If you live and hike just about anywhere in the United States, chances are good that you will encounter poison oak, poison ivy, or more rarely, poison sumac. Not long ago, my husband and I and our dog Jade and my parent's dog Shana took a hike with this description "California bay, buckeye, coast live and black oak, and big-leaf maple provide a canopy. In the understory you might see honeysuckle, toyon, coffeeberry, snowberry, and lots of poison oak." In my opinion, the description should have read "Poison oak abounds on this trail, sprinkled with the occasional maple, honeysuckle, poison oak, coffeberry, poison oak, black oak, and of course, poison oak." In other words, don't attempt this part of the hike unless both you and your dog are completely encased in impenetrable chain mail.

The trail itself was actually fairly well maintained, so unless the poison oak oil actually leapt off the plant onto my body, I was pretty confident that I could avoid the plants by sticking to the center of the path. The dogs however were a different story. Jade, my 6 year Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, does not believe in straying from hiking paths Shana (my parents 3 year old Coton) however, is the opposite. She doesn't believe in staying on paths. (I did briefly consider putting Shana on a leash but, knowing Shana and leashes, I suspected that all that would happen is that she would wrap the leash around my legs and I, in attempting to untangle myself, would fall straight into the very poison oak I was trying to avoid.)

And I had good reason to be concerned. When pets brush up against poison oak (or poison ivy) some of the oil transfers from the plant onto their skin. Pets can then transfer that oil to their human owners without being the slightest bit affected themselves. Therefore, assuming that you are not prepared to give up hiking and your dogs are not prepared to give up playing games of chase in poison oak/poison ivy/poison sumac, covered fields you should never hike or camp without carrying  Tecnu Original Outdoor Skin Cleanser. Tecnu (and by the way, neither Petlane nor I am in anyway affiliated with this company) is a cleanser that can be used on just about anything - including pets.

To remove the oil from you pet, saturate a cloth with Tecnu and wipe down the pet's coat. Then follow with a pet shampoo and water bath. IMPORTANT: DO NOT LEAVE TECNU ON FUR. IT MUST BE COMPLETELY WASHED OFF WITH SHAMPOO AND WATER. Tecnu is also safe for use on human skin. When used within 2-8 hours after exposure to the plants, Tecnu can remove urushiol oil (that's the oil that creates the rash and causes you to itch like crazy) before the rash begins. Once the rash has started, washing with Tecnu helps remove any free oil on skin allowing the natural healing process to begin without possible re-contamination. Happy hiking!