I apply some dog mosquito repellent to reduce the number of bites. DEET, the active ingredient in human insect repellents and the only thing that actually works really well, is highly toxic. You should always limit your exposure and fortunately for us, we understand not to lick it up off our bodies; however, dogs do not understand. Therefore you cannot use DEET products on them, nor spray it where they can inhale the mist as you can kill or seriously injure them. I have a special dog formula made from plant oils. It does help, but is not nearly as effective as DEET.

When dogs are very tired, they eat laying down. It is important to put fuel back into his system after the more than five mile hike with heavy pack. The total distance for us was about 5.5 miles, but Dawg took several water side trips, chased numerous chipmunks, and walked considerably farther than we did. To insure he doesn't skip eating due to exhaustion, I placed his food right in front of him.