Tails from the trail and tips on training your human

Hiking Care for Dogs | Hiking with your dogs can be a great bonding opportunity. Not only do you get to enjoy beautiful views, but you also get to make memories with your furry friend. However, you can only ensure this when you have accounted for pet care, pre and post hiking.

For efficient pet care, it’s important to evaluate your dog’s needs before hiking and after you have successfully reached the summit. Like yourself, you will see that your dog has a different set of needs after a challenging hiking session.

However, it may not be easy to detect them, which may put your canine under stress. Therefore, this article will lay down some tips for pre and post hiking care for dogs.

Pre Hiking Care for Dogs

Pre hiking care is important for dogs because you’re taking them out on a high altitude with challenging topography. Therefore, make sure you consider the following tips for excellent pet care when hiking with dogs:

Take Care of Nutrition

Before you train your dog for hiking, make sure to provide special nutrition so there’s no lack of energy. This is important as you will be taking your pet for running long distances or even at slightly higher altitudes. All of these physical tasks require good energy deposits that can only be sourced through food. Therefore, give your pet a more protein-rich diet, along with supplements, after a vet consultation.

Ensure Physical Training

Hiking with dogs requires physical stamina as it’s a strenuous activity. Just as you need the training to feel fit, your dog also requires physical movement before taking up this challenging task. To do this, make sure you take our dog out for jogs and walks. Start by covering shorter distances; however, increase it with time.

Moreover, if you plan on making your dog carry its own backpack, make sure you train it with one. Don’t strap a backpack right before a hike, as your pet may not be used to the weight. Another way to ensure physical training is by going for test hikes on less challenging trails, so your dog has an idea of what to expext. This will also help you determine if your dog has severe or mild altitude sickness.

Stay Up-to-Date with Vaccines

Taking care of your pet’s physical needs also includes routine immunization. Before you take your dog on a hiking trail, ensure you have crossed off all required vaccinations suggested by its vet. This is important because your dog should be able to withstand the environment of the hiking trail. It may have certain pathogensdogs can catch, which might make them sick. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to reduce the chances of any such issue beforehand.

Gather Must-Have Dog Items

Finally, you don’t want to be stranded without the necessary items needed by your dog at a high altitude. Therefore, make sure your pet care kit includes taking everything your dog will require to make your hiking journey memorable.

Don’t forget dog food, clothes (fleece jacket for winter/cooling coat for summer), and an identification tag on its harness or collar. Apart from these items, make sure you have a separate list of items for your dog’s first-aid kit. Ideally, it should include gauze, bandage, tweezers, and altitude sickness medicine.

Post Hiking Care for Dogs

Post hiking care is sometimes not emphasized by hikers. It may be because dog owners assume their pets will return to their daily routine once they are back home. While this is true, it does not discount negating after-hike care. Follow these simple tips below to ensure hiking with dogs doesn’t turn into a bad experience in the long run.

Give Your Dog Ample Rest

After returning from your hike, make sure you give your canine ample resting time. Let it sleep in its kennel for as long it wants, so you may find your dog refreshed. Moreover, your dog may want to go for a run, a quick jog, or some physical activity. But try to refrain from it for at least a day after returning.

Make Sure to Hydrate

If you’ve hiked in the summer weather, especially on a trail that does not have enough shade, then you should pay extra attention to your dog’s hydration. Make sure to keep its water bowl filled and in its sight, so you don’t have to remind it.

Moreover, you can mix water into its food in a proper ratio. This way, you can eliminate the chances of dehydration. However, if your dog displays symptoms, you can combat it by adding electrolytes to its drink, but only after consulting a vet.

Check for Fleas and Ticks

Always make sure to check for fleas or ticks on your dog’s skin after hiking. Your pet may have caught it from the trail or other wildlife present on it. It may cause skin irritation and your dog to shed its hair. To avoid this entirely, you should carry tick repellants and stay vigilant while hiking, especially if the trail is known for this sort of issue.

Plan a Vet Visit

Finally, you can conclude dogs hiking care by planning a vet visit. Try to get the earliest appointment so you can rule out any issue your dog may be facing after a hike. This can also be a good opportunity to get your pet vaccinated or inspected for any illness it may have caught when hiking with dogs.

The Bottom Line

You may feel overwhelmed by dogs hiking care. However, it’s an important aspect of ensuring that your pet is cared for and safe from any physical, mental, and emotional turmoil. Usually, hikers emphasize pre hiking care, but post hiking care is just as important. You may think your pet can resume a normal routine after a hiking journey, but it’s not true. They do need attention and care after it, so they can get back to being the playful little pet you love.

by Maria A Davidson

We are in business to provide great products for the outdoorsy hikers, campers and their dogs; and to help clean our parks, rivers and oceans for a better planet earth for hikers and their dogs.

Parks Clean

Parks are high-traffic areas in most cities. This means that trash is bound to show up in and around your park and playground.

When discussing ways your family can help clean your local park, don’t overlook a literal cleanup! Picking up trash will make a huge difference in the appearance and vibe of your park. A clean area will encourage others to keep the park pristine. When picking up trash and debris, make sure to wear gloves to protect yourself, and put trash in appropriate receptacles or lawn bags. You can also contact your local trash company to schedule a pickup when you are finished.

Rivers Clean

The storm drain on your street collects the water from your roof, driveway, and sidewalk and funnels it directly in your local lake or river. Nutrients from grass and leaves, pet waste, and fertilizers “enrich” our lakes and streams — feeding algae blooms and harming fish. Chemicals from washing your car in the drive and household chemical spills add up, taking a nasty toll on our favorite swimming areas and fishing spots. Soil can also be picked up by runoff, reducing the clarity of water and hurting fish.

So as you prepare your lawn and garden, here are a few helpful tips to keep our lakes and rivers beautiful and safe for all of us.

Use mulch and vegetation to keep soil from washing away.
Sweep or rake grass and leaves away from street curbs.
Mulch and compost grass clippings and leaves.
Keep paved surfaces to a minimum.
Capture water runoff with a rain garden and rain barrels.
Wash your car on the grass, where the water will get filtered.
Keep chemicals away from storm drains.
Collect your pet’s waste.
Aim your rain-gutter downspouts onto grass.

Beaches Clean (do it for the ocean)

In 2007, the United States Senate and House of Representatives passed the National Clean Beaches Week Resolution to recognize the value of beaches to the American way of life and the important contributions of beaches to the economy, recreation, and natural environment of the United States.

Clean Beaches Week, celebrated annually July 1-7, offers the perfect opportunity to encourage stewardship and volunteerism along our coastlines. But where do you even begin? Follow these tips to get started.

Identify a clean-up site. Choose a place that needs some TLC, making sure that volunteers can safely access the site. Get permission, if needed, for your clean-up event, perhaps from the local parks agency.
Choose a site coordinator. (That might be you!) A beach clean-up takes a lot of work and needs an organized person to keep everything on track before, during, and after the event.
Visit the site in advance. The coordinator will need to know where to set up a volunteer check-in station, where to leave trash and recyclables, and what area(s) volunteers will clean.
Gather supplies. Depending on your location, you’ll need supplies such as trash bags, a first aid kit, hand sanitizer, wipes, and large coolers of water. You should also provide (or ask volunteers to bring) items such as reusable work/garden gloves, reusable water bottles, sunscreen, and bug spray.
Plan how to handle the recyclables. Reach out to recyclers in your area (and perhaps your community’s solid waste departments) to make arrangements for accepting any glass, plastic, and aluminum that you collect.
Line up event partners. Contact local businesses for donations of drinks, food, and supplies. Ask a local solid waste hauler to donate their services for trash removal.
Plan for handling hazardous waste. Determine how you’ll dispose of any medical and sewage waste you might find. One solution: A wide-mouth container with a tight-fitting lid, such as an empty laundry detergent bottle. Clearly label that it contains hazardous waste.
Get volunteers to help. Recruit friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. Create an event on Facebook and ask volunteers to sign up online. This will give you an idea of how many people to expect and will help communicate event details.
Stay safe. Be prepared for a variety of health emergencies, from minor cuts and scrapes to heat stroke.
Take photos! Post pics online to share the success of your event and recognize volunteers for their hard work.