Five volcano hikes with your dog

Timanfaya is out, and it's better to know before you leave the house

Timanfaya National Park does not allow pets, with the sole exception of assistance dogs recognised under Canarian law. And even if it did, it wouldn't help you much: the Ruta de los Volcanes is done by coach and you can't get out of the vehicle between the ticket office and Islote de Hilario.

Now the good part. Immediately north of the national park begins the Parque Natural de los Volcanes, which is the same landscape of lava flows, cones and black rock, and there you can walk freely with your dog. Three of the five routes on this list are in there.

1. Volcán del Cuervo

If you're only doing one, do this one. It's a cone with one side blown open, so the trail loops around the volcano and then takes you inside the crater. It's roughly five kilometres, a circular route, essentially flat, on a wide track.

Why it works with a dog: it's flat, it's short and there are no technical sections or steps where you'd have to lift him. It suits an older dog as well as a young one.

The problem: there isn't a single metre of shade on the whole route, and the ground is dark lapilli that stores heat like a frying pan. This is a sunrise route or a winter route, not an eleven-in-the-morning-in-July route.

2. Montaña Colorada

Another short loop, near Masdache, around a deep red cone that gives it its name. The striking part is the volcanic bombs: enormous blocks the eruption spat out that are still lying where they landed, as if it had just happened.

Why it works with a dog: short distance, no difficulty, and it's usually far emptier than El Cuervo. A good option if your dog gets anxious around people.

The problem: the usual one, zero shade, plus some sections of loose stone.

3. Caldera Blanca

The big one. You set off from the Mancha Blanca area, cross a sea of lava and climb to the rim of a huge, wide-open crater. It has the best views on the island and is by a distance the hardest of the five: there and back adds up to a serious number of kilometres, with a real climb at the end.

Why it works with a dog: because of the place itself, which is spectacular, and because there's no scrambling.

The problem: it's long, exposed and mostly over lava. I wouldn't do this one with just any dog. Only with a fit dog, young or middle-aged, in winter or setting off at dawn, carrying more water than you think you need. With a flat-faced dog, an overweight one, an old one or one with delicate pads, don't even try.

4. Montaña Roja, in Playa Blanca

A cone right in the middle of Playa Blanca, with a short trail up to the rim and Fuerteventura sitting across the water in front of you. Comfortably done in a bit over an hour.

Why it works with a dog: it's short, you can drive almost to the start, and it's in a built-up area, so if something goes wrong you're five minutes from town. And it has an ending I like: go early and you can come down and finish at Las Coloradas beach, which is right there and allows dogs from 7:00 to 10:00.

The problem: the climb is over loose volcanic gravel and it slides, and the top is windy.

5. The Tenegüime ravine, in Guatiza

This is the odd one out, and it's my favourite for dogs that don't handle heat well. Instead of a volcano it's a ravine: you walk along the floor of it, between high rock walls, on earth rather than lava, with actual vegetation around you. It's the closest thing to a cool place you'll find in Lanzarote.

Why it works with a dog: the walls give shade for much of the morning, the ground is soft and there's no serious climbing. For an older dog, a brachycephalic one, or one freshly arrived from northern Europe who hasn't acclimatised yet, it's the most sensible of the five.

The problem: it's a protected area with cultivated land around it, so keep him on the lead and don't let him roam.

Volcanic gravel: what's actually going to happen to his pads

This is what separates a nice walk from an afternoon at the vet, and it's the part hiking guides leave out because they're written with boots in mind.

Lapilli and lava have edges. These aren't rounded river stones: it's broken volcanic glass. A dog who does ten kilometres over that ground can end up with his pads sanded down, and the worst part is he won't complain while it's happening: he'll keep trotting along happily until he stops dead and refuses to walk. By then it's too late.

• Start short. If your dog is used to tarmac and grass, don't debut him on Caldera Blanca. Pads toughen up with use, but that takes weeks, not one Sunday.
• Check his paws halfway, not at the end. If the pads look pinker than usual or you spot a worn patch, turn back.
• Boots, if you're doing the long routes. Plenty of dogs hate them at first and you have to get them used to it at home, but on a long lava route they're worth their weight in gold.
• Check between the toes afterwards. Small pieces of gravel lodge in there and cause cuts you won't see.

The time of day, which here is not a minor detail

The test is simple and never fails: put the back of your hand flat on the ground you're about to walk on and count to seven. If you can't hold it, neither can your dog, and he's barefoot.

In summer that means setting off before nine in the morning or after eight in the evening. In winter you have almost the whole day, which is the great advantage of living here: the island's best routes are done in January.

And watch out for the trade wind trap. The constant breeze cools your face and convinces you it isn't that hot, but it isn't lowering the ground temperature or helping your dog, who cools himself by panting rather than sweating. A lot of heatstroke cases in the Canaries happen on windy days for exactly that reason.

Water: there isn't a single tap on any of these routes

None of these five routes has water. No fountain, no puddle, no bar halfway round. Everything your dog drinks is what you carried in.

My rule: half a litre per dog for the short routes and a litre and a half for Caldera Blanca, plus a collapsible bowl. And offer it every fifteen or twenty minutes even when he doesn't ask, because a lot of dogs won't drink while they're busy sniffing.

Signs that you need to stop right now

If you see heavy panting that doesn't settle when he rests, thick sticky saliva, very bright red gums or tongue, wobbliness or disorientation, or if he simply sits down and won't go on: stop, find any shade there is, wet his belly, armpits and groin with water, and let him drink as much as he wants in small amounts.

If he doesn't improve within a few minutes, don't wait to see whether he sorts himself out. Heatstroke in a dog is a veterinary emergency and time matters enormously. Save the number of a vet on the island before you set off, rather than looking one up with your dog lying on the lava.