Copley's Arch Nemesis is Ruining Our Camping Trips

This weekend we went on a quick trip to a BLM Campsite in a wilderness area near Searchlight, NV.  It was a beautiful site, no other people around, plenty of shade and a nice big fire pit.  I didn't take a lot of pictures because I only had my phone with me but we really had a great time.  Except for one tiny little bit of evil trying to make Copley's live a living hell.

That's right.  The Kangaroo rat.  The tiny, cute little buggers are the only mammal that does not have to drink water and they have the most adorable tail of any rodents.  But unfortunately they also have one tiny little problem around here.  They are afraid of nothing, and like to charge Copley while we are camping causing him to bark and lunge at them.  He will never catch it, they are too fast, and the little rats know it too!  This first started happening to us at Valley Of Fire, but I thought they were just habituated to people.  Now that it is happening at rarely used wilderness campsites at the end of roads that you need this kind of car for I am worried-

Ruined wildlife at the end of a dirt road that hasn't been graded in years and is even a challenge for that big guy? Seems strange to me.

Are they attracted to the heat of the fire?  Why not scared of predators?  Does anyone know how we can stop these little buggers.  Copley was miserable around the campfire.  He first was on his leash just running around whining while they bluff charged him.  Then somebody held him and he whined, then we put him in his crate next to us and the little things were sitting inches from my foot and inches from the crate staring at him so he barked.  I am having trouble blaming Copley for any of this behavior because I can't really expect him to ignore wild animals right by his face.  In many cases I don't want him to ignore strange animals and let them walk on him so the problem here really lies with the mice.

However cute they are we need to figure out how to keep them away.  Any ideas about how to repel little rodents?  I have tried throwing sand at them and rocks near them, they just come back.  Stomping and yelling causes them to scatter but they just come right back.  Barking does not effect them at all.  I'm not willing to kill them, but am up for any creative measures you may have.