Wolf & I Co. Blog | Adventures Of The Wolf Pack

Hi there! It’s Ted here with his pawrents Nicole and Kylie.

Ted is a five year old border collie, originally from Orange, NSW and now living in warm, sunny Melbourne.

While he may have been born in the country, Ted is very much a city dog. He loves the beach, the river, the bush, hiking, camping, catching frisbees and chasing sticks, but he also loves a sleep in, snuggling on the couch, sitting in laps and just being lazy!

He could not care less about cows or sheep and wouldn’t have a clue how to round anything up. Lucky for him though his mums love hiking and adventuring so he’s always getting out and about. Ted does have a sister, Indie, but she’s a bit older and her legs don’t work so well so she gets to go to Grandma’s house when its adventure time.

We have always loved hiking and exploring, even before Ted came along. Ted has grown up coming on adventures with us (and Indie when she was able to come) so he is in his element on the back seat of the car with his head out of the window and in the bush.

With every new hike it brings all new smells, scenery and swimming holes to check out and it makes him so happy! It’s hard not to feel happy when Ted is so bouncy and happy to be in a new place. Plus, it tuckers him out!

HOW OFTEN DO WE GO & HOW DO WE FIND OUR HIKES?

We like to go on hikes or adventures whenever we can. Unfortunately living in Victoria this has been a bit hard over the last little while but we’re very lucky to live next to bushland so Ted’s always out and about in there.

When it comes to finding hikes, we like to use the app Alltrails, Travel Australia with Dogs and Bushwalking & Hiking Australia Facebook pages or just a quick google search. We’ve found that there are many people out there in the same boat as us, looking for dog friendly hikes, and so people are very willing to share what they’ve found.

We generally stick to bush hikes and usually do it in a day trip however we’re planning on starting some overnight hikes. We would like to do the Beeripmo walk when we’re able to!

Ted is already an avid camper although he doesn’t like seeing his sticks get put in the fire!

TOP PLACES WE'VE HIKED:

- Tanglefoot Loop - Toolangi State Forest

- Lerderderg State Park

- Mathias walking track - Olinda

- Starlings gap loop – Yarra State Forest

OUR TOP FIVE TIPS FOR A HIKE:

1. Make sure your dog is covered for fleas, ticks and worms. You don’t want to pick up any nasty surprises

2. Make yourself familiar with treating snake bites for humans and animals

3. Make sure you have packed enough supplies for you and your dog

4. Stop for regular breaks to avoid your doggo getting heat stroke

5. Know your limits! Maybe don’t go on that 10km hike if your dog is only used to around the block walks. Start small and build up to the longer hikes.

WHAT DO WE PACK FOR TED? 

We go pretty minimalist for Ted. He may be a city boy but he’s not that needy.

- Lots of water and a collapsible water bowl that can clip onto a backpack. We make sure we stop regularly for him to have a drink.

- We pack him a little snack, generally we take a roo stick and give him half at the end of a small walk or half when we have a break for a long hike and the other half at the end of the hike. Dogs are expending all their energy just like you so it’s important to give them an energy boost too!

- His lead and harness (Wolf & I Co. of course!)

- Poo bags (yep, take it home! Because of the food dogs eat, it’s not great for the eco system)

- Sunscreen for his schnoz

- A towel. Ted will no doubt find some sort of water to go in so we like to be prepared!

- A first aid kit – make sure you know how to use a snake bandage in case you need it.

**If its camping we just add his camping bed, his food and food bowl and some toys to the list!

BEST DOG FRIENDLY AIRBNB:

On our overnight adventures we like to find dog friendly Airbnb’s to stay at. Our favourites are generally farm stays as its nice and quiet, we can have a roaring fire (Ted does not like this part purely because he thinks it’s a waste of perfectly good sticks), there’s generally wild animals or farm animals that come to visit and there’s a lot of land for us to explore.

Our favourites are:

- Tindoona cottages in Foster, Vic

- Vicki & Greg’s place in Tostaree, Vic

- Bushland retreat in Echuca, Vic

- Keren’s place in Bonnie Doon, Vic

If you’d like to follow our adventures (or just cute pictures of Ted) make sure you find us on Instagram and subscribe for more epic adventures sent direct to your inbox!

Please also let us know if you have good ideas for walks or places to stay! We’re always looking for new places to check out.