Hiking And Traveling With Dogs [Turns Every Trip Into A Bigger Adventure]

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Hiking and traveling

“Dogs are man’s best friend”, or so the old adage goes. They guard and protect us, give us unconditional love and companionship, lift our spirits when we are feeling down. There is nothing that a dog won’t do for “the leader of the pack”. Likewise, there is nothing a person won’t do for their beloved canine companions.

Hiking and traveling with dogs turns every trip into a bigger adventure, another chance to find something new. Humans often forget that eons ago, dogs were domesticated from wolves, and dogs still have a closer relationship to nature than humans do. When hiking with dogs and letting them run through their natural habitat, that relationship with nature becomes crystal clear, as the dogs run wild through brush and desert, forest and streams, tracking every scent they find, alert to sounds and activity that humans have no sensory awareness of or capacity for, human senses just not being sensitive enough. Being domesticated, most scents in nature are a distant genetic memory for our canine companions since they are now more familiar with the smells of civilization, car exhaust instead of smoke from a fire, air freshener instead of fresh breeze. Every trip becomes a new opportunity for wonder and excitement since absolutely everything in nature is new again.

A dog’s sense of smell is about 40 to 50 times greater than a human, and it’s hearing is about four times greater. By scent alone, a dog can lead a person to something magical in the wilderness, a plant they’ve never seen before, or an encounter with a wild animal, that they likely would have missed if traveling alone. Plus, in the wild, with their heightened senses, a dog is much more likely to be aware of any potential risks or danger well before it arrives. Humans seem far less defenseless to wild predators with a dog in their midst. And, most of the time, while dogs are not likely to travel far away from the human pack, those heightened senses are not infallible. For example, if a dog gets carried away and rushes off following the scent of what it’s instinct considers prey, for example, and dashes across a wide stream it may possibly lose the human scent of their companions since scents don’t carry through water.

Using the above example, traveling with dogs, while an exciting adventure, can also turn into an easy opportunity for disaster to strike. If the dog runs off tracking a scent or chasing a small animal, what was a beautiful hike can easily turn into an emotionally stressful, dangerous trek through unfamiliar territory trying to find the lost member of the family, which even a small town can be an impossibility. And, if an an unexpected disaster does strike, it doesn’t have to be in the wild. Even a thousand miles from home, in an unfamiliar city, a dog can pick up on an intriguing scent, and not be able to find the “pack” again.

Tools

So traveling becomes a perfect opportunity for man to be “dog’s best friend,” if the right tools are brought along. Tools such as a GPS dog fence which can help the protected become the protector if something happens to go wrong. After all, while a dog’s instincts are sharper than their human’s, after millions of generations, since their domestication, they are nowhere close to their ancestors, or their cousins, still living in the wild. A wolf in the wild will know their own territory like a domesticated canine knows it’s own neighborhood, but will also have a better chance at tracking the pack even in unfamiliar territory. If a dog gets lost in an area it is familiar with, it will likely show up at home within a few hours. But in unfamiliar terrain, with the excitement of new scents and sounds, anything can happen. With a GPS collar, what could have been a family disaster can quickly become a real-life family adventure, complete with maps and a “treasure-hunt.” The “X” that “marks the spot” might move a bit on the map, but it’s a treasure that’s guaranteed, if the situation occurs where you have to hunt for it. If the dog has minor injuries, then the kids have an opportunity to learn about both first-aid, and veterinary medicine at the same time. The family camping trip is still an adventure, just with a little unplanned extra excitement added in.

The history of dogs traveling with humans goes back millions of years, when humans were still nomadic, and just learning how to find and build shelter. Wild dogs, wolves, and the like would find the community trash heap and discovered a free food source, scavenging from human scraps. Soon, they started coming in closer, and humans purposefully started to leave food out for them. It didn’t take long for an alliance to form and domestication began. Dogs were the first companions of humans, our first partners in survival, our first protectors outside of the people within the individual community. Very little of that relationship has changed in the several million years since its inception. We still travel together, we still provide food for the dogs, they still help us hunt for the food and alert and protect us from outside dangers. We grow together, we play together, we train together in the same ways we have since our relationship with dogs began. We have become a pack.

There are a few downsides to traveling with canine companions, but not many. Some modes of travel, such as trains and airplanes, are not conducive to pet travel. And while possible, it can be extremely stressful for your dog, leaving emotional anxiety which has the possibility of extending through the remainder of the trip. Also, it’s just not possible to take the four-legged family member everywhere, and leaving your dogs in the car while you visit the local museum or have a nice dinner is not healthy or fair to them. Plus, it defeats the purpose of bringing them on the family vacation. Bringing the dogs, while adding fun and excitement does also mean that extra gear must be packed for them as well. Things like dog food (and the bowls for it), leashes, and the GPS collar to ensure that the trip doesn’t end in disaster.

Traveling with a dog

Any potential downsides, however, are more than balanced out by bringing the canine family members along. Traveling with a dog, even if it’s just a hike up the local mountain, means safety and security. It also means being ready for the unexpected, it means having fun, and it’s a way to stay young-at-heart. Having a dog provides added benefits for both physical and mental health, and people give dogs the same. Traveling with your best friend, is a means of strengthening those benefits, and the bond that exists between human and canine companions. Plus, having a dog on the trip means that dog-friendly locales have to be considered, researched and planned for which will increase the chances of finding someplace new to visit. Plus, with your furry friend, having that uncomfortable “looking like a tourist” moment becomes much less likely to occur as most people still don’t travel with their canine kids regularly.

Dogs, like their people pack leaders, love to travel, love to explore and get “back to nature.” Having a canine companion reduces stress, as does being in a natural environment. Combining the two is a natural recipe for good mental health and alleviating or avoiding depression. Plus, as we get older, we lose motivation, meaning and purpose in our lives. Owning a dog, and traveling with it can bring back that desire, that fire, that zest for life. Dogs don’t sit still, and won’t be ignored. Even if the trip is one where camping in one location is the object of the trip, dogs need to be walked often. On a long road trip, more frequent stops will be required, which also means more exercise for the people on the trip too, which in turn means better heart health, stamina, better blood circulation and more.

Because of the human affinity for, and emotional connection with, dogs, they are a great way to meet new people as well. Since dog-friendly locations on a trip are a requirement, meeting people with similar interests is bound to happen. With new friends, stories are shared, new places to stop and explore are found, resources are exchanged. You can find out first-hand about unpublished roadside attractions, good (and bad) hotels, campsites and other places to stop for a visit. And of course, all the places that cater to the four-legged kids.

Since bringing your dog also makes you look more like a local, real locals are also much more likely to stop and chat with you too. Through them you can find out about hidden gems that only a person from the area would know about, places that won’t be listed in a guidebook or on a map. They can provide advice on emergency needs too: whose the best mechanic if the vehicle breaks down or where the emergency vet is just in case. Plus, locals always know the best restaurants and places to grab a quick bite to eat, and many will know where the dogs can get extra treats.

Planning a trip

Planning a trip with the dogs may seem like a complicated process and daunting and stressful task. In truth, it is no more difficult than planning a trip without them. You decide the type of trip, and location, then take it from there. Adding in the words “pet friendly” when completing on-line searches for parks, hotels, etc will help cut down on search time and narrow options quickly and easily, as well as offer reviews from other dog families. Packing is no different, just include the basics of what the dogs need for the duration of the trip, but always make sure that a little extra of everything is brought along. Make sure that travel time is planned for extra doggy breaks so that everyone is getting enough exercise; no one, especially the canine members of the family likes to be cooped up in a vehicle for too long without a good stretch of the legs. And suddenly the trip is planned. No extra stress or fuss. Then hit the road and start the trip. No worrying about how the dogs are doing in the kennel, few extra fees (if any at all, any extra fees are often similar to the cost of putting your babies in a kennel with strangers), and more chances for adventures. With enough trips together, just like people, dogs become excited over new trips, and can have favorite places to vacation, each with it’s own opportunities and excitement, scents and smells. Each trip can lead to further discoveries, and more adventures, not to mention the bonding between you and your best buddy.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances or emergencies, and having been successfully prepared for them in case they do occur, eventually the trip has to end and everyone has to return home to restart the regular routine. This can be as difficult and depressing for the four-legged members of the family as it is for the two-legged ones. For the duration of the trip, it’s been outside the norm, exciting, adventurous, liberating, with something new and different often several times a day. On the road there’s a sense of freedom for both people and dogs that just cannot be felt at home. There doesn’t have to be any schedules, nor any specific place to be at any specific time. Once the trip is over, everyone is out of car, the luggage is unloaded and the gates are closed, there’s an emotional sense of loss which can take up to a week to dispel and for life to settle back down to normal. With the canine kids it can be particularly difficult, as many will often try and escape back for another taste of the freedom they had during the trip. Taking them on walks through their home “territory” and playing fetch or tug-of-war will help, and with a little time and lots of love, they too will soon settle back into their normal routine.

Being at home with your best friend always has a routine, and it’s a routine the dog knows. By being open to traveling with your dogs a world is opening you both, a bigger world, a world of adventure, abandonment and freedom, to give up the routine, even for a short period of time. The canine members of your family can teach anyone, young or old, how to let go of the stress and rigors of the mundane and monotonous, how to live in the moment and not worry about what’s coming, to let go and let be. Dogs live a simple life, and watching them, especially when traveling with them, reminds us how to do that too. Dogs don’t teach how to be a dog, but they do teach simply how to be. Dogs never lose their playfulness, and don’t hold onto negativity. When you pet a dog, and feel that inner quiet, that inner peace inside yourself, that dog feels it too. Even in the middle of the chase, dogs never lose that inner peace. They don’t have thoughts in their head, they just have an intense focus for what it right in front of them, and that focus is more intense when they are out of their home area. It’s the same focus that the dog has when he’s sticking it’s head out the window of a moving car looking toward the horizon, for the next point on what, to him, is a never-ending trip. Still no thoughts, just pure joy, pure being.

Traveling with your canine companions is not much different than returning to our historical roots. It’s the joy of being nomads, looking for the next stop. Giving safety, security, protection and emotional support to each other. There’s still very little that has changed in the bond between our ancestors and theirs. Still growing, still learning, still training, still doing the same things together and often in the same ways. Sitting under the stars with your best friend by your side, and his best friend by his, a small fire burning down to embers and ash, it’s not difficult to imagine that the dog by your side might be a long distant offspring of the same dog that sat by the side of your long distant ancestor. It’s easy to believe that the scrap of food you just tossed him isn’t much different that the scraps of food that brought the original pack together. Those are the moments when it’s easy to see that not much has changed in the world. And those are the moments that give every reason in the world to take every vacation, every trip you can with your canine family. It’s his world, and his vacation too.

Hiking And Traveling With Dogs [Turns Every Trip Into A Bigger Adventure]