For me, the best time of year to go tent camping is the fall. The bugs are receding and the daytime temperatures are perfect for hiking. But if the temperatures are perfect during the daytime, that means that the nights can get a little chilly. If you like to tent camp with your dog, you may be looking for some tips to help your dog stay warm in a tent overnight.
Let’s get started answering some common questions about how to keep your dog warm while tent camping.
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How cold is too cold for camping with your dog?
For small, old, and short-coated dogs, nighttime temperatures below 60 degrees F are too cold for tent camping without blankets or other support. For healthy dogs with a thick coat who are used to cold temperatures, they may be comfortable camping in temperatures below freezing.
Why this wide range? Dogs as a species have a wide range of variation. Think about a 5 pound, short-haired chihuahua versus a shaggy, thick-coated Saint Bernard. It is easy to see that the chihuahua would get cold faster.
When determining how cold is too cold for your dog, it helps to consider a dog’s thermoneutral zone. The thermoneutral zone (TNZ) is the normal range of temperatures at which an animal can maintain their body temperature without expending energy to increase heat production or heat loss. For most dogs, this range is between 68 and 86 degrees F.
Trying to figure out your own dog’s cold tolerance? Follow these guidelines developed for the Tufts Animal Condition and Care (TACC) scales that I have adapted into the chart below.
The above chart is just a guideline, but it does provide a good starting point for helping you determine when you need to start packing extra layers to help your dog stay warm at night. Or for when it is too cold to go tent camping with your dog at all.
As you can see, there are a lot of factors that can affect the temperature at which your dog will be comfortable tent camping. If you have a toy breed dog who is less than 6 months of age, you probably need to be willing to share your sleeping bag with your pup if you are planning on camping in temperatures below 50 degrees. And you definitely shouldn’t consider tent camping in less than 35 degrees with a small, young pup.
On the other hand, if you have a husky who is used to winter temperatures – great! You can probably tent camp with your dog throughout the winter. Just check out this intrepid human-dog duo who thru-hiked the Ice Age Trail in the middle of winter. But if you have a dog with a thick haircoat, please be cautious during the summer months. Heatstroke can be even more serious than cold temperatures.
How do I know if my dog is cold while sleeping?
From outright shivering to more subtle signs, there are plenty of ways to tell if your dog is cold while sleeping. Cold dogs tend to curl up into a tighter circle when sleeping. They may also try to cover their nose with their tail or seek warmth by laying tight against you and burrowing into blankets or other items with a high nesting score.
Shivering is involuntary muscle movement intended to help a body that is cold warm up. This is an obvious sign that your dog is too cold. But ideally, you should be able to notice earlier signs than shivering, as it is much better to prevent your dog from getting cold enough to shiver in the first place. So pay attention to body posture and warmth-seeking behavior. And on dogs with short hair coats, you even be able to feel changes in body temperature by touching your dog’s ears.
How can I keep my dog warm at night?
If your dog is getting too cold at night, you can keep them warmer by having them wear a sweater or coat, getting them their owner sleeping bag, providing them with blankets, or snuggling close and sharing your own body heat. Providing a pad for your dog to lay on as a barrier from the cold ground can also help keep your dog warm.
For my short-coated dog, I have a variety of fleece sweaters that she can wear when the temperatures are chilly but not close to freezing. As the temperatures drop, I add a warm, insulated dog coat like the Hurtta Expedition Parka.
In the tent, I provide a sleeping pad or dog bed for my dog to lay on. Even in summer, the ground is cooler than either your or your dog’s body. The sleeping pad/dog bed provides a layer of insulation between your dog and the ground. It also adds some comfort. For this backpacking season, I purchased Glia a Klymit Moon Dog Bed. I am hoping she likes this pad as much as she likes my Therm-a-rest self-inflating pad.
If a fleece sweater and sleeping pad aren’t enough, I add blankets. Like many dogs, Glia likes to next in blankets, the thicker the better, when she is cold. The blankets provide insulation over the top or around the sides of the dog. The only problem with dogs and blankets is that any blanket placed over a dog, typically falls off at some point during the night.
Some dogs are willing to sleep inside sleeping bags. Since sleeping bags fasten around a dog, this can help keep your dog better insulated throughout the night.
Sharing your body heat is another great way to keep your dog warm. If you don’t mind snuggling up against or dog, or maybe even sharing your sleeping bag, you can both share a lot of heat through the night.
Bonus Warmth Tip: Dogs lose a lot of heat through their paws. If your dog will tolerate wearing socks or booties, these items can add a lot of warmth for a cold dog.
Does my dog need a sleeping bag?
Your dog doesn’t need a sleeping bag, but they may benefit from a sleeping bag, especially in colder temperatures. While blankets or sweaters can also keep your dog warmer overnight, sleeping bags are specifically designed for a dog to sleep in and can be a great addition to your dog’s camping gear.
Sleeping bags are designed to trap the air around a dog’s body. This trapped air can then be warmed by the dog’s body heat. Additionally, the fabric of the sleeping bag provides a barrier between your dog and cold ground and outside air. When choosing a sleeping bag for your dog, remember that smaller spaces warm up faster and retain heat more efficiently.
There are several sleeping bags currently on the market for dogs. I haven’t purchase one yet, but I have started doing the research in anticipation of purchasing one for fall of 2021. The following sleeping bags are at the top of my list. (Feel free to comment below if you use one of these sleeping bags for your dog. I would love to know how you like it.)
*Some of the following are affiliate links. I am an Amazon (and Avantlink) affiliate and earn from qualifying purchases.
- Ruffwear Highlands Dog Sleeping Bag: Available on Ruffwear.com or Amazon.com
- Whyld River’s Sleeping Bag: Available at Whyld-River.com
- Hurtta Outback Dreamer: Available on Amazon.com or Hurtta247.com
Is it okay to cover a dog with a blanket?
If your dog is cold, you can cover your dog with a blanket. Unlike human infants that may not be able to turn and move away from a blanket if it starts to suffocate them, the average dog can move out from underneath a blanket if they need more air or get too warm.
In fact, one of the biggest problems with using a blanket to keep your dog warm is getting a blanket to stay on your dog. Groundbird Gear came up with a solution for this in their Turtle Top Quilt. The Turtle Top Quilt has a harness stitched into the underside of the harness, helping it stay in place all night long!
Can my dog sleep in my car overnight?
Your dog can sleep in your car overnight if you are also sleeping in your car, but you shouldn’t leave dogs unattended in a car. Temperatures can change quickly inside of a car. If you are inside the car with your dog, then you can better monitor temperature and air quality changes.
While the car might trap heat better than a tent, it can still get very cold inside of a car. Ever left a water bottle in your car in the winter? It is always frozen solid by morning. So while sleeping in a car is an option when car camping, it doesn’t really solve the problem of keeping your dog warm at night.
Additionally, some campgrounds have rules about leaving dogs unattended in vehicles. Unattended dogs may bark and disturb other visitors. And park rangers may worry about your pet’s safety inside a vehicle when temperatures are warm/hot or very cold.
More Tips on Camping with Your Dog
For more tips on keeping your dog warm while camping, check out this nice post by Girl on a Hike.
And for more generalized dog camping tips, head over to our most popular post:
Happy Hiking (and Camping) Everyone!
Kate, Glia, & Sasha
