[pct-l] dogs and dazers

[ECPG at peoplepc.com (Carolyn Eddy)]

I hike with a dog, I also hike with goats, so I know the other side of being
afraid of dogs. Many dogs will attack a goat and most once they get doing
are very hard to stop.

A couple of comments; Hiking with livestock and dogs means a whole different
set of concerns than without, if you plan to do it so the animal is having
fun .
A lot people who have dogs aren't willing to put the commitment out to
properly train their animals to behave in public, much less off lead and in
a wilderness environment.
The email list traildog has a downloadable free brochure if anyone would
like to see what we expect from our dogs.

I have spent 3 years with each of my traildogs in training them to be well
behaved in public and to be obedient to a long list of commands that I
expect perfect obedience to. That's every day, not just when I felt like it.

Not all dogs are created equal. Physically or mentally. Owners tend to
disregard that fact.

I would take Bob on a hike around Lake Tahoe, 165 miles, I would not take
him on a thru hike or even a section hike where he had to do more than about
15 miles a day. My last dog was capable of 20+ mile days, he is not.

We have a little saying with goats, "If the goat's not having fun, your trip
is done." Goats enjoy the nomadic aspect of packing. When your goat starts
becoming reluctant to step out, it time to quit. This isn't a good thing to
find out when you're committed to 2600 miles.

For those who are really worried about dogs and want to do something
proactive there is a little device called a dog dazer, available at
www.northwestpackgoats.com It's an ultrasonic buzzer, inaudible or barely
audible to humans, and it really works. I've been using one for about 5
years now. It will back down a dog, even off an attractive animal like a
goat. Now, if they'd just make one that worked on owners....

Carolyn
"Sweet Goat Mama"
www.goattracksmagazine.com