Advice on gear and nutrition
Dear r/hikingwithdogs,
My dog and I are so glad we found you!
We are getting more into hiking and doing longer and longer hikes. We recently did our first 10 mile hike last weekend. With more hiking I have some questions for you all.
My dog sucks at remembering to drink water while we are hiking. Sometimes I can throw treats in it to get her to drink, but sometimes we need to wear a cooling vest. Because of this, I don’t know how a pack for her to carry her own food and water would work. Any suggestions?
The vet was not very helpful to know to feed her afterward. I know I burn a lot of calories on a big hike. I can’t find a good calculator for how many calories dogs burn with activity. Also I heard rumor that you want to skip breakfast beforehand to avoid bloat?
I always do treats on the trail to encourage manners and get her to stay when other hikers, bikes, etc are passing fyi. I use Ziwi peak or similar fancy food food as treats.
- I am two years out from a neck fusion surgery, but still have a lot of issues. My dog tends to pull randomly and so we have done a lot of work regarding that. When we are out walking in the community, we always use a gentle leader head harness. I have been using this on, but I’m a bit nervous to have her like that for hours. I usually have the hand loop teathered to me while hiking. occasionally, if the terrain is super rocky, I do have to let her off leash as she would make me fall if she pulled too much. She is very good about quickly going back on leash when we are past that point. Any other recommendations for set ups that are good to avoid pulling, especially if you have sensitive shoulder, muscles and neck issues?
Sorry for the long windedness. Thanks so much. Dog tax added