Take a Hike!
One of many accessible and rewarding ways to get the exercise you need to stay a healthy pup!
Boy what a weekend that was. I’m writing this while looking through the window at the aftermath of an amazing backyard bash. I don’t know about you, but I’ve certainly reserved extra time this week for naps and doubled the amount of biiiiig stretches I do coming out of them.
But it hasn’t all been lounging around. I make sure to get out and about on a daily basis, even after a long weekend or big event. During my morning walk yesterday, one of the neighborhood dogs asked me how I was going to follow that up this weekend and I told him to take a hike. He looked at me with a long face (he’s a Rough Collie), and I said no seriously, Take a Hike!
Hiking is such a great form of exercise for both you and your pawrent! Both mentally and physically stimulating, getting out and about provides all the keys to keeping me a healthy and happy pup.
This week we’ll be looking at the right amount of exercise you should be getting on a daily/weekly basis and about ways to make it something both you and your pawrent look forward to!
You may be wondering if you are giving your pup enough exercise, but most of the time they will tell you! Whether they are acting out at home, or are seeming more anxious than usual. These are usually signs that your furry friend is not getting enough exercise and mental stimulation.
How much exercise does YOUR dog need?
Ultimately that depends on the age, health, and breed of your dog, but here are some simple rules that I follow.
Let’s start with puppies: those little guys have A LOT of energy and you may think that doing an extended play session or walk to tire them out is the best. However, it is best for developing puppies to get frequent short bursts of activity. Puppy bones are still developing so taking them for long walks or hikes can actually be harmful to their growth.
What about us adult doggos: this is more broad as it depends on the type of dog you have. A high energy dog like a border collie requires much more exercise than say a bulldog. A standard rule that the doggo experts say is about 30-45 minutes a day. However, if you have a high energy dog they may need closer to 60-90 minutes of focused exercise a day. This can also depend on if you have an older dog, a doggo with some health issues, or a dog that has maybe gotten into a few too many treatos.
If you're curious about your dog, we actually found a daily exercise calculator HERE.
Planning out your adventure(s), hike or otherwise
Going on multiple short walks a day is an ideal way to spread out the exercise and give us a chance for some mental stimulation along the way. Have you ever let your pup have a “sniff walk”? I LOVE using my sniffer and we usually start out our morning walk with one of these for about 15-20 minutes. This simple activity is great for us because we see most of the world through scents we pick up and the mental stimulation from these type of walks is actually great exercise.
Exercise doesn’t always have to be about distance traveled - other forms of exercise I enjoy, both physical and mental include: fetch, agility practices in the backyard, hide and seek in the house, and puzzles. I am usually up for it all!
WHY HIKING IS A GREAT OPTION
Not only is hiking a great form of exercise, getting out in the great outdoors benefits you and your pup in multiple ways!
Mental Stimulation
Exploring a new space means new sniffs! We can get bored sniffing the same fire hydrants and trees along our normal neighborhood route. Taking a new trail will allow us to inspect new smells, find new sticks, and meet new friends. Being active outdoors helps our humans’ mental health as well! They will feel happier and more relaxed after spending a day outdoors with us.
Bonding & Training - being in a new area, we will be extra reliant upon our pawrents for guidance. Mine take this opportunity to reinforce good behavior like “come when called” and “heel”. There is nothing like exploring a nearby trail hike and finding our new favorite together! Taking this focused time together is truly a bonding experience for both pup and human.
Accessible
Most trails you are going to visit are completely free, the only expense you may have is a parking fee and then gas of course. But going on a “hike” doesn’t have to mean a long trek to the mountains. We find “hikes” in nearby neighborhoods all the time, with the destination being a new park that we have yet to explore.
If you do opt for a more extended adventure like a hike, make sure you prepare accordingly. While we love being outdoors, we have different needs that need to be taken into account before we head on down the trail.
Bring enough water - We can’t sweat to cool ourselves like you. On average we’re supposed to drink one ounce of water for every pound we weigh, but when performing exhaustive activities or in the heat, that number should increase. I get extra thirsty on our adventures so we bring along our favorite water bottle for slurping on the go along with a backup bottle to refill because I can be a bit messy when it comes to drinking water…
Read up on the terrain beforehand - understand the length, elevation, and difficulty. Take a look at the weather, is it going to be too hot? Too cold? Will I potentially end up wet? If the hike seems borderline treacherous for you, am I going to be fit enough for it? My mom is a researcher before any adventure big or small and we have found lots of great insight on dog friendly trails and the rules of the road at alltrails.com. They even have a filters like “dog friendly”, difficulty level, or length so that you can narrow down that long list of hikes!
Be respectful of the environment and those around you - One of the most important things to remember when going on a hike is to be respectful of the people, pups, and nature around you! National Parks has a B.A.R.K rule that can make it easy to remember and is as follows:
B - Bag your pets waste
A - Always leash your pet
R - Respect the wildlife
K - Know where you can go
Just because you're out in nature doesn't mean you should leave pup droppings out there. Take everything you went into the hike with, out! Also, I know it can be fun to be off leash, but if this is a high traffic hike with lots of people and pups, let's be respectful of our fellow adventurers! You also never know what wildlife you can encounter if you venture off too far…
Don’t Forget!!!
Regardless of the adventure, we make sure that I have everything I could possibly need. There is no telling what I am able to get into.
Packing List (walks, hikes, trips to the park or beach)
Water Bottle - we love this water bottle because of the functionality of it. We will also pack an extra water to refill this up because hydration is very important!
Treats and/or food - depending on length of hike we will pack along some single ingredient treats like chicken chips, turkey strips or freeze dried chicken as sources of high protein. If we are going on a longer hike or a hike that is a further destination we will pack a serving of food along with a collapsible food dish!
Towel - who knows what kind of mischief I may get up to on a hike or if there's some water I may need to inspect, so we always bring a towel to wipe me down or get off any dirt after the trek is over!
Satchel - mom uses this pet friendly crossbody bag from Wild One because it has several compartments, an easy access front pocket, a poop bag dispenser, and a magnetic opening that makes it easy to grab treats out one handed!
Small pet first aid kit - we always like to have a first aid kit with us when we go on ANY adventure because us pups can get into trouble sometimes OR just have a simple accident. This small pet first aid kit comes in handy.
Proper cleaning afterwards - make sure your humans give you a good thorough cleaning or body search after your hike! Things like fleas, ticks, foxtails, and other unwanted debris could be lingering in our fur.
If you had some extra fun splashin in the water or rolling in the dirt, a nice bath may be needed. To help with any inflammation/muscle aches, any itchiness, or open scrapes you could’ve gotten on your adventures, I usually treat myself with a nice epsom salt bath! If you’ve been following us on social media then you know I love a good spa day with a relaxing bath, my cozy duckie robe, and a nice brush afterward…but I could do a whole other newsletter on that topic!
My SOCAL Favorites!
If you’re a local to Southern California, here are some of my favorites. If you are not, they are good examples of how easily you could label a new adventure, a new “hike”!
Palos Verdes Bluff Trails: This rural hike has some of the best views of the SOCAL coastline. We usually just street park at the Bluff Cove Lookout and walk along the cliff edge until we get tired! There are a few areas where you are walking next to a busy street so be mindful of your surroundings!
Venice Canals:
This neighborhood walk is a must do tourist adventure, even if you're not really a tourist. It is so fun to walk up and down the canals and see all the interesting and unique houses in the area. There are also lots of cool photo opportunities on this walk! This “hike” will have you right in the middle of the greater Venice neighborhood where there are plenty of other exploring possibilities in walking distance for before or after.
Any of the beach boardwalks: Since I came home with my pawrents I have been living the beach life. First in Playa del Rey, and now in Redondo Beach. From PDR you have access all along up and down the beach city neighborhoods. You can walk, bike, run the boardwalk all the way down to Redondo, going through beach towns Manhattan and Hermosa or head north up the shore all the way up to Santa Monica going through Marina del Rey and Venice.
Now make it happen!
What a fun way to spend quality time with our humans! No matter what you end up doing for exercise throughout the week, us doggos surely appreciate it. Getting outside, getting active, and exploring something new together is quite the adventure.
Call it a hike, a walk, a stroll - no matter the size is such a great form of exercise for both you and your pup! Adding this type of experience to your dog’s routine regimen will help not only help build endurance for future physical activities, but it’s also great for bonding, training, and the all important mental stimulation.
Let me know where you found your hike this week! I’ll be sharing my pictures and I hope you will too!
As always, stay friendly!
Graham