Pacific Crest Trail 3: What your dog should know on a thru hike

The Pacific Crest Trail is a daunting adventure, stretching 2,650 miles (4,265km) from Mexico to Canada. While my partner Seth plans to complete its entirety; I plan to hike the longest dog friendly stretch that spans half the country. We will walk 1300 miles with the great company of my dog, Chloe Rue. While this hike will begin next summer in 2023, Chloe and I have begun to take strides (literally) to improve our strength and endurance for the undertaking! Do you want to learn more about our planning? Keep an eye out on our Pacific Crest Trail series as we dive into our physical, mental, and dog-knowledge training program to help prepare us for this grand adventure.

While I’ve discussed making a plan (here), and physically training (here) for the Pacific crest trail in the last couple of posts, today I’m going to focus on Chloe’s knowledge training, and what we are focusing on this year.

Those who know Chloe, know that she can sometimes get really excited when she sees other dogs, from her overwhelming desire to say hi to them. Can we paws (Pause… but really I can’t stop) to talk about how awesome dogs are? Can you imagine if we as humans became overwhelmingly excited everytime we saw another human nearby? We would probably be the happiest creatures on planet earth, jumping out of our shoes and screaming HI HOW ARE YOU every thirty seconds. Anyway, there’s my side thought of the day. *sigh* I love dogs.

So Chloe has had some formal training in the past where we worked on her over excitement, and she obtained her CGC award, as well as worked toward her therapy dog test (but we failed and then COVID happened so we’re not there quite yet). For us, this is a huge priority with her training. So, before you dive in to my recommendations for what your dog should know, just keep in mind that every dog is different and will have a different focus on training for the trail! The most important thing is to never stop preparing them for the adventure that is to come.

Recalls

First, though I plan to keep Chloe leashed for the duration of the PCT, recalls are of the utmost importance in case she sees the immense amount of wildlife that trot about the woods with humans. She must not chase them, or interrupt the plant growth off the trails. Therefore, recalls are very important to teach for thru hikes.

In the terrifying moment that your dog perhaps slips out of their halter, collar or you accidently drop the leash- recalls are arguably number 1 to learn before hiking a long distance with your dog.

Leave it / Ignore

This one right here is Chloe’s priority before our PCT hike. Chloe does get very excited by animals including dogs. Deer, rabbits, gophers and birds are abundant in the wild on trails. Therefore following the command to leave it, or ignore it allows Chloe to keep hiking with me, enjoying our day, instead of reacting to the exciting thing she wants to play with.

This is also a great command to know for avoiding gross, smelly, interesting dog nose magnets, such as poop, dead things and maybe even human clothes when it comes to thru hikes!

Stay / Stop

The last basic command that is extremely important on the trail is stay! Chloe has an incredible prolonged stay, where she basically freezes in position until I give her the command “you’re free!”.

Chloe is working on her confidence with this, if I have to run into a not dog friendly store, restaurant, or cabin for a moment and she has to stay outside tied onto something, like a little horse.

This is also great for those moments when you’re training on a bike and the cheap amazon leash attachment breaks off of your bike! Because that happened! Chloe was scared because the leash started chasing her and making loud noises but when she heard the command “Chloe, Stop!” She responded so quickly! And won many treats as a reward.

Emergency Prep and Muzzle Training

While this is not necessarily a command, I truly believe that all adventure dogs need to be prepared for the worst. Have you ever actually tried your doggy emergency halter? Has your dog ever worn a muzzle? Some dogs HATE the feeling of something around their nose. Other dogs HATE being lifted from the ground, and this can be even more terrifying if they’re hurt; or if their human is hurt. Practice those emergency halters in a positive, safe way! Make sure you can wear your dog and carry them WITH your pack. If something bad happens to them and they need to be carried out, you must be prepared for this. Muzzles have such a bad reputation, however many search and rescue crews put them on animals for their safety during an emergency. I know Chloe would be terrified if I was ever hurt, and while she is the kindest animal, I would rather make sure she’s comfortable in a muzzle than see her try to “protect” me during scary emergencies and have someone else get hurt. Get a soft muzzle and make sure your dog is comfortable with it!

Paw Patrol

Do you know how hikers always talk about their boots? Cheryl strayed threw hers off a cliff (don’t get me started on the leave no trace issue there) and many PCT hikers walk through multiple boots on the trail! But what about your dogs’ paws? Isn’t that equally important? You better believe they are equally important. Your dog best be ready to have their paws checked and treated on the daily, with boots worn as needed and mushers paw ready and available.

Montly Training Update

Chloe is doing spectacular, clocking 10 miles in one day on our Eagle Creek backpacking trip this past month. She is loving training mode every day, as we bike, hike, run and walk CONSTANTLY adding more and more cardio miles to her routine.

Chloe did get quite hot on our trip, and I’ve realized the importance of packing her swamp cooler jacket, which can keep her warm at night or cool on those hot days. While I’m happy Seth is backpacking the desert without us, I do worry about Oregon’s temperatures rising and know if it gets too hot, Chloe and I might need some zero days or nighttime hikes to stay cool. We prefer snow over heat ANY day and are very hopeful for an early PCT start!

I have been trying my hand at Spartan Race training to help my body get ready for the big hike… and it is already this upcoming Saturday in Portland!! Wish me luck, or come and watch me throw up! Something I have learned is the amount of courage that it takes to return to something you haven’t done for a long time. In fact, I have not ran competitively since a back injury from a car accident 4 years ago. Returning to running has been HARD and I’m not nearly as confident as I once was. Therefore, I’m finding myself using a lot of bravery this week, to face something I was once told I would never do again. So my mantra for the race is to embrace the courage. I firmly believe these mental challenges that are arising with the upcoming race will be ten fold on a thousand mile hike. All the while, I will keep finding myself making friends with my bravery, and knowing that I can do it. The best part is that if I fail, I know that Chloe will always believe in me to keep on trying ❤️

Thanks so much for reading! What are your favorite commands your dog knows for the trail? Who has sassy commands that make amazing photos? I am excited to learn some of these! Many happy tails and happy trails to you all!

Barking Embarkers