Tactical Challenge #5: 10th level party of four in a subterranean deadly fight

[Dork_Forge]

[thinks] I don't know. 500' is a long way to carry a dog on your back. For the sake of argument let's just say that if your Str is under 18, you should spend the spell slot re-summoning the Mastiff at the top. If the paladin has Str 18+ though he could carry the dog without problems, not need to re-cast at the top. Does that sound reasonable as a snap judgment?

Oh entirely, you also made me reread the spell, I was remembering it as a longer duration cast (Paladins in my games tend to only cast it on long rests), 10 minutes is no biggie if we are triggering the start of the encounter ourselves.