Safety Tips When Hiking With Your Dog

Dogs are man's best friend, and most of us will want to achieve the status of being our dog's best friend as well. How do you do that? Simply take him out for walks, or exciting adventures such as hiking. Dogs love to roam around freely, and being able to run on grassy lawns as well as play at forests areas. Seeing it in such a happy state one can almost see a smile on its face.

As fun as the wilderness seems fun for your dog, don't forget the dangers lurking around the corner. You would not wish to see your dog being harmed and hurt while it is playing. There are a few things you should be aware of and you have to take responsibility as so to protect your dog from being hurt or even killed.

Below are a few risks associated with taking your dog out hiking or traveling other outdoor areas:

One of the risks are ant hills, especially for those who live down south. There are abnormally large anthills at the southern regions of the United States, and your dogs are best kept away from these anthills. From South Carolina to Texas, fire ants are common and they are known to be ferocious. Fire ants are one of the most aggressive ants that you can ever come across, and these deadly ants have venom in their system which they will inject into anything that they deem threatening, especially those who approach their nests. Their stings are small but painful, and if your dog is stung by a lot of them at once, he may have the risk of being fatally wounded and may die from it.

Snakes are another dangerous threat. Rattlesnakes are common, and they can be found at most areas, and are harmful to dogs, and even humans. Snakes may prefer to take shelter in different areas, as common grounds are dry and contains burrows as well as vegetation. Rattlesnakes tend to hide in hollow logs, as it is dry and dark. These snakes will rattle when they sense threat approaching, and dogs are usually not afraid of the rattling noise. Therefore they will still offend the snake and ended up being bitten anyway.

The other common snake in the United States is the copperhead. These snakes are prone to biting and the bites are very painful. They are normally not very venomous, and if your dog is of larger size then it will not suffer fatal wounds. Smaller dogs may have a different fate, and a bite from copperhead snakes may do more harm to it.