Dogs in Wilderness

[rlown]

Still taking my dog. His break-in training trip to the French basin. If he doesn't cut it, he stays home the next time.
It is a lot of work taking them, but you've got to try at least once. Remember too that dogs do at least twice the mileage the human does with the running up and back to you.

[Wandering Daisy]

Leash or not? The point is to have the dog under control. If your dog is not under control, for any given circumstance, then put them on a leash. But that is not even a guarantee. NOTHING replaces training.

On a busy trail with lots of dogs, our dog IS on a leash. At night our dog is always in the tent with us. Our dog sticks to us like glue. But that is about 10% of miles on our trips. Our dog is off-leash trained, with daily reinforcement walks, so when we are in areas where we see 1-2 people in an entire day and perhaps one other dog (90% of the time), she is off leash AND under control, never out of our sight.

A leashed strong large dog, who is not well trained, and intent on going after something, be it a backpacker, other dog, or deer will simply pull their owner down, perhaps injuring the owner as well as run off or attack others. A leash does not mean you do not have to train your dog. There was a news item on NPR recently that noted the increased injury (falls, broken hips) particularly of older women who walk dogs when their dog bolts. I have had many leashed muddy dogs jump on me in the wilderness. The two dog who did attack my dog and me, WERE on leashes, and pulled out of their owners hands.

Our dog goes on 2-3 short trips a year. Other than that, I prefer to hike without a dog, because it is a lot of work and responsibility to take a dog on my own. And I want to go into areas that do not allow dogs. My husband, on the other hand, will NOT go into any area that does not allow dogs, so my "dog" trips are only family trips. A few years ago in the Wind River Mountains, I ran into a camp, WAY off the beaten path, far from any trail; a family- parents, six kids from 5-15, three dogs, grandparents! What a joy! I was absolutely astounded that they got everyone to that location. And were they having fun. Well behaved dogs too, off leash too. Dogs, families, kids, grandparents, even horses, ALL have a place in the wilderness.

[rlown]

Dogs and altitude:

https://longhaultrekkers.com/high-altit ... ct-my-dog/

Pretty good article.

[Lumbergh21]

A leashed strong large dog, who is not well trained, and intent on going after something, be it a backpacker, other dog, or deer will simply pull their owner down, perhaps injuring the owner as well as run off or attack others. A leash does not mean you do not have to train your dog. There was a news item on NPR recently that noted the increased injury (falls, broken hips) particularly of older women who walk dogs when their dog bolts. I have had many leashed muddy dogs jump on me in the wilderness. The two dog who did attack my dog and me, WERE on leashes, and pulled out of their owners hands.

Funny (or not so funny) thing is a person posted that as a reason that they never leash their dog, because it would pull them over. That response was right up there with, dogs are animals and they need to work it out themselves (he was explaining why his dog attacking was just natural and not a problem; he also said.that he would shoot anybody that tried to intervene and hurt his dog).

[Lumbergh21]

Dogs and altitude:

https://longhaultrekkers.com/high-altit ... ct-my-dog/

Pretty good article.

When I first saw this, I thought it said "dogs and attitude" lol