dog sleep patterns on the trail

[wtrenda]

I had this brought to my attention recently. I am planning a 2015 thru hike and when discussing dog stuff with a friend, she mentioned that dogs are "nap" animals and that the thru will disrupt these sleep habits and could negatively affect the dog. I had honestly not thought of that...

So, I am wondering if such a change in sleep habits can affect a dog negatively? and also wondering how much time during the day I should allow for a nap for my pup?

he's an extremely active dog that is the epitome of "play hard/nap hard." He is a 2 year old German Shorthaired Pointer and when he isn't in full sprint, he's parked in his bed. I've done mostly short trips with him but I'm slowly introducing him to more remote trails and longer trips. Obviously the more I have him out, the more I'll learn how he much he wants to sleep but I was just hoping for some advice on the matter. I want this to be a positive experience for both of us and do not want to ruin the trip for him before we begin.

Thanks for any help!!

[Sierra2015]

Yeah, I'm worried about this. Five months is such a long time to have your sleep disturbed! I'm planning to take a break in the middle of the day so my little girl can nap. And I'll eat and journal and maybe nap myself. Lol

My goal is to have her sleep at least 10 hours a day.... But who knows, maybe she won't nap? I'll have to play it by ear.

http://www.pawposse.com/how-much-do-...leep/blog-341/

[kayak karl]

most dogs will nap every time you stop, even for 5 minutes. this is lot of walking for a dog. you will probably notice after day 3-5 if they don't want to get up once they lay down. you will know if they want to hike as much as you do.

[Sierra2015]

most dogs will nap every time you stop, even for 5 minutes. this is lot of walking for a dog. you will probably notice after day 3-5 if they don't want to get up once they lay down. you will know if they want to hike as much as you do.

This is what I'm most scared of. Being a week or two into the trail and my dog is miserable. I love her so much and I'd feel so bad. :/

I can't imagine her giving up though.... She's super high energy and absolutely loves being outdoors. I've seen her trot 50 miles in a weekend and still be perky. (Off leash while in the desert. And her paws were tender for a couple days after.) I've occasionally taken her on 8 and 10 mile city walks and she's been fine.

She hates rain though.... Gah, I dunno. I'm hoping she loves thru-hiking but I guess I won't know until she's been out there for a couple weeks.

[saltysack]

My 19 lb jack Russell loves to hike. Granted only been out for 4 days at a time.....he loves it... If I get my pack out of the closet he gets excited..our last trip was a cold 30 mile section over Roan mtn... He gets cold when still but loves it!


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[saltysack]

Forgot..he normally sleeps while we r at work during the week and never seems to have issue not napping in trail. He does sleep like a rock once I set up tent and put down his zlite w blanket he goes to sleep


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[nu2hike]

I just got back from hiking 70 miles with my dog. This was his first time at that distance and like you I had many concerns. Our shortest day was 9 miles and the longest was 16 miles! I made a point to stop every for 20 min. every two hours and for one hour midday to allow him to rest! The first day out he was too excited to sleep during our breaks. By day two he had learned to take advantage of those breaks yet he was always ready to get back on the trail.
One thing to consider is that on the trail, most people will go to sleep at "hiker midnight" and sleep until daylight! I tend to average 10 hrs sleep. Much more than I get at home. When I set up camp at night and crawled into my tent my dog would be fast asleep by the time I lay down!
Our last day on the trail was chilly and dreary! My dog was shivering a little and I was concerned that he was not going to be up for the 11 miles we had ahead of us! Within 15 min. on the trail he was jumping around eager to play.
I realize that 70 miles in no way translates into 2000 plus. What I'm trying to convey is that if you stay in tune to your dogs needs, his moods and remain sympathetic to them you will know when or if he has had enough of trail life!

[wtrenda]

I just got back from hiking 70 miles with my dog. This was his first time at that distance and like you I had many concerns. Our shortest day was 9 miles and the longest was 16 miles! I made a point to stop every for 20 min. every two hours and for one hour midday to allow him to rest! The first day out he was too excited to sleep during our breaks. By day two he had learned to take advantage of those breaks yet he was always ready to get back on the trail.
One thing to consider is that on the trail, most people will go to sleep at "hiker midnight" and sleep until daylight! I tend to average 10 hrs sleep. Much more than I get at home. When I set up camp at night and crawled into my tent my dog would be fast asleep by the time I lay down!
Our last day on the trail was chilly and dreary! My dog was shivering a little and I was concerned that he was not going to be up for the 11 miles we had ahead of us! Within 15 min. on the trail he was jumping around eager to play.
I realize that 70 miles in no way translates into 2000 plus. What I'm trying to convey is that if you stay in tune to your dogs needs, his moods and remain sympathetic to them you will know when or if he has had enough of trail life!

Thank you! That's very thorough, and like I mentioned, I'm sure the more experience I have with him on the trail...the more in tune I'll get to his trail needs. He's a very vocal dog..so he likes to whine when he wants something and is pretty good about pointing it out(walking to the water/food bowl, "pointing" at a bone he can't reach under the couch, etc). When I throw a frisbee and such with him, he lays down and keeps his toys when he is done playing. So hopefully that will translate to him letting me know how he's doing on the trail.

[FarmerChef]

We take our Alaskan Husky with us for each long section we do (around 150 to 180 miles a pop). Of course, Huskies are nomadic, working dogs so take my experience with a grain of salt.

At home, she naps throughout the day but perks up as soon as there's an opportunity for play or to go for her daily walk. On the trail, she's a different animal. Once harnessed to one of us she wants to pull all the way down (or up) the trail until she tires out enough to just walk along leisurely. When we stop for a snack break or lunch she usually stays alert but laying down or goes right to sleep. We take breaks throughout the day and usually 45 minutes for lunch and she takes naps as she needs them. Once we pull into camp at night, she wants to be with us (very social) but after she is fed and watered, especially as we get further into the week, she'll start to go to bed sooner. Figuring that we get into camp around 6:30 on summer days and leave the next morning around 7:30. She's usually getting around 12 hours of sleep a night.

As others have said, the best bet is to take hikes with your dog of varying length and duration and get attuned to how he tells you what he needs. I know how my dog carries her ears and tail, her general posture and gait and more. All of these characteristics help me know at a glance how she's doing and adjust accordingly. Hope that helps.

[Dogwood]

Not only can an AT thru-hike be tough requiring a human to adapt to a new way of life but also for a dog with that human. If I was to plan an AT thru-hike with a dog I would be looking at in some of the same ways as choosing to thru-hike with another human. The NOBO AT thru-hiking dogs I've seen in the New England states seemed like tired front of the pack athletes after the Boston Marathon. The dogs, no matter what the breed I've seen, crash quickly once they stop moving. Absolutely, IMHO, taking a dog on an AT thru-hike takes on an even greater awareness in that you aren't just thinking about yourself anymore. You have to start thinking about all the members in your party. That includes your dog.

[Slo-go'en]

The NOBO AT thru-hiking dogs I've seen in the New England states seemed like tired front of the pack athletes after the Boston Marathon

.

And that's the 1 in 500 which make it that far. It's common to see a thru-hiker with a dog in the south, but it is very rare to see any with a dog in NH or Maine. Most don't make it through PA, if they even got that far. To have any chance at all of getting your dog to Maine, you'd best plan on doing short days and taking pleanty of zeros, especially once the trail turns into mostly abrasive rock, the weather gets hot and humid and the water scare and hard to get. Otherwise your just going to run that poor mutt into the ground.

[Lucy Lulu]

I headed SOBO this past year, from ME to NJ. During this section hike I saw four thru-hikers with dogs. They were all lean, and 3 of the 4 just appeared exhausted. One hiker was even leaving the trail in ME because he said his lab just could not take more hiking. I did see one border collie in ME that had hiked the whole trail, and looked as if it had started the day prior...full of energy, happy, etc.

I took my young lab on a 300 mile hike on the AT years ago. During the first few days she was high energy and slept hard at night (12 hours) with very few naps. As the hike progressed, she seemed to find her own routine. She would nap at all of our breaks and during lunch. She seemed to enjoy herself. I also did not have her carrying a pack at the time. By the end of the hike though, I could see she was tired, and I've never seen a dog so happy to get into a car for a ride home.

I think all dogs are different, just like people...regardless of their breed. I've seen dogs out there that are loving the trail, and others that seem miserable. I would definitely do some multi-day practice hikes with your dog.

[Slo-go'en]

I headed SOBO this past year, from ME to NJ. During this section hike I saw four thru-hikers with dogs. They were all lean, and 3 of the 4 just appeared exhausted.

When I was at the other end of the trail last year in the spring, I'd never seen so many hikers with dogs. Since Lucy Lulu only saw four of them between ME and NJ, that means the vast majority left well before then and it sounds like 3 of those 4 should have also gone home.

[wtrenda]

Really appreciate all the input here, guys. I guess I won't truly know until we get out on the trail beforehand...

I understand and have come to terms with the statistics of thru hikers with dogs and I hope to be on the successful side of it, but I also understand the limitations it will put on my hike. I have been planning this thru for the better part of 2 years now so that I can gain as much knowledge as possible and the only research left to do is for the pup(because he won't do it himself...) I'll be taking him out for 3 days from Hot Springs to Davenport so we will see how he does!

[Drybones]

Some dogs are made for covering miles, some are not, I recommend you understand what your dog is capable of before starting a long hike...if you have a ridgeback or other hound breed doubt you'd have to worry about them keeping up...some breeds are more house pets...I've hunted pointers daylight to dark and they never slow down, a setter is done in 3-4 hours.

[wtrenda]

Some dogs are made for covering miles, some are not, I recommend you understand what your dog is capable of before starting a long hike...if you have a ridgeback or other hound breed doubt you'd have to worry about them keeping up...some breeds are more house pets...I've hunted pointers daylight to dark and they never slow down, a setter is done in 3-4 hours.

I've got a 2 y/o German Shorthaired Pointer(will be 3 when we hit the trail)... Got him from Huntsville, AL actually. He is definitely a runner and doesn't tire out quickly... I'm sure he'll cover miles, but after a while...short legs, etc... I don't know how he'll react.

I'm thinking more long term...3-4 months down the trail and 3-4 years after....that I want to make sure it won't drastically decrease his long term health. They are known for living long lives(sometimes 16+ years) and being extremely healthy dogs...which is why I'm even considering taking him with me...the breed is a healthy breed and he's been a healthy dog so far. Like I said, I just want to make sure this 6 months won't tear him apart...but there's no way to tell until we've done a few more long hikes together.

[wtrenda]

I also understand a dog can be seen as a disadvantage to some, but I want to be as prepared as possible...definitely don't want to be "that" guy when it comes to controlling my dog on the trail or the guy that's dragging his poor dog up and over mountains with no regard for the animal's health. He's well trained...but a typical bird dog...he hunts prey. He understands and obeys "leave it" and "come." He's also whistle trained...but in new surroundings, we shall see.

[Slo-go'en]

Keep in mind pretty much any dog will do okay on a short trip but a thru hike is a whole lot more strain. I also saw several "lost dog" signs along the trail down south last spring. No doubt dogs who were unleashed, then ran off after some game and never came back.

I had one dog come close to attacking me second day out. Ironically, we became best friends a week or so later.

[10-K]

Lost dog signs are common common common. My dog hikes with me and he's near perfect - senior German Shepherd male, doesn't get excited, doesn't get off the trail, doesn't bark/bite/bother anyone or their food or gear, stays right with me - I'm telling you, he's the ideal trail dog in terms of behavior.

Still.. I was zoned out hiking one day and looked up and he was nowhere to be seen. He was there, and then he wasn't. I spent the next 5 hours hiking back and forth over the same couple of miles yelling, whistling, and trying to find him. I was almost in tears. Sat down to rest a minute, looked up, and here he comes running down the trail. I got very lucky. Best I can figure he was behind me and went down a game trail instead of the trail-trail.

Point being, even if you think your dog is just too good to get lost it can absolutely happen.

[wtrenda]

Truth. That's a concern as well... I don't necessarily want to have him leashed all the time, but if I can find a leashing system that works well on the trail then I'll probably keep him on it in sections that have a lot of people or little visibility