There are other threads. HEAPS of us camp with our dogs!
This is our little guy pretending he loves camping. If there's a chair. And the flies aren't bothering him. Because he doesn't really do nature. 😂
I actually made up a t-shirt design for our
pathetic excuse for a t-shirt store that says "I just want to go camping and hang with my dog", because that is basically my life in a nutshell and I wanted a t-shirt that said that. Probably will never sell a single one to anyone else. Haha. Happy to share the link if anyone else wants one, otherwise I won't bother.
And now the on-topic helpful stuff...
There are SO MANY dog friendly camping options, and SO MANY people travelling with dogs! The main places they can't go is anywhere indoors (obviously, with the exception of a few dog-friendly accomodation places like some Airbnb's, but that's not camping, so...) and National Parks. Many cafes are dog-friendly in outdoor eating areas (we have been turned away from a few, but this is rare). A lot of country pubs are fine with dogs in outdoor areas as long as they are well behaved. There's a lot of caravan parks that allow dogs, but probably more that don't. Most/many free-camping spots seem to allow dogs (that said we only search for the ones that do). YouCamps are often quite OK with having dogs at bush camping properties. Many 4WD parks that have camping around here let you take dogs...
Basically, you can make it work. There are all sorts of tricks to seeing and doing things with dogs on the road. We know people who have set up their cars and/or caravans to be dog-safe to leave them in for few-hour visits to National Parks and tourist attractions (check out "Sparkys on the Loose" - a young couple full-time travelling Australia with their dog. They have some great YouTube videos showing how they've set up their car so its safe to leave her when they go into a shop, or how they've made it work leaving her in the van for few-hour trips, while still ensuring she's safe and comfortable).
We have to do a day-trip somewhere that we can't take our little guy next week, so we booked him in for day boarding at a kennel. He's my "baby" (childless couple, don't judge us!) so I'm a bit precious where I leave him. My tip is call the local vet clinics and ask for their recommendations for boarding kennels in the area. They know the good and the bad, believe me! Some clinics will even offer boarding, especially if its only for a day and you only have a small dog... Dog sitters are another option, and more and more websites and apps are popping up to help you connect with people who offer their services doing this.
