The country and the region around it are genuinely good walking: the Mullerthal with its rock formations and gorges, the valleys of the Alzette and the Sûre, the forests around the capital, and the hills just across the borders in Belgium, Germany and France. For a fit dog a long day out is the best thing in its week.
It is also where owners regularly get into difficulty, because a dog that copes fine with forty-five minutes on flat pavement is not automatically fit for six hours of uneven ground.
Fitness, built rather than assumed
A dog's cardiovascular fitness arrives quickly; the tendons, ligaments and pads take longer. Build distance over several weeks rather than jumping from the usual weekday walk to a full day, and treat the first long outing of the spring as a rebuilding exercise rather than a resumption.
Which dogs should not do it. Puppies and young adolescents with open growth plates, where long repetitive distance is a genuine risk. Arthritic and elderly dogs, who do better with several short outings.
Flat-faced breeds belong on the list too, since their breathing limits them far more than their enthusiasm suggests, as does any dog recovering from surgery until the vet says otherwise.
The honest test: can your dog do ninety minutes on varied ground comfortably, twice a week, without stiffness the next morning? If not, it is not ready for a five-hour route.
Terrain that is harder than it looks
The Mullerthal routes are popular with dogs and include narrow passages between rocks, steps cut into stone, wooden staircases and occasional ladders. Some sections are simply not passable with a large dog, and lifting a thirty-kilo animal down a ladder is not a plan.
Check the route description before you go, and know where the escape points are. Rock is also abrasive: pads that are fine on grass can wear raw over several kilometres of sandstone, and the dog will keep going long after it should have stopped.
Scrambles and jumps down from height are where soft-tissue injuries happen. Lift or lead the dog round rather than letting it launch off ledges, especially at the end of a long day when it is tired.
What to carry
- Water and a collapsible bowl. Do not rely on streams, which can be dry, contaminated or, in warm still conditions, carrying algae
- Food for a long day, in small amounts
- A tick hook, which you will use more than anything else in the bag
- Basic first aid: gauze, self-adhesive bandage, tape, a sock for a cut pad
- A spare lead or a slip lead
- A means of carrying or supporting a dog that cannot walk. For a small dog, a bag. For a large one, know that a coat and two people is your only real option, and plan routes accordingly
- Your vet's number and the location of the nearest emergency practice along the route
- A long line, which is more useful than you expect
The rules of the ground
Off lead is not a default outside the city. Keep dogs close and on marked paths in forests during the hunting season, and respect signage: this is a country where hunts are organised and communicated, and ignoring the notices is both dangerous and the reason dogs get a bad name locally.
Livestock means a lead, without exception, including for a dog that has never shown any interest. Nesting birds along river banks and in open grassland mean a lead or a long line in spring and early summer. Pick up on trails as you would in a park.
Across the borders the rules differ, and in several German and Belgian nature reserves dogs must be on a lead at all times. Check before you drive, not when you arrive.
Heat, cold and water
In summer, start early and finish before the heat, choose shaded valley routes, and remember that a dog on a rock plateau at two in the afternoon has nowhere to cool down. On the hottest days, do not go: a long walk at thirty degrees is how heatstroke happens, and it develops fast.
In winter, watch for ice on stone steps, keep the route shorter, and dry the dog before the drive home so it is not sitting damp in a cooling car.
Rivers on a hot day are wonderful and need judgement: check the bank for an exit before the dog goes in, avoid water that looks green or scummy, and do not let a tired dog swim.
Afterwards, in ten minutes
Check the pads for cuts and wear, the fur between the toes for seeds and grit, the ears, and the whole coat for ticks by hand, paying attention to the head, the neck, the armpits and the groin. Note the date if you remove one.
Offer water in small amounts rather than a full bowl immediately, and give the dog a proper rest the next day. Two long days back to back is where the weekend injury appears.
Making the weekday count
The reason most dogs struggle with a long weekend outing is not the outing. It is the five days before it: twenty minutes in the morning, nothing until the evening, and then six hours on rock.
Consistency is what makes the big days safe. A proper walk in the middle of each working day keeps a dog fit enough for the weekend it actually wants, which is the argument for the weekday routine rather than the other way round.
General information for dog owners in Luxembourg, not veterinary or legal advice. For your own dog, ask your vet, a qualified behaviourist or your commune. How this journal is written and checked.
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