I love going hiking with my dogs, but there are some things that make that experience more enjoyable for us both.

I find hiking so much more enjoyable when my dogs aren't pulling me down the trail!  Although it can be frustrating when you just want to go on a hike, I highly recommend taking the time to train your dog to walk nicely on a loose leash.  These two things aren't mutually exclusive, I taught Tristan how to casually walk on a loose leash on trails, however, I had to go out knowing that I'd be stopping and turning if he pulled so I wouldn't cover as much ground, or if I stuck with a predetermined route, it would take us longer to complete it.  Consistency is the key here - if your dog gets to explore by dragging you along behind them, that's what they'll do in the future.  

Here is how I taught Tristan not to drag me down the trail:

​It's certainly no secret that I like using food toys with my dogs.  Food dispensing toys make their mealtime more interesting and provide some distraction and enrichment during the day.  Kongs are one toy that I use quite frequently and I've recently discovered something new to stuff in them - pumpkin!

​Not the spicy pie filling, just regular, plain pumpkin.  The one problem with Kongs is that they have a lot of space to fill, and if you just pour in kibble it falls out very easily.  The solution is to put something else in the Kong to help the kibble stay in.  In the past, I've used a bit of peanut butter, but a recent experiment using pumpkin has made me a fan.

Introductory Level:
Take some pumkin and smear it around inside the Kong.  Let your dog lick it out

Dinner distraction:
After smearing some pumpkin around inside the Kong, fill it with your dog's kibble.  The pumpkin will keep some of the kibble from falling out immediately.