Ha! Yeah, indeed no one wants to do that. I’m happy to hear you are making sure your son’s pup gets plenty of exercise while he is gone.

Hi Joanne. The bag Chester is in is the Flash 18 pack from REI. It’s something I carry in my backpack in case of emergency but it’s not something I would carry my Dachshunds in on a regular basis or when it’s not absolutely necessary. It’s not sportive for their spines. It’s a great “emergency evacuation” tool though because it’s small, and relatively lightweight enough, to always carry in the bottom of my backpack.

Hi Kate. I’m happy to hear you were inspired by my blog. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a grand adventure.

David,

We live in a house and do all of our traveling from there. I work for myself so my schedule is pretty flexible.

Over the last 15 years I’ve been hiking with my dogs, we’ve rarely had foot issues. Only twice did the outer layer of one foot pad scrape off. My former Dachshund Chester had an issue once, and had to be carried out, when we hiked 15 miles over fine shale. He got the sharp “sand” between his foot pads and they rubbed them raw. That was my fault because I wasn’t even aware that could happen.

Fortunately, very sharp rocks are not common where we hike. I would certainly be wary of hiking for 10 miles over sandstone (aka. sand paper) or sharp lava rock. It’s been impossible to find dog boots for them that, fit, would stay on, and don’t chafe. I’m definitely not a fan of boots anyway unless they are absolutely necessary. In the snow, so it doesn’t stick and rub, I put Musher’s Secret paw balm on them.

It is very interesting how we come across our four legged family members. I have always been into wolves and dogs that have the appearance of them. Huskies and Malamutes come to mind. However, when we met Abbey at the Animal Defense League, we knew she was the one for us. Luckily she loves playing with Huskies, so perhaps she will gain a sister some time soon!

Do you do your traveling from a primary residence, or do you maintain more of an RV lifestyle?

Do you have to do any special care or preparation for your dogs feet prior to the long hikes? I bet their feet get fairly sore. Ten miles with such a small stride seems like a million steps!

Thanks David. On an “interesting” note, I was 100% sure I wanted a Rhodesian Ridgeback when I was in college. They are such beautiful dogs and seemed to fit my desired lifestyle perfectly. Being the responsible kind, I knew I had to wait until I graduated and had the time (and my own place) to care for one. It tore me up to have to wait. After I graduated, things didn’t go as planned in life and I found myself living on my friend’s couch. She got a Dachshund puppy. We became “proper” roommates and I helped take care of her dog while she was out of town (which was a lot). Eventually, we parted ways and her Dachshund came with me. Now I am in love with the breed. That’s how I became a Dachshund owner instead of a Rhodesian Ridgeback owner. 🙂

Since my dog is a hound she cannot help but stop and smell everything. If she becomes uninterested in sniffing, along with the panting or drippy tongue you described, we call it quits. That being said, we live in San Antonio where it gets very hot and she has never went anywhere close to ten miles. She’s a sprinter. Very good in close distances lol.

I wish you good fortune on the trails to come. And I LOVE the name of your website! It’s too good.

I love hearing stories like this Marc. I can see her little self happily scrambling over rocks and roots. Hiking is the best! 🙂

An interesting article. I have a 10 mph o.d miniature long haired dachshund and am in the same process of helping to stretch her stamina. I have yet to see her tired.

I don’t consider 25 lbs a small dog. Mine are 11 lbs 🙂 But we agreee that dogs are capable of more than a lot of people give them credit for.

Dachshunds can be so stubborn! Ha, ha. When they don’t want to go, they won’t. With Pippa, I would suggest staring her regular hikes just below the threshold where she refuses to continue on. For example, I would take her for regular 1-mile hikes for a while. When she seems fine with that most of the time, you can slowly start extending the duration. My dogs are very food motivated so enticing them a little further with treats works well. As long as it is always a positive experience for her, she may be a 3+ mile hiker in no time 🙂

Wow. You’ve done some really spectacular hikes! Chester and Gretel can go all day too and still have energy after 🙂

Thanks Jennifer. I’m glad to hear that Teddy is a real go-getter.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Although I’ve found that most Dachshunds take well to hiking, there are some that don’t. Mostly those are the ones that weren’t encouraged to be that active since they were young… but some are just not into it 🙂

Hi Natalie. My dogs have never gotten tired so I don’t have to regularly plan to carry them. However, it is important to have an “evacuation method” in case of emergency and there was once recently that I carried my senior dog the last half (steep) mile up a Colorado 14er. This is what I always carry for emergencies: http://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/rei-flash-18-pack-review-you-put-your-weiner-in-there/ and these are the best two methods I have found if you are going to regularly carry your dog in a pack: http://youdidwhatwithyourweiner.com/backpacks-carrying-dachshund-dog/. I know the post are kind of Dachshund-centric but these packs would work for other small dogs too. Good luck and glad to see you are getting your little guy out there.

Thanks in advance!

Yeah, it’s important to know the difference between the “I’m tired” look (Ok) and the “this is totally miserable” look. When I see the “totally miserable” look on other dog’s faces and their owners can’t tell, it makes me a little sad.

Thanks Theresa. I don’t know how she does it but Gretel often seems to have MORE energy when we come back from walks or hikes. This one was a long one so she was pooped but she still wanted to play fetch as soon as we got home. Stinker. All I wanted to do was nap!