Altitude sickness in a dog???????

[stinkbelly]

I live at 500 feet in Texas and I am headed for the mountains of Colorado tomorrow. I will be brining my dog. I will try to bring her along with every thing I do, but I was wondering if dogs get altitude sickness. She is in top notch shape. It is 100 degrees here and I run her in the field 5 days a week.

The real question is, will she be able to hike a 14,000 foot mountain without injury? I plan on trying and I would love to bring her along.

My plan is to try the 14er no sooner than the 3rd day in Colorado.

[bobman]

You will have way more problems than her, keep her hydrated

[LEGLIFTER]

I don't see why a dog would be immune to altitude sickness though I think your odds of it are slim. I've seen some very physically fit people get AS. I think there's more to it than physical fitness.

Good Luck. I hope / expect all will go well.

Let us know how it went.

[PrairieGoat]

Shouldn't be a problem.....sounds like you are both physically fit. As long as there aren't any underlying pulmonary issues in either of you, then both should acclimate. 3 days might be a bit quick to hit the 14'er, I would recommend leaving it until near the end of your trip just to give both your bodies ample time to adjust to altitude.

[WildRose]

I've taken my dogs from here at about 2,000 ft to 9,500 ft for a trial the next day with no issues. 14,000 though I would expect some shortness of breath, and probably lower endurance. However if the dog is in good shape I wouldn't worry too much. I would think however that giving the dog more than just two days to acclimate might be helpful. CR

[Richard *UT*]

Which of the 14ers are you doing? I did Longs Peak and want to try Blanco. Take pictures and post them, I will be looking for them, let me know how it goes anyway because now you have got me thinking, (never a good thing).

[bobman]

AN old friend of mine in Wyoming took me elk hunting, and he explined it like this. Red blood cells carry oxygen and a mammals body will adapt and have the supply necessary to transfer enough oxygen for normal activities. Unfortunately this adaptation takes three weeks in humans and horses probably the same for dogs. If you go from sea level to those 14k elevations you and your dog are going to have shortness of breath so you will just have to plan to rest often and slow down. While elk hunting we were at 12-14K and I could only walk 50 paces and was totally out of breath and gasping for air. Personally I would find some lower areas so I could enjoy myself. Theres lots of Colorado thats not so tough.

I was running 3 miles per day in under 18 minutes prior to my elk hunt it didn't help much if any. I live at 1000 ft above sea level.

He is a retired biology teacher