Hiking with Dogs

This week the prediction is for temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. Hiking wearing a fur coat can be tough. May be a good time to leave your dog at home. If you take your dog, choose your hike carefully. A hike following a creek or that ends at a lake, as opposed to a mountain top with no water sources, would be a good idea. I am amazed at how quickly my dog cools down just walking for a short distance in a creek. On a warm day starting a hike off with a swim will also help keep your dog cool for some distance.

Now that the snow is starting to leave the passes the hikes are starting to get longer and more and more scrambling is involved. Imagine trying to hike 15 or 20 kilometers in your bare feet. To be more accurate, image that you never wear shoes so your feet are somewhat conditioned and then you hike for a day across rock spree slopes. You might expect some lesions. For dogs a ripped pad like the one in the photo below are painful and may mean that you have to carry your dog back to the car.