I agree with ur sister,
also look at http://www.nationaldogfood.com/welcome.html
"I'd rather kill a man than a snake. Not because I love snakes or hate men. It is a question, rather, of proportion." Edward Abbey
I am planning on hiking with my dog on the AT next year as well. I am taking my dog with me for two reasons: one, I am a Veterinary Technician and my dog is well trained and will be leashed at all times, and two, he is a rescue and he wouldn't do well if left at home. This being said, I will be responsable with him and respectful on both other hikers and the trail itself.
Dogs are allowed everywhere on the trail except for the; Smokies, Bear Mountian St. Park, NY and Baxter State Park. Everywhere else on the AT it is reccomended that you leash your dog.
In the Smokies you can board your dog at Loving Care Kennel (865)453-2028. There are other kennels as well and each charge between $250 and $350 for picking up, dropping off, and boarding your dog while you hike.
In Bear Mt. there is a blue-blaze that you can take dogs on and bypass the park.
In Baxter, you can board your dogs for the day at kennels. North Ridge Boarding Kennel (207)746-9537 charges around $11/day or there are some hotels that allow dogs.
If your taking your dogs I would seriously start conditioning them now. I am only taking my dog because he is under daily care with my veterinarian during training. One other tip is while hiking I will be feeding my dog Purina Pro Plan Preformance dog food. This food is specifically designed for working dogs. It has the highest calories per cup and added glucosamine for is hips. Start training now, consult your vet, and good luck.
I wonder if service dogs are allowed in any of those "off limit" places?
ad astra per aspera
Dogs are allowed in Bear Mountain SP, just not in the zoo. As to service dogs, they would generally be allowed in the Smokies & Baxter. I would suggest walking around the zoo with your dog, if only for the benefit of the zoo critters. There are caged animals (bobcat, fox, etc..) just steps off the "trail", which is a paved walkway through a zoo. They have it tough enough with concrete and steel bars. yes, its an old timey zoo without much in the way of natural habitat type exhibits.Originally Posted by SSchroeder
'All my lies are always wishes" ~Jeff Tweedy~
Keep your mutts at home. No hiker really wants to see your babies on the AT.
two more thoughts..........................
ive had my service dog in the smokies. a ranger once made me go get his vest (which i had left in the car as we were just doing a short hike) to prove that he was actually a service dog but by law they really cant stop you from bringing a service dog on the trail.
about dog first aid. it would be a good idea to talk to your vet and ask about a small pharmacopia of meds for your dog. if they are cool and you explain what your doing, most will give you like a 2 day supply of: flagel (spelling) as it's great if your dog gets the runs and it's good for gierdia (spelling again). one or two rimidil (supprise, spelling) incase your dogs pulls something and you have to sit until he's better or sombody comes to get him off the trail (its a pain killer for dogs). a small tube of panalog which is good on a bunch of things like foot infections (which is a definate possibility). finally some otomax (sp) which is a perscription ear infection buster.
im not encouraging anybody to become a home made vet but one or two doses of some of those could make your life and your dogs life a lot happier on the trail if and when something comes up..... again, just explain to your vet that you will be in the middle of the woods for 6 months and they should accomidate you.
WELL I THINK IT IS A BAD IDEA AND I AM A DOG OWNER OF 3 LARGE DOGS IT IS HARD ENOUGH WITH YOU PACKING THAT IS MORE FOOD MORE WATER AND 2 YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT I DO TAKE MY DOG ON DAY HIKES BUT THAT IS IT!!!!AND THE BEAR THING IF THAT WAS TO HAPPEN THE DOG WOULD BARK LIKE CARZY EXCUSE MY FRENCH BUT PISS THE BEAR OFF AND RUN BETWEEN YOUR LEGS AND THEN WANT YOU TO DO THE PROTECTING GET MY POINT.....
TAMBOURINE:banana
As to the service dog take the time to write the park service in the smokies and inform them you will be hiking thru with a service dog and when. See to it that the dog is marked as a service dog with a very promenent harness. This should cut down on a lot of stupid arguements.
Plan on a slow hike at the dogs pace.
Thanks, KS Rockstar. I'll ask about those. I haven't put together his first aid kit, yet. This will really help. I didn't know about any of those.
Sschroeder, you are in FL? Do you go on the FT at all? Maybe, we could do some training this year together.
Lumberjack, that is a great idea. Thank you. I plan on carrying his vest (for town stops), and it has his picture ID on it. I was also going to carry his vet info - like vac. records, etc. For hiking on the trail, I was going to get him a blaze orange harness (his right now is dark green), and attach his service dog patch to it. It isn't big, but just lets people know he is a service dog. If someone needs "proof", I would have to unpack the vest.
However, by law, they are not allowed to ask for identification, or why you need a service dog. They make business cards, with the ADA law on them, to hand out to people who give the person with the dog a hard time. These businesses should be reported, and they will be fined. Normally, just by threatening legal action, they'll leave you alone, but I hate doing that. I have given up trying to get people to understand what the challenges are for disabled people. There is just no frame of reference. Instead, I ask people to think about a pedestrain in the rain trying to cross the street, and they are in the car, late for work. Who should be given first consideration? Well, the law gives this to the pedestrain, but motorists rarely do this, unless on a college campus, or small towns (like Gatlinburg) where it is enforced. Now, put yourself in the pedestrian's place. If you were out there in the rain, instead of sitting in a dry, warm car, wouldn't you want to get to shelter as fast as possible? That's why I like the idea of karma. It makes you realize that you don't live in a bubble, and should be considerate of others. This way, I don't have to know why the pedestrian should go first. I already know that I have it easier in the car to begin with, so should balance the consideration out by letting them go first. I don't know if I said that very well, but hopefully you get the point. In our convienence-based world, being in-convienenced is the biggest annoyance. Oddly enough, I catch myself doing it too.
Semi-OT reply
I understand where you are coming from as 3 of my direct family members were disabled (I`ll spare the details)...But at the same time I can not blame people for asking for "proof" as unfortunately in life there are MANY people who misuse the programs that were developed to help the disabled and it has tainted it for those who truly need it...The worst example is the Handicapped Parking Passes (Not the tags but those little placards you hang from your rearview mirror)..I`m sure there are people using them who truly are mobility impaired but I would say from my observations that the vast majority of people using them are either faking it or have a physical/medical problem that is so minor it doesn`t really limit their mobility to the extent they need a special parking place..It is very easy to find questionable doctors who are willing to sign off on these forms and declare someone mobility impaired (Heck look at all the doctors who side with the ambulance chaser lawyers and sign forms stating someone who was bumped from behind at .5 mph required $25,000 of physical therapy)
So while I can sympathize with your needs you have to understand peoples questioning looks..With someone who is obviously blind or paraplegic (My relatives fall into both these catagories) the reaction isn`t there..But when you see someone who appears perfectly healthy (And you see it everyday at malls. The person with the handicapped parking pass running to their car carrying 2 huge boxes) it is understandable that people will think something is amiss.
I`d have to disagree about the car/pedestrain also (I`m just so contrary)
I think it`s unrealistic to have a 4000 pound object going 30 or whatever miles per hour come to a dead stop..The vehicle will pass rather quickly and the pedestrian can then safely cross the street with a delay of a few seconds...Of course if it is a situation where the traffic never stops coming (Then it`s even more unrealistic to expect all the cars to stop) then some sort of crossing (with a redlight) should be built or the person should go to the corner where there is a red light to cross safely..Yes I follow these rules myself when a pedestrian..I don`t expect cars to stop for me unless it`s an area where it is traditionally appropriate to do so and even then if it`s just one car I will let them continue and then will walk across...Something my mother said when I was very young stuck with me..Even if you are in the right of way you are the one who`s going to get run over so it`s wise for you to let them go first.
Not a handicapped person, but just a person that gets annoyed by people faking it and taking advantage of a program that is designed to help those that really need it.
I would think that you should be glad that people in these case are asking to ensure that fakers are not abusing the system designed to help you. Just my opinion. I think if I were a business man and saw someone that looked able bodied park in a handicapped spot and bring in their terrier that I would ask for some proof other than their word that they were really handicapped and not an ass.
BTW, I did work a little wiuth the Ft Knox program they had to train service dogs and think it is a great program.
SGT Rock
http://hikinghq.net
My 2008 Trail Journal of the BMT/AT
BMT Thru-Hikers' Guide
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NO SNIVELING
The Blaze orange is great. You might have "Service Dog" or something sewn into the harness as well. The more "official Looking" the dog is the better. Check the harness out carefully for chaffing points before you leave. Last thing you want is to try and correct a problem with it on trail.
Thanks, Lumberjack. There's a place that sews names and stuff on items, and I bet they could do it with a dog harness. Does anyone have harness preferences for hiking?
There will always be people trying to take advantage of something, somewhere. In this case, I would give the benefit of the doubt. I had the hardest time, because I didn't look disabled, unless I had an attack. I don't blame people for their sceptic attitudes. Like I said, there is no frame of reference. Even my dad said that it was all imagined, until I moved down here, and he saw for himself - despite all the qualified doctors' reports. Gosh, can you imagine the disruption, if we asked for proof for everything, everytime? Are you a woman/guy? Strip, and prove it. Guys would like that too much!
I do still have a disabled hang tag. Before, I wouldn't have been able to go to the store, without it. Now, I park as far away from the entrance as possible - because I can. I walk that distance with pride, and cherish the gift I was given. People get upset, because the disabled get the "good" parking spots. Let me assure you, the cost of that spot is way too high, and I doubt that you would want to pay it. Granted, there are people who abuse it, and both sides get upset with those people. Luckily, the police are doing something about it here. If you park in a disabled spot, without identification on your vehicle, they will put one of those huge locks on your wheels. That seems to be fixing that problem!
We give a teacher and corporate discount at work. They are only supposed to use the discount on classroom and business materials. I've only seen 2 people actually separate their stuff into "personal" and "classroom/business" piles. They abuse it.
We are having another Educator's Weekend, where we provide snacks and free stuff for all educators. Last time, some people brought their kids, and literally pigged out on all the food. We didn't have enough to last the entire evening. They did that with the free materials, too. They didn't care about the teachers that got off work later. They abused it.
Our library system carries movies that you can check out for a few days for free. This is a great service, and we are fortunate to have it. However, most of the DVDs that I've gotten lately are so scratched up, I can't even play them. People don't care about taking care of the DVDs, because they aren't theirs. This costs the tax payers tons of money, and hurts everyone else. They abuse it.
Abuse is everywhere, and it seems to be ingrained in human nature. It doesn't matter how many laws you pass, or IDs you check, there will always be people who abuse the system, anywhere they can. Yes, it's sad, and it hurts everyone else. I don't have the solution for it.
P.S. I did use my tag a couple of months ago, when I was having an attack. I was on my way home, and I had to stop at the store. I didn't want to push, and then not be able to make it home, so I used my tag. I had a hard time emotionally with it, because I have such a fear of going back to needing it, but I knew it was the logical thing to do at the time, and I would just have to get over my "emotional issues" with it. It was like, if I parked in that space, and hung up that tag, I would be sick again. I stared at the glove compartment, like there was a snake in there, or something. Hey, fears rarely make sense.
>>>Gosh, can you imagine the disruption, if we asked for proof for everything, everytime? Are you a woman/guy? Strip, and prove it.<<<
Hey was that aimed at me???..Cause if it was!...LOL
>>>Luckily, the police are doing something about it here. If you park in a disabled spot, without identification on your vehicle, they will put one of those huge locks on your wheels. That seems to be fixing that problem!<<<
Yes but unfortunately the people "abusing" the system have the proper identification..I think lots of government programs have just lost their way and gotten out of control and it`s to late to stop them and go back to the beginning and start over...Like housing..The whole point of the public housing system was that you moved in and lived there a few years til you saved enough money to get your life back on track and you moved out..Now you have people who are having grandchildren and are still in public housing after 40 years because it`s become a lifestyle..Wait..What were we talking about?..Oh..Dogs!..Yes now I remember..I say buy the booties
Training in Fl
I am about 30 min from Tampa. I haven't been on the FT but I wouldn't mind meeting up there at all. Right now I am just going to the gym and the Pinellas Trail but I would much rather train with someone else.
Do you realize how small you sound, that you are that worried about whether these folks are actually disabled? What do you use, your X-ray doctor vision to check out their physical condition? And of course, you have a running total of every person who has ever used a handicap spot in your presence so that you know the majority are fakers. How bitter you are that you have to park an extra 20 feet from the entrance.
KUDOS TO YOU FRIEDEN. Some of us do get it. You park where you need to.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
If you have a disability, you have certain rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990). Don't be afraid to exercise your rights.
Recently friends and I hiked a day in Panthertown Valley just outside Cashiers NC. A very good hike was had by all and I highly recommend the area. You need the guide. Goggle it for a start. Schoolhouse falls and the Devil's Elbow are great. Take both paths to the Elbow.
Lots of water falls and a great stone bald overlook to view the valley while having lunch.
On the way out I was in the middle of our spread out group on the long up to the parking lot. I heard the hiker ahead of me say "and the next thing you'll tell me is he never did that before".
A hiker with a unleashed dog was on his way down the valley had told him (as the dog groweled) "he won't bite".
As he and the dog approached me "fido" circled around to my rear groweling and getting pretty close as to get a taste of this hiker.
I was told "he won't bother you".
My response was "I don't care who or what he is"
Of course the owner was offended and as he could see his doggie was about to get a pole treatment. As they continued on a "nice to meet you too" was said in my direction. Nothing came of it but it was a let down after a great day out.
If you just have to take fido with you when you hike, keep him leashed.
pete
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