[pct-l] Dog Health Incidents and Prevention

[DayLate07 .]

Here is a pretty good, albeit somewhat pro dog, write up of health issues
with dogs on the trail.

http://www.postholer.com/faq.php#dogs

The recommendation from most thru hikers is that dogs in general do not do
well on the trail.  Most thru hikers have witnessed dogs not doing well on
the trail, its not that most hikers do not like dogs, I would bet it
is just the opposite.    Most thru hiking dogs I have seen on the trail
were not doing well or were shipped home as the hike went along because of
issues that arose on the hike.   That doesn't mean all dogs won't do well
on the trail, I've seen a couple that looked okay to me.

It is easy for the owner to miss the signs that their dog is struggling out
there, as your dog will genuinely want to be with you.

A thru hike is hard, a thru hike with a dog is much harder. It is your
choice to do a thru hike.  Your dog really doesn't have a choice, it will
do what ever you have it do. With a dog on a long hike honestly keep asking
yourself - would the dog prefer to keep doing this? or is it done and ready
to go home?  When you aren't ready to go home and your dog is, what are you
going to do?  Do you have plans for this?

Humans are endurance animals, most other animals are not so good with
endurance activity.
If you take a dog on a thru hike, you need to be willing to hike your dogs
hike, not to hike your own hike.

I personally would recommend that anyone that wants to take a dog on a thru
hike should first complete a thru hike without a dog.  At least then you
would fully understand what it is you will be asking your dog to do.  You
will also better understand the issues that having a dog on the trip will
create for you - such as hitching for resupply,  just doing a resupply in a
store, getting lodging, etc


Enjoy the trip,

Day-Late

.
> I would like to hear about actual canine health and safety incidents on
> long walking trips.
>
> The opposite of health and safety problems would be nice to hear, too!
>
> I don't believe that "I don't think that is a good idea" is very useful.
> There will be people taking their dog(s) with them on the PCT and other
> trails this season. It would be better to give them some solid info about
> what to expect based on experience than to just call what they want to do a
> "death march".
>
> Lots of animals have proven to be tougher, better able to withstand hard
> work, and more adaptive than some people think. And sometimes, they are
> better at those things than some people.
> --
> .
>