[pct-l] more friendly dog discussion!

[t.n. turner]

Well I had a mastiff that was allergic to bee stings, so we were careful where we hiked! He and I got stung by these terrible, tiny wasps one time. My other dog, stuck her nose in the nest and then walked on leaving them to attack the unsuspecting allergic ones following<smile>! I got stung 7 times in one leg and my knee basically stopped working due to swelling. The dog's face got so swollen that he didn't have any loose skin left, if you know mastiffs, that was pretty swollen as all his 'extra' skin was full of fluid. Luckily we weren't too far from the TH and benedryl in the glove box and yes, I know I should have had it with me! So, yes bees can be very dangerous!! 

I understand that there is a Rattlesnake training course that you can take your dog to, so they are trained how to avoid or at least not annoy snakes!! 

My "hiking" dog (now 15 and not hiking with me anymore), carried her own food in her backpack. She was a GREAT hiker, never barked at livestock or other hikers, but she's mostly labrador retriever and is constantly looking for her 'long lost friend'<smile>!! As for her food needs, she ate a lot! typically she would eat about 2 cups of food a day, plus treats, etc. But when hiking she ate almost twice that much food, much like a thru-hiker. Gawd! I wonder how much she would have eaten had she been a thru-hikerS<tee hee>!!! Anyway, her other part is german shorthair pointer and so she would constantly be looking for prey, so that might be part of her need for extra food. (No I didn't keep her on leash, but she had been a search and rescue dog for a few years and she was very obedient and came when called even if there was a rabbit, deer, etc. to chase!!) 

Oh and I met a couple at our local off-leash dog park that had an older basset hound and they said he would hike all day with them, 15 miles without tiring. They also said they had taken him to Europe and had been hiking with him all over the mountains of Europe and he never had an issue. Now, I'm not sure how much was bragging and how much he did, but bassets are hounds which means they are suppose to be able to hunt all day!! They are nice dogs and couldn't possibly drool as much as my mastiff did! And I wish I had thought to filter it!! Such a good idea!
tammy t.


> Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:14:07 -0800
> From: fuzzmcpherson at yahoo.com
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] more friendly dog discussion!
> 
> 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
> 
> 
> 
>       
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