View Full Version : Thru hiking with a dog
I'm looking for one anyone who has thru hiked with a dog. I don't care to get in to all the stuff about if you should I was interested in how people do it. I'm planning my thru hike and wish to bring my 45lb Pit-lab mix. I just am not sure how you get past the sections where you can not have a dog, where you put the dog, or if you took an alternate route, etc. Thanks.
There are places that will kennel dogs while you walk through the Smokeys, I believe the same is for Baxter (I did not hike with a dog, but there was one in my semi-group that I leapfrogged with alot).
I'm very much for people's right to have a dog on the trail, but there are alot of challenges and questions you should answer before you take one out. I'm going to assume the dog is Ok, not really a biter or a mooch and you are planning to avoid most shelters, keep him on a leash, etc...
Those two places aside, what do you do with the dog while in a resturant or a grocery store where you can't watch him? What are you going to do if you get sick and need a couple days in a hotel to recoup, most hotels will not take a larger (45lbs is large) dog. Will he sleep with you (in a tent, smelly wet dog in a shelter is unpleasant even for dog lovers like me) if it rains? The PA rocks tear up leather boots, they are really HARSH on paw pads, how will you deal with it? Several rock scrambles are kind of rough, the one out of Palmerton being rather extreme (and fun), you will have to lift him up, figure out how to hold him while you climb up yourself (you will need both hands), then repeat over and over, are you ready to do this?
There are a hundred "what ifs" that you need to answer in addition to all of the questions you need to answer for yourself.
Overall, I think dogs are great on sections and the dog I knew did very well on a thru, but he was an exceptional dog with an exceptionally caring owner, and even so created some hassels for her.
BTW, I love pit bulls, great dogs and every pure pit I've met has an awesome personality, but you never should have said pit bull mix, the flamers will have a field day...
thanks for the info, my fiance (at that point wife) and i are going and we live by philly so we've done some hiking with him, hes a great dog and is very well behaved. He was a rescue and we're not positive but the vet my fiance works for thinks it's a pit lab mix. Be careful a pit bull will lick you to death then kill you with thier gas.
Two Speed
06-23-2006, 15:50
. . . Be careful a pit bull will lick you to death then kill you with thier gas.Which could be a problem in a tent. In the winter. Zipped up.
Yikes, the imagination staggers.
its just as bad in the summer
mweinstone
06-23-2006, 16:55
i told each dog owner i passed this year to get some skunk off and carry it in the dogs pack. ask your vet. and dogs need to be off leash witch means they must obey. if a dog needs a leash all the time to keep it out of water sourses and out of the hikers way or safe from wildlife then its not a trail type dog. dogs must be leashed alot of times and they must allready be the most behaved dog or putting on the leash becoms a hazard to both.its complicated.but know this, dogs are great in shelters for getting a better nites sleep in a million ways.
mweinstone
06-23-2006, 16:55
i told each dog owner i passed this year to get some skunk off and carry it in the dogs pack. ask your vet. and dogs need to be off leash witch means they must obey. if a dog needs a leash all the time to keep it out of water sourses and out of the hikers way or safe from wildlife then its not a trail type dog. dogs must be leashed alot of times and they must allready be the most behaved dog or putting on the leash becoms a hazard to both.its complicated.but know this, dogs are great in shelters for getting a better nites sleep in a million ways.
I am the fiance of Fofer....and am completely looking forward to thru hiking with our dog in 2008. I'm a veterinary technician, which really helps knowing what type things to do,, pack....and how to condition him. I have tp laugh b/c going into the hike, our dog, "Castor" will have 2 vets that i'm consulting with, an orthopedic specialist who has a rehab facility, and another dr who has hunting dogs and is familiar with training and stamina....my dog will have more doctors than me! I agree that dogs definately make most people a little more comfortable in camp.
if anyone has anymore info on kennels or routes around those places where Castor's not welcome, we'd appreciate it!
ps: i have a book on hotels, etc that take dogs and while wet dog isn't my favorite, i'll just remind myself of the amount love that i have for him!
pps: those dogs that you're seen on the trail....what persentage of them wear boots versus nothing on their feet?
Thanks!
-Beaker
I have heard of a dog getting Lyme's Disease on the AT in Conn. Check with your vet about tick/flea collars or other tick prevention systems. I have seen dogs carrying packs.
Our dog not only uses a number of flea and tick preventions (gotten through the vet's office where i work), he is also vaccinated against lyme disease which, if he were to get lyme dz, would prevent him from getting the 2 fatal forms...as i tell my fiance, our dog is better protected against lyme dz than any human hiker ever could be :-)
we have a pack for him already and have taken him hiking with this pack before. we're starting now taking him on walks/ hikes of varying lengths and terrains carrying the pack to get him used to it, sl;owly adding weight.
any info on hiking boots for dogs?
....clip....any info on hiking boots for dogs?
Hi, Beaker. There is a pretty active trail dog yahoo group - while I don't know if any are thru-hikers, I am sure you will get plenty of informed opinions if you go over there and ask about boots. A link is below:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Traildog (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Traildog)
I haven't used dog boots for Phoebe, but we hike in the Southeast, I haven't done a long-distance hike, and prolly wouldn't take her if I did. We did go on a long weekend once to Shining Rock with plenty of ice - her paws cracked a bit once we got home. The folks at the traildog group advised me to use udder balm before our next hike.....
Steve
LIhikers
06-27-2006, 08:22
Many of the trail miles in NY take you through state parks. The rules call for the use of leashes even though I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for not using one. ALSO, the AT goes through a small zoo in the Bear Mountain, NY state park but you won't be allowed in with your dog. It's an easy, and blazed, walk around the zoo.
I have heard of a dog getting Lyme's Disease on the AT in Conn. Check with your vet about tick/flea collars or other tick prevention systems. I have seen dogs carrying packs.
I live in CT and my dog got Lyme disease. It may not have been specifically on the AT but Lyme has gotten very bad around here. Preventative and constant monitoring is a MUST (it was hard with our guy since he is a dark colored dog and you can't always see all the ticks). I don't completely trust the vaccine as our dog was on it when he got Lyme. Of course, I was not aware that there were different forms of Lyme. Please, tell me more or direct me to a source about this.
Ply....thanks for asking about lyme dz...here's some more info:
the lyme vaccine does not PREVENT a dog from getting lyme dz, but here is what it does:
it decreases the severity of lyme dz if they do get it
it prevents them from getting the 2 fatal forms of lyme dz: one of which goes to the kidneys and puts the dog in kidney failure, and the other which oges to the brain and causes siezure-like activity, ultimately killing them
so while the vaccine isn't 100%, it's a much better option than them not being vaccinated and getting a fatal form!
Ply....thanks for asking about lyme dz...here's some more info:
the lyme vaccine does not PREVENT a dog from getting lyme dz, but here is what it does:
it decreases the severity of lyme dz if they do get it
it prevents them from getting the 2 fatal forms of lyme dz: one of which goes to the kidneys and puts the dog in kidney failure, and the other which oges to the brain and causes siezure-like activity, ultimately killing them
so while the vaccine isn't 100%, it's a much better option than them not being vaccinated and getting a fatal form!
do you remember roughly how much it is to have them vaccinated? Any risks involved? My puppy gets ticks A LOT and I already have here using the frontline stuff.
at my animal hospital, each vaccine is about $30...the first time they get vaccinated, it's a 2 shot series, so they get one, then in 2 weeks get another one, then after that it's good for a year ilke their other vaccines. we live in southern nj and see a TON of ticks! another option is in addition to using frontline, also use a preventic collar. not all collars are as good as this one and the ones you buy in pet stores can do more harm than good, but this one you buy from your vet and it works pretty well...only down side is that it looses its effectiveness if it gets wet (like swimming in a river)......
UberPest
06-29-2006, 17:39
do you remember roughly how much it is to have them vaccinated? Any risks involved? My puppy gets ticks A LOT and I already have here using the frontline stuff.
My vet uses a one shot dose for the Lymes vaccine. I also can get Beau the Dog vaccinated against Giardia (only prevents shedding of the cysts after infection so it doesn't spread to others). Either one costs less than $20 here in NE Indiana.
Tony0612
06-29-2006, 19:55
I know that in North Carolina/Tennesse Smokey Mountains Nat. Park there are rules against having dogs on the trail. We had a conservation officer point an AR-15 at us because he thought my dog was a non-native wild pig. With that in mind I know that some sections in that area are mighty steep acents and my dog Maggie 70 lb. Lab who is very agile had a rough time. We had to carry her on some sections which was a total pain.