Koda Camps!

Okay, so it wasn't the perfect, dog/handler evening of bonding that I imagined.  It wasn't super restful with Koda snuggling up against me as we slept in my tent.  There were no "good morning" kisses from the pooch.

Not even close.

But it was a great learning experience for both of us.

Let's take it from the top:

About 9 months ago, Koda was going on a walk with a friend and got bit in the face by another dog.  Since then, he has been responding moderately negatively to other dogs.  Not the malicious "I'm going to eat your face off because you are also a canine" type of aggression, but more so the "I'm really scared your going to bite me so I'm going to try to get you to run away" type of aggression.

The morning before we went camping (ie: yesterday), he and I went to an appointment with a dog behaviorist (Nancy Tanner of Paws and People).  Her recommendation for right now while Koda and I establish a better human/animal trust system is to avoid all dogs, especially while he is on leash.

Bozeman is filled to the brim with dogs.  Some well behaved and others not so much.  The campground was the same way.  I felt constantly on edge trying to divert Koda's attention or our route of travel around the 5-7 other dogs that were in the area.

Folks, seriously, if you know your dog isn't friendly, keep him away from other folk's dogs so that they don't get bit in the face.  Koda and I wouldn't even be having this issue to begin with if that one incident hadn't happened.  It has completely changed the way we do things and the level of security Koda feels.  It really, really sucks.

Okay, so after walking around the GORGEOUS lake and laughing as my camping amigos (Jake and Nathan) tried their hand at fishing.  We went up and ended up switching camping spots (we car camped) because of the folks in the camping spot next to us. (See: 7 adults + 7 kids + 2 dogs = noisy and sleepless nights)

After that, we started a fire, had a beer and hung out.  Koda was already getting nervous.  New area, new situation, not sure what the deuce is going on.  After we finished our prime beverages (thanks, Jake!) we went to bed.

1. Get Koda in the tent.

My tent is a Kelty "Grand Mesa" 2 person.  I love it!

2. Get Koda off of my sleeping bag and on to his blanket. (There's no way I'm giving up my sleeping bag!)
3. Calm Koda down so at least one of us can sleep.


4. Fall asleep. (Only to wake up a million times.  Folks, don't drink beer before bed if you don't like getting up and out of a tent to pee 4 times in the middle of the night. ESPECIALLY if you have a small-ish bladder.  Too much information? Sorry.)

The night passed uneventfully, really.  It was pretty clear that Koda didn't sleep much though.  There was probably only one time that I woke up that he was sleeping next to me.

Waking up and getting out of the tent was like releasing Koda into the world's best doggy play area filled with all things good.  He was so happy that morning, his tail wouldn't stop wagging.  That was good to see.

Now he is (hopefully) resting peacefully at home.  When I left, he was already curled up and ready to sleep.

Anyone out there have any suggestions to make this less traumatic next time?  I think familiarity and more exercise before bed will help next time.

Best,

A