[pct-l] more friendly dog discussion!

[Fuzz McPherson]

Ok, so everyone knows no one likes to be bitten by anything, even dogs.  Now that that is established...

I propose a new line of discussion which also may benefit the dog owners on here, and about which I'm curious, just cause I'm stuck behind a computer too many hours a day and am a grumpy internet jerk...  not really!  :-)

I was wondering, as a non-dog-owner, how far can you guys go with a dog per day?  What special concerns do you have regarding food for your dog, dangers the dog could get into, etc.?  One person on here, Andy I think, said he keeps his dog on a leash to keep him out of trouble.  I imagine there are plenty of perils, but I just haven't thought through that at all because I haven't had to deal with it before.  Bees?  Rattle snakes?  Do you guys have scorpions in Socal on the trail?  

This isn't some sort of hidden "oh it's cruel to take dogs out that far..." sort of line of questioning or anything.  I'm curious is all.  Oh, also, what kinds of dogs tend to do well with longer hikes like going great distances on the PCT and which ones don't (because of pads, hips, or whatever).

I've thought I'd like having a basset hound around but just haven't known I'd be able to spend the time on it, you know.  I would imagine a basset hound would be a poor choice for anything further than a handful of miles per day and a bucket full of slobber, but I'm just assuming.

Fuzz