5 Tips for Hiking with Your Dog: A Green Vacation for the Whole Family
This is a guest post by Dog Fence DIY’s staff veterinarian Dr. Susan Wright. Dog Fence DIY will help you choose the right system for you, help you install it, and help train your pet to use the new system.
My favorite vacation involves packing up a small tent, a backpack and some food and heading out with my husband for a hike or a bike ride. Even if we only manage a few days away, I really enjoy the seclusion, and the time to think and talk. It feeds our relationship.
I love the quote, “Take only photographs and leave only footprints” and I always make the effort to leave the environment exactly as we found it.
On our last walking trip, we took our dog. It was quite a learning curve, because although we’d traveled with our dog many times, this was the first time we’d tried a green vacation with our dog.
1. Use Biodegradable Poop Bags
I always pick up my dog’s droppings when we’re out and about. Plastic bags can last a long time in the environment, so I made sure to purchase biodegradable poo bags. That way, if we were out on the trails, I could pick up the poo and bury it off to the side of the trail, and I’d know I wasn’t harming the environment with plastic.
2. Keep Your Dog on a Leash
I know our dog is well behaved, and would come back when he’s called, but I never let him off leash when we’re hiking. Dogs are predators, and their instincts are strong. Our dog is a whippet, and if he saw a small creature run across his path, he would be off after it, and would have a very good chance of catching it.
For the sake of the birds and wildlife that live in the forests, I keep him restrained. No doubt he’d rather be running loose, but I’d feel dreadful if he killed something.
photo credit: cogdogblog
3. Know How Far Your Dog Can Walk
We can walk for miles with our dog. However, walking does limit how far we can travel. If we want to take him further than he can walk, we either need to take the car, or find an alternative means of transport that is dog friendly, as well as environmentally friendly.
Enter the bike dog trailer. This neat little trailer attaches to the back of a bicycle, and is safe and comfortable for a dog to ride in. When we stop for the night, it converts to a kennel for him to sleep in. It’s not cheap, and you do need to train your dog to relax in it, but if you’re going to make a habit of biking trips with your dog, it’s a great investment.
4. Don’t Give Your Dog a Bath (Unless He Stinks)
Dogs can become quite dirty while they’re hiking. They love to roll in dust and mud, and they find the aroma of dead animals particularly appealing. I’ve found that the less I bathe my dog, the better his coat repels dust and dirt. So, save water, don’t bathe him and the natural oils in his coat will allow you to brush the dirt off him.
Of course, that doesn’t apply to “eau de dead animal,” in which case you really do need to shampoo him. Try to choose a dog shampoo that contains no parabens or sodium lauryl sulphate.
5. Think About Bug Bites
Depending on where you live, hiking along forest trails may leave you and your dog susceptible to attack by biting insects, including ticks and mosquitos. There are many shampoos and sprays that contain natural insecticides such as tea tree oil or neem oil which will help to repel insects, without the need to apply chemicals to your dog. Take care with natural oils because natural doesn’t necessarily mean non-toxic.
We found that it really doesn’t take too much effort to enjoy a green vacation with our dog. A bit of forethought means we can share our trip with our four legged family member, while taking care of our environment. That’s a win-win situation.
Don’t forget a first aid kit. First aid for dogs, just like first aid for humans, is an effective combination of knowledge, supplies and skills, put into action for the benefit of your four-legged friend.
Great post. Thanks for sharing those tips.
The Outer Banks of North Carolina is a great dog friendly vacation. Lots of homes allow dogs, most of the beaches are dog friendly (with varying limitations), and there are great areas for hiking…Nags Head Woods, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, etc.
The Outer Banks is the perfect beach vacation…a great combination of peaceful relaxation and fun local activities/attractions; gorgeous beaches, a wide variety of water sports, world-class fishing and surfing, great local art and shopping, delicious local food, history, nature, etc.
The OBX offers great vacation rental homes for all types of travelers; small beach bungalows to large beach front estates.
Please let us know if we can help you plan your next trip to the Outer Banks.
Seaside Vacations
OuterBanksVacations.com
4820 N. Croatan Hwy
Kitty Hawk, NC 27949
(866) 884-0267
Blog.OuterBanksVacations.com
This is a really good list. My dog would love it if we took her hiking with us sometime. I’ll have to try it.
Great tips. I don’t have a dog anymore (and your post has me missing a special someone) but the suggestions are spot on.
I appreciate your tips. I wonder about the first one, though. If you are going to bury your dog’s poop, why add anything to it, biodegradable or not? The bag is just one more addition to the environment, and while it is biodegrading, it will delay the decomposition of the contents. If you are on a short hike, take it out with you. Otherwise, a small, reusable trowel seems like a good idea.
If only all hiking dog owners would read your post! As much as your tips are great for dog-loving hikers, from a non dog-owning perspective they are great common courtesy ideas for dog owners, both in terms of environmental concerns and respecting fellow hikers.
This is a great post. I just wanted to add one thing that I didn’t see mentioned as to care of your pet on a hiking trip, or any trip for that matter, WATER! We always bring water bottles for ourselves, but a dog can’t drink out of a bottle and just pouring it wastes your precious moisture. There are great alternatives for compact folding dishes for dogs from the top pet supply stores,for those that forget, I have found that finding a spare water bottle and cutting the top portion off and then burining the top edge to make it smooth works quite nicely in a pinch. As for car trips or just general traveling, Mendota Products makes a no spill water dish that sort of acts like a toilet, storing the water on the inside if it is flipped upside down, no spill!! I love the great products for our pets. Thanks for the post. Happy journeys.
@Bill Thanks for the first aid kit tip. It’s important to be prepared, especially on longer hiking trips.
@Southwest Travel Club - Great point! Water is as essential for pets on hiking trips as it is for people. We have a folding water dish we use for our dog.