Walking with a puppy/dog -- advice?

Hi peeps,

I'm getting a border terrier in a couple of weeks. The puppy will only be 8 weeks old, but I'm planning to take him/her camping when he/she is older.

I've never taken a dog walking or camping before, and I'm hoping peeps here can offer some advice. In particular, I'm wondering about the following.

1. How old should the puppy be before I can take it walking on the hills in the Lakes? I'm not thinking about vaccinations--I've got that part covered--I'm wondering about how old it will need to be in order to be robust enough to cope with a day on the hills.

2. Those of you who camp with your dogs--do you have them sleeping in the inner tent, or do they stay in the porch?

3. Does the dog need some sort of blanket in the tent/porch? I'm assuming it would in cold weather, but I'd rather ask a stupid question than get it wrong

4. Any other tips from those of you who've done it would be very welcome, particularly re: the camping part.

Many thanks for any help!

Hi Shirl

Happy New Year

1. Veterinary advice to me ref Dodge was to  avoid the dog jumping up onto and off things until about 12 months old to save joint problems at a later date , and to generally be sensible about the type of distances covered.

2. Inner tent with me(hes my best mate)

3. If extremely cold I have a winter layer that i put on him especially when wet and I have his blanket for him to lay on

HTH

Thanks, Wayne: v. helpful

Oh, and Happy New Year! Doh... I forgot!

Only use a synthetic bag when camping with your dog. And carry a towel for drying the dog. They have no respect for water vulnerable gear!

Mike fae Dundee (no to the fence) wrote (see)

Only use a synthetic bag when camping with your dog. And carry a towel for drying the dog. They have no respect for water vulnerable gear!

Wayne T wrote (see)

Mike fae Dundee (no to the fence) wrote (see)

Only use a synthetic bag when camping with your dog. And carry a towel for drying the dog. They have no respect for water vulnerable gear!

Thats where the jacket comes in I have a tailor made Paramo jacket for Dodge which helps move moisture away from his outer fur (collies have multiple layers) saves having to dry him with a towel

Ooh! That sounds great! Did you just contact Paramo direct for that? And does Dodge wear the jacket all the time in rainy weather, or just in the tent?

Thanks, Mike, for the towel tip. I'm already planning careful wiping of muddy paws

Hoorah for Peewiglet getting a dog!! Lucky you.

And Happy New Year.

Sorry I can't offer any dog advice, but I'm very jealous!

And if you didn't before, carry a tick remover!

Sorry, Happy New Year as well. Haven't seen you on here for a while.

Our border terrier pup is 16 weeks old & she's doing well on walks in the local woods - nothing too far, just a mile or two.

One of the lads I'm meeting on a  backpacking trip next weekend regularly backpacks with his border terrier (I'm prettty sure it's a border) & I haven't seen him for a while so I'll be picking his brains for info as I'm also keen to get our dog out on the hill backpacking after maybe few daywalks in the Cheviots.  I'll pass any tips on here & watch this thread myself for advice.

Good choice for stamina, spirit & nicely sized for a small tent!

Peewiglet wrote (see)

Wayne T wrote (see)

Ooh! That sounds great! Did you just contact Paramo direct for that? And does Dodge wear the jacket all the time in rainy weather, or just in the tent?

Tanya made it for me from the pump liner in a pair of cascadas that had been totally destroyed and 2 old Velez stuff sacks.

Dodge only wears a jacket when working (hi viz) I use his 'warm' jacket like we would use an extra layer - when hes having a rest after a long period of searching or at the end of a search - on pleasure walks he goes 'furback' ie no jacket at all.

As for trimming claws- nothing toughens paws and trims claws like Peak grit

Thanks Wayne - with the claws I was refering to terriers not the collies.  They are diggers - to save holes in duvet jackets etc when picking her up I'll stick with the clippers rather than a long drive south.  Especially while shes's a pup. 

Many thanks, all of you, for the very helpful info

Ross M wrote (see)

Good choice for stamina, spirit & nicely sized for a small tent!

Exactly why I decided on a border terrier! How did you find your puppy, Ross? I've not had a border terrier before, and I found it quite difficult to locate the reliable breeders. I've definitely got there in the end, though. I v. much look forward to reading about your experiences with your wee doggy

That Paramo jacket sounds like the bee's knees, Wayne! Tanya sounds like a bit of a whizz at that sort of thing. Unfortunately, I'm crap at it *g*

Happy New Year, Kate and Mike (And all the rest of you too!)

I have a question re: dogs and coos, but I'm going to ask that in a separate thread. Thanks for the advice re: farmland, huskyman. I'm keen to try to make sure I don't make mistakes on that front. Piglet will be going to puppy training classes just as soon as she/he is old enough!

A close neighbour has an unrelated dog & bitch & normally sends the dog to his fathers when the bitch is on heat but he messed up & ended up with a litter of 4.

 Our dog - a big cross-breed Retriever +, died a year ago so we were about to start looking for a terrier (my choice for the hill/tent) when we found out about the pups & put dibs on one before they were weaned & sold.  I've never had a 'breed' before or a pup but I know the guy & he loves his dogs & they are well treated & exercised & we saw them many times while they were weaning so we were happy to buy from him.  He's not a breeder but he knew the ropes & sorted out all the papers, worming, jabs for us.  I heard that one of the people who missed out on one of his pups had to travel a long way to find one from a good breeder -  strange when it's a local breed to us.

Looking forward to swapping tips & following progress

Mine sleeps in the inner tent. Corkscrew for site use, stops them walking off when your in the shower. Telephone numbers for local vets to where your are going, a photocopy of papers just in case. I feed my dog beta active, this can be found in larger pet shops but not in small village shops, so on multi day trips I may end up carrying a lot of dog food at the start.  

Summer months a bit of roll mat to sleep on, however she seems to spend most of the night trying to lay on us.

Winter - I have an old sleeping bag which i cut in half, it has a pull cord on the top she will sleep in this when it gets below 0 deg C down to about  -10. She also has a Ruff wear coat - she does not walk in this however it does get used for stops or on small open boats. She may also sleep in the coat. Multi day trips in the winter can be hard work for me as i end up carrying a lot of weight for the dog, 4-5 days of dry food - coat - bed - first aid kit - lead - possible water bowl, this can add up to 2kg!

Small first aid kit - zinc oxide tape, old sock, antiseptic ointment - use a small amount when removing ticks, tick remover.

http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-4051-vetzyme-veterinary-antiseptic-ointment.aspx

Try agility training great fun for yourself and dog.

Gary

Wayne do you "work" your dog with Edale MR? I have seen some of their search dogs in training absolutely brilliant!