A dog on a mountain looks like the most natural thing in the world. Getting there safely takes a bit more planning than a walk round the block.
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Is your dog ready?
Age. Do not take a growing puppy on long hikes. Growth plates close somewhere between about 8 and 18 months depending on size, and sustained loading before then is associated with joint problems. For a large breed, wait until 18 months and ask your vet.
Fitness. A dog who walks an hour a day is not automatically ready for eight hours over rough ground. Build up over weeks — increase distance by roughly ten percent at a time.
Breed. Brachycephalic dogs — Pugs, French Bulldogs, Bulldogs — should not be doing strenuous hikes at all. Short-legged breeds tire on rough ground. Heavy-coated breeds overheat.
Health. Older dogs, arthritic dogs, and dogs with heart or respiratory conditions need a conversation with your vet and a realistic route.
What to carry
Water, and more than you think. A dog needs roughly 50 to 60ml per kilogram per day at rest, and considerably more when working. Do not rely on streams — leptospirosis, giardia and blue-green algae are all real.
PupFlask Dog Water Bottle
A bottle with an attached bowl and a pour-back feature, so you can offer small amounts often without wasting what is left. Small amounts frequently is the right way to water a working dog.
Food. More than usual for a long day, split into small portions.
A first aid kit, including vet wrap, sterile gauze, saline, a tick hook, and blunt scissors.
A spare lead and a slip lead.
Paw protection, or at least a balm.
Musher's Secret Paw Wax
Applied before a hike, it protects pads against abrasion on rock and scree, and against hot ground in summer. Applied afterwards, it helps them recover.
A harness with a handle, which lets you lift or steady a dog over a stile, a scramble, or a stream.
Poo bags, and a way to carry them out. There is no version of this where you leave it.
A towel and a blanket for the car.
A dog pack, if your dog is fit, adult and conditioned to it. A dog can carry up to roughly 10 to 15 percent of body weight when properly conditioned — start with an empty pack, then add weight gradually over weeks.
Kurgo G-Train Pet Carrier Backpack
A carrier for small dogs rather than a load-carrying pack — genuinely useful for a small breed on a long day, or for carrying a dog out who has injured a paw. Worth thinking about before you need it.
On the walk
Check the pads every couple of hours. Rock, scree, hot ground and long distances all take a toll, and dogs keep going long past the point of damage.
Watch for heat. Panting hard with a wide flat tongue, lagging, seeking shade, stumbling. Stop, get into shade, wet the belly and paws, offer small amounts of water.
Watch for cold and wet, particularly on exposed ground with a thin-coated dog.
Rest in the shade every hour or so on warm days.
Turn back earlier than you think. The dog has to walk home too, and a dog who is tired at the summit is a problem on the descent.
Livestock, wildlife and the law
This is where hiking with a dog goes seriously wrong.
Livestock. Keep dogs on a lead around sheep and cattle, always, without exception. Sheep worrying is a criminal offence in many countries, farmers may legally shoot a dog worrying livestock in some jurisdictions, and even chasing without contact causes pregnant ewes to abort.
Cattle are the exception to leads. If cattle approach or become aggressive — which happens most often with cows and calves — let the dog off the lead and get yourself to safety separately. The dog can outrun cattle; attached to you, neither of you can. People are killed by cattle most often while holding a dog.
Ground-nesting birds. Many upland areas require dogs on leads in spring and early summer. Skylarks, curlews, lapwings and others nest on the ground and a loose dog destroys nests without ever touching a bird.
Deer and other wildlife. Chasing is illegal in many places and dangerous for the dog.
Adders, in heath and moorland in summer. A bitten dog needs immediate veterinary attention.
Check local access rules before you go. Many national parks, nature reserves and moorlands have seasonal restrictions, and they exist for good reasons.
Ticks
Hiking country is tick country. Check thoroughly afterwards: head, ears, inside the ear flaps, neck, armpits, groin, between the toes, under the tail.
Remove with a tick hook, twisting steadily. Never burn, smother or squeeze them.
Use a veterinary tick preventive appropriate to the area.
Afterwards
- Check pads, nails and between the toes
- Check for ticks and grass seeds
- Check for cuts, particularly on the legs and belly
- Rinse and dry the feet
- Offer water in stages, not a bowlful at once
- Watch for stiffness the next day. That means it was too far, and the next hike should be shorter
The reasonable rule
A dog will follow you until they physically cannot, and then keep trying. They do not pace themselves and they do not tell you to stop.
Which means the judgement is entirely yours — and the honest version is that most dogs who get into trouble on hills were taken further than they were ready for by someone who meant well.
