I want to take my 9 year old Beagle mix for a 4 day trek that is not too much altitude, we would walk 5-6 hours each day, and up until now she would do great on the 3ish hour hikes that we would do. Any tips, or experience of multi-day adventures with older dogs? Is this a bad idea?

I've got a one year old toller, absolutely gorgeous. Currently we're careful on distance walks, longest we've done is probably 10 miles ish, through fields and woods. I'd like to do lands end to john o'groats taking in the 3 peaks on the way, with him eventually, it won't be for a good couple of years. Plenty of training and endurance to do beforehand. Any advice on training would be great, best ways to train endurance, is swimming a good way? He loves swimming. How many days can dogs go before needing a rest day etc. Anything i might need to know.

I’m looking to camp Smokey mountain national park this October and bringing the dog. From what I reading there are ONLY 2 trails in the entire park that allow dogs. These trails are neither near each other or ANY CAMPGROUND. Is this true?

I decided to take a week off and take my dog on an outdoor adventure. I want to go to the NE USA because I haven’t been yet. Would love anyone’s insight into this area!

Hi! I’m wondering if anyone here does multi-day hikes or thru-hikes with a small dog and sometimes needs to carry them along the way.

My dog is about 7 lbs, and on longer trips I often need to carry him part of the time. The tricky part is having both my backpack and him at the same time.

So far I’ve tried:

*Classic enclosed dog backpack on the front – not comfortable, too bulky, blocks my view.

*Sling carrier – my dog doesn’t like it.

I’ve seen some people wear the K9 Sport Sack on the front, even though it’s not really designed for that, and I’m curious if anyone here actually uses it that way.

I also once saw someone with a custom setup where the dog carrier was attached to the top of their hiking backpack, which looked perfect (though I’d worry a bit about what my active little guy would be doing up there). I haven’t found anything like that sold commercially. I guess I could try modifying a regular dog bag, but I’m not too confident in my DIY skills.

For those of you who backpack or thru-hike with small dogs – what carrying systems or bags have worked for you? Any creative solutions or gear you’d recommend?

We had a great hike and camping trip in the Tillamook forest. I was putting the camping gear away at home and rolling up the tent when she laid down on it. Maybe we will try Mt. Hood this weekend.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice.

I have two dogs, but I’m considering bringing just one on a backpacking trip in a few weeks. She’s a 2-year-old, 40 lb cocker spaniel/Australian cattle dog/pit mix with very high energy. She’s fairly active — we hike 1–2 times a week (shorter distances) and she loves camping with us, especially when we’re active.

However...

• She’s never backpacked before.
• She’s never hiked more than ~5 miles in a day.
• The trip would be in the backcountry/bear country.
• The plan is ~24 miles over 3 days/2 nights

I would love to bring her, but since this is a last-minute decision, I’m unsure if:

• It’s risky to bring a dog into bear country.
• The mileage might be too much for her if she hasn’t worked up to it.
• It could cause her (or me) unnecessary stress or safety concerns.

Would love to hear from anyone with experience backpacking with their dog — especially in similar conditions. If this is doable but maybe not with a total of 24 miles, how many miles do you recommend a day to make this doable, if at all? Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone Have a bunch of deer flies locally (seacoast NH) that absolutely love my pups ears. Have tried a few dog safe sprays like Repel-X but nothing seems to work. Deet (specifically OFF Deep Woods) seems to work well on me, but that's obviously not an option for the dog.

Has anyone had any luck with anything dog safe for deer flies?

From: North Liberty, Iowa To: Badlands NP, Wind Cave NP, Grand Teton NP, Yellowstone NP, Glacier NP, Theodore Roosevelt NP Travelers: 2 adults, driving Dates: August 16 to August 23 (8 days) Purpose: Scenic adventure, sightseeing, chill time, budget-friendly

Wherein we discovered she was too much of a princess to carry her backpack for more than 3 days.

Grace having a rest and taking in the views.

TL:DR: Lightly looking for a dog to eventually take on trails and backpacking trips with in the PNW. Interested in breed/confirmation recommendations, physical training, and mental training. I have no real timeline yet, just in the research phase. If you could share your experiences and tips to help me prep as much as possible and evaluate what my timeline looks like that would be great! thank you!!

(pic is of the second service dog I raised)!

Hey everyone!

I (F22) wanted to make a general post after searching the subreddit as I am mentally preparing the journey of building up a backpacking dog!

I don't currently own a dog, but have trained several service dogs and have owned dogs in the past. I work at a humane society and am currently keeping my eye out for a dog that may fit what I need. I am willing to get a puppy but prefer a young adult, 1-2 yrs old, but I mainly have experience training dogs from puppyhood.

I am in a cool position as my partner works from home 3x a week and I can bring dogs to work at my desk. My main questions are:

1. Breed/body confirmations to look for in a dog that will need good endurance and energy to keep up on multi day hikes. I had my eye on a collie mix, but I want to also make sure my life outside of backpacking will fit the dog's needs. I live in an apartment so don't want to coop up a super high energy breed (or I will just wait until I move out). I will say, I used to be a big no dog if in an apartment person, but working at a shelter has shown me otherwise..it really depends on the dog.

2. Realistic training- per the service dog trainer in me I am a huge "marathon not a sprint" person, but if anyone has good advice please share! I figured I would start on day hikes, emphasize recall, practice sleeping in a tent at home. etc.

3. Physical training- Any advice for physically prepping a dog for multi day hikes? I figure maintaining an active lifestyle alone should help, but I want to make sure the pup can handle those long distances, comfortable crossing water, etc. I figure I could use positive reinforcement on small scales and build up, but I am curious with anyones experiences!

Obviously I don't even have a dog yet, but I became pretty tempted to get one (that collie mix) a few weeks ago, so I want to be prepared for when the right one comes along. I also know that it takes a lot of time and backpacking is just a component of dog ownership, trust me I am not one to rush or set up for failure!

I know a TON about dogs (my degree is in animal science even lol) but I don't know a ton about trail dogs specifically and what to expect. If you could share your experiences and tips to help me prep as much as possible and evaluate what my timeline looks like that would be great! thank you!!