I’m always tinkering with how to best shelter my dogs when hammock camping. I have very light, easy to carry DIY pup tents that I hang off each end of my hammock that work well for two of my dogs when we go on hiking trips, but I saw something online from WalMart the other day that looked perfect for winter camping...
I hammock camp a LOT in the winter and it is usually car camping, so I’m game to experiment with a dog shelter a bit bulkier than would fit easily into one of the dog’s backpack. My main concern in the winter is to provide a WIND BREAK for my dogs. They are hardy German shepherds and do fine in the cold as long as they can be protected from the wind during the night. Unfortunately, though my SuperFly tarp is awesome for providing me a windbreak, it doesn’t stop the wind the last 20 inches or so from the ground...the very place the dogs need it.
When I saw this one person bivy tent on sale for $21, I couldn’t wait to get one and try it out! Mind you, it is in the upper 80’s today, so the last thing the dogs or I needed was a wind break! But cooler nights are coming and I wanted to do a bit of field testing so, I coupled the bivy tent with my MiniFly instead of my SuperFly and porched it out on both sides. I was really stoked over how perfectly my new dog bivy pairs up with my hammock tarp! Since it is hot, I rolled up the storm flap and opened the back window. I’ll keep that closed in the winter. Anyway, I’m very excited at how all 3 of my shepherds can curl up together in it in the winter and have the wind blocked on 3 sides with my hammock and the far side of the SuperFly partially protecting them on the fourth side. I will always leave the entry side of the bivy fully unzipped and tied off up above as pictured here.
The dog bivy goes up super easy and quickly. And it packs up pretty small and light, too! I might even take it hiking...I’d carry the two poles in my pack and have one of the dogs carry the rest.
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Originally Posted by Watertooner
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