View Full Version : siberian husky?
hey, my name is kyle and i'm 16. i've been seriousl getting into the idea of doing the whole PCT without any shortcuts. i plan on going alone but i've always wanted a siberian husky for a pet; my question is can you bring a siberian husky along the ENTIRE trail? i know that the desert my be a little iffy, but was wondering if with plenty of water and traveling mostly at night if it would be possible.
seriously*...... sorry, typo
Uncle Silly
06-08-2007, 03:13
sure, kid... hike it during the winter, the husky'll have no problems.
disclaimer: i've never hiked the PCT and know nothing about this odd west-coast trail.
The PCT is a tough trail for a dog (and people too for that matter)... if you go during the summer, the dog is almost sure to have problems in the desert section, from sever dehydration to burnt paws because of the hot sand. I'm not saying it can't be done, but in my opinion it's not a place to bring a dog. Also, there are any number of different wildlife that can present a problem for your dog, from rattlesnakes on up. On the PCT you will 100% see rattlesnakes, and you'd have to have a very well trained dog to make sure it doesn't get too close to the snake. There are mountain lions out there as well, and to them your dog will look like one thing... food.
And finally, the dog just plain isn't allowed on certain parts of the trail, namely national parks, etc etc etc... You'd constantly be having to look for places to board your dog while you hike through a restricted section, and then have to go back to get your dog.
My advice, don't bring a dog. It could be done, but it's not really healthy at all for a dog on the PCT for a long distance hike, and the hassles involved with it are very high. Take this from someone who hiked a stretch on the AT with a dog, and the AT is far more forgiving to dogs than the PCT.
Lone Wolf
06-08-2007, 09:14
hey, my name is kyle and i'm 16. i've been seriousl getting into the idea of doing the whole PCT without any shortcuts. i plan on going alone but i've always wanted a siberian husky for a pet; my question is can you bring a siberian husky along the ENTIRE trail? i know that the desert my be a little iffy, but was wondering if with plenty of water and traveling mostly at night if it would be possible.
sure if you like abusing animals.
Oh, and also, the High Sierras are impassable fany time except during the dead of summer and early fall because of high snow loads, and even then there is plenty of snow on the trail. If the snow is hard, like during the early morning hours, the dog would be able to walk on top of it. But as soon as it warms up a bit, the snow will soften and the dog will break through more easily than you because of the small surface area of his paws, and have to work even harder.
For short trips a dog can handle all this OK, but over the long term, a dog would have a really hard time. So again my opinion would be to leave the dog at home.
hey, my name is kyle and i'm 16. i've been seriousl getting into the idea of doing the whole PCT without any shortcuts. i plan on going alone but i've always wanted a siberian husky for a pet; my question is can you bring a siberian husky along the ENTIRE trail? i know that the desert my be a little iffy, but was wondering if with plenty of water and traveling mostly at night if it would be possible.
Hi, Kyle. I have a sibe that I hike with (see my pic gallery). She's a great trail dog, but does offer challenges. Phoebe is my 4th sibe in 20 years.
Have you ever had a siberian husky? How much do you know about the breed? If you don't know a lot about the breed, do a lot of research before deciding to get one of these dogs.
Siberian Huskies are great trail dogs - they are energetic, love to hike, naturally take to a pack, will eat anything, love the smells and sounds of the trail - they can be great trail partners.
While they are great dogs, as a breed, they have several characteristics that make them very challenging dogs. They are very bright, extremely strong-willed, difficult to train, bred to run, loyal only to whoever has the best treat at the moment, and shed like crazy from May - August!
You should plan to always hike with a sibe on lead. They simply can't be trusted off-lead - they'll see a bird and take off after it, then see a rabbit, then a squirrel, and 5 miles later look up wondering where you are because they're thirsty....
I only hike with my sibe in the late fall, winter, early spring. While she loves to hike, and is mad for a week if I leave the house with a pack without her, it would be cruel, perhaps life-threatening to take her out in the summer - especially here in Georgia. The only summer hike I've taken her on involved 16 river crossings in one day where I knew she'd have plenty of access to water to cool off / drink. Otherwise, she spends most of the day in the summer laying on the ac vent in the den, occassionally barking at the squirrels in the back yard.
I haven't hiked the PCT, but what I've read, and seen in the other responses here, leads me to believe it would be inappropriate to plan to take a sibe on a thru-hike of the PCT. Be aware of the challenges you'll face in getting a sibe - there are dozens of these dogs abandoned every year because new owners didn't understand what they were getting into when they decided to buy the cute dog with the blue eyes.....
superman
06-08-2007, 11:02
The PCT is a tough trail for a dog (and people too for that matter)... if you go during the summer, the dog is almost sure to have problems in the desert section, from sever dehydration to burnt paws because of the hot sand. I'm not saying it can't be done, but in my opinion it's not a place to bring a dog. Also, there are any number of different wildlife that can present a problem for your dog, from rattlesnakes on up. On the PCT you will 100% see rattlesnakes, and you'd have to have a very well trained dog to make sure it doesn't get too close to the snake. There are mountain lions out there as well, and to them your dog will look like one thing... food.
And finally, the dog just plain isn't allowed on certain parts of the trail, namely national parks, etc etc etc... You'd constantly be having to look for places to board your dog while you hike through a restricted section, and then have to go back to get your dog.
My advice, don't bring a dog. It could be done, but it's not really healthy at all for a dog on the PCT for a long distance hike, and the hassles involved with it are very high. Take this from someone who hiked a stretch on the AT with a dog, and the AT is far more forgiving to dogs than the PCT.
I agree with Endor. I'm a dog person and I've hiked sections of the PCT and CDT. They are not like the AT. There are difficulty factors that are separate from anything that you would encounter on the AT. Winter is a white German Shepard and made the AT and other trails look easy. When we got to Mojave it was 120 degrees. Only mad dogs and Englishmen hike in that temp. Water is a huge problem on the PCT. We didn't have any problems with snakes, bear or mountain lions. Not that we didn't see any but they didn't bother us. Re-supply is more difficult out there and more days food has to be carried. Your dog isn't a pack animal and shouldn't be over loaded. At your age you may not have enough experience to deal with the "what ifs." Trail dogs need a lot of training and conditioning that most of them don't get. Some breeds do better than others but it's an individual thing with dogs as it is with people. You need shorter trails to see if the dog is apt as a trail dog. There are just too many reasons for you to not subject your dog to those conditions.
1st: this should probably be in the dog section (maybe admin can move it?)
2nd: You want this dog as a pet, a hiking dog has to be more than a pet, it has to be a very well trained compainion, who loves hiking as much as you do.
3rd: My dog hiked w/ me for a month on the AT, i sent her home and continued on for the rest of my section, and from that experience i personally would never take her or any other well trained trail dog out on a trail for any longer than a month, its so unbelievably tough for them and makes it soooo much harder for you as well. you have to worry about sooo much more, i didn't realize how much extra work and worring i was doing when my dog was with me untill after i sent her home. and then when i had to send her home, she was my best companion and i lost motivation w/o her.
4th: also speaking now as a groomer, do some serious research about siberian's coats, there is alot of maintenance in order to keep a siberian's coat at its optimum performance which would be required for the dog's health. dogs don't sweat, so they must have their coat in the best shape. despite sibe's thick coat there are some cooling mechanism's built into their coat, but they can still only handle sooo much heat
I know nothing about the PCT. I know nothing about Siberian Huskies, except that my sister-in-law had one, and it was miserable and immobile when the temperature got above 80. How about a chihuahua?
leeki pole
06-08-2007, 15:17
leave the dog at home. you and she will be miserable within a week. i love dogs, have three, including a SAR recruit Lab..but i wouldn't put him through a full thru-hike of any trail... fwiw, my two cents:)
I know nothing about the PCT. I know nothing about Siberian Huskies, except that my sister-in-law had one, and it was miserable and immobile when the temperature got above 80. How about a chihuahua?
A long-legged chihuahua (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihuahua_(dog)) with an attitude just might be the ticket.;)
I know nothing about the PCT. I know nothing about Siberian Huskies, except that my sister-in-law had one, and it was miserable and immobile when the temperature got above 80. How about a chihuahua?I had a mountian chihuahua named taco!he was a fiesty little buck untell the cyotes ate him:-? ky
leeki pole
06-08-2007, 16:13
I had a mountian chihuahua named taco!he was a fiesty little buck untell the cyotes ate him:-? ky
yep, i've got a mountain fiest that thinks she's bulletproof....but i still wouldn't take her either, but i love her attitude, heck of a squirrel dog tho:)
I had a mountian chihuahua named taco!he was a fiesty little buck untell the cyotes ate him:-? ky
Not enough attitude if he couldn't even drive off a stinkin' coy-dog. What sort of a companion dog is that?:rolleyes:
For that job, you need dromedary-dog, the canine that can send off a cougar with it's tail between it's legs on a pint of water a day!
if you were asking which breed would be a better choice for desert hiking there are several african breeds that were developed in dry water lacking areas, but you're not, a sibe might do well in the Sierras since they were developed to go through all types of snow for miles pulling a sled, but not the desert.