Hiking Tecumseh with a dog

[Early Bird]

Hi,
I tried to do a search on this thread, but "dog" is too short or common a word to search.
I'm thinking of hiking Tecumseh with my newly adopted two year old greyhound from Tripoli Road, the 3.1 mile route. My 26th edition WMG doesn't have a very detailed description of this portion of the Tecumseh Trail, and the last time I hiked this mountain was in '98 so my memory isn't telling me much.
If anyone has hiked this with their dog or without and can just let me know if there is any part that wouldn't be good for a dog, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks,
Early Bird

 

[Paradox]

Dogs are very different. I had a greyhound once. It was very high strung and bite my kid so I got rid of it. I had it for a year and thought it would make a good jogging companion. It didn't. After about 4 miles I had to carry that dog. They are sprinters. As I am sure you know, you need to have it on a leash or you won't see it again. My labs seem to walk forever.

Tehcumseh is not a hard mountain, but I would do something like Rattlesnake or the Welsh-Dickey loop first.

 

[rocket21]

Tecumseh might not be a bad idea - I haven't done the route you speak of (I've done the route via the ski area parking lot) - doing something like that vs. something really busy (West Rattlesnake) might be a good idea, as hiking something with a lot of people might be something to ease into if you're unsure of how the dog will react.

 

[chipc]

Two weeks ago my wife and I and our 8 year old lab just went up Tecumseh from Tripoli Rd. No problems for a moderately experienced trail dog. Just note that there is not much, if any, water after the streams at the beginning of the trail. Also, much of the trail has good footing for humans so its pretty easy to hike with your dog on leash.

Cheers!

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

On the one hand the trail is, by WMNF standards, easy. On the other hand it is 3.1 miles each way with 2,600 feet of elevation gain, so it may be a bit much for a first hike for the dog.

 

[Dugan]

I agree with Mohammed's assessment. If your dog is newly adopted, you should spend several months on some gradual conditioning. If your dog is freshly off the track, it is in shape for sprinting short distances, not walking longer distances. Likewise, his/her pads are conditioned for other types of surfaces. I'd start with walking 2 half miles a day, then gradually work up from there. This trail would be a great starter, once your dog is ready. Remember, dogs suffer from weekend warrior syndrome as much as people do, they just don't have the ability to tell us about it.

I've had a track rescue. She was a good, but not great, hiker dog. She sometimes needed a boost when ascending steep areas. If you start slow and build gradually, you could potentially have a good dog.

Good luck with your new companion!

 

[Sugarloafer]

I've hiked Tecumseh with my Lab a couple of times and she had no problems and plenty of energy at the end. As I'm typing this I don't recall a lot of water along the trail, except the pool at the beginning. I always pack a foldable bowl and extra water and treats when I hike with my dog to avoid any unrelaible water issues. Obviously, you're the only one that can evaluate your dog's fitness level, but I'd say this is a hike most active dogs could handle without much problem.

 

[rocket21]

If you do it from the ski area parking lot, you'll have water for the first (easy) portion (nothing after that though)...and the ability to get views from the spur trails to the ski area in case you need to turn around.

 

[griffin]

I also agree with Mohamed ad Dugan on this - but if you get her to the woods a few times, and get her used to long walks, Tecumsah might be a good first hike for her when she's ready.

I would not suggest Welsh-Dickey for a novice dog. Too much exposed rock for the pads, and the steep bits might be tricky for a critter with 4 long, gangly legs to get down.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Not a dog owner, but Tecumseh from Tripoli was the first 4K-er I did while recovering from knee problems -- it was neither steep nor rocky. Being not too crowded also makes it a good one for acclimating a dog... I guess.

Tim

 

[Grandaddy]

There is a thread on "dog-friendly hikes" with lots of suggested hikes:

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13899

We went up Mt. Willard yesterday (my 5 month old daughter's first peak!) It was pretty crowded but would be a nice dog hike (~3 mi R/T; 900' elev gain) especially during the mid-week. The great views from the summit are a nice treat for those of us who write emails on behalf of our dogs

The only greyhound that I ever knew well wouldn't be able to hike 100 yards to the trailhead...but he could sprint the first 50 like a bullet.

 

[Dugan]

I would not suggest Welsh-Dickey for a novice dog. Too much exposed rock for the pads, and the steep bits might be tricky for a critter with 4 long, gangly legs to get down.

Dugan 3.8-legs gave Welsh-Dickey a firm paws-down vote. Although he was an experienced hiker, with the tough pads that requires, the rough texture of the slabs shredded his pads. Only one was actually hurt that day, but in the few days that followed, every single toe and foot pad lost outer layers that had been loosened as a result of that hike. It took a few months before his pads toughened up again.

I can't emphasize enough to take it slow and gradually condition up to such things. You want to make it as pleasant for your dog as possible if you want your dog to like doing this.

As for crowds, only you know your dog well enough to know how well she or he does among people.

For leashes, you and your dog will adjust to figuring out which sides of the trees to go around. If your dog gets wrapped around, wait patiently. Your dog will learn this faster if you let them figure out how to untangle. I did TONS - months - of recall training with my Greyhound before she was ever allowed off lead.

A sudden memory - Just a reminder that the thin, delicate, tightly wrapped skin of a Greyhound scratches and rips easily. If I allowed Penny to run around in the woods, she never failed to come back bleeding. Happy and tired, but bleeding. With a deeper cut, the tight skin means it'll just rip further open.

Also, with the low body fat content, they're less able to deal with extremes of temperature, hot or cold.

Take heart though - they can be great woods companions. If nothing else, they'll point out every little thing that moves!

 

[Early Bird]

Thanks everyone,
This is our fourth greyhound, and we have hiked in the past with each one before. When they were young, they all did great. Sounds like I'll have to carry some extra water. The gentle grades, the last of rockiness- that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for. Lizzie's two and never raced. She was trained for a while and showed no interest, but boy does she ever have energy. We've actually had her two weeks and walked her plenty in the woods along the river behind our house and around the blocks. I anticipate her doing well, but the peak doesn't mean so much to me that if she doesn't I can't turn right around.
Grandaddy, thanks for the link. I bet that was the one I recalled, but couldn't find. I'm off to check it out.
EB

 

[DrewKnight]

A sudden memory - Just a reminder that the thin, delicate, tightly wrapped skin of a Greyhound scratches and rips easily. If I allowed Penny to run around in the woods, she never failed to come back bleeding. Happy and tired, but bleeding. With a deeper cut, the tight skin means it'll just rip further open.

Also, with the low body fat content, they're less able to deal with extremes of temperature, hot or cold.

Dugan, you raise a generally good set of points w/r/t greyhounds as hiking companions. Based on an n of one, I can't say I would advise too much rugged off-roading with your average retired racer. We've enjoyed the company of our dog, Dale Arnold, for twelve years now (he may in fact be the World's Oldest Living Greyhound, having turned 15 last month)... but as big and burly as he was in his prime (3" taller than your average male, and 80 very muscular pounds), I never would have considered a serious hike with rough terrain or open ledges with him in tow. This is a dog who has struggled gamely with stairs all his house-bound life -- and stairs without carpet are an anathema to his very existence.

He was built for speed in short sprints, and long-haul endurance was never his thing. Also, the thought of those long, slender legs on a rocky trail gives me the heebiejeebies. Dale had a career-ending greenstick fracture of his right rear hock - and that was just from pushing off too hard in a turn on the track.

You obviously know your dog -- but I would work up very slowly to a 6-mile round trip over rough terrain with any greyhound I have ever met. I haven't done Tecumseh from the Tripoli Road side, but I was on the Mt. Tecumseh Trail from the ski area two weekend ago, and I can tell you without question, my dog would never have made it, even if a thousand pounds of bacon was waiting at the summit.