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View Full Version : Dog Forum: This is not a debate forum. Read before posting.



SGT Rock
07-21-2006, 05:34
Notice



This forum was created for the purpose of discussing how to responsibly hike the trail with a dog. The purpose of the forum is not to debate the whole topic of dogs on the trail. If your aim is to do so, please go to The general forum or poll forum or something. Otherwise stay away from these threads.


That said, if you disagree with dogs on the trail, it is probably because of unaware or irresponsible owners. The purpose of this forum was to try to fix that. The hope is dog hikers can pass on to each other the things that make the rare, good trail dogs a good trail dog. If more trail dogs benefit from good owners, then maybe there will be less problems in the long run.


If a dog owner that plans to bring their dog to the trail comes here and learns all the informal rules; the health, safety, and first aid issues they must consider; the impact a hike can have on a dog, the impact a dog can have on a hike; the equipment and pack weight issues to consider; effects of secondary predation, disease, and other impacts of wildlife on the dog and the dog on the wildlife; and the overall impact of the dog hiker on other hikers and even other dogs - The hope is that a dog owner can participate in the forum and learn all the informal rules and how hard it can really be to hike with a pet responsibly, and then allow them to make a personal, informed decision to either not hike with a pet or to go on the trail armed with the skills, knowledge, and attitude to do it correctly.


All that said, this forum came about this way because it had to. Every time the topic of how to act responsibly, the thread deteriorated into another battle against dog lovers against the supposed "dog haters". So if you plan to post here, post advice about how to backpack responsibly with the pet as a response to the question or topic. Due to past experiences the threads will be monitored closely for failure to comply. Abusers will loose the ability to read or post on this forum.

fiddlehead
07-21-2006, 05:41
I agree, these dog threads can get nasty.

One thing that dog people can do to help everyone have a better experience is to have a water bowl for their dog so that he doesn't foul springs and small seeps. If the dog gets used to drinking it's water out of it's own personal bowl, it may help keep the public's water from being fouled.
On the plus side for dog people, it helps (having a dog along) to get a ride while hitching for sure. I've had many a ride hitchin with people with dogs that after we got in the car/truck, the driver said: "i picked you up because of the dog"

SGT Rock
07-21-2006, 05:42
Great idea for a thread for this forum: What to carry and why?

generoll
07-21-2006, 08:15
when my dog was young enough to go backpacking with me I bought him his own pack and put his food in individual zip locks. each meal went into a large gallon size ziplock and when it was feeding time i just folded the edges back to make a bowl. his pack contained his food, a rope to tie him up if required, and usually a couple of trash bags. he was always eager to go when he saw me getting the packs out, so i don't think he felt too abused about hiking. i hiked the slickrock creek trail with him a lot and usually let him just range. i'd start at the dam and he'd kinda rove a bit at first, but by the time i got to slickrock creek, he'd settled down and would walk right behind me. since we usually hiked along the creek, drinking water for him was never a problem, he'd just lay down in the creek, pack and all and drink (hence the need for the ziplocks to keep his food dry). he was uniformly friendly to anyone we met on the trail and there was only one time when someone raised an issue.

I once hiked in on the trail from Big Fat Gap and when I got to the campground along the river, a large group was planning on staying there and had sent someone ahead to pitch all the tents. As I walked through the campground, one of them men made a point of telling me that one of the tents had a small dog tied up in it. We could hear him yapping as we walked by and Arthur just kinda looked at him and we crossed the creek and went on down to Wildcat Falls to camp. Here's where I did a mean thing. We met two hikers coming upstream that had two dogs with them that looked like lab mixes. our dogs did the usual dog greeting things and then the hikers asked me about campgrounds. I told them that I thought they'd find good camping just across the river where the trail crossed. I kinda neglected to mention that there was a large group there that thought they owned the spot and had one of those small yappy rat dogs with em.

I camped below the third cataract downstream from Wildcat Falls and it began to rain during the night. By the time I hiked out the next morning everyone was gone so I never got to hear how things turned out.

The idea of a dog bowl for food and/or water is a good one and if my dog hadn't retired from backpacking I'd get him one.

Anyone need a dog backpack sized for a Goldie?

I'll post a pic of the pack and dog in my album if you care to look.

The Solemates
07-21-2006, 09:15
people who have trouble with dogs on the trail, are always gonna find trouble with dogs on the trail. no forum aint gonna fix that.

AdamantiumKid
07-21-2006, 09:22
We have a backback for our beagle so that he can carry his own gear. We only going to take him on day trips (there is no way I share a tent with him - he's a bedhog), but we have read from several sources that dogs like to have jobs and carrying their gear makes them feel they have a purpose. Usually his "gear" is going to be his bottled water. We also have a collapsable cloth dog dish for water. It's pretty water"proof" since he drinks it up pretty fast anyhow.

SGT Rock
07-21-2006, 09:32
For food and water bowls you can cut the bottom of a milk jug. They weigh almost nothing and you can fold them after they have been cut off the jug.

Two Speed
07-21-2006, 09:34
Solemates, I agree with you, but that tends to get back into the whole debate thing, which I thought we were trying to avoid. Unless I misunderstood I thought the aim of this forum was to improve how dog hikers handled themselves and their dogs, and not to deal with other folk's phobias. More of a "let's clean up our act" thing and let those with phobias deal with their problems.

BTW, I'm a BIG fan of dog hikers cleaning up their act. Who knows, I may have to make some adjustments here and there myself. The fact that another hiker has a phobia ain't my problem, but if there's some reasonable action I can take, short of always leaving my mutt at home, I'm open to hearing about it. May or may not do what someone else wants, but what they say may be worth listening to.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
07-21-2006, 09:46
Great idea to give dog hikers a flame-free place to share ideas and learn.

SGT Rock
07-21-2006, 09:51
Lets see if it works. Who will try to drag it down first, a "dog hater" or a person that is a less than responsible dog owner.

I hope neither will. But I have been here long enough to know someone will type before they engage their brain.

Lone Wolf
07-21-2006, 09:52
I have no brain, therefore I type. With one finger.

SGT Rock
07-21-2006, 09:55
I thought you typed with the muzzle of your pistol because there is a beer in your other hand.:cool:

SGT Rock
07-21-2006, 10:56
Changed the notice slightly on the advice of my Consigliere.

TDale
07-21-2006, 11:12
Who will try to drag it down first, a "dog hater" or a person that is a less than responsible dog owner.

I like dog.

http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/filipino/00/rec0001.html.

Just like anything to help people enjoy their hikes, anything to help people enjoy their dog is a good idea.

:D

taualum23
07-21-2006, 11:29
Great idea for a thread! My aussie Shep/beagle mix jsut went on her first overnight on the CT section last weekend, and has been being "trained" by going on long day hikes with us for a few months. She is quiet and well behaved (pretty damn well behaved for an 8 mo. old with that mix!). Everyone we met either loved her or ignored her, with one exception.
We ALWAYS get off the trail for dog-less hikers, up hill or down, dog-less hikers get the right of way. Kacey is on leash at all times, and kept quite under control. I dig cat-holes for her waste, and have yet to have any issues with her.
The one excpetion individual was not due to anything she did, as she was sitting quietly in "heel" as we waited by the side of the trail for him to pass. As he did so, he GLARED at us, and put the tip of his hiking pole about 12 inches from her like a spear as if she was about to attack, and walked by without a hello, or a response to our greetings.

The Solemates
07-21-2006, 11:37
I like dog.

http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/filipino/00/rec0001.html.

Just like anything to help people enjoy their hikes, anything to help people enjoy their dog is a good idea.

:D

You joke, but my father was riding in a taxi in the Phillipines, when out of the blue, the cab driver swerves to the side of the road to intentially to hit a dog with his car, killing it. The cab driver promptly got out of the car, but the dead dog in his trunk, and then got back in and drove off. He was evidently taking it home for dinner that night. It was illegal to kill a dog outright, but if it is an accident, so be it.

The Solemates
07-21-2006, 11:37
put...........

SGT Rock
07-21-2006, 11:44
OK, I didn't mean for this thread to go off into subjects about dog eating and such :D

So anyway, I am going to lock this thread and invite y'all to start some new ones in the new forum.:welcome