Guidelines for Group Hikes and Campouts

Guidelines for Group Hikes and Campouts

By Denise Newell - Expedition Samoyeds

1. Always bring more pooper-scoopers than you think you can ever use for each dog. (Murphy's Law: your dog will get diarrhea.)

2. Make sure you have a water bowl and an adequate supply of clean (filtered if needed), fresh water for each dog.

3. Make sure you bring an adequate supply (use 125% as benchmark) of appropriate food for the number of days you will be out times the number of dogs. [Example: 4 days X two meals per day = 8 meals per dog, ergo, 8 zip lock bags with appropriate amount of food for their weight and age.] Put the food in water-proof containers or zip lock bags. Also, use a good quality, high fat food. Dogs get their energy from fat. If they are working hard or very cold, they burn a lot of it. We use Eukanuba Premium Performance.

4. Insure your collars and leashes are in good condition. Never use leather collars or leashes. Leather gets brittle and cracks. (Murphy's Law: a leather leash or collar can break, and will at the most inappropriate time) There should be no rips in the nylon or damaged snap swivels.

5. Insure the collar is adjusted correctly. Use a Limited Slip Collar. Never use a choke chain, prong collar, etc. when hiking. [Scenario: If your dog goes over a cliff or slips off a rock with a choke or prong collar on, the damage to your dog can be severe.]

6. If you use a pack for your dog, make sure it fits correctly and is adjusted correctly. Depending on the dog, do not exceed 25% to 30% of their body weight in the pack.

7. Make sure you have all the tags on the dog's collar as required. Almost all Local, State and National Parks expect you to have at least a valid rabies tag and ID tag. The same holds true for National Forest areas.

8. Make sure you are on a trail that is for dog use. Many trails are not for dog use.

9. Many parks require you to use a leash no longer than 6 feet in order to insure you have control over your dog. It is best, therefore, to always use a 4-6 foot leash. [Scenario: Retractable leashes are great in controlled environments; however, if your dog is 25' away from you and you run into a bear, your dog has a BIG problem. If the dog is "off-leash", it may be bear food.]

10. Never assume other dogs are friendly. Never assume your dog wants to meet other dogs or that other dogs want to meet him/her. [For instance: You probably don't like everyone you meet and neither does your dog.] Never just walk up to someone else with dogs and not carefully watch your dog for warning signs that could signal trouble. If you see any warning signs, keep the dogs from further contact. Always keep a buffer area between your dogs and others where they are not making eye contact or verbalizing at each other. If someone tells you that there could be trouble or asks you to keep your dogs back, do so without animosity; they are doing you and your dog a favor.

11. Make sure that your dog's immunizations are up to date. If you are in a public area or wild area, your dog could come in contact with other animals or their secretions that are infected.

12. It is important to exercise caution when you are hiking and your dog is on leash and you come upon a dog that is off leash. Your dog is vulnerable and can not maneuver if it is attacked. All dogs should be leashed in the outdoors for their safety. Unfortunately, not everyone appears to appreciate this fact until it's too late.

13. Always have a first aid kit with you for the dogs specifically. Dog first aid kits are available widely as commercial products or you can make your own. If you would like a separate list of what to put in your own dog first aid kit, ask us for the list.

14. Depending upon trail conditions, take dog boots with you to protect your dog's feet from damage. You should have a small can of Bag Balm for your dog's feet in your dog first aid kit or each dog's pack.

15. Know the warning signs/symptoms of hypothermia and heat exhaustion in dogs and what to do for your dog if you notice these signs/symptoms.

16. If your dog is hot, drinking cold water could cause regurgitation. If it laps up water to quickly, it can choke. Water is important for evaporative body cooling in dogs. Insure it is offered water frequently. This also helps cut the desire to consume trailside water that might be contaminated. If your dog wants to cool his feet in the water bowl or other water...let him. Wetting his feet helps to cool his entire body.

17. Remember that your dog can suffer from mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, flys, etc. Make sure you are using some kind of repellant. Flea and tick collars do not work well enough on long-haired dogs to be useful.

18. Wildlife can be very dangerous to your dog. Northern Breed dogs have a prey drive, they will chase anything that runs away and if they kill it, they may then consume it. Deer can kick a dog to death. Bears can maul a dog to death. Raccoons will tear a dog up and can have rabies. Skunks can spray your dog (which in itself has killed dogs) and can have rabies. Rattlesnakes can inject poisonous venom. Bobcats can kill a dog. Mountain Lions prey on dogs. Rodents can carry a number of diseases. All of the above carry parasites ranging from fleas and ticks to worms of various types. These are good reasons not to let your dog off leash.

19. Northern Breeds will eat large herbivorous mammal's feces. There are two schools of thought, one is that they are supplementing their nutritional needs, second is that they are trying to mask their body scents (you smell like what you eat) to better stalk their prey. Feces can have numerous types of parasites. If you are in an area with horses, cattle or deer, your dog will need to be watched closely or it will eat the feces.