We love to hike, its a nice way to unplug from the world, reduce stress and get the heart pumping.
Here are a few benefits of hiking for you and your dog:
- Exercise: Regular consistent exercise is necessary to keep your dog in shape and it's a great way to get your heart pumping, making exercise seem like fun.
- Bonding: I can't think of a better way to bond with your dog than out in nature.
- Scenery: Rather than just walking on pavement, its a nice change of scenery where your dog can experience new sights and scents. For humans, its a great way to unplug and get away from it all.
- Reduces Boredom and Stress: A nice long hike is a great preventative for destructive behavior for your dog at home. For humans, hiking is a great way to get those endorphins flowing!
- Socializing: Hiking is a great way for you and your dog to meet other hikers and their dogs. And it's also a fun way to spend time with your family and friends.
- Rewarding: Reaching the top of the mountain or end of a trail is a great accomplishment not only for you but for your dog and the best thing is that you did it together.
We are fortunate to live only 5 minutes away from one of our favorite mountains, Wachusett Mountain. You can ski down it during the Winter months and hike up it in the Spring and Summer.
For this hike we only took Bruin with us. When you have three dogs, sometimes it's nice to spend some quality one-on-one time with just one of them. (More about that in another post coming soon.)
Along there are many trails you can take to the top of the mountain, we took the paved road since this was Bruin's first hike.
Here is one of the ski trails you would ski down in the winter...
Taking a rest under the ski lift that takes you back up the mountain...
A reminder to take pictures of the beautiful scenery, like we would ever forget! lol
One of my favorite stops, Harlow Lookout...
One more quick break and photo opt...
Almost to the top...
We finally made it!
From the top you can see the Boston Skyline, which you can't see from this shot. Next time I will have to remember my longer lens! Darn!
We are joining the FitDog Friday blog hop brought to you by SlimDoggy and co-hosts To Dog with Love and GBGV Life.
What a great place for a first hike for Bruin. Harlow lookout is very pretty and quaint. Lucky you to have such a lovely place on your doorstep. Have a fabulous Friday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
We usually hike with our pawrents but right now we are having troubles with it being too hot.
ReplyDeleteYour Pals,
Murphy & Stanley
Mayorz For All Paws
Beautiful spot for a hike - everything is so green. With our drought out here in CA, our hikes are all shades of brown. Thanks for the tips and for joining the Hop!
ReplyDeleteGreat hiking spot!
ReplyDeleteLovely hike. We are also lucky to have a National Forest and a State Forest with many great hiking trails. And we live in a closed community with lots of hiking trails we use during hunting season and peak tourism.
ReplyDeleteYou always have such great adventures.
ReplyDeleteHere in AZ there is one added benefit - getting off the pavement can be tremendously cooler for your pup. We still don't recommend walking them when it 110 out, but if you have too it's the better way to go.
Monty and Harlow
We love hiking here too!! We follow the 1 dog per hiker rule (of course our pups are 1/3 the size of yours. I bring one dog if I am hiking solo, this way I can spend quality time with each pup. If my hubby and I are both going, we will take 2 pups...
ReplyDeleteHiking with your dogs is the best. I also agree with your 1 dog per hiker suggestion. I never actually thought about it be I follow that most of the time. The only exception is our Sunday morning hikes. That trail is only about 1 mile long so we take three dogs and them sit at the picnic area for a good 30 mins.
ReplyDeleteLove that camera sign! I have a seventh tip...after a good hike you can eat tasty snacks because you burned the calories ;) Looks like a super fun hike!
ReplyDeleteI think that sign reminding you to take pictures it adorable. Particularly funny when you take a picture of it.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a really great hike!
Wags (and purrs) What a sweet video!
Are our 3 dogs (and 4 cats) equal? No, but they are loved equally.
Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats
What a beautiful place, and a great walk!
ReplyDeleteWe love hiking for all those reasons too. Looks like a beautiful spot! The camera sign amused me too!
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are awesome! We love to go hiking, too!
ReplyDeleteMr. N loves hiking and as the sole dog, he gets to go on every hike!
ReplyDeleteI wish we'd had a scenery like yours here ;-) Have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like such a nice hike!! I have a lot of family down in that area (Gardner). We used to hike a lot with the dogs, now it's only occasionally, but I always enjoy it and so do the dogs.
ReplyDeleteJan, Wag 'n Woof Pets
I want to take our dogs hiking, but I know that I can only take 1 or 2 at a time. I'm taking a vacation soon and this is one of the bucket list items I have planned.
ReplyDelete