[pct-l] dogs on the trail (Long)

[montypct]

I have had more than 10 negative encounters with dogs on the PCT.
I have heard "He's never done that before." about 5 times.

It's not the DOG that needs to be disciplined.
It's the owner making the threat.

Warner Springs Monty


Lightweight Backpacking
The fun goes up when the weight goes down
-Warner Springs Monty

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Thatcher Koch" <ironlegs at pacbell.net>
To: "Bob Bankhead" <wandering_bob at comcast.net>
Cc: <pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 3:21 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] dogs on the trail (Long)


> you got that right! i carry an ice ax and i will use it.
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Bob Bankhead <wandering_bob at comcast.net>
> To: Marion Davison <mardav at charter.net>; Pacific Crest Trail List 
> <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 7:08:03 PM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] dogs on the trail  (Long)
>
> Short reply: any dog that attacks me (or anyone with me) on the trail is a 
> DEAD dog.
>
>
>
> --- Original Message ----- 
>  From: Marion Davison
>  To: Pacific Crest Trail List
>  Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 6:52 PM
>  Subject: Re: [pct-l] dogs on the trail (Long)
>
>
>  I hike with llamas, so I really hate to meet unfriendly and unmonitored
>  dogs on the trail.  They constitute an extreme hazard to my stock.Many
>  dogs don't know what a llama is, so their first reaction is to bark
>  angrily.
>  Too many people let their dogs run loose way ahead and sometimes out of
>  sight and don't know what the dogs are doing.  When I see loose dogs and
>  no people in sight, I start hollering for the people to collect their
>  dog.  If people see us coming and don't immediately get their loose dog
>  under control, I politely ask them to do so.
>
>  In 2003 we did two long section hikes in Yosemite and SeKi totalling 40
>  nights.  On 8 of those nights we had a bear in our camp.  Since some of
>  these bears looked on my llamas as a tasty snack, and a bear killed
>  someone else's llama while we were in SeKi, we were very uncomfortable
>  with the bears.  So, since then, we have hiked outside the parks on
>  other sections of PCT and adjoining trails, and we have brought a medium
>  or large dog with us as a herd guard.  We have not seen a single bear
>  for the last 5 years, so I agree that, outside the parks, a dog is a
>  great bear deterrent.  Bear hunters  sometimes use dogs, so bears
>  outside the parks associate dogs with mortal danger.
>  On the other hand, coyotes are attracted to our dog in camp.  They will
>  come right into camp as soon as it is fully dark, calling loudly, trying
>  to attract our dog out into the open away from camp.  We have been told
>  that the coyotes want to jump the dog and have her for dinner.  So when
>  we hear coyotes howl we immediately bring our dog into our tent.  The
>  coyotes give up and leave eventually.
>
>  When I am allowed to let my dog walk loose, I do, and I have trained her
>  to ignore other hikers and stock.  This took time and patient training
>  when she was young.  I won't allow her to bark at or approach other
>  hikers and she has to stay by my stock as we walk.
>  When I am in an area where I have to have her on a leash, I do, but I am
>  constantly aware that this puts me in danger.  On rough trails I have
>  fallen a few times because of the actions of my leashed dog, and got
>  pretty badly bruised/scraped up a couple of times.  It is annoying when
>  hiking through leash required areas when we meet so many people who
>  aren't obeying the law, and their loose dog rushes up to my leashed dog.
>
>  One day as I hiked past someone's camp on the Tahoe section of the PCT,
>  his loose dog rushed out and bit me on the leg.  I was not thrilled by
>  that experience either.
>
>  I took my  medium size short haired dog on a section hike of Section D
>  in late March.  She was doing fine on the cooler days at the higher
>  elevations, but on the last day hiking from North Fork to Soledad canyon
>  the temperature was 100 degrees, and she was totally suffering.  She
>  also picked up dozens of ticks in the chapparal which took about a week
>  to remove.  The ticks didn't get us, just her.  I often take my big dog
>  on Section C hikes in the Spring and she hasn't found any ticks yet,
>  thank goodness.  But I check her very carefully after every trip.
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