[pct-l] Dogs on trail

[Fuzz McPherson]

Yeah, it sounds like you could write a book!  I imagine that sort of information you are learning could be useful to other hikers with dogs.

Now, even with what's been said on here recently, which is all opinion anyway, I wonder whether there is any real reason to not "allow" a dog on certain parts of the trail.  What reasons do those areas give for that prohibition?  I'd figure as long as you aren't harming the surrounding area or other people, etc. by having a dog out there then there shouldn't be a reason not not allow a dog out there.  Anyway, thanks for the response and insight.







________________________________
From: Gary Schenk <gwschenk at socal.rr.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Cc: Andrew Jones <a.freddy.j at gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 10:44:22 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Dogs on trail

On Tuesday 17 February 2009 19:12:52 Andrew Jones wrote:
> Fuzz, Gary, et al.-
>
> You asked about how we plan to do manage with the dog on trail. I'll give
> the brief rundown. First off, there is a lot of trail she's not allowed on.
> For the larger sections (National Parks) we have friends to pick her up and
> drop her off. For some places, it just involves a lot of road miles, which
> I don't like, but I accept the rules and get over it.
>
> She requires a lot of water, and we'll have the capacity to carry 8-10
> liters each (my wife and I), at least for the desert and more waterless
> stretches of trail (eg Hat Creek Rim). The dog gets priority on the water -
> we will go thirsty so she doesn't. She also will need high calorie food,
> and we'll be feeding her Blue Buffalo Wilderness - expensive but very
> dense, high protein high fat stuff. Plus she'll get a bit of our human food
> every night. We won't do as many miles per day as most through hikers, and
> we'll be starting in early April, way ahead of the pack, so we can get
> through the desert, hopefully, before temperatures get too unbearable. Most
> of our hiking in the warmer trail sections will be especially short days,
> mostly hiking in early morning and late evening. Our distance between
> resupplies will probably be lower than average, too, with a high number of
> zero days, especially when we're just starting out.
>
> Rattlesnakes concern us, and we've been doing some training with her using
> a the voice command "behind," where she then understands to hike behind one
> of us (whoever doesn't have her leash in hand). It's tricky, but so far, so
> good, and we'll be using that through much of the desert. Thanks, Patti,
> for letting us know about the rattlesnake training course - we just might
> have her do that.
>
> She will not carry her own pack - I don't really think she's built for it,
> and she really hates it. This probably isn't even all that true, but we
> tend to be overly cautious with her, and I can tell when my back hurts from
> extra weight and I'm overdoing it, but I can't always tell with the dog.
> The other main thing is her feet - the only reason I've ever seen her want
> to quit hiking was when she tore up her feet going over a pass in the
> Absarokas - on that trip we didn't put her boots on when we should have,
> but we won't be making that mistake again. For boots, we're using Ruffwear
> Grip Trex, and we also have their Cloud Chaser (warming) and Swamp Cooler
> (cooling) jackets. For the lead, it's a 20' retractable Flexi that is
> modified with two homemade shock absorbing sections. I hike with my pack
> waistband through a bungee cord attachment on the leash so my hands are
> free.
>
> As for breeds, Uffizi (ooo-FEET-see) is a red-bone coonhound mix - those
> hounds are bred for long-distance hunting such as bear and cougar. She has
> long legs and a strong, fluid gait and really can go long distances
> tirelessly. Our other dog is a rottweiler/lab, who is almost the same
> height, but has a choppier gait (and an old leg injury), and we would never
> consider trying to make him do the trail (even though he would follow us no
> matter how much it hurt). So he'll be staying with family for this summer.
>
> That's about all. Maybe I'll write a book....
>
> Andy

Wow, that's a lot of work. Best of luck to you.

Gary

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