Hiking with dog.

VickieVexed1

Hi All

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post...if not, sorry!

My OH and myself have recently discovered a love of hiking/hill walking. Our little JRx loves it, no problem with energy and we don't take him anywhere where his little paws might suffer.

My question is. As our hikes get longer (3/4 hours)we will take energy bars, some trail mix etc. for ourselves, but apart from water, should we take some food to give the little man extra energy? He's a little rocket and never slows down. I hadn't given any thought to this, but hubby thinks it might be necessary.

Thanks for any advice you might have.

stevire

Keep an eye on his weight, I personally would up his food intake before and after the trail. For 3-4 hour hike I'd probably bring some high quality snacks packed with calories like peanut butter snacks.

muddypaws

I do long distance treks with the huskies, and find high fat snacks work best, as dogs use fat for energy. Sausages are a real favourite. Make sure he's well hydrated, I bait their water about an hour before we work, usually with tinned fish, just put a bit in the water, to get the fish, they drink the water.

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

Knine

Melendez wrote: »

Other people have dogs who will whine, bark and scream at the fish until someone removes it from the water for them.

It was a great suggestion. Certainly not my dogs, they have great craic removing the goodies from the water & drink the water while doing so.

muddypaws

Melendez wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Everybody that I know with working sleddogs baits their water in this way

Melendez

This post has been deleted.

Alun

muddypaws wrote: »

Everybody that I know with working sleddogs baits their water in this way

Interesting .. I recall when I was up in Sweden dogsledding that the dogs drank no liquid water at all, except from the warm water that their morning kibble was soaked in. They got a lot of water from their other meals which were chunks of meat or fish in the form of frozen blocks, but I also learnt from the guide that they are able to create a good portion of their water intake internally as part of the metabolic process of burning up of the fats in their food.

VickieVexed1

Thanks for the great advice everyone. So much great information here.

Adding something to his water will suit him perfectly, he loves playing with his drinking water....and blowing bubbles!

I really appreciate all your help.