Hammocking with dogs

[guySmiley]

My vet is my breeder. She encouraged me to do it. She said " His breed is a working dog and he needs a job to do and this will be great for him." He only had 1.5 lbs of food on the way in, and the last day he had the a sack of trash on either side of his pack just to have something in it to keep it from flopping around as he had eaten all his food that morning. The trash clearly was lighter than the food he carried in.

Talk about a conflict of interest... J/K

I in no way was trying to say it's something you shouldn't do. I plan on seeing if my Vizsla will make a good trail dog. I have doubts about it though. His main job is pointing at birds, and every once in a great while retrieving them. I don't know if a dog that's a trained hunting dog would make for a good trail dog. I'm pretty certain that he's going to want to go find birds the entire time we're out.

[elcolombianito]

His main job is pointing at birds, and every once in a great while retrieving them. I don't know if a dog that's a trained hunting dog would make for a good trail dog. I'm pretty certain that he's going to want to go find birds the entire time we're out.

Sounds like my dogs (irish setters)... and at least Im pretty sure males suck for hikking. I took one on a trip and first day he covered himself with some kind of corpse, i guess to hide his smell from his "prey", but i couldn't bare the smell so that ended the trip. Females are not too hyper and do tend to stay closer so you can control what they are doing.

[E.A.Y.]

I don't know if a dog that's a trained hunting dog would make for a good trail dog. I'm pretty certain that he's going to want to go find birds the entire time we're out.

Just teach the dog that hunting/pointing is a different job then walking along with you. Might take a while. Should be possible.

[guySmiley]

Just teach the dog that hunting/pointing is a different job then walking along with you. Might take a while. Should be possible.

Pointing is completely instinctive, there's no way to train that out of a good pointing dog. I wouldn't want to either. The hunting, is a different matter, that's a more learned behavior, and I'm counting on what you're talking about. We'll see. Since he's gotta be on leash while on trail that will make things easier.

Once he gets a whiff of a grouse. That will be the test.

[DeShazo]

Pointing is completely instinctive, there's no way to train that out of a good pointing dog. I wouldn't want to either. The hunting, is a different matter, that's a more learned behavior, and I'm counting on what you're talking about. We'll see. Since he's gotta be on leash while on trail that will make things easier.

Once he gets a whiff of a grouse. That will be the test.

Reese is a bird dog and hiking dog (as of this weekend). I never ran into any quail while we were out (which is what he is trained on) or he was running too much to care if we did. When we got to camp he did go goofy on butterflies though. He was pointing then chasing them everywhere. It was too funny.

[Coldspring]

I kept scanning this thread thinking someone had engineered a hammock underchamber for their dogs, one that would let the dog sleep in comfort and trap warmth. Wouldn't it be great on a two-dog night?

I hiked by some folks with an adult and pup wolf this last weekend. They were beautiful animals, but I was very respectful when the LARGE one growled at me. They could kick anything's butt, that's for sure!

[titanium_hiker]

Originally Posted by titanium_hiker
the dogs were left behind when we moved.

You did what?!

Yeah, we had to leave them with our neighbours. We moved across continents, to Australia (from South America) and the quarantine stuff was too complex, expensive, and not fair to a dog who's used to a large back yard and the run of a school compound when school's not in. It was sad, but the best thing for the dog.

[guySmiley]

Originally Posted by titanium_hiker
the dogs were left behind when we moved.



Yeah, we had to leave them with our neighbours. We moved across continents, to Australia (from South America) and the quarantine stuff was too complex, expensive, and not fair to a dog who's used to a large back yard and the run of a school compound when school's not in. It was sad, but the best thing for the dog.

That's a heartbreaker of a decision to have to make. What a bummer.

[eflat7]

My dog's breathe smells too bad. Not only would he have to have his own hammock, but his own campsite too!!

[Cannibal]

My dog's breathe smells too bad. Not only would he have to have his own hammock, but his own campsite too!!

Heehee. Whatever you do, DO NOT buy food that contains Herring. I thought I was going to fall over the other day from our dog's breath. Shortly after I instituted a ban on the purchase of Herring based mutt food. I don't even like thinking about it; ugh.