Large dogs on the trail

[the goat]

weasel-

enough already with the "leave your dog at home" rhetoric. not only are you beating a dead horse, but you're violating the rules of this forum.

as you well know, this area exists to constructively discuss long distance hiking with a dog. it is NOT an area to discuss whether or not dogs should be on the trail.

if you have a problem abiding by the guidelines of this forum, please let me know.

thanks,
the goat

[superman]

I don't know if a larger dog has an advantage over a smaller dog in hiking the AT. Big and small have hiked it. I knew people who were better hikers than I was and left the trail for all kinds of reasons. It's really an individual thing for both dogs and people. In "99”, I thought Winter and I were done when we started coming to ladders. A little dog you can just pick up and carry up but not so with a big dog. We tried different things but what worked was that Winter learned to climb ladders. When we were hiking the AT and came to that ladder just past rt 4 in VT the people I was hiking with were blown away how easy Winter went up that log ladder. For a larger dog it needs to figure some of the obstacles out for it's self. There were times that I looked at climbs and wondered how I was going to get Winter up and the next thing I knew she was waiting for me on top.

[NorthCountryWoods]

Done just about everything from the bottom of Shenandoah to Baxter SP is sections, but almost always with someones dog(s) in the group. Cept where they're not allowed, of course.

I follow the rules.

[superman]

Done just about everything from the bottom of Shenandoah to Baxter SP is sections, but almost always with someones dog(s) in the group. Cept where they're not allowed, of course.

I follow the rules.

I'd like there to be a by-pass trail to go around the Smokies. I did not have a good experience with the kennel that took Winter while I hiked to Mountain Momma's. To me it doesn't matter much if you call it a thru hike or just a long walk with your best friend.
If you don't have any one meeting you at Katahdin it's not usually a problem. By the time you get to Able bridge you've made enough friends to have a friend watch your dog, out of Baxter, while you summit.

[NorthCountryWoods]

If you don't have any one meeting you at Katahdin it's not usually a problem. By the time you get to Able bridge you've made enough friends to have a friend watch your dog, out of Baxter, while you summit.

We were late in the season anyway, so we didn't even bother, but you're right.
Baxter is the last stretch of AT that I really want to do anyway.

Junior is getting too old for the ups and downs. He may have a couple of little buddies soon...and maybe I'll start letting all three run around unleashed and start sleeping in shelters, then I can really upset you-know-who.

[superman]

We were late in the season anyway, so we didn't even bother, but you're right.
Baxter is the last stretch of AT that I really want to do anyway.

Junior is getting too old for the ups and downs. He may have a couple of little buddies soon...and maybe I'll start letting all three run around unleashed and start sleeping in shelters, then I can really upset you-know-who.

LOL, now don't be like that. Take a deep breath and let it go.
The day I summited was overcast on the bottom and as I climbed I lost visibility to about 10'. It started spritzing as I neared the top. The wind was just starting to gust. I took some pictures and ate a snack on top. As I started down the wet spritz was turning mixed with snow. I started up the mountain at 11:30 AM and signed off the mountain at 4:30PM. Those who didn't go up that day had to wait a week or two. As I flew along the trail in Maine I was damn ready for my hike to end but as I stood there at the bottom of Katahdin I was sorry that it was over.

[Wise Old Owl]

Weasel,
you have made your point over & over again. I am beginning to think you have a long manifesto, where you cut & paste from. Everything in this thread is almost duplicate to the previous closed one. You have beaten a dead horse so badly it cannot be buried.

You have violated the rules posted by the adminstration of this forum.

You did not read the opening of the thread question.

Your writings are clearly out of place here.

Why do you even think you are being helpful & supportive?

Don't even answer this post - Just go away.

[JAK]

So basically...
Take your dog. Leave your weasel.

Got it.

[general]

Just out of curiosity...how many other people on this thread have hiked the AT with there dog?

ga to pa with mr. bud in 2000. i met you somewhere in va. countless other miles with mr. bud and 2 other dogs since then but no thru.

[The Weasel]

Take it up with him.

Give it a rest, North. You're gonna scare your puppy. As for Rock, yeah, I'll take it up with him, anytime, anyplace. If that wuss wants to take just ONE step over my door...just ONE...well, let him try it! Two steps! Even three! And when he does, I'll be there, in his face, every second: "Ern? You want MGD? Or...Rock? Or The Macallan this time"

Take your meds, North. The downers, this time.

TW

[The Weasel]

weasel-

enough already with the "leave your dog at home" rhetoric. not only are you beating a dead horse, but you're violating the rules of this forum.

as you well know, this area exists to constructively discuss long distance hiking with a dog. it is NOT an area to discuss whether or not dogs should be on the trail.

if you have a problem abiding by the guidelines of this forum, please let me know.

thanks,
the goat

Hey Goat? If you don't want to look like North's little stooge, why don't you actually read my post, huh? It made some real suggestions to a pit bull owner about training needed. Or don't you think you have to respond to the thread topic? If all you want to do is sing Amen for North, go out your front door. If not, post something useful here. I did.

TW

[Alligator]

Hey Goat? If you don't want to look like North's little stooge, why don't you actually read my post, huh? It made some real suggestions to a pit bull owner about training needed. Or don't you think you have to respond to the thread topic? If all you want to do is sing Amen for North, go out your front door. If not, post something useful here. I did.

TW

The Goat is the moderator for this forum, it would behoove you to pay attention to his post.

[NorthCountryWoods]

Give it a rest, North. You're gonna scare your puppy. As for Rock, yeah, I'll take it up with him, anytime, anyplace. If that wuss wants to take just ONE step over my door...just ONE...well, let him try it! Two steps! Even three! And when he does, I'll be there, in his face, every second: "Ern? You want MGD? Or...Rock? Or The Macallan this time"

Take your meds, North. The downers, this time.

TW

[superman]

ga to pa with mr. bud in 2000. i met you somewhere in va. countless other miles with mr. bud and 2 other dogs since then but no thru.

LOL, almost everything happened in VA. I thought I'd met you. Life is good.

[superman]

Maybe something in this might be of help. It sort of turned into a ramble.

When I found Winter in the middle of the road when she was 5 weeks old I did not intend to have another dog at that time. I had things to do and they didn't include "dog sitting." I'd had many dogs previously that I would not have wanted to hike, canoe or travel with. Not that they were bad dogs but they just weren't suited for those activities.
Hiking the At was left over old business that I wanted to get done. I almost hiked it in “68” when I came home from Vietnam but I married my ex-wife instead. My sons had moved away and were on there own. I found that I had some money, the time, the desire and I was free of my responsibilities. Since no one was going to come and claim the dog my son named her Winter. When you name a dog it's yours so I thought about what I needed Winter to be in order to hike the AT. She house trained so fast it's hard to remember when she wasn't. I used to go to the same restaurant for breakfast every weekend and I'd save my bacon for Winter, who was waiting in my car. She learned all the usual commands (sit, stay, come, lie down, jump, roll over, heel, speak) on the lawn of the restaurant. It got to be a ritual the people in the restaurant filled the windows to watch. When I was training Winter the people who came out made a point of coming over and shaking Winter's paw. Winter was such a ham meeting people it occurred to me that socialization would be a big issue while hiking. So I began walking Winter through down town Brattleboro, VT which has more strange people than most places. Winter and I also sat on a bank near my house that over looked a field and just watched the various animals, fox, raccoon, deer, bear, birds and what ever else used that field. The next thing was to do some day hikes, then over night hikes and finally we started hiking the Long Trail. I didn't intend to hike the whole thing but it just worked out that way. I used to read Wing Foot's site and knew the list of evils to avoid with a dog. We stayed in a shelter alone right in the beginning and my sinuses locked right up. Winter and I tented from then on.
The people we met liked Winter too much. They wanted to feed her stuff she shouldn’t have. The young guys wanted to play too rough. I learned fast to watch out for Winter with friendly hikers for Winter’s sake. We never met an unfriendly hiker but a lot of people just don’t know how to behave with a dog. When we hike, so many people expect Winter to come to them and socialize, some would even kneel down, and Winter would just walk by. When Winter is hiking, she’s hiking. I didn’t teach her that…she just did it.
To teach her to drink on command I used hiking sticks. Every time we came to a non-people water source I blocked Winter with my sticks and said stay. I’d wait a minute and say “drink” as I took the sticks away. It didn’t take long and Winter would wait for me to say “drink.” This works great but a caution is that if you hike with someone’s dog who just runs up and starts drinking; Winter figured it was ok to drink. When we resumed hiking alone she resumed waiting to drink. All this was to train her to not drink from human sources. She gave me enough time to whip out her bowl and get her water.
It is not uncommon for dogs to stop eating on a long hike. I do the same thing only not as much as Winter. I carried sardines, tuna fish, beef jerky and other treats to get her eating. She and I shared the treats.
Hiking in the rain is not a big deal except that Winter doesn’t like the rain in her eyes. I always carried an extra garbage bag that I used to make a hood. It was held in place by her pack.
I did not teach Winter how to get through the cow styles. She just looked at them and figured them out for her self. In addition, she would actually demonstrate how to do it with other dogs that we hiked with. Winter first started climbing ladders on the Long Trail. The log ladders are easy the narrow metal ladders take some work. I took her pack off for the ladders that I figured would be difficult. The only ladder she couldn’t climb over was the first fence going north from Troutsdale. It had two rungs missing. I just had to lift her passed the gap.
Staying warm is easy with a dog. When it was hot Winter wanted her own space. When it was cold she snuggled right up to me. I use a rectangular down sleeping bag. I just open it up and put it over both of us and in no time there is warm steam heat. Even on the cold, wet days we slept warm and comfy.
There used to be a percentage of the dogs weight to approximate how much a dog could carry in it’s pack. Unfortunately I forgot the percentage. Winter doesn’t carry a pack any more. Her pack is hung on a chair in the dining room near her bed. If anyone touches her pack she’s up and ready to hike…but there won’t be any more of that.

[the goat]

Hey Goat? If you don't want to look like North's little stooge, why don't you actually read my post, huh? It made some real suggestions to a pit bull owner about training needed. Or don't you think you have to respond to the thread topic? If all you want to do is sing Amen for North, go out your front door. If not, post something useful here. I did.

TW

weasy, as the moderator of this forum, i'm pretty well versed in the guidelines, thanks. if you would like your "contributions" to this area to continue, you'll do well to heed my advice.

[trouthunter]

Hi everyone, I'm new here. Section hiker, Future thru hiker, and long time pristine area backpacker/ camper. Many solos with my dog, Boo.
Boo is a male American Akita, about 120 lbs. I keep him off main trails, he mostly goes on my "off trail" fishing treks. I don't think you could have a dog too big in bear country! My dog is well trained, and I don't mean just a few commands. He is well behaved, does not approach people, and is just a big teddy bear, unless you are up to no good. (Akitas are protective but not mean spirited)

But like I said we don't go on main trails because his size makes some hikers nervous and I just try to be considerate of them.
I'm glad I found this forum

[Wise Old Owl]

Hi Trouthunter,

Welcome to WB.

[SunnyWalker]

Jones: you are buying into the "mind theory" of dog ownership. What, did your dog tell you he had a great time? Did your dog tell you every day, "Hey, let's go, this is so much fun! Wow that is great!" Hey, your dog is not a human. It is a dog. I for one feel real bad for many of the dogs I see on the trail. I don't think they are all necessarily having a good time. They are surviving, but having a good time? I don't know about that.

[ct1974rlw]

I will sometimes bring my German Shepherds. I have a black belgian (female) and a black and sable West German (male). My female is small-only about 60lbs but my male is big, about 120lbs. Most people I run into are nervous around my male, but he is very wimpy. If something moves in the woods at night, he's in my sleeping bag faster than I can blink. My female people will walk right up to her and want to goochy coo her-not a good thing as she is very protective. While she won't bite persay-she will give a warning growl and show her teeth. If she hears something at night in the woods, she is ready to take it on. As you can see, there is a big difference in their demeanor. So depends on where I go on the AT will depend on which one of my dogs I will bring-if I do. But regardless, there is a few rules I follow when my dogs and I are hiking together-to keep my dogs safe (they are MY responsibility and if I care about them, there must be rules) and respect that not everyone is happy to see my dogs. Not everyone is a dog person.

But also, I am a female and I like having my dogs with me when I am back country. I feel a little bit safer.

1. I never, EVER, stay at shelters that others are occupying. It's not a good thing as there is food and other things that my dogs can get into. I also don't want strangers feeding my dogs either. My female has special diet needs and is highly allergic to chicken. The trail is not a place I want to have a vet emergency. I also can not predict people's reaction to my dogs either and try to avoid a encounter that will make my dogs and/or the people around them uncomfortable. So I find it best to just set up camp far away from people.

2. My dogs are ALWAYS required to be leashed. They are well trained off leash but for their safety and those around they must be leashed. Further, besides people, you never know what they might encounter-if my female saw a bear-I know she would try to take it on in protecting me. Bear vrs. dog-no matter how good my dog is, I'm betting the bear will win. To allow my dog encounter a situation that I could have controlled by keeping her safe on the leash and if she gets injured-that would be irresponsible of me.

3. When walking on the trail and when we encounter people, I always stop and make my dog go into the down position while we wait for people to pass. I then crouch down and hold on the harness as well as the leash. This does several things. 1. People feel better about passing me on a tight pass with my dog in down position. 2. Especially with my female (who is dominant) it tells her she is not in charge. If she is not in charge, she can not challenge or recieve anyone or another dog as a challenge-resulting in better trail behavior.

4. I do not allow people to pet my dog. The reason being is that I do not want them expecting to be petted everytime we encounter people. However, when people ask if they can pet them-instead I encourage them to verbally praise her-which she has come to love-as long as she is behaving. Bad behavior never gets praise.

5. I always keep my dogs close to me. When we are hiking, I do not visit any place that my dog needs to be tied up while I go inside. Please don't get me wrong-my dogs are extremely well behaved-but never ever take for granted that your dog, given the right situation, can react unpredictably. How many times have you ever heard a dog owner say in complete disbelief "Oh my, Fido never has acted this way before!!!" Well Fido is a pact animal and will behave as such-which means regardless of the many, many, many years Fido has had outstanding behavior-given the perfect situation-Fido can become unpredictable.

6. Pay close attention to your dogs needs. If he is hot, make him cool down by pouring water on him from a stream. Cool mountain water is very good at this. Keep an eye on his paws. Your local feed store will carry excellant over the counter meds to protect his paws and for wound care. I suggest you carry these for him-just in case. Dogs can take many of the same drugs that people can-famaliarize yourself with OC drugs that your dog can have in your first aid kit. Tackle even small cuts and abrasions immediately. I find that when we are laying down in the tent and settling down at night-this is an excellant time to check him over throughly as he is tired anyhow. My male loves this and most often will fall asleep while I am checking him over.

7. Keep a copy of their vaccinations on you and make sure they are up to date. Do NOT skimp on their vaccinations by getting the bare min.

8. Make sure their collar or harness is adequetely tagged with identification. I like the ones that bolt on their collar or harness as they are less likely to get it snagged on something. But for extra security-I spent the whopping 15.00 to get them microchipped as well.

Hope this helps!