Hiking gear for two small terriers

Hiking with two terriers at once is a great time — and a genuine handful. The essentials are a well-fitting harness for each dog, a collapsible water bowl (one between two usually works fine for dogs who know each other), and depending on the terrain, paw boots — rocky or hot ground does real damage to small paws that most people underestimate. Before I point you to specific kit, what terrain are you covering and how long are your typical hikes?

Good combination actually — Border and Cairn Terriers are both built for this kind of terrain, tough little dogs. Two to three hours on mixed trail with rocky sections is meaningful though, not a stroll. The thing I'd prioritise for both of them is a proper harness rather than collar-and-lead, mainly because terriers pull when something catches their nose and a collar puts all that force on the neck. What are they currently wearing — harnesses already, or collars?

They're similar enough in build that the same model works for both — you'd just size them individually. My recommendation for dogs this size doing trail hiking is the Ruffwear Front Range Harness. It has two attachment points (chest and back), which gives you control on the rocky bits without restricting their movement, and the padding is genuinely comfortable for longer outings rather than just around the block. Border Terriers typically fit a Small and Cairn Terriers usually fit an XS or Small depending on chest size — Ruffwear's sizing guide is reliable, so measure their chest girth before ordering. It's available on Amazon UK and holds up well to sustained use outdoors.

If they're comfortable with each other, one collapsible silicone bowl is fine — offer water to one, then the other. Dogs on trail rarely drink at the same moment anyway. A 250–300ml bowl is the right size for dogs this small; anything bigger just adds pack weight. Offer water every 45 minutes or so on a warm day, more on the rocky open sections where they're working harder. The paws are worth checking at the end of the hike too — on repeated rocky outings some dogs develop soreness that creeps up gradually.

Perfect — measure around the widest part of the chest, just behind the front legs. If either dog is on the border between sizes, go up rather than down; a slightly roomier harness is more comfortable than one that digs in after two hours on trail. Enjoy the hike with them both.