View Full Version : One unexpected drawback of carbon fiber poles...
ex-tennesseean
10-05-2006, 00:22
...(sigh) ... is that a young, teething dog might enjoy stealing one and chewing on it when they're left lying around the house. The poor pole held up to this mistreatment about as well as, say, a chicken bone. If it had been an aluminum pole, I don't think she would have given it a second bite.
The consolation is, it was one of those fussy, hard-to-lock REI CF poles, bought at half-off at a garage sale. But don't let this happen to you - hang 'em high, ok?
hikerjohnd
10-05-2006, 00:28
Ouch ... My puppy has eyed a few pieces of gear, but as she approaches the 1 year old mark my socks seem to be her target of choice (I know my wife won't touch 'em anyway).
Too bad - but like you said, at least you did not have an arm and leg invested!
twosticks
10-05-2006, 10:07
I would make sure to check the inside of your dog's mouth. carbon fiber can be some pretty nasty stuff. It'll splinter just like a chicken bone except it'll create some huge stiff splitners just looking for a dog to impale itself into. I've have carbon fiber splinters. They suck.
RockyTrail
10-05-2006, 11:14
I second that...
I hope the dog didn't get those fibers embedded; if the pole is shattered be careful handling it, those splinters don't decompose the way wood eventually does, and become a permanent part of your body unless removed.
I had a Rhodesian Ridgeback that ate everything that would fit in his mouth - and he had a very large mouth. He went on a TV remote-control-a-day habit for three days. Once he ate two complete repair kits for my MSR stove, meaning he had two fairly large stainless steel “L” shaped arms, a couple pieces of fine gauge piano wire, and other assortments of metal in his stomach. He never showed a sign of ill effects, and I never saw evidence these passed through his system. He lived a long and healthy life. When he died, we buried him with these things still inside as far as I know.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t be cautious, or worry for that matter, but some dogs can get away with consuming amazing things.
ex-tennesseean
10-05-2006, 17:01
Thanks for your concern over my pest, er, pet. So far she's still smilin'. It's a funny story, really, like the time my 2 year-old put my cellphone in the toilet. It was black, and about the right shape and size, so that showed she was trying to clean up after herself.
If you wedge them between two rocks on a downhill and lose your footing, you can shatter them just like a cheapo cross country ski pole.
Aluminum can break, too, but, generally it will bend and can be bent back, and be usable until you get to a town.