In reply to girlymonkey:
Dogs and camping mix very well.
However, I'd wait till they had finished teething and eating all your favourite shoes, boots and under-garments before venturing out in an expensive tent. This could be anywhere from 18 months to a couple of years.
With my Ben, I first used a cheap £20 tent and kipped in the garden with him for a few nights to acclimatise to the strange environment. After that then you and the dog will sort of muddle through somehow. But by that stage you won't care too much about how he smells or how messy he gets out and about, especially when you are cold and he's a portable hot-water bottle.
Only once did Ben tell me that he was not a happy bunny but then he had good reason to be. One night a couple of mates and a dog slept in a Macpak Minaret on the summit of Ingleborough, while Ben and I slept in a bivi bag under a tarp at the sumit shelter. As the wind and unexpected rain picked up, Ben got upset and told me in no uncirtain terms that he was not happy with me.
Moments later I shoved my head into an already full two man tent, comprising of two adults and a dog, and said "We're coming in". Who'd have thought a two-man tent would hold three men and two medium sized dogs?
I, surprisingly, slept well.
When I took Ben camping, I brought an extra ground mat for him with some blankets. However he mostly slept inside my down jacket or curled up around the bottom of my sleeping bag. I never once thought to put him in the porch. Its cold out there and very easy to escape from.
I would leave a metal spike outside and have the cable inside the tent. When ever Ben wanted out for a call of nature, I would clip the cable to him before letting him out into the night.