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lobster
03-05-2006, 13:09
it weighs? Or is this too much? At a bare minimum, my dog needs to carry its food, some of my food, and some of my essentials such as cellphone and gun. I have bad knees so I can't carry too much weight in my pack. Maybe I should limit our first week's mileage to between 15 and 20 miles per day.

Any thoughts on a pre-thru-hike training regimen for the dog?

By the way, it's a chow-pit cross.

saimyoji
03-05-2006, 13:30
A new low for lobby.

Pedaling Fool
03-05-2006, 13:42
Sounds like a "Loop Hole" to the No Pack-Animals rule.

Fiddler
03-05-2006, 14:01
Can a dog carry 1 pound for each pound it weighs? Or is this too much? At a bare minimum, my dog needs to carry its food, some of my food, and some of my essentials such as cellphone and gun. I have bad knees so I can't carry too much weight in my pack. Maybe I should limit our first week's mileage to between 15 and 20 miles per day.

Any thoughts on a pre-thru-hike training regimen for the dog?

By the way, it's a chow-pit cross.
A question like this:bse deserves a proper answer:banana :banana :banana .
Chow-pit cross should make for a very pack-worthy animal as long as he isn't over 7-8 years old. And 15 miles would probably just get him warmed up. However I wouldn't have him carry over about 75% of his weight. If he weighs 80 pounds, load maybe 60 on him. Be sure to take extra batteries for the phone and extra ammo. You don't want to get caught short on the trail. And get the doggy vest that says "Service Animal" so you won't have any legal problems. Also with the bad knees you probably must use hiking poles so you don't want a leash to jerk you and cause a fall in case Fido gets a little excited. As for training, just have him wear his pack, loaded of course, and let him run the neighborhood for a couple of weeks for 8-10 hours a day. Also you know you should bury his poop as well as yours. Remember LNT. Have A Good Hike!

SGTdirtman
03-05-2006, 14:07
If the dog could talk he'd probably tell you to go to ****

BlackCloud
03-06-2006, 10:05
Any thoughts on a pre-thru-hike training regimen for the dog?



By the nature of your questions and your own self-described condition, I would put $100 down that you never make it out of Georgia. Hopefully you don't kill the poor animal in the process.

CAN YOU CARRY A POUND OF **** PER POUND?

Any takers?

hiker5
03-06-2006, 10:09
Just leave him alone and maybe he'll crawl back under his bridge.

Skyline
03-06-2006, 10:35
I don't know anything about chow-pits, but it sounds awfully mean and dangerous to make a dog carry its own weight. We humans are told to carry no more than 25% of our weight, but we get to do so by CHOICE.

My dog, a 55# yellow lab/shepherd/beagle/who-knows-what-else mix, gladly carries up to 8 lbs. for about 10 miles per day. More than that...she balks about.

NICKTHEGREEK
03-06-2006, 11:16
A question like this:bse deserves a proper answer:banana :banana :banana .
Chow-pit cross should make for a very pack-worthy animal as long as he isn't over 7-8 years old. And 15 miles would probably just get him warmed up. However I wouldn't have him carry over about 75% of his weight. If he weighs 80 pounds, load maybe 60 on him. Be sure to take extra batteries for the phone and extra ammo. You don't want to get caught short on the trail. And get the doggy vest that says "Service Animal" so you won't have any legal problems. Also with the bad knees you probably must use hiking poles so you don't want a leash to jerk you and cause a fall in case Fido gets a little excited. As for training, just have him wear his pack, loaded of course, and let him run the neighborhood for a couple of weeks for 8-10 hours a day. Also you know you should bury his poop as well as yours. Remember LNT. Have A Good Hike!

No leash? Then you should carry the gun to pop off a few rounds incase fido starts running off after a critter or other hiker.

icemanat95
03-06-2006, 11:47
it weighs? Or is this too much? At a bare minimum, my dog needs to carry its food, some of my food, and some of my essentials such as cellphone and gun. I have bad knees so I can't carry too much weight in my pack. Maybe I should limit our first week's mileage to between 15 and 20 miles per day.

Any thoughts on a pre-thru-hike training regimen for the dog?

By the way, it's a chow-pit cross.

About the most you can ask a dog to carry is it's own food or an equivalent weight of your gear. Hiking with a dog isn't a way of removing burdens from the hiker, its a way of maintaining a cherished companionship during your times away on the trail. It is an EXTRA responsibility for the dog owner, which often equates to extra equipment and packweight.

I'd stick to the same weight rules for the dog as are required for humans, no more than 25-30% of its lean weight or to animal tolerance, whichever comes first.

Distance: For a hiker with bad knees, 6-10 miles per day for the first week or so is probably a good idea. It'll take a month or more to build up to 20 mile days. Many hikers never get to making 20 milers normal. Just give yourself plenty of time, and money for your hike so you can afford to go slower.

Leashes are required in my mind, unless the dog is so well trained that it would never take off on you. That's service dog level training. Even with a leash, if your dog will not instantly respond to heel, sit, lay down, no, and other common commands, it has NO business being on the trail with you. I like dogs in general, but uncontrolled dogs pose a serious hazard to you and more importantly, other hikers. I had a pair of huskies back about 11 or 12 years ago that my then-wife wanted to train as sled dogs. (She eventually did). But sled dogs and pets don't mix so she refused to train them to conventional commands. We took them hiking once and it was a terrible experience. We went to Baldpate in Maine and went up from the spring pool at the bottom. We ran into a number of other hikers and the dogs were certainly the nightmare that most hikers really hate. I learned A LOT from that experience and vowed never to do that again. I divorced that wife a while later (differences in how dogs should be trained was only the beginning of our mutual incompatibilities), she trained the dogs to race. I will never own a dog again...cats are much easier.

BonzNRio
03-13-2006, 01:49
I'm feeling bad for the dog already.The best I can hope for is it runs away & takes the gun with him..Crazy chit.. .