Pug deemed ‘too hyper’ channels energy into mountain climbing — and breaks barriers
A pug has just checked “mountain climbing” off his bucket list.
Woof, the 9-year-old pug, completed the NH 48, a circuit of all 48 of New Hampshire’s mountains that are higher than 4,000 feet.
He may be the first pug to ever complete it.
Erin McMahon grew up in New Hampshire and started hiking in high school almost two decades ago. She had always hiked in groups or with teammates, but it wasn’t until much later that she found a fondness for solo hiking.
In 2015, McMahon and her husband adopted a pug named Woof.
He was about a year and a half old, and his previous owner told McMahon that he was “just too hyper,” for their family.
“Having grown up with big dogs that needed to be walked I figured walking Woof everyday would help manage his energy, even though he’s a pug which aren’t typically known for exercising,” McMahon told McClatchy News.
From walks to mountain trails
McMahon started Woof on daily walks on a leash out on the road. Then, she started bringing him along on flat trails. Before she knew it, Woof was walking along with her as she climbed higher and higher on mountain trails.
“I had done some of the 4000s casually before owning Woof but once I started hiking with him regularly we made it our goal,” McMahon said.
Woof hit the summit of his first NH 48 mountain in summer 2019, completing a 20-mile hike in one day.
Then they just kept going.
“(It has) been really fun to watch him really turn into a little hiker. If he can’t jump up or down he will figure out his own way around, he’s used to me helping him which is important, at times, to have a dog ok with being lifted or guided,” McMahon said. “We’ve developed a really special connection, I always say he would follow me off a cliff, which in a way is true. He trusts me 100% if I have to lift him up, climb down and reach back for him or carry him while rock hopping across a stream; he knows I’ve always got his back.”
Woof ascends completely on his own, but he doesn’t like the water, and sometimes has to get a little boost up a particularly difficult rock.
On April 15, Woof reached the summit of mountain 48.
“When I get up he knows when I’m going hiking (versus) working and he is right on my heels. I could’ve finished the 48 on my own in probably a year but I felt bad leaving him behind when I knew he wanted to come, so we took our time and went together,” McMahon said.
‘Loves being out there’
It didn’t come without challenges.
Pugs are part of the brachycephalic breeds, meaning he has a shorter face and legs that can make physical exercise more difficult. McMahon said she had to carefully monitor the weather while they were hiking to avoid Woof overheating. She always carried a dog first aid kit and a dog backpack in case Woof needed to be carried.
McMahon said Woof does slow her down, but “he truly loves being out there.”
Woof also cheers up the other hikers on the trails.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard ‘if the pug can do it, I can do it.’ (It has) been really fun to watch him really turn into a little hiker,” McMahon said.
She shared Woof’s milestone on a New Hampshire locals Facebook page to see if any other pug had attempted the full circuit. Having never seen another pug out on the trails, McMahon believes Woof may be the first.
Woof has competition
His record may not stand for long.
In 2020, McMahon, her husband and Woof welcomed another little pug into their family.
Lemon, who is now 3, has already completed 36 out of the 48 summits in New Hampshire.
“I’m not sure if she will ever get 48 because there are definitely a couple summits I could live without repeating,” McMahon said, but that doesn’t stop her from loading up the pugs and hitting the trails.
For now, Woof and Lemon will keep blazing the trail for other pug hikers.
“I joke and say (Woof) is unofficially retired now that he (has) done the 48 but I can’t imagine the day he’s not following right behind me on the trail,” McMahon said.
This story was originally published April 25, 2023 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Pug deemed ‘too hyper’ channels energy into mountain climbing — and breaks barriers."
