When is my dog ready to backpack?

[TDC]

Our border collie is now 3. My wife and I run and the vet told us he was good to go with us on runs by about 10 months (after checkup). We went 3-4 miles consistently with him for a few months, he has since gone 10-12 miles numerous times. Mainly on crushed gravel walking paths here in suburban San Diego. He has also gone on 5-8 mile mountain biking trips with me on much more rough trail (rocky). He logs about 10-15 miles per week of actual exercise and more if you count 1-2 miles casual walks. I would think your border collie is good to go. That said, our boy is very well behaved and would never run off or be a nuisance and is obedient off leash. Border collies by nature should be good listeners, easily trained to obey his/her leaders commands. Have fun backpacing with your dog.

[Wandering Daisy]

Yes, the "leash law". Desolation Wilderness is the only place where I regularly see rangers. I used the leash, mostly because of that. When I had Lupe off-leash she did great. Lower down with the tons of day-hikers and not-so-well-behaved other dogs, I had to use the leash. I know there are leash laws for wilderness travel, but honestly, I rarely see anyone with a dog, once a few miles in, use a leash, except when the see another dog on the trail in the distance, they temporarily put on the leash. Do you know of anyone who actually has been fined or ticketed for not having their dog on a leash?

[rlown]

dogs are actually better well behaved with other dogs when off leash (my opinion). My Jack Russell is ferocious when on the leash. When he's off it, he does the normal meet and greet.

you could just make sure your dog listens to your commands, and put a 3' tag leash on him. not holding it. or you could go with a retractable leash. Less pull and you can control the pull.

Still sounds like you learned alot about your friend.

Russ

[lostcoyote]

have a great time WD - your dog is more than ready.
border collies are built for this stuff

sounds like most everyones postings have lots of good advice. i took 3 dogs into the kaiser wilderness a few years back. had them sleep in a tent because one of them had the tendency to roam off. they all did well and i had a great time. the one watching me cook pasta was about 10 months at the time. that is about the earliest i'd take a dog as they are reasonably close to being fully developed by then. i think muscle tone may peak around 1.5 years and by 1 year, bones are pretty much grown?? few pics to follow:









please post yours after you come back

[rlown]

I love that "whatya cookin dad" picture..

[chrisdiercks]

Was looking for another thread when I tumbled into this one. Not in the Sierra's, but in the San Diego backcountry I have seen people receive $250 tickets for dogs off leash.

The Rough wear dog booties did NOT work on my dog at all. GSP's have compact feet and putting the Velcro boots on them is a bit like putting them on a tube. They just kept falling off. I returned them and started looking for an alternative I could make myself. I use single piece thin leather working dog booties (designed in Australia I think) that you lace up. Work like a charm on my shorthaired pointer when dry, but tend to get a little floppy when wet. Being leather, they also mold to the dogs foot shape. But I only use these when she is weeping from her paws. Definitely part of my dogs' first aid kit.

WD, one thing that sold me on this design is that there are slots for the toenails to stick out. Each bootie only covers the pad, but not the toenail. Actually, the other thing is that I can make replacements easily.