Hiking with Dogs - a few questions

[Alysser]

I am sorry for so many question threads lately, but this spring & summer I plan on doing ALOT with mikey, and I mean alot as in alot of trail walking and hiking.

New Jersey is no Utah or Colorado, so I don't know how many mountains we will climb, but we have an awesome park system in the area to take advantage of. Now, I will admit Mikey isn't the best behaved dog on walks. He has 0 recall skills, he CANNOT be let off the leash or just walk alone. He barks at other dogs, but is far from aggressive but he can be good if the dogs leave him alone. He pulls and he barks and lunges at passing cars, which I figure on a trail wouldn't be much of a problem. He's a beagle mix, so his prey drive isn't going to help either. He doesn't pull too bad anymore, especially if he is on a harness. Should I train him a little more before & how would I go about doing that?

What equipment/items would I need to bring along? Would a harness be better than a collar for this type of thing?

When the snow melts, I plan on taking him to a bike trail in my neighborhood and see how acts. I have no idea HOW he will behave because I have not really ever taken him anywhere other than neighborhoods. :p

I am hoping Amy or someone who goes hiking alot can help me out a little.

Thanks alot for any help guys!:D

[Karen]

Absolutely a harness will be better than a collar, and I think practicing and getting him more used to woodsy places will be good. A collapsible water bowl that you can fill from your own supply, and plenty of treat to keep his energy up are also important. The more leash training you can do, the better, and of course you know never EVER to let him off leash someplace unfamiliar - that beagle nose will lead him into goodness knows what direction!

[Freedom]

Harness, oh YES!

For water, I use one of these:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=900

You can get them plenty of places, not just Foster & Smith. The 17 ounce should be fine, I use the larger one as I have 5 dogs, lol.

Just checked, it is on sale on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Handi-Drink-Dog-Water-Bottle-Spill-proof/dp/B000GDXHQ0

On the bike trail, you will need poop bags too!
http://www.amazon.com/Bags-Board-Bone-Dispenser-30/dp/B000FCOOVO/ref=pd_sim_k_3

Again, lots of places to buy them.

And you will need treats with you. Mikey is in training; some claim (and I am one of them) dogs are in training all their lives, lol. Don't know if you will rely on baggies in your pockets, or if you want a clip on treat bag something like this
http://www.amazon.com/Guardian-Gear-Training-Treat-Blue/dp/B001TH6Q1K

That one clips around your waist; other styles clip to your belt.

For Mikey, you may want a long line. Easy to make your self.
1. Clip together a few leashes! :D or
2. Get a length of rope, maybe 20 feet long. Buy one of these clips for the end:
http://www.seattlefabrics.com/leash%20clips.html
Be sure to get one that swivels. The other end, knot it with a loop, and attach his leash to it, so you have a nice hand grip.

The idea is, he has some leeway to explore and "be a dog." Plus he is a beagle mix so he wants to investigate everything his nose scents. You don't have to get "up close and personal" with all the "P-mail" he has to check out, ha haaa.

Then, just have some fun!

[Alysser]

Thanks for the tips guys! I am hoping to take him out on the bike trail next weekend, but apparently snow is in the forecast so we shall see how that goes. I will refer back to this thread when I actually get ready to go. I love the idea of a longer leash, that'd be fantastic for him for sure.

Freedom, that list was very useful thanks! Trust me I already go the poop bags covered ;) Treats, check! I also bought him a harness I never opened awhile back. Would they sell 20 ft /15ft leashes (NOT tie-outs) in Petsmart or Petco? I'm wondering if a retractable one would be a good option but I've heard bad things about them snapping. I wouldn't feel safe making one out of a few leashes I don't think lol.

I would probably never let him off leash anywhere but a fenced-in area/dog park, considering his instincts. He's like that ON the leash, he would be gone in one second - regardless of his recall
skills.

Thanks for the tips guys!

[Freedom]

Would they sell 20 ft /15ft leashes (NOT tie-outs) in Petsmart or Petco? I'm wondering if a retractable one would be a good option but I've heard bad things about them snapping.

No, I wouldn't suggest a retractable leash, there are many problems w/those, snapping being just one. It is much more difficult to control your dog with them. With a leash, if you need to you can pull the dog in but the retractable ones, those things can be like wire on your hands! Naturally, pulling your dog in is not recommended, we all have well trained dogs who respond instantly to COME, right? :rolleyes:

I've never looked for a long line, so I just used Google. Yup, they're out there! Here is a 20 foot for $18.
http://www.genuinedoggear.com/GDL-LONG-20-dog-dog_training_lines.html

Just put in: dog longline
Lots of "hits."

But if you are like me, you have a couple leashes in the house and can start with those, just clip the handle and extend them.

[wolf_Q]

Well I hike with dogs that are not good off-leash either with the exception of Killer (who we usually keep on a leash anyway because he likes to chase squirrels/birds/etc.). Generally I use a retractible leash. I wouldn't use a 15/20ft nylon leash there are too many things for it to get tangled in, that would just drive me nuts. I use retractibles enough that I'm pretty fast at getting the leash back in close if we run into anything along the trail. I always shorten the leash if we are passing people. It's nice to stand off to the side to let people pass on narrow hiking trails if you have a dog especially. I only use the all tape (like this http://www.petco.com/product/105136/Flexi-Compact-All-Belt-Retractable-Leash-in-Black.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch) type of retractibles not the one that is a string, they are studier and less likely to rope burn you, at least I think so. I'd get one that was made for a dog bigger than him and make sure that the collar you are using is sturdy, like a leather one. I've never had a problem with them. Just get good at retracting it back in fast, you have to kind of put your arm forward and click it, pull some in, and repeat until you've pulled it in tighter. I like retractibles also because I can put the dog in a sit/stay and get far enough away so that I can take a pic of the dog with the background too and still hold onto the leash. Its hard to do that with a regular leash, though I still end up hiking them with a 6 ft nylon leash sometimes. The nylon leash is easier to hold onto so if you don't want him to go exploring too much I'd just use a nylon leash....but not a long one unless you are in a very open area. I guess I am picturing my hiking trails which are usually densely packed with brush/trees it would be getting stuck in everything if they veered off the trail to explore at all. When I use retractibles I'm varying the length of the leash frequently based on the conditions of the trail/amount of people around.

If I am going on a long hike I use dog backpacks so they can pack their own water/food. For shorter hikes I don't use them. All of my dogs (haven't tried it with Killer yet) hike fine with the backpacks on. In my backpacks I have collapsible bowls, the nice ones made of material. For shorter hikes I have some little plastic collapsible bowls that fit in my camera bag, like these http://www.petco.com/product/10862/PETCO-Disposable-Bowls.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch I also keep booties, poop bags, and a pet first aid kit in my backpacks. I know a lot of the hikes I go on well enough to know if I need to bring water for the dogs or not...some of them follow streams so I just let the dogs drink out of the stream...be sure to find out of the water near you is okay for him to drink, my dogs have never been sick from drinking from mountain streams/waterfalls.

Also I never hike alone, and I don't count the dogs as not being alone. I never hike without another person with me. I just hear of too many bad stories...plus I'm a clutz and the dog isn't going to call 911 or go for help for me, knowing how huskies are they'd just run off. :rolleyes:

Oh and the harness is a good idea, if he did happen to get lose its much easier to grab a dog with a harness on. I generally use harnesses unless I'm using the backpacks because they don't really work together. My dogs tend to pull worse with a harness on but I do think its safer.

[kokopup]

I only have a few suggestions about hiking with your dog especially on a bike trail. I am a Mtn biker so I have spent a lot of time on bike trails both hiking and biking with Koko on and off leash. If you hike a bike trail you need to be aware that most bikes can be on you before you know they are coming. If the bilke trails in Jersy are anything like Alabama the trails wind in and out of trees and brush. If you have a dog on a 15-20 ft leash you will spend a lot of time with the leash wrapped around a tree or bush because unfortunately the dog doesn't realize that it is not going the way you are. If you are on a bike trail I suggest you keep a short leash because other than the obstacles, bikes can be on you before you can reel pooch in. With a dog that hasn't been around bikes they need to be a good distance off trail when a bike passes or they can hurt the biker and themselves in the process. If your dog lunges at cars while on leash they will definately lunge at bikes. I have hiked and biked with the reel type connected to koko and I can say they are disaster looking for a place to happen. Been there done that, disaster that is.