How do you know if a dog is ready for a long hike?

[shelterbuilder]

...Upon my vets advice, I give him one vitamin-I when we're finished....

I'm surprised by your vet's advice - mine has always maintained that ibuprofen was too toxic to dogs to be safe in any dosage. (I'm not a vet; I'm just sayin'.)

I was always told 5 mg. of aspirin per pound of dog....

[Kanati]

I'm surprised by your vet's advice - mine has always maintained that ibuprofen was too toxic to dogs to be safe in any dosage. (I'm not a vet; I'm just sayin'.)

I was always told 5 mg. of aspirin per pound of dog....

Hmmm? I'll check again with him to be sure. Thanks for the advice.

[shelterbuilder]

Hmmm? I'll check again with him to be sure. Thanks for the advice.

Dogs have trouble excreting some chemicals that we humans can pass with ease (chocolate, for instance, or grapes and raisins), and the chemicals can very quickly build up to toxic levels. The more they get, the worse it is.

[Homer&Marje]

You say...."Come on boy...you ready a' go.....you wanna go ouside....you ready a' go!!!! GOOD BOY!"

That's all it ever took to know my dogs....now how do I know if my cats can handle a long hike? The cat carrier might get cumbersome on my arms.

[sasquatch2014]

Cats are easy if they stop squalling after a few miles while being carried by your dog they are good to go........or dead

[Kanati]

Dogs have trouble excreting some chemicals that we humans can pass with ease (chocolate, for instance, or grapes and raisins), and the chemicals can very quickly build up to toxic levels. The more they get, the worse it is.

I checked with Max's vet this morning and she told me that since I only give him one, 200mg tablet no more that 3 times a week after a meal, it won't hurt him. She went on to say that the problem comes when you give him medication as a daily dosage. If I were going to do that, I should give him aspirin at 5mg per pound of body weight as you had stated.

Thanks for the advice.

[shelterbuilder]

I checked with Max's vet this morning and she told me that since I only give him one, 200mg tablet no more that 3 times a week after a meal, it won't hurt him. She went on to say that the problem comes when you give him medication as a daily dosage. If I were going to do that, I should give him aspirin at 5mg per pound of body weight as you had stated.

Thanks for the advice.

Cool! I'm glad that she was able to give you some extra info. Like I said, the more they get, the worse it is!

Happy Trails to you and Max.

[Buzz_Lightfoot]

This is how I tell if my dog is ready for a hike.

This is a "Yes and I will stare at you until we go!"

Attachment 6355

This is a "NO!"

Attachment 6352

This is a "Thanks for bringing me!"

Attachment 6353

And finally this is a "Why did I let that thru-hiker give me that wine!"

Attachment 6354




Click pix for bigger.

BL

[Cabin Fever]

Love the pics Buzz.

I took my two Yellow Lab pups on the AT for the first time today while I did trail maintenance. They are five months old. We did 5 or 6 miles. They were dragging at the end, but were troopers. Yes, they went to sleep as soon as they got in my truck. They also passed out in the living room floor as soon as I walked in.

Now they are chewing on their favorite squeaky

[rootball]

Drop your dog off at Springer - 4 months later go to Katahdin and see if he is there - if not...well, he was not ready.
Seriously - I passed a dude that was hiking with a 5 month old beagle mix. The dog was having a blast.
My brother almost always takes his dog with him. The real question is -- are you ready to take a long walk with a dog? My brother says that hiking with a dog is like hiking with a baby - you have to constantly keep an on them and take care of them.

[Wolf - 23000]

How do you know when your dog is ready ... hmmm .... when he/she tells you to leave me at home.

Seriously it is extremely hard on a dog to be walking the same miles as a thru-hiker. They will keep going until they drop dead because you are their master. At the same time, as their master, you need to do what is right for your dog and not yourself. That means don't do something that would or could cause them serious pain, or have them get lost because they wander off, or sleep out when it wet and cold because the shelter is full or has hikers that don't want dogs inside.

Wolf

[superman]

http://www.whiteblaze.net/index.php?page=dogs

[CowHead]

My dog will never be a thru-hiker, after 3 miles he just wants to walk sideways. He wants to catch every bird, rabbit or squirrel and really only likes the water. But after 10 years you just let him do what he wants to do

[Birkin]

I have a 7lb Chihuahua that I do day hikes with. Mostly between 4-6 miles, but he did one 9.5 mile trail (which I carried him for a mile or so), and loved every moment of it. I also wonder how he'd hold up over a 3-4 day hike of 7 or so miles per day here in the FL heat. I wouldn't want to push him too hard, but worst case scenario is I could always carry him for a while, an option most of you wouldn't have I guess.

[Plodderman]

I can tell when a dog is not ready better than when he is. I took my new part Golden Retriever on his first hike, an eight milers around a local lake. He go away from me at mile two but my son and I continued to hike the trail and finished about two hours later without ever seeing our dog. When we got to the van there he was setting by the van door.

We were tried but he was ready to play.

[Jack Tarlin]

How to tell when your dog is ready for a long hike?

*First, is it grown? Puppies or yearlings have no place on a long hike.

*Have you hiked with it a lot, including being out for several weeks at a time?
Just because your dog enjoys day hikes or weekend excursions does not
mean it's ready for a thru-hike.

*How well trained is your dog? Does it respond to voice commands
immediately? Does it bark or howl? Is it OK when you're not around? Does
it deal well with strangers? With children? With other dogs, or other
animals? Is it skittish around strangers, does it snap or jump at people,
does it bolt to chase wild animals? Does it stay by you when off leash, or
does it wander? Does it pee wherever it wants, including on things like
tents or gear?

These are all things to consider.

*Are you welling to spend a good deal of time every day tending to your
dog's needs and health, i.e. checking its feet frequently; checking for
ticks; altering your schedule out of consideration for its health.

*A dog is NOT a pack animal. Are you willing, if necessary, to carry your
dog's food, water, and other gear?

*Are you willing, WITHOUT COMPLAINT, to deal with the times where you'll
be unable to do what other hikers do and stay where other hikes stay,
because you've elected to travel with a dog?

*Are you willing to NEVER expect rules, regulations, policies of hostels,
motels, restaurants, etc. to be altered for you, and are you willing to
never ask people to make exceptions for you and your pet?

*Are you willing to forego staying in shelters, as there are many, many folks
who don't wish to share them with an animal for any number of perfectly
valid reasons?

*Are you OK with the fact that many Trail facilities and locations will be
barred to you because you're with a dog?

*Are you willing to always obey the rules, regulations, and laws in certain
places where dogs are barred, or where leash laws are in effect?

*On the Trail, in trail towns, and elsewhere, are you willing to ALWAYS be
vigilant and aware of how your dog's presence and behavior is impacting
other people? And are you willing to take immediate action when it's clear
that your dog is creating problems?

*Are you willing to NEVER have other people being responsible for your dog,
i.e. are you willing to forego certain things, and are you willing to never
leave your dog alone and unattended where he might have a negative
impact on either the location or the people staying there?

*Are you willing, and I mean REALLY willing to make an effort to clean up
after your pet, in camp and elsewhere?

These are just a few things to consider.

But if your dog doesn't measure up here, or if you're not ready to do all of the above, then no, your dog is not ready for the A.T.

And 95% (at least) of Trail dogs and their owners are not up to the requirements listed above.

Plain and simply, the vast majority of Trail dogs need to stay at home and are better off there, and this is almost always NOT a dog problem, but instead, an owner one.

The plain and simple answer to "Is my dog ready to the-hike the A.T.?" is
very simple:

In nearly every case, due to negligence, laziness, or apathy on the part of the owner, the vast majority of the dogs one encounters on the A.T. are NOT ready to be there.

Sorry to say it, but it's the plain truth. Most of them need to go home.

[Jeff]

Jack's post about dogs deserves to go the "articles" section here at Whiteblaze.

From a hostel owners perspective:

Every dog owner says their dog is friendly, quiet and will be no problem. About half of them are honest about that. Dogs just miss their owner and will bark until they return outside. We decided that hikers with dogs had to tent outside with Fido. That worked out well ..... even to my neighbors satisfaction.

[Blue Jay]

About the only thing I would add to Jack's very good post is that it is also much harder to get rides into town. Even I do not like to put wet muddy dogs in my car, although I often do with all this rain. I cannot imagine your average person doing so. Please leave packs off your dog. Imagine not being able to adjust your own pack in any way. It would really really suck and it shows you have zero concern for your dog.

[Rouen]

About the only thing I would add to Jack's very good post is that it is also much harder to get rides into town. Even I do not like to put wet muddy dogs in my car, although I often do with all this rain. I cannot imagine your average person doing so...

Yet everyone who has hiked with a dog says the exact opposite, as do those who've hiked with those people who chose to take their dog.

[Jack Tarlin]

Actually, I think it's a wash. There will always be folks who WON'T want your dog in their car, especially if it's wet. But on the other hand, I know of folks who got rides from folks BECAUSE of their dog, i.e. they were told by the driver, obviously a dog owner/lover that "I never stop for hitch-hikers but when I saw the dog I figured you were all right....." or something like that.

So when it comes to hitching, I think your chances of getting a ride with a dog are about the same as anyone else's: Some folks will go out of their way to get you and some will find a reason to pass you. Eventually, tho, someone will stop, dog or no dog.