Hiking With Your Dog: A Safety Checklist

VCA Animal Hospitals advises building your dog's muscle and stamina with a training routine suited to the hike's length and difficulty. If your dog will carry a pack, condition the dog with the pack on¹. Practice basic leash manners and a reliable "leave it" or "come" before you head out¹. Dogs that are still growing, are older, or have health problems should get a veterinarian's go-ahead first. Tufts University's veterinary school also notes that short-faced breeds overheat quickly and are at higher risk of airway obstruction².

• Update vaccines for diseases wildlife can spread, such as rabies, distemper, and leptospirosis¹.
• Apply flea and tick prevention before the hike¹.
• Use a 6-foot leash and a secure collar. VCA advises against retractable or very long leashes because they tangle in brush and reduce control¹.

Pet rules differ from place to place. The National Park Service (NPS) says most parks allow pets in developed areas, and that you should confirm the rules for the specific park before your visit⁹¹⁰. Its B.A.R.K. guidelines are to bag waste, always leash your pet, respect wildlife, and know where you can go⁹.

One example: New River Gorge National Park requires a physical leash no longer than 6 feet and allows pets on all trails. It says leashes help keep pets from scaring wildlife or meeting dangerous animals⁸. That park also notes that streams may contain harmful bacteria or parasites such as Giardia, and that water is not available at trailheads, so bring extra water for your dog⁸. Other parks may differ, so check the park's own page.

VCA notes that dogs can get hot and dehydrated on a hike and need more water than they drink at home. Pack enough water and a collapsible bowl¹. The Merck Veterinary Manual says young, elderly, and overweight dogs are especially vulnerable to heat, as are dogs with short muzzles and dogs with thick or dark coats⁶.

Hot asphalt and hot sand can burn a dog's paws severely⁶. VCA suggests dog booties for rough terrain¹.

Heatstroke is an emergency. Warning signs include hot skin, vomiting, drooling, rapid panting, distress, uncoordinated movement, collapse, or unconsciousness. Merck advises moving the dog out of the heat, cooling the head and body with cool water, wet towels, or a fan, offering small amounts of water once cooling begins, and getting to a veterinarian right away. Do not immerse the dog in cold water⁷.

Ticks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends a tick preventive for dogs and daily tick checks, especially after time outdoors. Check the ears, eyelids, under the collar, front armpits, between the toes, rear legs, and around the tail. Ticks are harder to see on long or dark fur. A vaccine exists for Lyme disease but not for most other tickborne diseases in dogs. Signs of illness may take 7 to 21 days or longer to appear³.

Snakes. The Merck Veterinary Manual calls a venomous snakebite "a true emergency." Owners should spend no time on first aid beyond keeping the dog quiet and limiting its activity. Ice, tourniquets, and cutting or suction can do harm, and delay can too. Hair can hide fang marks⁵.

Algae. The CDC says dogs are the animals most often reported sick from freshwater cyanotoxins. Exposure can happen by swallowing water, licking toxin from fur, skin or eye contact, or breathing in aerosols. Signs include vomiting, foaming at the mouth, diarrhea, lethargy, stumbling, and tremors, and they can appear minutes to hours after exposure. There is no known antidote, and early supportive care can save a life. If your dog enters water that may contain a bloom, rinse it right away with tap water⁴.

Wildlife. Keep your dog leashed and respect wildlife, as the NPS advises⁹.

VCA says your human hiking kit covers most needs. Add tweezers (for grass awns, cactus spines, and ticks), a muzzle, and a clean sock with tape as a temporary foot bandage¹. Tufts adds disposable gloves, gauze pads, non-stick pads and self-adhering wrap, saline or tap water to flush wounds, towels, and an extra leash². Ask your veterinarian before packing any medication.

Tufts is clear that a first-aid kit is not a substitute for veterinary care. It suggests listing emergency hospitals within about a 60-minute drive of where you will be and calling ahead before you arrive².

No single source gives a complete turn-back list, so this section combines warning signs from the pages above. Consider stopping, resting, and heading back if your dog:

• Is out of breath or repeatedly tries to sit or lie down¹¹.
• Is limping, or has a cut or sore pad that you cannot safely manage with basic first aid².
• Shows hot skin, heavy drooling, vomiting, or unsteadiness, which can signal heatstroke⁷.
• Seems unusually slow, irritable, or has trouble lying down or getting up afterward¹¹.

For heatstroke, a snakebite, or suspected algae exposure, go to a veterinarian right away.

Park pet rules change and vary widely, so read the current rules for your trail. A rattlesnake vaccine for dogs is mentioned by Merck, but it only says it may reduce the effects of a bite⁵, so talk with your veterinarian about whether it makes sense where you hike.