Best dog breeds for hiking?

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WalksWithBlackflies

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My wife and I are thinking of getting a dog in the next couple of years. I was leaning towards a Border Collie or Greyhound... but one major consideration will be if it's a good breed for hiking (bye, bye Greyhound). I'm sure many of you have already done this "research"... what breeds are good for hiking?
 
Dakota is an Australian Cattle Dog (also known as a Blue or Red Healer and a different breed than a Australian Sheppard) and is an amazing hiking dog. Rated one of the smartest breeds, she learned hiking at a young age and is incredibly skilled at it. She's about 45 pounds, extremely tough and is bred to work long hours in difficult conditions. She is great in summer and winter (with booties). I highly recommend the breed, but they are hard to find in the east. (Go with a reputable and AKC registered breeder.) They are primarily a cattle/sheep dog bred in the west for herding and droving. Except for certain areas where she needs help getting up or down steep pitches, she is exceptional at figuring out problems when she hikes and I have yet to find a mountain that she can't do. (Of course, this doesn't include technical approaches, but rather, normal hiking.)

PS: Some will say this dog is known for a difficult temperment. It certainly depends on the training. I have never had a problem with Dakota, but they are not extremely social with other dogs (think a Lab in contrast) and they are extremely loyal to the family and owner.
 
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Well i wouldn't reccomend the greyhound. I'm not sure i could handle such a runner. As for the border collie, they are great dogs and although slightly delicate have great endurance.

I have a Lab/Shepard Mix (her puppy pic is my avatar) and she Loooves to hike. When we hit the trail it seems as though her shepard herding instincs come alive. she runs ahead them waits and circles around.

We recently spen a couple nights up in Grafton Notch. We hiked through the Muhoosuc arm and down around Speck Pond. This is said to be some of the toughest streches of the AT and she was fine. A couple points i gave er a boost but other then that she zip around with out a problem.
 
There are a lot of variables to think about. My first dog was a black lab. Could run all day, good coat in the winter, and friendly on the trail. However, that black coat was tough above treeline on a hot July day. I would always be conscious of the water and shade situation. I would strip down to a T-shirt and shorts, but she'd have the same sun-seeking coat on.

After she passed away, I couldn't bear to get another lab. Instead, we got a redbone coonhound. This is a great summer breed. Long legs. Can run and walk for hours. Extremely mellow. Thin coat, and doesn't like too much water. However, she absolutely HATES the winter. No winter hiking for her.

In regards to coonhounds, you also have to really question the breeder. Many are bred exclusively for hunting, so they aren't mellow and don't make particularily great pets. However, my breeder specifically asked if I wanted to hunt her (I didn't), because she doesn't breed them for that.

Huskies overall might be the best. That seems to be the verdict from what I've seen. Labs are the most popular from my experience in the Whites.
 
a word or two on boarder collies

I have two of them and they are always "on the job". Herders by nature they rarely relax. They aren't good dogs to leave at home all day while your at work. But they do love to hike, but they have to be monitored that they are receiving enough water/food, because boaders have been know to work themselves right into heat stroke... Interesting, smart dogs though - never a dull moment.
 
I hiked with someone who brought along her Border Collie. That dog just kept trying to keep us all together all day long. Busy thing, since we were spread out a bit on the trail.
 
I had a greyhound for a few years that was a good hiker dog. She could be off lead (but we did months of training to get a solid recall before she was off lead in strange places). With the thin, tight skin and sparse coat she would always get scrapes and cuts. They're limited as to season, they have trouble with heat and cold because of the low body fat content, but she didn't mind going out for a run in a coat and booties.

Other than that, I've hiked mainly with giant breeds, primarily livestock guardians (Pyrs and Kuvaszok). My concern with giants is that I'd be unable to pack them out if they got hurt.

I think a mid-size dog with a medium build and a medium coat would be best. The Border Collie meets those criteria. Mid-size because you could carry them if you had to, medium coat would allow hiking in all seasons, and medium build would avoid extremes of type (think whippet vs. st. bernard). Lighter coat colors tend to have an easier time with the heat because the coat doesn't suck up the heat from the sun the way a black coat does.

As for attitude, in general both herding and gun dogs are trained fairly easily, and tend not to have strong guarding instincts. I find that herders can be a bit more reactive and aggressive than gun dogs, but the nature of the job they've been bred for requires a bold personality.

This isn't to say that there are breeds that can't hike - I've seen lots of dogs in the woods - just that some might tend to be a little better. And don't forget, any dog will need to be gradually conditioned physically and mentally to become a good hiker-dog, and not all dogs can or want to hike.

I love Border Collies, but I could never live with one. I don't think I'm smart enough to stay one step ahead!
 
Within the last year I remmber seeing an article in either Backpacker or Outside listing the top trail dogs. The only thing I remember is noting that my hiking partner ( choclate lab) was not listed. By the way IMO labs are great hikers.
 
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I spent MONTHS researching breeds for long distance running and hiking. And what did I get - went to the shelter and rescued a mutt - shepherd/lab mix. Greatest dog I've ever owned or known. Smart, great temperment, loves the trail particularly in colder weatgher. Took him out for about 4 hours on sat. with the really humid weather and he was struggling but does great for the most part.

VERY IMPORTANT: dogs a re no different that we are in that you must get them in shape and not expect them to be able to do 20 miles right off the bat. And do not push them too too much until about 2 years of age.

I am now really sold on shepherds. Mixed breeds are a good choice as any breed specific deficiencies tedn to be weeded out.

PM me if you want more info on what I found.
 
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another vote for lab/shepard mix.

i have two - a male and a female from a litter of ten - bigelow was the biggest of the litter and avery was the runt. (bigs now weighs 125lbs and avery is about 75lbs.) they both have wonderful personalities and they are great trail dogs.

bigelow will get a little tired on a hot day after 6 or 8 miles. avery on the other hand never rests or sits down when on the trail, unless i tell her to stop and sit.
from how excited they get in the winter, i'd have to say they really love backcountry ski trips!
 
I doubt that a Bichon Frise made Backpacker's list of top trail dogs, but our little dog has proven to be a great hiker. She did the Wittenburg Cornell Slide loop with me a couple summers ago. She loves to climb and scramble up rock. Had to hoist her up only a couple spots, but since she weighs under 15 lbs. that wasn't a problem.

I've even been out with friends who have two miniature dachshunds that have done surprisingly well. But their legs aren't really long enough to really be capable of frequent, long or difficult hikes.
 
Where'd he come from?

New Year's day 2004 - summit of Algonquin. Wind blowing about 50 MPH, visibility about 20 yds. As we reach the summit - out of the fog appears a scottie wearing a plaid dog coat.
 
g o said:
another vote for lab/shepard mix.

i have two - a male and a female from a litter of ten - bigelow was the biggest of the litter and avery was the runt. (bigs now weighs 125lbs and avery is about 75lbs.) they both have wonderful personalities and they are great trail dogs.

bigelow will get a little tired on a hot day after 6 or 8 miles. avery on the other hand never rests or sits down when on the trail, unless i tell her to stop and sit.
from how excited they get in the winter, i'd have to say they really love backcountry ski trips!

Wow bigelow is quite large. I've been wondering howbig my lab/shepard mix is going to be. At first she looked 100 percent lab but with each passing day i see more Shepard. She rather skinny and very lankey, i wonder is she'll ever grown into herself??

As for the mix, i really can't say enough about it. Easiest puppy i've experinced, friendly very trainable and vioce controled almost from the day i got her.:D
 
My vote goes to Springer Spaniels

Springer Spaniels have shared my hunting, hiking, camping and other outdoor activities for as long as I can remember (quite a while), and done well at it. Even dogs out of “show” stock have seemed to retain decent “field” instincts. Springers are tough and versatile dogs that tend to be loyal and affectionate toward their humans. Appropriate haircuts for the season help keep our dogs comfy and easy to clean up after a day or so in the bush. For the last 25 years our family has favored spayed females.

G.
 
Get a Dog and Save a Life

I have had wonderful success with Lab/Shep mixes. That being said, please consider getting a dog from a shelter. Check out Petfinder.com for available animals in your area.
 
Purebred rescue

I apologize for getting off topic into dogs but there are alternatives to shelters if you want a purebred.

If you're sure you want a purebred, but still want to help with overpopulation, consider breed rescue. Almost all of the national clubs for purebred dogs have an organization dedicated to the rescue of dogs. Dogs are brought into rescue for all the same reasons that they're brought into a shelter. Sometimes the dogs have problems, sometimes not. In general, breed rescue has a higher successful placement rate than shelters because they have experience specific to the breed, and the potential adopters are interested in that breed. Also, the price of a purebred rescue is generally much less than what a responsible breeder would want.

Rescue spends much more time one-on-one with their dogs than a shelter. They'd be much better able to let you know if a prospective placement looked like it would be a good hiking dog, or a good match for your lifestyle.

Since you've mentioned Border Collies, here's a link to the national rescue org for them
http://www.bcrescue.org/
 
We had a Lab/Beagle mix :) Black and lovable like a Lab, small and excitable like Beagle. Everyone thought she was a puppy even when several years old. Couldn't have had more fun hiking/backpacking than with her. I can still see her sticking her nose into the screen of the tent in the morning on Bondcliff looking to come in. Also remember the time she was moving along the trail with her own doggy pack and the pack got hung up on the rocks - her feet were still moving but she couldn't touch the ground :p
 
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My current hiking partner Chica is a 50 lb chow / border collie mix. Before her was Skye, a 100lb shep/huskie and before that, Jezzabel, 60 lb shep huskie mix. All three were great on the trails, but I think Chica has more stamina than the other 2. We've done a few 15-18 mile days together and she has energy to spare when we are done. All my hiking dogs have been mutts.

Regarding border collies: great dogs, highly intelligent but TONS of energy. They have been bred over generations to be working sheep herders. They need room to run and need to be kept busy. A bored border collie is a very unhappy animal.
 
My Rottweiler, Sirius, has been a great hiking companion. He is slowing down a bit now at age 9 but has hiked his whole life. He has done 38 or ADK 46, 27 of Catskill 35, about 20 of NH48, as well as many others. He recently climbed Jay, Morgan, Moose, in the ADKs. Occasionally he needs a boost but has always done well in general. I shared Dugan's concern about evacuation if he ever got hurt. He weighs 125lbs. More than I can carry down a mountain. I also have a shepard/chow/hound mix that so far has shown great potential. She has done about 10 peaks off both ADK and NH lists as well as many others. She weighs about 40lbs.
 
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