# When is it a good time for golden retriever puppy to go hiking?



## Aislinn (Nov 13, 2010)

Welcome to the forum! Have you taught her a 'leave it' command?


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

At 5 months she is really young and it will be a lot of work to keep things out of her mouth. The hike would be ok if you keep it short and not strenuous. Keep her on leash so you can move her away from things she shouldn't eat, and to keep her safely with you. You wouldn't want her to running off after a squirrel and get lost.


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## Guido (Sep 2, 2016)

Awesome that you plan to give your energetic pup enough exercise. Although the so-called "5-minutes of exercise per month of age rule" has no scientific basis whatsoever, I really wouldn't take your pup for a five kilometer hike in rough terrain. That would take you at least an hour and a half, which sounds like way too much exercise for a pup that age. After you return, she is very likely to still have some energy left, but sometimes you need to protect your pup from over-exercising at a very young age. After about one or one and a half years of age, you can do all the hiking you want together. 

As far as picking stuff up is concerned, teaching a solid "leave it" command would be the best solution, I guess.

I know it is great to go on walks with your dog. Just wait a little longer before walking long distances. It's difficult, but you wouldn't want to cause joint problems by over exercising at this age.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

leehyono said:


> Hello everyone, I am Yoho's mom, Vicky. Yoho is now 5 month, she is a sweet and happy puppy now. And i am planning to take her to a short hiking to Canmore, AB, Calgary, Canada these days. Right now the weather is very comfy and i think maybe she will like walking around the mountain a little bit. But here is my concern, what should i do if she eats things on the ground, should i get her a muzzle? And the hiking will be around 5km top, will this cause her joint pain, since she is still growing. Should i buy boots for her? and what brand will not drop all the time?
> She is very energetic and i take her to walk around 30 min everyday. But the problem is that she eats almost everything on the ground which concerns me because i don't want her to eat anything poisonous like mushrooms etc.
> Please give me some suggestions! thank you all very much.


My vet told me to wait, I was already walking her too much. My advice---ask your vet but wait anyway.


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## Mayabear (Aug 26, 2015)

I think its too long for your pup. The physical strain is one thing. Your pup will also me very stimulated mentally with new sights, sounds, and smells of course. While mental stimulation is wonderful and often overlooked, I think this may be an overload for your pup. And yes, you would need to keep her leashed because at this age she will want to go off and explore every little thing. This increases the odds of her ingesting something unwanted and potentially toxic, and she could also get lost quite easily.


Leave it and drop it are good commands to teach. But make sure you have something very high value to trade. Your regular training treats may not entice her enough to drop something entirely new with an interesting taste and texture. Too often I have seen these commands fail because what is being traded is regular kibble, something the dog is accustomed to getting anyway. So figure out what your pup goes nuts for. It takes trial and error and could be something as commonplace as hot dogs, but you'll have to figure it out.


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

I wouldn't take a 5 month old on a hike. Its akin to running. They are going at an incline, and unless its a completely straight, perfect dirt path, they likely have to jump up and down a bit and thats stressful on the joints. 5km is also a decent distance, and if its only 5km to the top you are taking your dog on a 10Km hike. 

There are few hikes that I have been on that would be appropriate for a young puppy. I'm not an ultra serious hiker. What feels easy to us isn't necessarily easy for them. If it was more of a walking trail, with a very slight incline, that would be one thing. And I'd probably only do 2-3km of that. 

Additionally, I wouldn't do boots personally. Because of your puppy's age, you shouldn't be doing enough activity that their paws can get raw. They aren't as stable as a natural paw with claws. And you would need to get solid hiking booties, not crappy ones. Everyday, intense hikers will use them, especially if they are covering rough terrain with a lot of scree. If you're a hiker, your dogs paws will callus over time if you work up to it slowly and its part of your lifestyle. If you can wear light hiking boots, then your dog likely won't need them. If you hike requires a much more solid boot, then they would, especially if its a longer hike. But again, I wouldn't take a dog on a hike like that until they were much, much older, and only after appropriate conditioning.


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## leehyono (Nov 9, 2016)

Thank you! it is great to find experienced parents here, and a nice way to communicate. It is a great community!


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## leehyono (Nov 9, 2016)

mylissyk said:


> At 5 months she is really young and it will be a lot of work to keep things out of her mouth. The hike would be ok if you keep it short and not strenuous. Keep her on leash so you can move her away from things she shouldn't eat, and to keep her safely with you. You wouldn't want her to running off after a squirrel and get lost.


Thank you! it won't be a tough hiking, both my boyfriend and I are not serious hikers, we want to take her to a shorter walk now. And we will keep her on leash. :x


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## leehyono (Nov 9, 2016)

Guido said:


> Awesome that you plan to give your energetic pup enough exercise. Although the so-called "5-minutes of exercise per month of age rule" has no scientific basis whatsoever, I really wouldn't take your pup for a five kilometer hike in rough terrain. That would take you at least an hour and a half, which sounds like way too much exercise for a pup that age. After you return, she is very likely to still have some energy left, but sometimes you need to protect your pup from over-exercising at a very young age. After about one or one and a half years of age, you can do all the hiking you want together.
> 
> As far as picking stuff up is concerned, teaching a solid "leave it" command would be the best solution, I guess.
> 
> I know it is great to go on walks with your dog. Just wait a little longer before walking long distances. It's difficult, but you wouldn't want to cause joint problems by over exercising at this age.


Thanks a lot for your reply. Then i might just walk around the town of Canmore a little bit now, and I'll keep a close eye on her because she might eat things on the ground. It is good to know "over-exercising" which is harmful for a young little ones. I am very willing to wait for one more year when she totally grows up to take her to longer hiking. As long as it will keep her healthy and safe.

Definitely I will learn how to teach her "leave it" command. 

Again thank you so much, it is great to read your reply just overnight.:grin2:


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## leehyono (Nov 9, 2016)

gdgli said:


> My vet told me to wait, I was already walking her too much. My advice---ask your vet but wait anyway.


I see. Then I should just wait. :x


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## leehyono (Nov 9, 2016)

Mayabear said:


> I think its too long for your pup. The physical strain is one thing. Your pup will also me very stimulated mentally with new sights, sounds, and smells of course. While mental stimulation is wonderful and often overlooked, I think this may be an overload for your pup. And yes, you would need to keep her leashed because at this age she will want to go off and explore every little thing. This increases the odds of her ingesting something unwanted and potentially toxic, and she could also get lost quite easily.
> 
> 
> Leave it and drop it are good commands to teach. But make sure you have something very high value to trade. Your regular training treats may not entice her enough to drop something entirely new with an interesting taste and texture. Too often I have seen these commands fail because what is being traded is regular kibble, something the dog is accustomed to getting anyway. So figure out what your pup goes nuts for. It takes trial and error and could be something as commonplace as hot dogs, but you'll have to figure it out.


I see. I won't take her to a long hiking till she grows much older now. It is true that she really wants to pull on the leash when she gets excited at this stage now. I guess it is because she is mentally stimulated when she goes outside. And I don't want her to just pick up things on the ground of course. 
I will definitely work on that. Thank you so much of telling me the details about how to trade with her so she can leave it. I have faith in her, since she is a very smart pup. 
:wink2:


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## leehyono (Nov 9, 2016)

Piper_the_goldenpuppy said:


> I wouldn't take a 5 month old on a hike. Its akin to running. They are going at an incline, and unless its a completely straight, perfect dirt path, they likely have to jump up and down a bit and thats stressful on the joints. 5km is also a decent distance, and if its only 5km to the top you are taking your dog on a 10Km hike.
> 
> There are few hikes that I have been on that would be appropriate for a young puppy. I'm not an ultra serious hiker. What feels easy to us isn't necessarily easy for them. If it was more of a walking trail, with a very slight incline, that would be one thing. And I'd probably only do 2-3km of that.
> 
> Additionally, I wouldn't do boots personally. Because of your puppy's age, you shouldn't be doing enough activity that their paws can get raw. They aren't as stable as a natural paw with claws. And you would need to get solid hiking booties, not crappy ones. Everyday, intense hikers will use them, especially if they are covering rough terrain with a lot of scree. If you're a hiker, your dogs paws will callus over time if you work up to it slowly and its part of your lifestyle. If you can wear light hiking boots, then your dog likely won't need them. If you hike requires a much more solid boot, then they would, especially if its a longer hike. But again, I wouldn't take a dog on a hike like that until they were much, much older, and only after appropriate conditioning.


Thank you Piper's pawrents~ I won't take her to hiking then, I won't do anything that will hurt her or put her in any danger. We will just take a walking around the town and enjoy some weekends sunshine. 

I am not a serious hiker either, and still I am sure I can wait when she grows much bigger, stronger and older. 

Thanks~~~ have a great day~:x


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## leehyono (Nov 9, 2016)

Really want to share the pictures of Yoho, can you guys tell me how to upload pictures?


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## leehyono (Nov 9, 2016)

Here is a picture of Yoho, and we thank everyone of you who kindly gave us reply and really detailed experiences.


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## Mayabear (Aug 26, 2015)

Yoho is very pretty and has very intelligent eyes. She is just waiting to be taught things!


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

I think learning the "leaving it" command was one of the easiest to teach. On a walk in think I said it 100x the first few months of walking and he caught on real quickly. Lol..


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## leehyono (Nov 9, 2016)

Mayabear said:


> Yoho is very pretty and has very intelligent eyes. She is just waiting to be taught things!


Thank you! and puppy kisses from Yoho for you~~~ She is very smart and she wants attention all the time. If i am studying in front of the laptop, she will sit besides me and staring at me for a min or two, if i didn't rub her head and say hi to her, she will actually start howling and barking very softly. It is so cute, lol i really enjoy every min with her. She is my first dog, I was growing up around my family dogs, but this was the first time I became a pawrent. But gladly I can survive her puppyhood, :grin2:


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## leehyono (Nov 9, 2016)

Lambeau0609 said:


> I think learning the "leaving it" command was one of the easiest to teach. On a walk in think I said it 100x the first few months of walking and he caught on real quickly. Lol..


:grin2:I like your patience with puppies! I think I need to be super patient with her too. Sometimes I still feel angry with myself for not being patient with her. I believe there are only bad pawrents, rather than bad puppies. :wink2: You think so?


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## Mayabear (Aug 26, 2015)

Patience and consistency are probably the most important thing. Maya is my first dog as well (other than when I was growing up and had no responsibility) and I realized I desperately lacked both! But as much as I have taught her, she has taught me plenty as well. I too have gotten upset at myself for lacking patience every now and then, but I would like to believe I have gotten better.


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