In the first post in this series, I talked about some of the considerations on whether or not you should take your pet on a trip with you. Today, I plan to discuss some of the health and safety concerns you may want to think about while hiking and camping with your dog.

Am I willing to change my plans because of my pet?

If your pet is unable to manage a part of the trip, would you consider changing your itinerary? What if your pet is injured? We love to be out in the woods. It’s hard for us to bag a trip for any reason, but someone being injured, even a minor issue, is always a good reason to stop and reconsider. This is true even if that someone is your dog. Safety has to be the first consideration.

We had a hike at Shades State Park where we had to turn around and use an alternate trail.  We were hiking along the Devil’s Backbone and there was a part of the trail with a several foot scramble. It was easy enough for us to climb, but Jaxon was unable to make it up. We tried a few times to help him, but at 70 pounds, we couldn’t manage to get Jaxon to the top. So, we turned back and went by a different route. The map for the park states “Groups with small children would be advised not to attempt to cross it.”

The first picture shows the hike up the trail and the second is looking down at the stream at the bottom of the trail.

Is my pet capable of making the trip?

From travel to the trailhead to the time on the trail, it’s important to consider your pet’s ability to do the trip.

Very young dogs are not capable of much distance, nor should they be carrying any weight. It’s usually not recommended to start a lot of distance hiking until your dog is about 2 years old. Be sure to talk to your vet about it. Try shorter hikes first than see how your pet is doing. If they still have plenty of energy, you can try longer the next time.

Image shows a white dog with brown and black markings. He has an incision on his right knee and is wearing a cone to prevent him from worrying the wound.
Jaxon after his knee repair.

At the other end of the spectrum, older dogs are going to be somewhat slower. Jaxon has had both knees repaired due to torn canine cruciate ligaments (the dog equivalent of an ACL). He still loves to hike but is tired after about 6 or 8 miles. In the past 6 miles was just getting started. Older animals are also at more risk of injury due to falls or missed steps when trying to clear an obstacle.

There are some good articles about taking your dogs hiking and camping here and here.

Talk to your vet

Learning some basic first aid and safety for your pet is invaluable. Our vet gave us advice about taking Jaxon hiking and what we should carry in his first aid kit. He also gave us some practice on making stiches so that if we had to do emergency care on trail, we would at least know how. Our vet told us that if we could stabilize and/or stitch up a leg wound, our dog (and most dogs) would be able to walk out on their own.

The first aid kit

  • Gauze
  • Vet wrap
  • Sutures
  • Book

You should get a book of first aid for your animal companion and read it. Being prepared and having a plan will help you keep your calm when you are faced with a distressed dog. The vet wrap works excellently for use as a muzzle. Understand that using a muzzle (normal or temporary) is an important safety measure. If your pet is injured, it may snap at people even if they are normally the most gentle of creatures. Your safety is important as well as your pet’s.

Image shows a box labeled "cohesive bandage" several rolls of brightly colored bandage sit beside the box.

You can get some supplies for you pet’s first aid kit online. We bought the book and the vet wrap there. (We have no affiliation with any of these products). With all of Jaxon’s various injuries and surgeries, we have bought a couple of boxes of the wrap. It also works well for people injuries too.

This first aid kit doesn’t have scissors or any medications in it. We have scissors on our pocket knives and carry medication in our first aid kits. They could easily be added to this kit.

A couple of other considerations can be discussed with your vet as well. in the last post, I talked briefly about making sure your pet has all of it’s vaccinations. There is a vaccine for Lyme disease in dogs. Flea and tick medication is important. Sunscreen is another thing to consider. Especially pets with white fur and around their noses, pets are susceptible to sunburn and skin cancer.

Food and drink

It is best if you can keep your pet from drinking straight out of streams and ponds. They are susceptible to the same water born illnesses as people. When you are planning your trip, remember that you will need to carry or filter water for your dog.

There are a number of considerations with regard to food and treats on a trip. Some animals do not do well with changing their diet, suffering from vomiting and diarrhea. So, whenever possible, it is best if you can feed your pet their normal diet while in the trail. If you do need to change your dog’s food, it is helpful to make the change over a couple of weeks.

So why might you want to change your pet’s diet? If your dog eats wet food, you may find it hard to carry and deal with the packaging. Refrigerated food would be next to impossible to use on a hike of more than a couple of days. You can freeze items and carry them for a short time.

Another reason to think about altering your pet’s diet is when you must carry out all pet and human waste. Some pet foods have less insoluble fiber. The food is more easily digested and less waste is produced. This has multiple benefits. The nutrition is more rapidly absorbed. Because there is less fiber, there is less bulk of food to be carried in and less waste to be carried out.

The next post in this series will talk about gear.