Dogs

Coldwood

Coldwood

Joined
Jun 5, 2006
Messages
2,718
In another thread we spoke briefly about eating dogs, not seriously of course, but If you're going into the wilderness, would you bring a dog along, and what kind and for what reason?

I used to have a couple of male Springer Spaniels that I used to go out with, they were way ahead of me, flushed everything before I could get close for a shot. I was just not a good trainer. As a kid, I got my first pheasant with an English Pointer.

What would you bring, yellow hound, rottweiler, or just leave them at home?
 
I don't usually. They cut down on seeing wildlife but I took my dog Bear with me recently.

Hengelo.jpg
 
I would only bring a well trained dog into the wilderness, and then only in terrain he is conditioned for. To bring a "city dog" into an extended stay in the wilderness is asking for trouble.
I used to have a spaniel mix hike with me, mostly for companionship. I hike established trails and the dog was well socialized and used to being in the outdoors.
 
I had dog to eat when I was in the Phillipines, cooked on the grill like hamburger. The meat tasted sweet, but I could not tell you what breed it was. Condsidering my location I'm sure it was on the road at the wrong time. I liked it better then monkey. By the way make sure you cook it well done if you have to eat it.
 
Thomas Linton said:
Border, HD? If so, a good breed to drive small game, were that needed.
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Yeah. He's ok. My first 2 Sarah and Joshua were the best dogs I have ever owned. Bear's mom Kate is probably the worst, although she does know commands and HAS helped with unruly livestock. Kate is not poultry safe 100% and Bear is better than Kate but I still would not trust him loose all the time.

That was Bear's first trip in 2 years, although he goes hiking here all the time with us. I was afraid he'd chase stuff and be excited and wouldn't listen, but he was good and after the 10 mile mark he'd mostly lay down when we'd stop.
 
Then there's the "Three Dog Night" theory for sleeping warm. I've always been kind of interested in the whole sled dogging experience.
 
My Golden Retreiver, Ted.
Good swimmer, good in the field, good in the mountains.
Smarter than a lot of the treehuggin backpackers we run across from time to time.

Back to the water and hygeine topic for a moment. If you are in the wilderness, and within 100 yards, or so, of a water source, it's a good idea to clean up after your dog, as well as yourself. Bury fecal matter as far from the water source as possible.

A good dog can serve so many purposes, it's no wonder man and dog have been together for such a long time.

Dog's are great trail finders. If you are trying to get through thick wilderness, and you get your dog started in the right direction, they will lead you through the best way. I think they follow scents such as hikers, deer and other animals along "natural" routes most travelled.

I've heard that dogs in snake country smell snakes from a distance, and can warn you of a snake well before you stumble onto it.

Then there is the trade-off of hauling feed for your dog, as well as yourself.
 
I had a small Cocker Spaniel who would love to go for rides in the mountains with my wife and I. If the windows in the truck were up, she'd spend her whole time sniffing the vents. Many, many, times, she'd sniff the vents, back up, and start whining excitedly. Sure enough, around the next bend or two, there would be deer or elk alongside or on the road.

After the first time, I really paid attention to her body language. She saved me from countless near misses. She was a great dog.

She climbed 10 14'ers here in Colorado with us, and behaved very well. I'm sure in the wilderness, she would have spooked wildlife, but we mainly hiked well-worn trails.
 
Way back, I had a Chesapeak-Border Collie mix that spent the summer with me working outdoors plus hiking and camping. That dog was the best companion by instinct it seemed. Led down trails but never went out of sight, slept in the tent, and kept my scedule without complaint. Always kept between me and larger animals and asked before chasing smaller ones. Dogs like that make a great wilderness companion, just not patient enough for a prolonged photo shoot.
 
I've taken my golden retrievers and yellow labs over the years on hikes with me, but don't even take them on the road anymore, because of dogs that run free. I wouldn't take either of my current labs with me hunting, first of all, the gun would scare the living crap out of them, second, whenever my oldest lab sees my air rifle, he tries to bite the barrel, and third, they would be yelling the entire time.
 
I ruined a Chesapeak Bay Retriever from hunting by trying to cure him of running in front of the shotgun by sitting him down at a safe distance and showing him just what damage a shotgun could do to a gal. jug of water...
He payed attention all right. From then on, everytime ANY gun, from a rifle to a squirt pistol was held, he would cower away from wherever the barrel was pointing. Gotta be careful what they learn when you try to teach them something.
 
An expedition to the South Pole ran out of food and ate their sled dogs and died of acute vitamin A poisoning from the livers and that is how it was found out that vitamin A can be poisonous. I find that vitamin A will not be poisonous (IMO) if you do not consume citrus. I had an uncle and aunt that ate copious amounts of liver and were in great health.
 
SkunkWerX said:
Dog's are great trail finders. If you are trying to get through thick wilderness, and you get your dog started in the right direction, they will lead you through the best way. I think they follow scents such as hikers, deer and other animals along "natural" routes most travelled.
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I do think the same. I bring with me for short hikes in the woods my scottish terrier. A very nice dog, he never moves too far away from me and never barks when he smells or sees an animal. The first time he met a boar, a big lonely one not shy at all, staying 100 feet from us, he bravely ran to the boar and stopped at my first call. Happily the boar carried on its way quietly. My dog came back to me, i could see he was scared; he asked to me: " Is it what you call an elephant?". Yes, i'm the only one who can hear him but my dog can speak.

dantzk.
 
As you mentioned, they will scare off game which is a nusence at best, even a well behaved dog has a strong scent and no urge to control it, or constant movement. Plus, while I agree that a dog can be excellent companionship on a wilderness trip, they bring with them a lot of responsibility for the owner for their care, and for controling the dog's behavior. If you are in bear country, a companion dog can be an excellent alarm, but they can also attract bears looking for easy prey.

I must say though, that there is a wide disparity in what we each perceive as "wilderness". For me, it is a truly wild place of considerable size with no roads or even developed trails, no inhabitants for many miles, no or very little sign of timber harvest or mining, no developed campgrounds. For some it is a city park, or greenbelt, or any small scope of woods with no houses in the middle of it.

Codger
 
I generally always have a dog with me, a Mountain cur named Rusty, his daddy is Galloway's Tree time burley. He is pretty much my constant companion and is laying in the floor looking at me as I type this. Rusty is a hunting dog, specifically a tree dog, and he does his business very well. He finds game for me, keeps me company and at night keeps me warm. I think in a survival situation he would be worth his weight in gold. As far as spooking game, I have some deep dark swamps and thickets down where I live that if you couldn't put dogs in them I don't think anyone would ever kill any game. Chris
 
Nothing beats a well trained hunting dog. A dog provides a lot of companionship on the trail. Also the dogs senses are much stronger than human's, so they will sense danger long before you might. Best of both worlds.
 
As far as hiking and what not I almost never bring my dogs, its just one more thing I have to worry about. I have a Lab(my duck dog) who is well behaved and listens well but sometimes she's a mite friendly and curious. The dog I would most want to take is my Beagle Daisy(very good with commands) but because of her lack of size and as mentioned above(an percieved meal) I would not take her nor my other beagle. Though I would love to take dogs out with me they just seem to be in the way when I am not hunting them respectivley.
 
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