High Sierra Topix

What would your proposal be to "vet" a canine companion in such places? Simba is on my permit for September to Humphreys basin and French.
It was just a check box "dog".

SNF:

We ask the public to remember these rules when bringing in pets to the forest or wilderness areas.
Pick up behind your pet when in public areas and be sure to bury feces when in the wilderness.

Do not tie up dogs and leave them unattended.

Do not allow dogs to chase wildlife.

Leave unfriendly or loud dogs at home.

How many dog owners here follow NF rule pertaining to the feces in the backcountry?

Do not misunderstand me; I always take a leash for my dog and use it when needed. Each breed and each individual dog is different. Our border collie sticks with us like glue- we are her "flock". In 8 years she has NEVER let us out of her sight let alone get lost. I rarely take our dog when by myself- she comes when my husband goes with me. When alone, I would rather not have to worry about the dog.

I too have been bitten by an ill behaved dog on the trail, jumped upon by a muddy dog, barked at, etc. These rare encounters are OK, but too many dogs can get crazy. Perhaps along with trail quotas, only a percentage (50%?) of permits should include a dog. But my experience is that most of the dogs on the trail are with day-hikers, who do not need permits. I suspect this is the main reason for the leash rule. Most dogs I have met on the trail are not on the leash but the owners often put on the leash when they see someone coming.

California State Parks are notoriously anti-dog. I did hear that with some new management a few years ago they were going to experiment with allowing some dogs in some areas. I have not heard if that was actually done. Some Utah State Parks allow dogs on the trails such as Kodachrome Cliffs. But, there is so much Forest Service and BLM land where dogs are allowed, that I do not think there is much incentive for the NPS or Ca State Parks to allow dogs.

Mav- your post came just before mine! Perhaps we need a "dog talk" from the ranger when we check the "dog" box on the permit.

Maverick asks:

How many dog owners here follow NF rule pertaining to the feces in the backcountry?

Every one I can find! I walk them away from water smeared to a rock, like in this case, and bury it. My trouble comes on winter-spring trips. Then, I try to find rocks to place the dog-shite under, or better, to slip it into rock crevices. Last option is to put it under the snow in an area with bushes; that way it won't be out in the open to be stepped on when the snow melts.

I’ll chime into the conversation since I do take my dogs into the wilderness.

In the past, my wife and I have allowed our dogs to be off leash but the two we take now are always on leash. One is 15lbs, the other is 11, so carrying them out is not an issue. We are very aware that not everyone is dog friendly, so on trail, we either pick them up or move off the trail when people are passing and usually set up camp far away from others.

To answer Mav’s question, when in camp, their poop is buried. When on trail, it’s usually flicked away with my pole into the duff or rocks.

I’ve had one bad incident while backpacking. I was nipped by a “friendly dog” off leash with the owners 20’ away and they did nothing. Didn’t even apologize. Pissed me off as a dog owner since it’s incidents like that that can prompt restrictions.

c9h13no3 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 05, 2021 7:49 am What do you call a dog under voice control? Lost.

If all dogs encountered were like Bearzy, (encountered coming up Pine Creek)...unleashed but obviously well-trained, then no problems...but -
Just wondering - As I carry no bear spray, and my only knife the smallest SAK...(any readily available weapon has not really been needed as other than the rare encounter with a large cat, no other real dangers Sierra). This leaves my treking pole tips as my only viable defense against your "Oh, he doesn't bite" companion. Lesson learned the hard way - If your dog is off-leash and attacking/assuming a biting posture... Sorry.

maverick wrote: ↑Mon Apr 05, 2021 8:17 pm SNF:

We ask the public to remember these rules when bringing in pets to the forest or wilderness areas.
Pick up behind your pet when in public areas and be sure to bury feces when in the wilderness.

Do not tie up dogs and leave them unattended.

Do not allow dogs to chase wildlife.

Leave unfriendly or loud dogs at home.

How many dog owners here follow NF rule pertaining to the feces in the backcountry?

I try my best but can't control where my dogs go so can't say I've fully compliant historically.

Markskor- the purse-sized pepper spray works fine with dogs and weighs very little.

If you cannot control where your dog goes, then, no, he(she) is not well trained. Having a dog come when called is a basic of dog training, as is "sit", "lie down" and "heel". If for any reason we cannot have our eye on our dog, she goes on the leash.

Although most dogs I have met on the trail are not well trained in my opinion, few have caused me concern of being attacked. If anything, their friendliness, expressed in jumping all over me when they are muddy is an annoyance, but not danger.

Called my dog Simba off a cottontail this morning. Responded to voice calls as the rabbit was heading to the road.
He is still going to have his remote collar on when we go this September and step to the side of the trail for horses/people.

The problem with feces isn't just cosmetic--the feces of domestic dogs can contain parasites that affect wild animals. Those animals don't just use the trails, and they can smell as well as any domestic dog. "Flicking it off the trail" does nothing to address this concern.