Rooney is a lot like us - he works hard for the views and then stands there breathing in the moment.  This pup loves a vista and loves to stick his face into the breeze and let his adorable ears flop around. 

I get it, Roon.  I get it.

I don't have a good reason for putting my coat on Rooney, other than it's crazy adorable.  Normally Rooney would shake this coat off right away, but this was one of those crisp (i.e. freaking cold) mornings on the trail so he let me document this little moment, as long as it meant he could keep the coat.  His facial expression seems to be saying "enjoy this moment, lady, because it ain't happening again." :-)

If you like what you read, we would love to hear from you in the comments section!  It's fun to get feedback and it helps us create future posts.  And be sure to stay in touch on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, BlogLovin or RSS!

Can you spot Rooney in this pic??  That pup loves to wander and explore.  This pic was taken during one of Serial's many forest preserve excursions and happened shortly after Chicago was hit hard with rain and flooding.  You can see that there is still so much water lingering, even a full week after the storms.   Crazy!

If you like what you read, we would love to hear from you in the comments section!  It's fun to get feedback and it helps us create future posts.  And be sure to stay in touch on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, BlogLovin or RSS!

This post is part of a series on Chicagoland Parks.  You can read more about how we are finding the woods while living in the city here.  You can read all of the posts in this series here.

I've been traveling around to various Forest Preserves in the Chicagoland area and have found Lake County to have some of the niceset, most manicured parks around. Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve, being one of our favorites, is 1200 acres of mostly open, rolling prairie and a few ponds with 5.5 miles of trail that meander about making two separate but connected loops.  The trail is the size of an old forest road and graded for running, biking and cross country skiing. Rooney and I typically head out there in the middle of the afternoon, when there aren't too many folks, though I can imagine it gets pretty crowded during peak hours and days. As far as the hiking goes, this is pretty tame and an adventure I'd piece together with another Preserve to make a full day.

Also, the ponds are a haven for several species of birds, so keep a look out. 

If you like what you read, we would love to hear from you in the comments section!  It's fun to get feedback and it helps us create future posts.  And be sure to stay in touch on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or RSS! 

If you missed Part 1 of Hiking with a Dog, you can click here to read it.  We covered diet, paws, ticks and gear.  This time we wanted to talk about a few things to consider before hiking with your dog.

Before we get to that though, we wanted to give an update on Rooney.  In Part 1, we talked about the dangers of ticks and we mentioned that our pup contracted a tick-borne illness on the AT.  Several people sent us messages asking how Rooney was doing today and we wanted to say thank you for the concern!  We’re happy to report that he’s doing great and is fully recovered.  We got off the trail when his injuries first occurred and took him straight to a vet.  He had a cast for a few days (to protect his swollen paw) and a month of medication.  Bottom line, we took time off the trail and made him our priority.  Today, he is back to his normal, healthy, happy self.

Quick disclaimer before we continue with this post - we are not veterinarians nor are we experts on dogs.  But we do have a good deal of experience on the AT.  We were living in Damascus, VA when we first brought Rooney home so he grew up on the AT and between hiking with Serial and trail running with Minutes, Rooney logged a consistent 40-50 miles a week.  When it came time for our 1400-mile section hike, Rooney was ready and we knew what to expect.

Our goal with this post is to help you look at the pros and cons of bringing a dog on a long distance hike and to help you determine if it’s the right move for you.

Is your dog ready for a long distance hike?  This is a touchy subject for some because the truthful answer is “probably not.”  It takes a lot of work to thru-hike.  Most people don’t make it to Katahdin and even fewer dogs do.  It IS possible though, if you have the right dog and you have the right preparation and mindset going in.  If you can answer yes to these questions, then you’re on the right track.

• Is your dog the right breed to be active for 8-12 hours a day?  There isn’t a list of breeds we can give you.  Just be realistic and honest about your dog’s capabilities.
• Is your dog acclimated to the trail?  Will your dog be comfortable and respectful around wildlife, hikers, other dogs, shelters and other people’s gear?
• Have you built up your dog’s hiking endurance?  His/her paws, joints and endurance need to be gradually built up and conditioned to the trail.  You know how the trail whips people into shape in the first few weeks?  That’s not how it works for dogs.  You should get your dog into shape the year or two before the trail.  Don’t let the trail be a shock to your pet’s system.
• Are you prepared for your dog’s personality to (possibly) change a little?  If your dog has been raised in a home, living on the trail may change him/her.  One change we saw in Rooney is that now he is overly protective of food.  We can’t feed him around other dogs at all now.  He had hiker hunger on the trail, just like we did, and he lost the comfort of regularly feeling full.  He became very possessive of his food and even now he will snap at another dog if they get too close to it.  We are still working on changing this behavior, even though we have been off the trail for months.
• Are you willing to put your dog’s needs before your own?  Sitting at home by your computer, this is an easy one to say “yes” to.  But you need to picture these situations and really, honestly ask yourself if you will resent your dog or ignore your dog’s needs.
  • You’ve been in the woods for 4 days and you are hungry and dirty.  You finally get to town and there are zero hostels or hotels that are pet-friendly.  Your hiker crew is ordering pizza and getting ready to shower, watch TV and sleep in beds.  You and your dog are grabbing food and heading back to the woods to sleep on the ground.  Are you okay with it?
  • You get to town and there’s a hostel that charges $10 for a bunk, but doesn’t allow pets.  The hotel charges $50/night plus a $25 pet fee.  Your only choices are to fork over the money or head back to the woods.  Are you okay with it?
  • You’re in town and found a pet-friendly, affordable place to stay (huzzah!) and your friends are heading out to the restaurant for pizza and beer.  The place you’re staying doesn’t allow you to leave your pet alone in a room so you have to skip out on the restaurant.  Are you okay with it?
  • Your dog gets hurt.  Your only choices are to have someone come get your dog and watch him/her while you finish the trail or to end your hike.  Are you okay with it?  (read this one twice and really consider it)

Pet policies on the trail.  There are two places that you are not allowed to take your dog on the AT and will require extra planning: The Smoky Mountains and Baxter State Park.  When you get to the Smokies, you are looking at 5-7 days of hiking that your dog will have to skip, unless you have a service dog.  If your dog is not a service dog, you will need to plan for this section and there are two main options:  skipping this section or boarding your dog. The Smokies are epic so we don’t recommend skipping it, but that’s your choice.  We boarded our dog through the Smokies and it was a good break for him and also a good break for us.  Taking care of a dog on the trail is hard work.  It was really nice to have a week off to just hike together and not be managing Rooney’s needs.  The place we boarded him met us in Fontana and picked Rooney up.  Rooney stayed at their hostel at the end of the Smokies and we hiked to him.  When we exited the Smokies, Rooney was waiting for us and was rested.  He was really happy to see us and start hiking again.  If you want to know the specifics of how much it cost or which hostel we used, send us an email at jill {at} atraillife {dot com}.

Baxter State Park is the second time you will need to make arrangements for your pooch.  Since it’s the end or the beginning of the trail for most hikers, it might work best to ask someone to pick you up/drop you off and stay an extra day to watch your dog.  There are boarding services there, but we can’t vouch for them personally.  When Serial thru-hiked, we didn’t have Rooney and our section hike ended in NY so we haven’t dealt with a dog in Baxter.

Trail Etiquette.  It’s always better to be extra respectful of others on the trail, especially in the beginning. Once you get to know the hikers around you and have a hiking crew that you see everyday, you can relax a bit but that takes time and will depend on the hikers in your group.  Use common sense and these basic tips that we learned to make it a pleasant experience for everyone.

• Be respectful of others.  You don’t know if the hikers around you have allergies or a fear of dogs so keep your pup leashed and ask permission before letting your dog approach someone.
• Speak up for your dog.  If someone else has a dog at the shelter and you don’t want your dog to play with him/her, politely say so.  If someone is feeding your dog food scraps, politely explain that you’d prefer not to start that habit.  If you are respecting other’s feelings about dogs, they should respect your dog too and it’s your job to make sure that happens.
• Leash your dog.  Every time we went to a shelter or were near a group of people, we had Rooney on a leash.  The only exception was when we were camping away from a shelter, with people we knew well.  When we were hiking, we would let him off the leash when we were alone, but we never crossed a road or came in contact with another hiker without putting him on a leash.  Even if you think your dog has perfect response to voice commands, you can’t predict how they will react in every situation.  And more importantly you can’t predict how other people (or their dogs) will react to your pup.  Use your leash.
• Keep your dog out of other people’s stuff.  No exceptions.  Do not let your dog eat someone’s food or step on his/her gear.  It will not lead to anything good.
• Be prepared to sleep in your tent.  The only time we ever stayed in a shelter was in the Smokies, when Rooney was boarded.  We did see other dogs in shelters occasionally, but not often and it usually wasn't encouraged by other hikers.  Rooney came to know the tent as his home and it was a place of comfort for him so we were content to stay in it every night.  We even used it indoors once.
  

Questions from Readers.  Thank you to Tracy for submitting the wonderful questions!

1. What did you have in your first aid kit that was dog specific?  Rooney’s first aid kit included a tick key, tweezers, acidophilus supplements, paw wax and his monthly tick treatment.  His full gear list can be found here.
2. When you started hiking could you describe a typical day (did you tire before your dog or did he tire before you)?  We tired before him, without fail.  Rooney has crazy energy.  If we had a low mileage day (anything less than 15 miles), he would do sprints at camp that night to burn off his extra energy.  He is really happy when he’s out in the woods so we never felt like he was too tired to continue, but he did sleep soundly every night.  And when we had zero or nero days at a hotel, he zonked out the whole time.  He climbed up on the bed and promptly passed out, waking only to stuff his face with food.  (Hmmm…sounds a lot like us actually).  But when he woke up the next morning, he was amazingly perky and always ready to go again.
3. Did you find yourself taking more breaks than others because of him?  Not really.  When we took a break in the beginning, Rooney was still running around and playing.  Once we settled in, maybe a month in or so, he would take a quick nap at lunch, but it didn’t last very long and he was always ready to go when we were, and usually before us.

We hope this was helpful for those planning their hike.  It wasn’t our intention to discourage you from bringing your dog, we just wanted to be realistic about how hard it is to hike 8-10 hours every day and how much extra work it is to have your dog with you.  We love our dog a ton and have been living and hiking on the AT with him for 2000+ miles and 3 years, but even we’ve had days when we wished he wasn’t there.  It’s just the reality of it.

We never once felt that Rooney was being pushed past his limits physically, but we regularly felt that we were putting his needs over ours.   And that can take a toll on a hiker.  So pause a moment and really think it through.  If you don’t want to bring your dog, don’t feel guilty.  And if you still want to bring your dog on the trail, that’s awesome.  We’ll do everything we can to help you prepare!

If you have other questions, leave them in the comments or send us an email.  We’d be happy to answer them!  In the meantime, you can read all of our posts on hiking with a dog by clicking here.  And don't forget enter for a chance to win a waterproof camera case from Aquapac?  

The topic we’re asked about most frequently (aside from “why in the world would you hike for that long?”) is hiking with a dog.  It fascinates people and they are always curious how our dog, Rooney, handles living in the woods.  So we thought we’d take a minute to sum up what we’ve learned and how we make hiking with our dog a positive experience.

Real quick, we’ll give you some background on Rooney, to put everything in context.  He’s a 3 year old Weimaraner, which is a very high-energy bird hunting dog with a natural prey drive (i.e. his instinct is to chase wildlife). He’s incredibly athletic and strong.  He weighs anywhere from 70-80 pounds, depending on his level of exercise and his diet.  On the trail, he was a solid block of muscle weighing in at 75 lbs.  He’s friendly, cute and likes to be around people.

Another quick disclaimer:  we are not veterinarians or experts on dogs.  We are just sharing what works for our dog and us.  We encourage you to do your own research and talk to your vet about your dog’s situation.  Each dog is unique.

Diet.  We started our hike with dehydrated dog food (they sell it online) and bought enough for the first month, then shipped it ahead on the trail in mail drops.  We wanted to see how it went for a bit and then reevaluate our options.  We had used this food before on weekend hikes and it worked perfectly, but we weren’t sure if it would work for months on the trail.  And sure enough, it didn’t.

There weren’t enough calories in the dehydrated food and Rooney dropped about 5 pounds in the first week.  He was always hungry for more food and never seemed satisfied after a meal.  It was clear right away that we needed to adjust.  We switched to dry bags of food and supplemented it with olive oil for extra calories.  This did the trick and he put the weight back on quickly.  When we walked out of town we typically had a 6-7 lb bag of food and a big bottle of olive oil, for 3-4 days on the trail.  In town, we fed him a TON of food.  Pretty much anything we could afford to get our hands on.  Raw meat, sweet potatoes, eggs… anything that was safe for him to eat.

And again, to put it in perspective, his diet before the trail included raw foods.  We would not have introduced him to a brand new diet on the trail.   A typical day for Rooney pre-trail was 2 raw meals (chicken, sweet potato, kale) and 1 dry meal (regular dry dog food) so the trail was just an increased amount of things he was already familiar with.  We also carried acidophilus supplements, to prevent/reduce infections in his floppy ears.

Paws.  One of the concerns for dogs that are walking all day is that their paws may crack or wear down.  Thankfully, this wasn’t an issue for Rooney, but we do have a few suggestions for keeping paws healthy.  Many train their dog to hike in boots.  We started out carrying boots, but it was pretty clear that Rooney wasn’t having it.  Plus we felt it was a little risky to mess with his agile footing on such tough terrain.  His paws are massive and strong which is one of the reasons he hikes so well.  So instead we did some research on other options and found a paw wax product called Mushers Secret.  We started using it in Damascus and it gave his paws extra conditioning and protection from the elements.  But the best thing we did was work up to our hike.  Rooney grew up on the AT and was used to the terrain so his paws were conditioned over time.

Ticks.  The only thing I truly fear on the trail.  They are so tiny and yet require so much attention.  Last year was a reportedly bad year for ticks because of the mild winter so we found a LOT of ticks on ourselves, but mostly Rooney.  We applied a monthly tick treatment and checked him multiple times a day.  It wasn’t unusual to find 10-15 ticks in one day.  We carried a tick key and tweezers and used a rock or flame to kill each tick after removing it.  Even with all of our best efforts, Rooney did end up with a tick-borne illness.  We’re not trying to scare or discourage you, but we do want to stress that it’s a real risk and not one to be taken lightly.

If you would like to learn more on ticks, associated diseases and tick removal, please visit these websites: Dogs & Ticks and The Humane Society.

Gear.  Rooney carried his own pack and gear.  On average, it weighed about 5-8 lbs (remember, he weighs ~75 lbs) and fit him snugly, without being over-stuffed, so that it didn’t move around & chafe him while he hiked.  He carried his food, bowl, supplements, pack cover and first aid kit.  We often carried 2-3 lbs of his food in our own packs – be prepared to help your dog with the extra weight coming out of town.  For a complete list of his gear, click here.

That’s it for Part 1.  We’ll be back later this week with Part 2 which will cover trail etiquette, dealing with pet policies on the trail (hotels, the Smokies, etc) and tips for determining if your dog is ready for a long distance hike.  If you have any other questions that you’d like us to cover, please leave them in the comments.

In the meantime, you can read all of our posts on hiking with a dog by clicking here.  And be sure to enter for a chance to win an Aquapac Mini Waterproof Camera Case.

Update: to read Hiking with a Dog (Part 2) click here.

This post is part of a series on Chicagoland Parks.  You can read more about how we are finding the woods while living in the city here.  You can read all of the posts in this series here.

Dog parks here in Chicago are pretty common, but they are always crowded.  Even in the middle of a weekday, in crappy weather, there are a bunch of dogs.  And I don't know if I'm just overprotective, but I don't trust most of them. 

We've been taking Rooney to dog parks his whole life so it's not the idea of it that I'm nervous about, it's the specific dog parks near our house.  The dogs are just kind of aggressive and the owners barely pay attention.  One time there was a 3-4 year old little kid running through the park with two tennis balls in his hand...madness.

Anyway, before I start sounding like a grumpy chick, I'll get to the good part of this post.  Montrose Dog Beach!  Yep, the exception to the dog park craziness.  It's great because it's really big and open so dogs can stretch their legs and really run.  There's enough room to play catch without having every single dog in the park chasing the same ball. 

There's more room down the beach, away from the main entrance, to be by yourself with your dog if you prefer.  And there are a bunch of trails for running and biking nearby so you can take your pup for a run after playing at the beach.  Love it there.  It's my favorite choice for a quick way to exercise Rooney.

The best part?  It's a super easy drive for us.  It's right off of Lake Shore at the Montrose exit so it only takes 10 minutes in the car.  Plus, it's beautiful!  Sign me up. 

It's been awhile since I've blogged about hiking.  We have been adjusting back to our city lives and I really haven't given my gear much thought.  I haven't uploaded my pictures or gone through my trail journal.  I think I just needed to clear my head for a bit and focus on something other than hiking. 

I still love hiking and camping, don't get me wrong.  We went camping in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan not long ago, simply because we missed the woods.  But what I didn't miss was thinking about gear lists or trying to plan out a food bag. 

Until today!  Two of our very good friends from the trail finished their thru-hike last week (congrats, Bearcub and Guy Line!!) and we had lunch with them today.  It was so great to see them and I love that we all live in the same city now.  We have one other Chicago friend who should be finishing his thru soon (good luck, Waldo!) and once we are all back in the city it will be so nice to have them nearby.

Reminiscing about the trail and sharing so many laughs inspired me to revisit my AT gear lists.  Basically this is my long-winded way of telling you that I went back and reviewed the gear lists that I put together before our hike and updated them to include notes.  I added comments about how the gear worked and whether or not I would use it again.  I hope you find interesting and maybe even useful in planning your own gear list!

Click here to see Jill's updated gear list
Click here to see Rooney's updated gear list


And of course, if you have any questions or if you would like me to review your gear list, give me a shout!!

If you like what you read, I would love to hear from you in the comments section!  It's fun to get feedback and it helps me create future posts.  Oh and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if you pinned, tweeted and/or shared this post  ;-)

And be sure to stay in touch on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or RSS!