mom before her. It’s awesome. Couldn’t imagine it without her. Guards the fort when we are gone, goes about 30 yards out the wall tent to meet whoever is driving in and knows instantly if they don’t belong(if you’re that close to the tent and not in our camp you have no business being there in the first place). Keeps my feet and legs warm at night. Doesn’t bark, wine, cry. Always happy and in a good mood (unless you don’t belong which is also great). Great for everyone’s moral, she’s everyone in camps buddy. Poops in the brush like she’s trained to. Doesn’t drift off(not that there’s any other camps around). Guards the fort straight up and all the valuables left unattended when we are gone. I’m a huge advocate for great dogs in camp. The only downside is she snores a little..

[JJJ]

Years ago I hunted with a buddy, his dad Larry, and Larry's brother Dan. The canyon we hunted was the hell hole known as the Devil's Tailbone in the Blues; a very accurate name, I must say.... We hunted out of camp by simply dropping over the side and sliding to the bottom. A trip downhill to get to our stands at a fast clip took considerable time and effort.

Dan, being a single never married 40ish year old, NEVER went anywhere without his beloved brittany spaniel; including ELK CAMP. Over the years, Larry would "express his displeasure" to his brother about bringing that ^&(^&*%ing dog. The brittany, being a brittany, understood every word they were saying. My buddy and I would just laugh it off and thought it was hilarious how those two argued year after year; it was great entertainment.

Fast forward about 5 years. Larry explicitly tells Dan NOT to bring THAT DOG and it had better not be in the truck when Dan arrives. We are in camp, anxious for opening day the next morning, when Dan pulls into camp right at dark. Lo and behold, Dan has a beady-eyed, orange and white varmint on the seat beside him. Larry and Dan immediately proceed to go into the yearly ritual dog "discussion", while the brittany sits and listens intently. It was extremely evident by now to everyone that Larry HATED that dog, and the dog felt the same way about Larry. Tensions between the two were at an apex.

The next morning, (opening morning) we get up, eat breakfast, and Larry makes sure his nemesis is tied up securely and his collar is extra tight all the while cussing him out. We head over the side to head to the bottom. Hours later, my buddy and I  make it back to camp for dinner and Larry is flat out livid! It seems Larry finally made it to his stand to sit and glass on a extremely narrow point near the bottom of the canyon. Opening day: everything is perfect.... After 30 minutes or so, Larry said he felt "a presence". He turned his head 180 degrees and there was a wet brittany snout not 6" from his! Larry ended up dragging "that dog" out of the hell hole to camp, thus ruining his opening day. I would have loved to hear the conversation the two of them had climbing out! Needless to say, Larry and Dan had some extra "enhanced discussions" that night; my buddy and I thought it was hilarious.

The next morning was a new day, and hopes were high. Larry and the Brittany were shooting darts at each other, but no words were spoken, and peace was to be assumed in camp. All of us happily slid over the edge into the hell hole. The brittany was now in a home made straight jacket of some kind, so we all were assured it simply could not be an issue today.

Then.... it starts to rain. By the time we get to the bottom it is absolutely dumping non stop. We toughed it out as long as we could and eventually made our way out as a group. Completely drenched and exhausted, we arrive back at camp. As we get closer, Larry goes off the charts speaking 8 different languages, and some English I've never heard before. In front of us was a mud soaked brittany sitting in a downpour, surrounded by EVERY SINGLE ITEM of Larry's! I mean E V E R Y T H I N G--- Sleeping bag, clothes, pack, and toilet paper- you name it. If it had Larry's scent on it, it had been drug through the mud and left to be soaked. It seems as though his rope was long enough to get inside the tent. One minor flaw in an otherwise bulletproof plan. My Buddy and I thought it was hilarious. The dog went home early.

[71Shovelhead]

Not a lot different than listening to a generator run all night along with a bunch of drunks standing around a bonfire yelling, cussing and lying to each other about what a great hunter they are and how much they hate people from the other side of the state.

This is why I don't camp or hunt near other people.
 

[Special T]

My Chesapeake goes to deer camp every year, and so did her mom before her. It’s awesome. Couldn’t imagine it without her. Guards the fort when we are gone, goes about 30 yards out the wall tent to meet whoever is driving in and knows instantly if they don’t belong(if you’re that close to the tent and not in our camp you have no business being there in the first place). Keeps my feet and legs warm at night. Doesn’t bark, wine, cry. Always happy and in a good mood (unless you don’t belong which is also great). Great for everyone’s moral, she’s everyone in camps buddy. Poops in the brush like she’s trained to. Doesn’t drift off(not that there’s any other camps around). Guards the fort straight up and all the valuables left unattended when we are gone. I’m a huge advocate for great dogs in camp. The only downside is she snores a little..

One of the reasons I love my Chessie. Part guard dog part retriever.

[GASoline71]

Now then, I have seen camps with dogs in them, and you would have never know they had a live animal in camp as the dogs were that well behaved.  But it's always the 10% of dog owners that ruin it for the 90% of good dog owners.  Those of you that do have well behaved dogs and bring them to camp with you, I think it's pretty cool that you can.

I do agree on the generators as well. We have a generator, but it is used sparingly.  The dog camp next to us also had a generator that was on from the moment we pulled in to the moment we left.  They kept it gassed up and running the entire time.  I did muzzleloader hunt one year in 342 with a few buddies, and one of their father's had to have a CPAP running all night with a generator.  So if that is the case I can understand.  But I don't think it was the case with this camp.

At least the generators didn't crap next to our rigs every day... 

Gary

[71Shovelhead]

How about the guys that start their diesel truck an hour before daylight to let them "warm Up" with heated seats and steering wheels, so they are more comfortable road hunting. Just to return to camp talking about going Steep and deep, bone dry with clean boots.

Okay I'm done painting with such a broad brush. I don't like hunting with groups or hunting near other people.  A choice I made over 50 years ago. Glad it works for some. I don't even know how to make a reservation in a camp ground. Always been able to find a place away from others to enjoy nature.

Good luck to everyone this year.

Terry

[howlow]

I brought my lab to elk camp one year and she was sneaky would open the ice chest and get ice   well one day by the wall tent there was a 5lb package of bacon   no one in camp lost any bacon   needless to say i think she stole from neighbors camp  well we ate it and i even gave her some  the next year i asked the neighbors camp if they lost the bacon and they didnt remember but now i invite them over for a meal each year.   

[sixgun_symphony]

"Super frustrating this year to have a new camp next to us that their dogs really were a pain."

1) Go to the legal pot shop and purchase some brownies.
2) Leave enough of them on the table in your camp to take a good size black bear on a trip to Haight Asbury
3) Watch and shake your head from side to side sympathetically when they return to camp and lift dogs into their rig before heading off to the animal emergency
4) Upon their return, listen and try to keep a straight face as they complain about the $1,500 per dog they had to pay up front to get the dogs admitted for whatever it was that the animal emergency was no help in getting sorted out

Repeat as necessary

The only thing that will happen is that the dogs will take a long nap and sleep it off.

[Skyvalhunter]

Dogs and chocolate dont mix.

[Boss .300 winmag]

Really quite surprised nobody has brought up the scent aspect of dogs in camp.

It’s hard enough keeping unwanted scents of oneself let alone having a dog rubbing all over you.🤯

[KFhunter]

I don't think it would matter one bit, we stink so bad to any game animal already...a bit of dog in the mix?  Meh

I've never had a dog I'd trust to leave in camp alone, my Britts would be gone when I got back, my labs long ago would have followed me everywhere, or would have followed a stranger holding a stick to fetch...


They're cougar or wolf bait, last year we had wolves very close to camp, dog scent would have brought them closer and lingering longer