Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:52 pm Post subject: 3 Peaks Challenge with the dog
Hi,
This is our first post so hope it goes ok! We have a 10 month Chocolate lab called Meg.
During this summer my husband is looking to complete the 3 Peaks Challenge and we are trying to gather some information as to if it would be practical/safe to take Meg along.
Has anyone completed it with or without their dogs and could give us some advise please? Meg will be around 16/17 month mark then.
Wow you much be very fit. I've done snowdon twice and it flawed me both times
I personally wouldn't take a dog on the 3 peaks challenge. I think it would be too much for a dog and id be worried about injuries doing so much exercise in a short period of time. I took my dogs on one of the Snowdon trips but made sure they had a good rest the next day.
Is there an option for her to join you on one of the peaks and then for someone to tke her home while you do the other two?
I would think if you built her fitness up over the next year, she will be up to doing at least one or two of the 3 peaks next year, but this year, you simply won't have enough time to build her fitness up sufficiently to do even the one.
I do know of dogs who go hill walking regularly with their owners, but you are asking an awful lot of a dog to be able to do it to such an extreme really.
I guess a lot of it depends on the type of Lab she is too. A fine boned, working type, could possibly get away with it if it was fit enough, but a heavy boned show type I think would struggle with the distance and rough terrain, as it has so much more weight to carry, even if it was as fit as a flea.
Tricky one! As others have said she will still be quite young. If you gave it another year then I would definitely say go for it - your husband could consider putting it off a year...
Much will depend on how fit she is and whether you have the capacity to build up her fitness gradually so she can cope. If you live in a hilly region and she is doing a lot of walking over that terrain then it's unlikely to be a problem, if you live in the middle of London then unlikely to be as straightforward without a lot of effort on your part. I would have a serious think about whether you have the time to build fitness gradually - bearing in mind that she will still have fragile joints at present. You can then make a decision nearer the time. Perhaps a better solution would be for you to be support crew and drop her off/pick her up so she can do a bit of it with him, without overdoing it.
I think she's way too young for that level of acitivity. Once shes 12 months then start building up her exercise and by 16 / 17 months she should certainly manage 1 peak - but I think all 3 would be way too much. Agility dogs can't compete until 18 months to protect their growing joints and a simple agility course will be a lot less strain than 3 peaks.
My two do a lot of hill walking - one of our weekend Peak District hikes can be anything from 4 to 6 hours, and they've done done Snowdon summit twice. The second time we took a longer more challenging route and they were absolutely shattered when we got back to the car. As was I!!!! 10 months is too early for that level of exercise in my opinion. Even for a mature dog with a good level of fitness I think the three peaks would be asking too much. How much rest time would there be in between each one? I would think they'd need at least a couple of days to recover.
____________
Sue - With Megan and Billy too!
´´Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole´´
My two are used to long distances when lux was About 18 months old and Bea 2.5 yrs we did snowdon two days running different routes They managed very well but I think needed a rest day after that! Lux also has HD, we have managed it very well with hydrotherapy and exercise he coped with Snowden with more ease than Bea did
We take Bailey out with us, and we are building his stamina, starting off on shorter peaks and one at a time... however, he is now nearly two, and I wouldn't dream of a three peak challenge with him. After one peak and only maybe three - four hours out, he will sleep the rest of the day. We didn't even start taking him up until he was about 14 months old. As others have suggested, I'd build up her stamina when she is old enough and maybe let her plod along for one of the peaks, but three may cause her some serious damage and you will probably end up needing a rescue to help get her down! Remember that border collie up Snowdon a few years ago... very fit dog, just not for mountain climbing! Good luck with the challenge, hope you can sort something out so you all can enjoy it.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
3 Peaks Challenge with the dog
10 months is too early for that level of exercise in my opinion. Even for a mature dog with a good level of fitness I think the three peaks would be asking too much. How much rest time would there be in between each one? I would think they'd need at least a couple of days to recover.
They managed very well but I think needed a rest day after that! Lux also has HD, we have managed it very well with hydrotherapy and exercise he coped with Snowden with more ease than Bea did 
