NH Hiking Experts: Looking for advise on dog-friendliness of the following trails/any suggestions!

Submitted by OralHairyLeukoplakia t3_10nw3bw in newhampshire

EDIT: Advice, not advise, my apologies! How embarassing, and I can't change it

I will be doing 3 days worth of day hikes this June in the Whites.

My dog is a 70lb husky mix who is healthy with good stamina. Her water requirements are high but she is unfazed by hard work. I am just trying to avoid super technical scrambles that would either scare her, or be unsafe for me to carry her through. I am a relatively (maybe low 50s VO2max?) fit and relatively experienced day hiker, for reference.

I have the hikes listed below penciled in (criteria of out-and back or loop, dog friendly, can be completed in one day). If there are other suggestions, I'm glad to hear them! I would say I would be open to adding a hike of <5 miles to one of these for a two-a-day, or open to a single hike of under 20 miles to safely be completed in a day

  • Kinsman Loop via AT and Cascade Loop (13.3)
  • Lafayette/Lincoln/Little Haystack Loop (13.0)
  • Adams and Madison Loop (9.5)

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Maggie in action!

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Thanks!

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Comments

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Excellent_Affect4658 t1_j6bqecb wrote

These will all be fine (and mostly have water available en route, either from huts or surface water). We hike them with our dog. Only caution I would offer is to ask if the dog is used to that mileage? Ours will sometimes get her paws rubbed raw if we go much over 10 miles / day, and fireman carrying her out sucks.

Get a copy of the AMC white mountains guidebook, which has detailed info on all of these hikes (and good cautions for hikes with a lot of exposure that it sounds like you want to avoid).

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OralHairyLeukoplakia OP t1_j6d1qti wrote

Replying to Excellent_Affect4658 (#1,572,039)

Thanks so much for your help! The guidebook sounds great!

I am building up her hiking stamina now in preparation. I can't really hike her more than two days in a row with work, but she has tolerated 13 miles in a day, as well as consecutive days of 6+ miles without issue. I will try to plan to hike back to back days on any golden weekends I have between now and the trip to toughen them up, and bring some paw balm with me!

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Open-Industry-8396 t1_j6eyl50 wrote

I own a backpack that can be used to transport my dog if he gets injured. Never had to use it thankmgod but it would suck to be stuck with a wounded pup.

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Dekkars t1_j6ho7gi wrote

Ditto on dog sling... Ours randomly tore his cruciate ligament and I shudder to think what we would've done with an 80lb dog on top of a mountain.

Otherwise it's a lot of getting your dog used to asking for help. Uncomfortable scramble? Wait for directions and help from the human.

Our youngest is still learning (which results in me having to catch her as she starts to take a tumble). Our oldest waits for me to help when he's uncomfortable.

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ElisabetSobeckPhD t1_j6kjggo wrote

Don't know how familiar you are with these trails, but these are fairly rugged trails compared to... well really most trails that you might think are similar.

Also I'd recommend you crosspost this to /r/wmnf , you'll probably get some better answers.

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