Hiking with Your Dog

Plenty of people hike with their dogs every week and love it. Others try it once and decide the dog is happier on neighborhood walks. Neither answer is wrong. Here is what to weigh.

If you are on the fence, start with a short, quiet outing on a paved or wide gravel trail. You will learn a lot about how your dog handles it before you try narrow dirt singletrack.

Keep your dog on a leash, and keep that leash short. Bella Vista POA rules and city ordinance both require dogs to be leashed. The rule protects you, other trail users, and your dog alike.

A short leash matters as much as the leash itself. A long or retractable leash lets a dog wander into the brush or stretch across the whole trail, where a rider can’t see the line until it’s too late. Even a well-behaved dog on a leash can bolt after a squirrel or toward another dog, and a sudden lunge in front of a cyclist can cause a serious crash. Hold the leash so your dog walks right beside you.

Keep your dog in the middle of the trail with you. That keeps it clear of the brushy edges, where the ticks and poison ivy are, and makes it easier to move aside together when someone needs to pass. For more on sharing the trail, see our Trail Etiquette guide.

Dogs love to nose around at the edges of the trail, and that is exactly where ticks, chiggers, and poison ivy live. Your dog carries what it picks up back to your car and your home. Ticks can crawl off your dog and onto you, and some ticks in our area are linked to alpha-gal syndrome, a meat allergy in people. Poison ivy oil clings to fur, so petting your dog after a hike can give you a rash even if you never touched the plant.

• Use a tick preventative. Make sure your dog is on one before you hit the trail, and talk to your vet about which product is right for your dog.
• Stay in the middle of the trail. This applies to both you and your dog, and it is the simplest way to avoid tall grass and brush.
• Check your dog at the trailhead. Before your dog gets back in the car, run your hands over its coat and look closely at the ears, neck, armpits, belly, between the toes, and under the collar or harness.
• Wash up after brushy hikes. If your dog pushed through undergrowth, a bath helps remove poison ivy oil, and wash your hands and the leash too.

Our Ticks and Alpha-Gal guide covers tick checks, removal, and repellents for people in more detail.

Dogs cool themselves mostly by panting, which works far less well than sweating. That means a dog can overheat on a warm, humid morning that feels fine to you. Arkansas summers are hard on dogs, and a dog will often keep going long after it should stop.

• Go early or go short. In summer, hike in the cool of the early morning, pick shady trails, and cut the distance back.
• Test the pavement. Put the back of your hand on the parking lot or paved trail. If it is too hot for you to hold it there, it is too hot for your dog’s paws.
• Watch for signs of trouble. Heavy panting that doesn’t slow down when you rest, bright red gums and tongue, thick or sticky drool, stumbling, or lying down and refusing to move all mean your dog needs shade, water, and rest right away.
• Never leave your dog in the car. A parked car heats up fast, even with the windows cracked and even on a mild day.

If your dog shows signs of overheating and does not recover quickly with shade and water, call your vet or an emergency vet clinic.

Most of our trails are shared with mountain bikes, and on narrow singletrack there is no room for a rider to go around a dog. When you hear “Rider up!” or “Rider back!”, or see a bike coming, move aside right away.

1. Step off the trail together. Move to the side and stop, and bring your dog with you.
2. Put yourself between your dog and the rider. Your dog goes on the far side of you, away from the trail.
3. Shorten the leash. Hold your dog close and ask it to sit or wait until the rider has passed.
4. Wait for the whole group. Riders often travel in groups, so ask “How many more?” before you step back onto the trail.

Give other dogs the same space. Not every dog is friendly, and a greeting between two leashed dogs on a narrow trail can go wrong quickly. Ask before letting your dog say hello, and it is fine to simply pass with a wave.

• Water and a bowl. Carry water for your dog as well as yourself, and offer it often. A collapsible bowl weighs almost nothing. Don’t count on streams, which may be dry or unsafe to drink.
• Waste bags. Pick up after your dog every time and carry the bag out with you. Never leave a filled bag beside the trail to grab later, because it too often gets forgotten.
• A short leash and a well-fitted harness or collar. Make sure your dog can’t slip out of it when it pulls backward.
• An ID tag. Keep current contact information on your dog’s collar in case you get separated.
• A towel for the car. It keeps mud, ticks, and poison ivy oil off your seats.

Just like people, dogs need to work up to longer hikes. Start with a mile or two and add distance gradually over several weeks. Watch your dog after each outing. If it is limping, stiff, or wiped out the next day, the hike was too long. Check its paw pads for cuts and wear, especially after rocky trails.

Some dogs are happier at home or on neighborhood walks, and that’s okay. Here are a few dogs for whom busy, narrow trails may not be the best fit.

• Reactive dogs. A dog that barks, lunges, or pulls hard at bikes, other dogs, or strangers will find a shared trail stressful, and so will you.
• Very young or older dogs. A puppy’s joints are still growing, and an older dog may tire or get sore more easily, so keep their outings short and gentle.
• Flat-faced breeds in warm weather. Pugs, bulldogs, and similar breeds have a harder time breathing and cooling down, so save trail time for cool days.
• Dogs with health limits. A dog with a heart, breathing, or joint condition may need a lighter plan that your vet can help you set.

If you are not sure, ask your vet whether your dog is ready for the kind of hiking you have in mind.

This guide is general information from a volunteer trail organization, not medical or veterinary advice. In an emergency, call 911, or for your dog, call your vet or an emergency vet clinic. See our Terms of Use and Trail Safety Disclaimer.