Long Distance Hiking with a Dog - Part 2: Hiker Responsibility

Hiking with a dog is a lot like hiking with a toddler. It's obvious when they're really enjoying themselves, but if they're having a problem, it's not always easy to figure out why. They can also get themselves into trouble when left to their own devices. There is much additional effort and responsibility to take on to make it a positive experience for you and your dog, and to have minimal impact on the trail and the people and animals you share it with. How willing are you to take this extra effort and incur the extra expense that responsibly hiking with a dog requires?

The remaining posts will delve into these with more detail, but consider if you're willing to: keep your dog on leash the majority of the time, or at a minimum have control of your dog so it's not a nuisance to other hikers and animals; bury your dog's waste; carry it's supplies (food, water, cold weather gear, booties, medications, first aid supplies, vaccination records); filter its water; feed high quality food; get extra vaccinations; carry maps and guidebook pages so that you have information about the nearest roads and vets in case of emergency; pay a little extra for lodging that accepts pets, or forgo a night in town because you can't find a place that accepts pets; tend to a cold, wet, hungry, and tired dog before tending to your own needs; miss out on social opportunities with your hiking friends because there's no secure place to keep your dog; help your dog negotiate the trail (boulder scrambles, log bridges, river fords, ladders, canoes, mud, and bogs); tent out if other shelter residents don't want to sleep with a dog; pull ticks off your dog and yourself several times a day from Virginia to Vermont; arrange for boarding and transportation for your dog while you hike the Great Smoky Mountains and Baxter State Park; and ultimately, hike your dog's hike, not your own, at your dog's pace, not your own.

Those are the primary elements to taking full responsibility for the care and safety of your dog and minimizing its impact on others and the environment. Hiking with your dog can be a very rewarding experience for both of you, but it's not without it's challenges.