Hiking with your Cairn

[SparkyJonesMom]

There's a mountain here that we like to hike, and the trail I'm thinking about taking Sparky on tomorrow is about 1 and a half miles or so. I just don't want to attempt to take him if it's going to be too much for him. I'd feel so bad if it was too hard for him. Has anyone ever taken their Cairn on a hike? Do you think Sparky will be OK as long as I take plenty of water for him? Let me know if you have any advice or tips!

[Idaho Cairns]

No problem--our pup (17 weeks) regularly handles a 1-2 mile romp with her big sister and has since we got her in December. If they wear out on a walk, I've never seen it. Our walks are up and down and usually there is water along the way--I would take water if it weren't available in a stream or pond.

[Puddlesmama]

Yes all the time! I find me and my girls have special bonding time being out in nature with them.. If you watch closely you can see how thier insticnts come alive out there.. Very interesting..and they will thank you for it have fun!

[Nikki]

yeah they can handle just fine...Angel and scotty love going hiking ...I usually dont use their collar when we go on the hikes ....I usually just use a step in harness. where we go hiking at there is alot of big rock steps they have to climb and I don't want to put any strain on their necks.

[Jessica H]

Scooter and I hike all summer long. His longest hike was about 13 miles and he was still ready for more. We live in NH so our hikes are all up mountains. That would probably be too much for yours at first, we started with short hikes. I always bring water, a baggie of food and treats for him because they use extra energy and get hungry. I also always have a first aid kit just in case something happens (you should bring one anyway) This summer he will have his own little backpack to carry his own food. He sleeps WELL that night though, lol. It is the best thing. I attach a retractable leash to my backpack so I have free hands. It is 25 feet so he has room to run, sometimes I let him off. I am not sure how Sparky is but if he is a Cairn I think he will be just fine. These dogs are very rugged, you will be surpsrised. I didn't think Scooter would be OK the first time and I was so wrong, I was the one that needed to rest, not him! When he sees his hiking harness and my backpack he gets so excited. He also gets excited when he sees his lifejacket because he knows we are going kayaking...

Here are a few hiking pictures...

[SparkyJonesMom]

I'm glad to hear that they can handle it! I'm excited to take Sparky out tomorrow for his first hiking experience. I'll have to take some pictures!

[sheila and Misty]

I sure wish we had a local place to hike. Or a camping area that would allow dogs.-geeze I envy all you who are able to do that.

[DawnandTuk-tuk]

I bet he'll be fine for a mile. My bit of advice is to watch his underside. Tuk-tuk doesn't seem to know when to let us help him out and will jump over anything no matter how big. He's come home with some scapes on his belly before (usually where the hair doesn't grow much, around his privates) , mostly from trying to go over dead trees or really craggy rocks. He will try to jump things a couple feet or more in height! He just goes right for it. If his coat is short (in the past we've trimmed it down, don't do that anymore, but after stripping it's shorter) is when he's managed to scratch up his chest-that was the downed tree, he just kept trying to get over the thing and it took me a second to catch him and lift him over it, he never even noticed the scratch. Definately rugged.

Look forward to the pictures!

[Idaho Cairns]

I sure wish we had a local place to hike. Or a camping area that would allow dogs.-geeze I envy all you who are able to do that.

We use golf courses a bunch--have any in your area? Courses are good in the winter because there is normally no usage by golfers so you have the run of the place and there is enough woods, rough areas, streams, etc. to keep the dogs' interest--plus plenty of squirrels.

[sheila and Misty]

I sure wish we had a local place to hike. Or a camping area that would allow dogs.-geeze I envy all you who are able to do that.

We use golf courses a bunch--have any in your area? Courses are good in the winter because there is normally no usage by golfers so you have the run of the place and there is enough woods, rough areas, streams, etc. to keep the dogs' interest--plus plenty of squirrels.

oh we have a golf course 5 min from our house but were not aloud to walk dogs there or us for that matter if its not golfing tiime -in the winter they use it for snowboarding.- just roads around the golf course-no woods. we do have a small park we can walk-but theres soo many people and their dogs that its not enjoyable. and its only cement paths (ok for the nails) but no where near the same as a walk in the woods or hiking.

[jodi0553]

Sheila and Misty - Try looking at www.localhikes.com. You are near Pittsburgh, right? It is a site that searches by metro area and even has a category for dog friendly hikes. When I moved to Albany I was shocked to find all the little urban and suburban trails within 20 minutes of me. I just did a search for your area and found that you have a bunch of rail trails in your area that allow dogs and about 20 miles away you can find nature trails that allow dogs. Give it a try!

[sheila and Misty]

Sheila and Misty - Try looking at www.localhikes.com. You are near Pittsburgh, right? It is a site that searches by metro area and even has a category for dog friendly hikes. When I moved to Albany I was shocked to find all the little urban and suburban trails within 20 minutes of me. I just did a search for your area and found that you have a bunch of rail trails in your area that allow dogs and about 20 miles away you can find nature trails that allow dogs. Give it a try!

thanks jodi! the rail trails are nice, but there are tons of people walking and biking on them-theyre ok occasionally but its a cement path and a direct shot for miles from one end to the other-better than nothing but (sigh) not the same as a nice woodsy true hiking trail with creeks ,dirt,rocks,and trees.

[Nikki]

I don't know if you like to camp but...I found this park and it looks gorgeous..Ohiopyle State Park......i dunno how far away it is...but if you like to camp you could always get a cabin or make a tent on a campground or something

link to the park

[sheila and Misty]

I don't know if you like to camp but...I found this park and it looks gorgeous..Ohiopyle State Park......i dunno how far away it is...but if you like to camp you could always get a cabin or make a tent on a campground or something

link to the park

Ive been there. its really nice -its about a 3hour drive for us..I dont know if dogs are allowed on the camping or hiking sites never checked into it because I cant get my husband to take off work and hes really not much of a camper. I think after he retires we can look into something like that-thanks . same with some of the places in Erie too.

[Nikki]

i dunno about PA but most parks allow dogs in ohio as long as they are on a leash ...unless its a garden center or nature preserve...(there is a arboretum and garden close to my house and they don't allow dogs but they have a working Border Collie that reduces the geese population (supposedly).....(zipp the bc)...although I usually just see him playing in the water...lol)

[janiners]

my two dogs LOVE hiking and long walks in the park, in the warmer weather we go for a swim in the river too. Yesterday I took them out for a walk in the park that ended up being about two hours and ten kilometers. My older (and a little over-weight) cairn was showing signs of being tired near the end but the 10 month old pup showed no signs of slowing although she did curl up and go right to sleep when I put her in the car.

One warning - be aware of where you are; these little guys can be targets for coyotes and eagles and well as some of the bigger predators depending on where you live. A golden eagle came within about 3 feet of scooping up my little girl (only 13lbs) in an open river area, luckily I saw it coming, ran straight at it and it veered off. Also, just last week I heard of a lady in my area losing her small dog to a coyote right before her eyes.

[Idaho Cairns]

"be aware of where you are; these little guys can be targets for coyotes and eagles and well as some of the bigger predators depending on where you live. A golden eagle came within about 3 feet of scooping up my little girl (only 13lbs) in an open river area, luckily I saw it coming, ran straight at it and it veered off. Also, just last week I heard of a lady in my area losing her small dog to a coyote right before her eyes."

Always a concern for me. Generally a coyote will stay far away from any human presence except for those increasingly common "urban" coyotes that live quite well amongst human populations. While we haven't had a problem locally, the hills around our place rings with coyote calls on these winter nights so they are close in. I am always concerned with coyotes and Cairns because my girls range pretty far out when we walk in an unleashed situation--I have even seen coyotes on the golf course while playing so I know they inhabit some of the margins of the course.

The problem with coyotes is that they are really extending their range every year--even to areas where they haven't existed in centuries so you have no idea where they might be.

Always seems to be a balance point we have to make between letting the dogs enjoy themselves being a dog and keeping them protected from predators. Any thing can happen--I lost an older Cairn to drowning--a dog that absolutely disliked water and would not go near it, still managed to find a pitfall during an outing--so, be careful--I wasn't and it does hurt a bunch when your own personal inattention creates a tragedy.

[simpsonn]

My Cairn absolutely loves hiking. He's 1 year and a few months old and keeps up no problem. We went out this past weekend cause the weather was warmer (50's) and there was still quite a bit of snow and mud on the trails. He was without a leash for the majority of the hike and had no problem keeping up with our friends 2 lab mixes over pretty rugged terrain and hills for the 2 hours we were out. Have Fun!

[SparkyJonesMom]

We took Sparky hiking on Sunday and he loved it! The trail is part of a state park, so it's well marked and there are a lot of people. We got so many comments on how cute he was, of course. He did great the first half of the trail when it was mainly dirt and some rocky areas in the dirt. But the entire second half of the trail is only boulders and rocks marked by yellow paint to show you the way. We've been on this hike a couple times, but we didn't realize how far the boulder/rock part was until we had a 14 pound dog with us. Bless his little heart, though. He tried so hard to scramble over the big cracks and crevasses. One time my DH had his leash, and I was in front, and I turned around and I saw Sparky hanging onto one boulder with his front legs, and his back legs were trying to get from the previous boulder to the one he needed to get to. His tongue was hanging out as far as it would go and he looked like he'd never been as happy as he was right then. It was really cute to see him so excited. We're going to take him on another hike at another state park about 30 miles away, where the trails aren't just rocks.

I'll post pictures later tonight!

[Nikki]

sounds like he fun....

[SparkyJonesMom]

Lots of pictures. You can see the dirt trail, and then the rocky trail, and then the view from the top:

[Nikki]

oh those pictures are great! looks like you guys had alot of fun

[Brianne_Kathrine]

I take my Cairn on daily 4 mile hikes at the local state park. He lives for his hikes. I worked him up to it by starting at one mile and then increasing over the following month. Benny just loves going hiking and I look forward to taking him when I get off work.

I took him on a 10 mile round trip hike last June and he kept up just fine. He was super tired at the end, but he had a blast.

Cairns are solid and athletic. The more I walk Benny the more he wears out and that means he sleeps all night.

Here are links to a few pictures of Benny on a hike:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1003...mp;id=513106360 resting

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1003...mp;id=513106360 ready to go

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1003...mp;id=513106360 he loves climbing over rocks

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1003...mp;id=513106360 he loves water

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1003...mp;id=513106360 wind in his face

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1003...mp;id=513106360 me with my baby!

Brianne

[oscar's mom]

the pictures are wonderful. and your description of him having the time of his life made me giggle.

[Nikki]

here's our hiking photos