Episode #142 Hiking with Your Dog

Do you love to hike? Do you want to bring your dog with you? Baxter and I really enjoy this activity. We have put together a few hiking tips for you to be successful!

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Transcript

Amy: 0:00

This is the puppy training podcast episode 142 hiking with your dog this podcast is designed to help you on your journey of becoming best friends through love and learning as you train your own dog from home, and I'm here to help you every step of the way. This is the puppy training podcast. And I'm your host, Amy Jensen. Hey, everybody, how are you today? Welcome to the podcast. Thanks for listening. We talk about dogs here. If you didn't know anything you need to know about training. So the weather is warming up where I live, and we like to get outside Baxter loves a good hike. I thought you know what, I haven't done a podcast on hiking before. So let's talk about it today. So today I'm going to give you tips on how to prepare for hike, what to take with you what to do when you're out on that trail. And then some reminders, because I hope you're getting out and enjoying life with your dog. That's how we get a dog right so they can enjoy life with this. Alright, so let's talk about preparing. There are a few things you want to make sure you have in your car with you before you head out. So I like to take with me a long line. This is basically a leash that's 20 to 30 feet in length. They also make 10 foot 15 foot lengths so you can choose what works for you. I feel like a 15 to 20 foot length is ideal for hiking. And then I always attach that to my dog's harness so I make sure they have a nice comfortable harness they can wear. I always bring my own poop bags. I also like to bring a little poop bag carrier so that my dog can carry it, I don't have to carry it for them. You'll want water bowl and water make sure you bring fresh water for your dog. And there's different types of those. So you can get a collapsible collapsible water bowl that just attaches with a carabiner to your bag or your fanny pack. They also make water bottles that you can squeeze out the water and then it sucks the water back in. So lots of different good products out on the market. But do make sure you bring your dog's water bowl and water, especially as the temperatures start to warm up. I also like to bring dog boots for my dog, if I'm going to be on a longer or more rocky hike, they tend to get their paw pads little bit worn out, especially if there's some sharp rocks there and we don't want to cut their paw pads. So a pair of dog boots is always a good idea. I also carry with me a first aid kit with all of the basics in it. I like to make sure that I have a basic muzzle so if my dogs injured, I can just wrap their mouth and be able to carry them without the threat of a bite. Because when they're injured, they're not meaning to hurt you obviously, but they are in pain. And so they're going to try to protect themselves. But you want a basic wrap, a basic muzzle, I like to also bring a product called Fido Pro. These guys are awesome. They've created a harness for your dog so that if your dogs injured and can't walk out of the canyon or off the mountain that you could carry them. And it's a very lightweight harness that just folds up in a nice small pouch. And then that way if you need it to be able to carry your dog off the mountain, it's less awkward than just holding them in your arms, especially if you have a bigger dog, Baxter's 50 pounds. And if I needed to carry him down a mountain and I had to hold him in front of me, that can be pretty uncomfortable and kind of awkward. But the phyto pro harness is awesome. So we had an experience last summer where I took Baxter up on a hike, just here locally, it's about 10 minutes out of my backyard, it's pretty awesome that it's that close, but we like to hike to the top of that mountain and it was pretty rocky. And he ended up cutting his paw pad on one of the rocks. I didn't have boots on him, which I should have, but I didn't. So he ended up getting a cut in his paw pad. And we had to carry him off the mountain and this Fido pro product is pretty awesome. So I'll attach a link to their site in our show notes. And then they've given us a discount code if you want to use it to save a little money and I'll put that code in the notes as well. And then I also pack with me wondercide flea and tick spray. So in my area, there's ticks that are prevalent, and mosquitoes so we like to spray our dogs down with wondercide Before we go, I like a topical spray for that and wondercide is awesome. We've really liked that product. I also make sure I bring a treat pouch with me with motivational treats on their food, you know that my dog likes that will help me with recalls and getting them you know back to me if needed or getting their attention when needed. So I always pack a few treats with me and then also just a toy that my dog loves. So some dogs love a ball. Some dogs love a Frisbee. Some dogs love a squeaky toy, anything that you can just help capture your dog's attention if needed. To recall them back to you. It's helpful might also bring a towel or Seat Protector. So a lot of times we like to go out where there's water, Baxter adores water, so he likes to jump in the river, play around, go fetch a stick, whatever. And he'll come home kind of wet and muddy and I don't want them sitting on my nice leather seats messy like that. So I bring a towel for sure. And then my cars have seat protectors in the back that are waterproof. So if the dog jumps up on the seat and lays down all that mud and water is not getting on my leather. Okay, now let's talk about what to do when you're out on the trail. So always be courteous to others. I know our dogs are friendly, right? Hopefully your dog is friendly. But not all people like dogs. Not everybody wants a dog to run up to them especially a dog they don't know maybe that makes them nervous. Also, not all dogs like other dogs. So, you know, if your dog is off leash, and they're running up to somebody, and you're shouting, Hey, it's okay, they're friendly. That's one thing, but recognize their dog may not be friendly, and your dog might get attacked. So just out of respect for everyone, make sure that your dogs on a leash so that they're not rushing up to other people, and they're not rushing up to other dogs. Because again, we don't know if they are friendly, even though your dog might be friendly. Also, when you see others on the trail, just kindly move to the side, I like to move off the trail, just to you know, give them space to pass because I don't know their dog. And I don't know what their dog needs, or if they're nervous around other dogs. So I just simply, if I see other people, I'll ask Baxter to move off to the side of the trail with me. And then we just wait for them to pass. So if you have a dog that's excitable, or maybe they get nervous about other dogs, it's okay for you to move your dog out and around, almost just arch out and around the other people as they pass. So you're making this, you know, 180 arc out and around them as they pass so that you're not directly passing them head on on the trail. Let's just keep your eyes out. For other people. Notice what's around you, if you hear other people then just move off to the side of the trail to avoid a conflict. I like to keep my dog on leash, and hopefully others will do the same. Now if your dog eliminates on the trail, please use a poop bag and carry it out. We like that thought of pack it in, pack it out, leave no trace mentality. Nobody else wants to step in your dog's mess. So pack it in pack it out, it's makes a friendlier environment for everyone. Again, back to that long line. I like to use this with my dog out on the trails, especially in the training times for my dog. So if I have a new puppy or a new dog that's learning how to hike with me that long line is super helpful, I can attach it to the back of their harness. And this allows them to sniff and explore and really enjoy the hike. But it also gives me a way to prevent them from wandering off if they get too far from me. So it prevents that and then rewarding them regularly for checking in with me creates an automatic check in response, which is awesome. Doing this enough anytime they come to your site and check in, offer them a food reward and then send them back out to sniff and explore, you'll start to see that they get ahead of you. And then they automatically start to stop and wait and look back at you or even pause long enough for you to catch up before they continue on. So that's the type of Leash training we're doing out on a hike. It's not a stand right next to me attention walk per se on a hike, it's more of a go sniff and explore, come check in with me go sniff and explore. Come check in with me. So I like to think of hiking more as recall training than loose leash walking, if my dog happens to get out ahead of me, and they start to near the end of their long line of recall them back to me before they feel the pressure from the line. So we're practicing checking in, okay, go sniff right, and I'm releasing them back to go and explore which they love. So it's a win win for them, they come back check in they get food rewards. Or maybe we get to play their toy for a second. And then okay, go play or go sniff and they get to go back to what they were doing before. So again, if using a long line, make sure you are respectful of others because that is a long line that can get a little tricky and we don't want anyone tripping over the line. So just simply reel it in to the length of a short four to six foot leash when you see others passing on the trail. A few last reminders for you would be many people love to take their dogs off leash, I know I get questions about this a lot. And while that's awesome, just make sure you're aware of a few things. So number one, check local laws before taking your dog off leash makes sure that you follow local leash laws, and then always leash your dog when others are around. So where I live, I'm able to take Baxter up in the mountains and we can find a place to go hiking where we won't see another soul. And I'm very confident that Baxter is going to recall to me. So in that scenario, I might feel like you know what I can take Baxter off leash, just recognize anytime you take your dog off leash, there's always a risk that they will not listen or they will not recall. And you need to be aware of those risks and always be respectful of others, of course. So teaching your dog to walk with a loose leash is very important because this allows you to hike and keep your dog safe and only to all times with no risks. So just be aware that while it looks lovely to have your dog off leash, that's not for every dog. Not every dog can handle that. Some can and that's awesome. But I want you to be 100% confident that your dog will recall. Now I say 100% I should say 99 Because there's always that percent chance that your dog will not listen and you need to be aware of that risk. When you get home I thoroughly check my dog for ticks, burrs or foxtails or any other noxious weeds that might be stuck in their coats or their skin. I like to comb through their coat with a metal comb. And then give them a bath if needed. check between their paw pads and make sure you're checking under their ears or any hidden areas like under their legs and on their bellies. So if you have a tick, you can get little tweezers tick tweezers and remove those ticks. You want to make Do you do that as soon as possible birds, you might need to, you know, I like to finger kind of pick them out as best as I can and then use a comb to just get out the rest of that bird. But you want to make sure that you free up their coats and skin from anything that might have gotten tangled along the way. And then most of all, have fun. That's why we have dogs, right? We want to live life and have fun with them together. And then doing these things that you both enjoy, builds a great bond. So I highly encourage it if you have hills or mountains where you can get out and hike with your dogs this summer. Do it right remember to take water. Remember to be respectful of others on the trail. And then make sure your dog is comfortable on a leash so that you can be safe and be respectful and most of all, have fun. All right, you guys enjoy your summer happy training. If you have a question about anything you heard on this podcast or any other Puppy Training question, visit my site Baxter & bella.com to contact me