Laying Down On A Hike

[Guest chucknstan]

This weekend we went camping with our greyhounds. We don't usually take them with us camping, and they don't often go on walks for more than 30 minutes. We thought we'd try a 3 mile hike on a cool day. It was flat and mostly shady. We stopped to check our map at a grassy spot, and within 10 seconds our 9-year-old laid down! Usually it takes them a few minutes to calm down enough to lay down, especially in a new location. We thought it was cute and funny, got him up and we were on our way. Later, I paused to take a picture and he laid down again. Again, up and on his way. The third time he slowed down, like he wanted to sniff or pee, and instead just laid down in the middle of the trail. When we tried to get him up he resisted, and even laid on his side when we tried to get him up. It went from cute to scary very fast. We did get him up after about a minute and we just didn't stop for the rest of the way. We gave them small sips of water along the hike and let them have some more when we got back to the car. We also opened all the windows (even though it was raining) for the ride home to help them cool down, although they didn't seem hot. Our other dog does get hot very easily and takes a long time to cool down, so we are always ready for this with towels and cool water. Anyway, could this be a sign of major distress, or should we just be more cautious to take regular breaks in the future? We are pretty energetic hikers, so maybe we were pushing them too hard.

 

By the way, we've avoided taking them camping in the past because they need to be on leashed or enclosed, and we didn't like the look of the x-pens we've seen. However, we decided to get a screened porch for them, and it worked great! The only concern we had was that it doesn't have a floor, so if they were REALLY determined to get out, they could theoretically scoot or dig through, however, we keep a VERY close eye on them and they really didn't care too much about getting out (they are old and tired). Plus, we could hang out in there with them, which was nice when it rained.

 

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Three miles might have been a bit much if they are not used to going that long. Before my feet got so messsed up, we used to walk several miles a few times a week but worked up to it gradually; Frank was 5-6 years old then and my DD was younger and kept us walking at a pretty leisurely pace. I think you did the right thing letting him rest and giving drinks of water along the way. I can always tell when my hound is starting to get tired when he lags a step or two behind; time for a little rest and head back to the car (my guy is spoiled, he has his own rear A/C and if he is hot he'll stand up back there and look at you until you turn it on, then he'll lay down for the ride!!)

[Guest KennelMom]

Three miles for a nine year old who isn't used to walking that far? Way too far. Your dog was telling you as much. You need to condition your greyhound to be able to walk that distance or leave them behind when you do the longer hikes.

[Guest luckydog]

Yes, you were pushing them too hard. The dogs were telling you they were tired, and yet you still made them push on. You may be 'energetic hikers', but that doesn't mean that your dogs need to be. You dodged a bullet this time; next time you may not be so lucky.

[Guest patti909]

For 4 years I have been walking my greys about 2 miles, and they are still exhausted when we get home.

I think 3 miles was just too long of a walk.

[Hawthorn]

Also, how warm was it? A temperature that feels only pleasantly warm to you may be too warm for your dogs, even if you are in the shade, and especially for a walk that length.

 

Another thing to consider is the surface you're walking on. A stony surface, for example, is much harder on your dogs' feet.

[Guest Ola]

As you say, they are "old and tired". The hike definitely sounds like it was too much for them. If you hike a lot you are probably used to it, but I'll bet you didn't start off doing 3 mile hikes right away.

 

In the future, if they are so tired that they want to lie down each time you stop, the answer is not to walk without stopping, but rather to take a longer break so they can rest and recover a bit. Especially if the dog is refusing to get up.

[Guest chucknstan]

Yes, you were pushing them too hard. The dogs were telling you they were tired, and yet you still made them push on. You may be 'energetic hikers', but that doesn't mean that your dogs need to be. You dodged a bullet this time; next time you may not be so lucky.

We've had them for six years and did what we thought was best to do at the time, which was to get them off the trail and into a cool place as quickly as possible. Guess I made a mistake asking a question; I didn't know I was going to be chastised.

[Greytlady94]

There may be a combination of two things,

one....he was not conditioned to walk 3 miles, and

two....he got overheated.

Remember, you can sweat, he can only cool himself by panting.

 

Asking a question was not a "mistake".

[Guest MnMDogs]

Something similar happened to Matty and me last year. She's also a bit older, but we joke that she's our "bionic" dog, and we cannot tire her out. I made the mistake of taking her on a vigorous walk on a day that felt perfectly nice and mild to me. She was cruising along, having a blast, then she stopped and vomited. We slowed, and started a much slower pace home.

 

She laid down on the grass several times and I tried to carry her 70 pounds the rest of the way home. That didn't go over well, and I ended up calling DF to come get us.

 

It happens to the best of us. I've had Matty for almost 6 years, and she's a workhorse. Maybe you did push too hard, but nothing bad happened, and now you know their limits.