Hike Doggie Franchise prepares to roll out in Boulder area

Local dog owners will have a new way to keep their furry friends active when “Hike Doggie” expands to the Boulder area.

Based in Denver, Hike Doggie is a professional dog-walking service that takes dogs on hikes along Colorado mountain trails. With Hike Doggie Flatirons, the service will be available to dogs in Boulder, Broomfield, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, Erie and Arvada.

The Boulder-area territories will be managed by Hike Doggie franchisee Matt Gray. Gray, an Arvada native, plans to roll out the Hike Doggie Flatirons service in early April.

“It’s much, much more than just hiking dogs,” Gray said of Hike Doggie. “It’s really an essential and complementary component to a well-rounded health strategy for dogs.”

Gray and his yellow lab, Murphy, are currently scouting the Flatirons and surrounding mountains for the most dog-friendly trails. On Monday, Gray and Murphy explored Boulder’s Chautauqua Park to find routes that won’t interfere with horseback riders, mountain bikers and other trail traffic.

“A lot of people are out there recreating in the beautiful mountains, so we want to keep us all safe,” Gray said.

The Hike Doggie Flatirons bus will have room for 12 dogs on each daily hiking trip. The bus will pick up the canine clients at their homes and keep them safe in kennels on the drive into the mountains. The dogs experience a two-hour, on-leash hike and socialize in small groups before being dropped off back home at the end of the day.

“We’ve got a whole rotation of different trails to kind of keep the adventure fresh and exciting,” Gray said.

As a lover of dogs as well as Colorado nature, Gray said Hike Doggie “checked all of the boxes” for him as a franchisee. He said that going to work and leaving Murphy at home when he knew his pet would rather be having fun outside was heartbreaking as a dog owner.

“Being able to provide a solution for that to dog parents on the Front Range is the ultimate goal of Hike Doggie,” Gray said. “I think Colorado is the perfect kind of place for this service. People here love their dogs like family, and they really want them to have the best life possible.”

Dog owners can sign up for meet-and-greet sessions with the Hike Doggie Flatirons team by joining the Flatirons Wait List. To sign up, visit hikedoggie.com/hikedoggieflatironsiscoming.