I work outdoors the all day long and I always take my 2 dogs with me. The two beasts are very active running/walking distances well above 25 km/day. One of my main concerns is to provide water to my 4 legged friends on a regular basis. During the Summer, daily temperatures are always above 35ºC and beside water to drink, I constantly wet (about once an hour) the dogs' fur to relief eat stress. Since I work in agriculture irrigated fields, I always have a tap nearby.
While bicycle touring I do not carry a tap of water with me, so, I think a major limiting factor to take a dog with you is to carry extra drinking water just to keep the animal comfortable. Beside water to drink one needs to take into consideration many small aspects the animal needs, like dog running on the safe side of the road, lodging with a dog, boarder crossing between countries with an animal, shopping supplies not just with a load bicycle but with a dog, Vet emergency, etc, etc.
By the way, the dog I would like to carry with me in the next tour weighs 27 kg!
Last edited by caotropheus; 10-08-09 at 09:03 PM.