[pct-l] dogs/pets

Sun Dec 6 21:47:39 CST 2009

Despite my trepidation that this will ignite into the yearly anti-dog thread, one option for you to consider is to get a dog that is well suited to hiking and take it with you everywhere outside of the National Parks.

I am in a more unique situation in that I am losing my hearing rapidly due to a hereditary disorder. The doctor recommended that I go with either a pair of ($12k for the set) fragile hearing assistance devices or a hearing assistance dog. I will likely do both but for now I can get by with just the dog. After consulting a couple of service dog agencies, we decided to raise and train the dog ourselves as the agencies could not guarantee to meet our requirements for the animal to meet our active lifestyle.

We got a lot of good information from the agencies and proceeded to do months of research. In the end we decided on a Australian Cattle Dog but is was not the only good option. Our choices came down to 4 possible breeds for long trail hiking:

Karelian Bear Dog
Australian Cattle Dog
Australian Kelpie
Border Collie

All these breeds are smart, agile, have great endurance and durability. In my research it seemed that the Border Collie tended to be the smartest and most agile while the other 3 were better endurance animals. But the ACD was by a good measure the most durable and so was the breed we finally went with.

You will need to select the animal as if it were destined for mountain rescue work. That means you go to a breeder, not a rescue facility as I would normally advise someone looking for a pet. Plan to spend a lot of time "interviewing" candidate puppies as for their potential and be mentally prepared to wait for the next litter or check out another breeder. This is not a time to settle for what's available as it's a very long commitment. Look for a puppy who likes to solve simple problems, who can be independent but is not aloof and is probably a sub-alpha dog. Essentially you are looking for a dog that will be incredible driven to perform. Of course you are also going to have to commit to an serious amount of training to keep that personality from being a problem too.

His first year was all about getting him new experiences, different types of trails, snow/ice, city environs and the like. I'll never forget our first foray into a Wal-Mart, poor guy. Because of the puppy, we were able to do much hiking that summer with our longest hike being a 15 mile weekend in the mountains.

2009 was his second year and he did 600 miles of PCT, which was about all we could take time off for. He did amazingly well, especially as he is still considered a puppy despite the fact he is fully grown. By the end of the summer he did a 10 day/160 mile hike through the Sierras starting out with an 8 pound pack. In that cool mountain air he easily out performed my wife and I.

Currently he does between 15 to 60 miles out walking a week plus afternoon Frisbee 3 to 4 times a week. We will likely only get a few hundred miles next summer but he will carry up to 10 pound packs.

It is our tentative plan to do thru to PCT in 2011, if so he will do it with us and I am pretty sure we are much more likely to have problems that he would.

I hope I have been helpful,
BigToe

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of sandy boyd
Sent: Sunday, December 06, 2009 6:51 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] dogs/pets

Im sitting here between knee surgeries really wanting to get a dog again. I recently (march) lost my dog of 12 years. Ive section hiked over 500 miles of the PCT the last 2 years. Id always felt bad leaving my dog behind before, but believe for me, I dont want to take a dog on an extended hike on the PCT. But, I REALLY miss my dog.
  So... how do you guys deal with leaving your pets behind?? Is it right to get another dog knowing Im gonna be gone a month or more the next 2 summers? Who do you find to watch them/it? My son will be moved out by next summer, so wont have him to dog sit again.
Im considering fostering a dog....wont be the same.. but..maybe it will suffice???

I just want to do the right thing..just my thoughts on a cold windy sunday..

sandy  aka 50 feet..

_______________________________________________
Pct-l mailing list
Pct-l at backcountry.net
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l