Climbing with your dog?

Of course they can! well as long as you properly prepare and your confident your pup is a good walker, some breeds may not be able to handle a big hike up a Mountain but some can which is where my trusted Border Terrier Woody excels. 

Basecamp Aviemore

We recently had some father & son time in the beautiful mountains of Scotland. Basing ourselves in the Alpine (esque) town of Aviemore we planned to hike up Ben Nevis & Ben Macdui, weather was looking reasonable although rain was forecast in the morning for our Nevis hike but sunny and clear the following day for Macdui

Getting prepped 

Anyway both decent sized hikes so made sure Woody was equipped with a sturdy dog Harness, collar & lead - and also bought a dog jacket in case the weather got really bad. Nutrition is key for hikes like these for both you and your dog - so made sure I carried plenty of water and snacks - and of course poo bags - nothing worse than being caught out without them (and it tends to be when lots of people are around shaking their heads in disapproval)

Beautiful hikes with your dog

The hikes themselves were gorgeous, I'd chosen mid week and early to beat the crowds so if felt like we had then mountains to ourselves, I like to keep woody of the lead as much as possible however spotting sheep poo I knew to keep him on (for the Nevis hike) its another thing you must be wary of when walking/hiking your dog somewhere new.

Summiting with your dog

With a few snack breaks, water breaks and just breaks to enjoy the views we summited both mountains in good time with maximum enjoyment ensuring my dog was happy and tip top condition - If you can I can't recommend hiking a mountain with your best pal enough.

Ayman