Dog supplies we’ve packed for full-time van life
Just a few days ago we backed out of our old house’s driveway for the last time. We’ve officially moved all the way into our bright yellow converted van—for good. (Well, at least a few years. No planned end in sight.)
Fitting two adult humans and one cattle dog into roughly 60 square feet of space has actually been easier than I thought it would be. We obviously had to condense our belongings quite a bit, though. Here are all of the supplies we brought for our blue heeler, Scout, and how we’ve organized them in our home on wheels.
You can also read an older article compiling many of our favorite dog training and ownership products in general (not all made it into the van) here, if you’re curious.
TLDR visual Instagram reel
I took this when initially packing Scout’s van shelf. The caption has a high-level list of what we brought along and where things are stored.
The full list of van life supplies for our dog, in rough order of priority
Absolute necessities like food and medication
Nature’s Logic kibble: We usually rotate between Nature’s Logic beef, pork, and duck & salmon recipes. In the van we have just one small bag of one protein on hand.
Airtight food bin: Holds nearly 15 pounds of her kibble (it’s about 14 x 8 x 15 inches in size).
Daily seizure medication: Scout takes an anticonvulsant twice a day to control her seizure activity. You can read more about our experience with canine epilepsy in this article.
Emergency seizure medication: We keep a few syringes of Midazolam on hand in case Scout has a seizure that we need to interrupt.
Temperature-controlled fanny pack: This is a great way to store her emergency seizure meds on the go and easily take them with us when we leave the van.
Monthly flea & tick and heartworm preventatives: Scout gets Interceptor Plus and K9 Advantix II at the middle of every month. This prevention is especially important to me as we navigate more varied environments on the road. We have a few months’ supply with us.
Slip lead: This makes bathroom breaks, especially in public parking lots, super quick and easy.
Sturdy biothane leash and collar: If I had to pick one single collar + leash combo to use, it would be this one from Harbor Hound Co. It rinses clean easily and has held up for years.
Rabies vaccination tag: Scout is generally naked in the van (more on why she typically doesn’t wear a collar indoors in this article) but we keep her rabies tag if needed.
Grooming supplies
Dremel, charger, and extra dremel bits: We use a basic pet dremel and file each claw down for a few seconds about once a week.
Bar shampoo: The Healer shampoo bar from Legendary Canine is small to store and gentle on Scout’s skin. We can bathe with it regularly without drying her out—important as we get dirty in the van!
Fur freshener spray: This natural deodorizer has been a lifesaver in the van so far.
Brush: Our cattle dog’s fur doesn’t need intense grooming, but we have a comb to tease out any thick spots especially around her hindquarters.
Paw balm: Also from Legendary Canine, this balm protects and heals her pads if they crack.
Ear cleaner: Scout isn’t much of a swimmer, so we don’t need this too often, but it’s good to have on hand.
Toys and enrichment items
Small toy bin: This 14 x 5 inch bin holds one puller ring for tug, two balls for fetch, one frisbee, and a few of her favorite stuffed toys. The exact contents will vary as things wear out.
Treats: We love single-ingredient options that come in resealable bags.
Custom-sized harness: Our favorite harness. It doesn’t constrict Scout’s shoulder movement and only covers a small surface area.
Flexi Giant retractable leash: I know, I know—retractable leads get a bad rap. You can read about how we use our flexi responsibly in this article!
Reflective long line: This orange line is visible from far away and doesn’t have a handle, which makes it safe to let Scout drag it in appropriate environments.
Classic Kong: This chew toy is especially nice for freezing peanut butter or yogurt to give Scout before leaving her alone in the van.
Snuffle mat: Yes, it’s shaped like a flower. And yellow. No one is surprised 😉
Puzzle feeder: We almost didn’t bring this, but Sean insisted it fit. Scout does love it, to be fair.
Bully sticks: We plan to keep some sort of fully edible chew around at most times.
Extras and miscellaneous dog stuff
Winter jacket: Scout’s “gone soft” since we moved to Florida. We have a small puffer jacket vest for her in cold environments.
Extra fabric leash and collar: I love this floral pattern. Since we had plenty of room, having more than one leash and collar felt like good backup.
“Do Not Pet” leash wrap: You can read more about how this wrap helps us advocate for Scout in this article.
Muzzle: Scout has a size three Baskerville Ultra muzzle that she’s conditioned to wear “just in case” and sometimes for vet visits. You can read more about our muzzle training thoughts in this piece!
Prong collar: We hardly use Scout’s 2.25mm Herm Sprenger anymore, but it’s small and doesn’t take up much space to hold onto.
Where we’re storing all our dog’s supplies in our van
We have one dog-designated shelf in our pantry
This shelf, on the bottom of our floor-to-ceiling pantry, holds the bulk of Scout’s things.
Three hooks on the left wall hold her harness and two collars + standard leashes.
A small bin against the back wall has her:
Least-used grooming supplies
Extra flea & tick and heartworm preventatives
Prong collar
Muzzle
Any other miscellaneous bits and bobs
Flexi leash
Snuffle mat
Puzzle feeder
Treats and chews
Her emergency seizure med fanny pack sits in front of that bin. In front of that is her food bin, and to the left is her toy bin that also holds:
Frequently used grooming products
“Do Not Pet” leash wrap (when not left on a leash to hang, which does happen often)
The next month’s flea & tick and heartworm prevention for easy access
Her crate is secured underneath our bed
We specifically designed our van to fit Scout’s Ruff Land kennel underneath our bed in the back of the van. More about how we chose a travel crate for our van in this piece!
Dirty supplies are in the back “garage” under our bed
We have a garage-like area under our bed behind Scout’s dog crate. This is where we keep things that get (and stay) dirty easily, like her long line (it collects sand as it drags on the ground) and possibly a toy or two.
We have a small tailgate dumpster for her used poop bags
While we’re often near public garbage cans, we have to pack everything in and out in more remote areas. We bought a cheap 25-pound-capacity magnet from the Home Depot to secure this silicone dumpster more reliably on the back of our van. It holds about 3-4 bags of Scout’s waste.
A few daily use items are mixed in with our own human things
Scout’s winter jacket lives above the cab with our own sweatshirts and coats. Her slip lead is also there, right by the sliding door, so it’s always easy to grab.
Her daily seizure medication is in the pantry with our own supplements.
Legendary Canine Fur Fresh sits under the sink with our other cleaning supplies.
We have everything (even more than) we need
I’ve been really happy with Scout’s supplies so far and how we’ve organized them in the van. When I look at the above list all at once, it sure seems like a lot—but each belonging has a place that’s easy to access.
If anything, I imagine we’ll condense more as time goes on. It feels incredible to (literally) lighten the load we’re carrying!