Best dog breed for hiking

I have a black-lab pitbull mix. We are both enormous hikers. Pro's include his tenacity- the working breed combo in him doesn't let him get stubborn when he is tired. He also does very well with having very different days. Even avid hikers cannot make significant trips everyday. My guy is perfectly fine being left alone for a few hours a day during the week and then having fifteen mile days on the weekend. Collie and herding mixes aren't as good at that- they have enormous energy all the time. Con's are that he has a black coat and gets super hot on summits in summer time. Additionally, we live in wolf country and he absolutely has to wear an orange coat during the hunting season as his black color makes it hard for hunters to tell if he is a huntable canid or not.
 
This is not my dog. Her name is Gracie, and she belongs to my coworker whom I was hiking and fishing in the Uintas. She is very well behaved, and stood with me for the photo op. If I didn't have a cat, a Yellow Lab like Gracie might be the ideal companion. Gracie is trained to walk without a leash, and come when called. Her major flaw... She loves to lick the fish. :)
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rockingdingo said:
I have a black-lab pitbull mix. We are both enormous hikers. Pro's include his tenacity- the working breed combo in him doesn't let him get stubborn when he is tired. He also does very well with having very different days. Even avid hikers cannot make significant trips everyday. My guy is perfectly fine being left alone for a few hours a day during the week and then having fifteen mile days on the weekend. Collie and herding mixes aren't as good at that- they have enormous energy all the time. Con's are that he has a black coat and gets super hot on summits in summer time. Additionally, we live in wolf country and he absolutely has to wear an orange coat during the hunting season as his black color makes it hard for hunters to tell if he is a huntable canid or not.
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So are we now open season on wolves where they can be shot on sight?
 
I have backpacked with my Brothers Airedale for years. I liked the breed so much I bought one this last fall.

1) Highly Intelligent, they problem solve. At 3 months, Chewie in two weeks knew Sit, Stay, Come, up, Down, spin, Hi Five, Low Five, Shake, Crawl. leave it, and Come Around. Also knew commands with a whistle and by hand. Only downside, is they are not like Aussies that will obey blindly, they think for themselves and work with you, not for you. You need to earn there loyalty. Once trained though, they are amazing Dogs.

2) No shedding! Their coat is very easy to maintain and can repel water to a point. Brambles and thorns don't seem to bother them much either.

3) High pain threshold, these dogs are tough, fearless and even though they are pretty easy going , they are very good fighter's and can defend themselves very well. Especially the hunting lines, the majority are show dogs and they are ok, but watered down versions of what I have. Lots of stamina too, they will go until they drop. Lots of history with the old hunting lines, just awesome dogs.

4) Damn cool and cute. They have the best personalities, and I get tons of compliments with my dog.

5) These dogs are not easy to have. You need to spend time with them and then they shine. All in all, they are one of the best jack of all trades master of none dogs you can get if you have the time to work with them. There's lots of good breeds but the no shedding and the terrier toughness do it for me.
 
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I have always had medium sized canines, aussie's, border collies, and heelers, including a couple combinations of those. They have all done well in the backcountry, including roping them off a few places. Our backpacking friends have always had labs or Chesapeake's. Those also do just fine but sometimes it's hard to get them away from the water. Bottom line is that any canine in decent shape, big enough to not be eagle food , and not bald, will likely be fine. I don't frequent the deserts so color has not been an issue for me nor has the very long fur on the two current border collies.

No problems energy wise with aussies, heelers or border collies for sure.
 
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