How to take care of a dog in the great outdoors?

You want Fido to be part of your next outdoor adventure. It’s a serious responsibility. Fido might be your greatest friend, but it’s also your most irresponsible family member. What should you bring, and what should you remember?

The most obvious responsibility is to have control of your dog at all times. Fido must follow the recall command, and that requires adequate training beforehand. Voice control is mandatory for everyone’s safety. Of course, a leash or a harness are needed. At night, the dog should sleep with you in the tent, or at the very least be leashed near to it. By the way, having an ID tag on the collar is a great idea, as sometimes dogs get lost!

Your best friend will also need food, and plenty of it! A day spent running and walking is high physical demand and requires more food than usual. Don’t forget to bring a few treats and a bowl for your pet. Water is also essential as dogs overheat quickly! Sure, your dog can drink in streams, but remember, your pet could just as well as you get nasty parasites –like giardia– from non-disinfected water. Make sure the dog has access to purified water. If needs be, just boil water in your titanium pot, let it could down in a bottle, and serve it to your pet later.

Fido actually needs a lot of things to be comfortable in the outdoors. That means buying and carrying additional stuff. Invest in a dog pack. Depending on your dog’s breed and size, it could carry some of its own stuff. However, make sure the dog carries less than 20 percent of its body weight, and the weight is evenly distributed. Some kind of bedding is important too, a foam pad to sleep on for the night will allow the pet to sleep comfortably. Having some kind of light emergency blanket could also prove useful if Fido gets injured and you need to maintain its body heat. But that’s not all, if you travel in cold terrain, you may want to bring a coat for the dog! Unless it has a lot of fur, of course. Finally, bringing dogs booties is a smart idea in case the dog injures its paws.

Your best friend may be hurt, that’s why a first aid kit is a must. What can help a human could also help a dog, so the kit may be fairly similar for both. Fido might be cut or broke some of its bones.

Did you think about a potential face-off between your pet and wildlife? Wolves, coyotes, cougars, and bears can easily injure or kill your dog. But, what if your dog just runs into a porcupine? Our advice is to always carry a multitool with pliers, because you need to pull out the quills as soon as possible or it might get infected.

Last, your pet is not immune to bugs and mosquitoes. Don’t use human bug spray on it however, instead bring coconut oil and rub it on your dog’s coat when there are lots of bugs around.