UKC

Have recently got a wee German Pointer pup. He's just getting out on his first walks etc. He's a quick learner and quite obedient for his age. Ultimately, once he's old enough I hope to take him with me cragging (within reason). Done quite a bit of hillwalking with previous dogs but little cragging.
For those of you who do take their dogs to the crag/ bouldering, how did you encourage chilled out behaviour?

(please- no 'ban dogs from crags' rants, ta)

In reply to Wee Davie: Take a chew or something to keep its attention. Take the dog for a short run around between routes to stop it getting bored? I must admit when my Beagle comes to the crag, he is a little disruptive.

In reply to Wee Davie: We took ours climbing once. They had to be tied up and Rosie found it very upsetting when we climbed up the crag away from her. We have taken them bouldering and she isn't keen on that too, she also doesn't like people going near cliff edges as it is too dangerous and will whine at you until you come to safer ground!

In reply to Wee Davie: My housemate has a Springer Spaniel who is fairly neurotic so we have to take a third person to distract the dog when he comes with us. A friend of mine also has a Spaniel who is just a pup, the last time we went climbing I just set up a multidirectional anchor and stuck the dog on the lead clipped to it and left a buldering mat for some shade while we did routes.

In reply to Wee Davie: totally depends on the dog. I've got a border collie 9mth old pup that will hapily let me get on with climbing while he basks in the sun. I have to keep him tied up so I can't take a toy for him to play with as he will throw it out of his reach and gets upset. just take him for a dry run to a dog-friendly crag and see how he gets on.

In reply to Wee Davie: My dog has eaten through several leads/slings/old bits of rope when left tied up at the crag...
To make it worse he then solos the nearest vdiff to try and get to you (sure he's part marmot), or runs about till he finds his way to the top and appears looking suicidal at the lip of the crag.
We tend to run him well then leave him at home or in the car for hour or two at a time now..

In reply:


In reply:

Cheers. Yeah I agree it'd be better if he was pre- exercised before expecting him to settle down below the routes. Will try to make sure that he gets well run before any routes are attempted.
Last time I did take a dog to the crag it was Loudoun Hill,and she got a wee bit freaked by the exposure on the top tier at first. A wee bit of whining and barking but settled down fairly quickly.
Keen to emulate the behaviour of a fantastic Samoyed we encountered at Stanage recently. Completely chilled while his owner did a few routes.

In reply to alan_davies:

Eeek! Sounds harrowing!

In reply to Wee Davie:

my dog is very chilled to the point where i could happily take him to work with me.

However, he has learnt rucksacks = food. He has eaten 2 whole baguettes in one go once, leaving 3 of us with no lunch, and has also eaten clients lunch twice. Not so good and i can't seem to break the association. He will wait until we are attached to ropes and then saunters over and munches away. He can get in the smallest gap in a rucksack lid and i am sure he has undone my bag zip. So now he stays at home unless it's just me and 1 other partner and we can be vigilant with the bags.

So don't let your dog get this association when they're a pup and anyone any ideas how i can stop my dog doing it ?

In reply to alan_davies: We use a plastic coated steel cable for tying him out.

In reply to biscuit:

Chortle : )

Dogs love their grub. That's hilarious!

In reply to Wee Davie: "please- no 'ban dogs from crags' rants, ta"

I'm not going to rant, but I would say that you should remember not everyone is comfortable around dogs and the last thing I'd want is my belyaer getting panicked/jumped on by a dog. As a climber I'm sure you would know this might be a problem, but general dog walkers letting their dogs run off an jump-up/lick everyone don't seem to be so aware.

I doubt there has ever been an accident because of a dog, but I don't think the distraction is needed when climbing/belaying.

In reply to Wee Davie:
On my first solo climb, aged about 9, I became somewhat gripped, somewhere in Pembroke. Our dog (a border collie) came to make sure I was OK then went and got my Dad to come and rescue me. Which he did.

In reply to Martin1978:

I agree wholeheartedly. I'm a doggy person but I take the responsibility seriously. No- one needs the unwanted intrusion of a wild pet anywhere.

In reply to pneame:

Had a few Border Collies in my time too. What great dogs they are.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Liking the steel cable tip, cheers!

In reply to Wee Davie:
I have a border Collie who really enjoys cragging:
Walk in- longer the better for him!
Generally explores bottom of crag
Comes to whistle if other people turn up
Scrambles up to mod to meet you at the top
Always gives a sympathetic lick for a dnf.

Training was not very complicated- lots of walks, runs, one handed whistle to come back when needed. His only weak spot is cats, but they're evil and not commonly found at crags.

In reply to Wee Davie: you can get ready made stakeout lines from most pet stores. works out no more expensive than making your own!

In reply to Wee Davie:

Chew toys are a good distraction for when you're climbing as is a comfortable spot to sunbath in...

In reply to Wee Davie:

My dog loves being out and about everywhere and always likes a clamber about or did until she started to get knee problems all i can say is dont let your pup go to mad or you may have some very expensive vets bills on your hands (cruciate ligaments dont heal easily on dogs)

also make sure you take plenty of water and a bowl but im guessing you know that already

In reply to alanlgm: Good point, its amazing how much water they get through if they are out in the sun all day. Mine just drinks from a bottle (not mine) or a paper cup, or a dip in the rock, much easier than carrying a bowl around. Op, I've given up taking my dog climbing, he doesn't like it when I climb and barks annoying everyone until I'm down, he doesn't seem to think I should be up there. He loves scrambles though.

In reply to Wee Davie:do it from a early age and it will be fine ive a 8 year black lab. And she is the perfect dog waits at the the bottom of the crag while. I.climb never cries or barks take a toy some treats and some normal food and just giive her some every time you get back to the bags after completing the route.my hound even waits till we are well away from the crag before. Releaving herself.have fun they really are quite clever

In reply to Wee Davie: that's great to hear. Dogs are very loveable but as someone who is severly allergic to them, they complete spoil my enjoyment when they run around a crag unsupervised.

In reply to Wee Davie:

Why?

I don't take my dog to the crag because I know he would be a right royal pain in the arse to everyone else.

In reply to Dave Ferguson:

That's fair enough. Some dogs are just not suited to hanging around patiently. Maybe mine will be too high maintenance to tolerate cragging as well but I hope not.

In reply to Wee Davie: While your dog is young teach him to settle,(this can be done away from the crag) I have an active collie(got as a rescue 18 months old) but he has learnt that the crag is not a place for running around. When I first started cragging with him I got a rucksack for him which made him more aware of where he was putting his feet and slowed him down.Not too much weight in a rucksack for a young dog though.'Superstitious' learning is the key, be intollerent of behaviour you don't want at the crag and he will learn his boundaries quite quickly.I would recommend the wire clip leads as they also tend to tangle less.

In reply to Wee Davie: I'm not a dog owner and fine with dogs at the crag, unless they bite me I'm not bothered.

In reply to ceri:

I find it simpler to leave mine behind - she just gets too anxious when I'm climbing/move away from her etc

In reply to Wee Davie:

I don't take my dogs to the crag, my previous dog couldn't cope with it when I tried, these two probably could. I don't really think dogs enjoy it that much anyway. I don't have much sympathy with the "no dogs at crags" lot, they need to hide their sandwiches better!

I do see lots of dogs tied up at the base of the crag whilst the owners climb above. A dropped quickdraw or bit of loose rock could come hurtling towards the dog, which a) does not understand the "below" command and b) cannot get out of the way. This is the main reason my ogs stay home when I go climbing.

In reply to Bulls Crack: Exactly, we tried it with ours, They didn't like it, now they stay home. Rosie was 10 when we got her though, so maybe a little old to try a new thing. She is OK with scrambling and walking, but not climbing.

In reply to Wee Davie: I have a Weimaraner, similar to gsp. His temperament will no doubt change when his balls drop. I started off with him bouldering and hill walking with short scrambles. Keeping him off the mat was a problem at first but I take a small self inflating mat for him to lie on. If the walk in is short take tennis balls etc for him to fetch. Also using "frolic" to throw into the under growth so he can use his scent and search instincts to go find it, will tire him out more than anything. Don't expect to be welcomed at busy crags or bouldering venues, some people have screaming kids running riot while they complain at the sight of a dog. He didn't take to me doing multi pitch, hated being left at the crag base which caused stress with climbing partner. But he loves scrambling up grade 1 routes. Mountain biking is his fave though. Remember to take water and food and something for him to lie on. Teach him to lie on it at home for periods outside on his own after play. Hope you have fun some of my best days have been just me and Louis.

In reply to WILLS:

Yeah, he's going to be a very active dog once he gets a bit bigger. He's only 11 weeks at the moment so probably only up to the knees of your hound by now.
The big walks etc are quite far in the future, but can't wait for him to get strong enough to be able to do a hill day. Any hillwalking I've done with dogs has been great fun.
I hope the balls dropping will not turn him into Mr Hyde!
I wouldn't think anything except single pitch routes or bouldering would be an option.

In reply to Gwain:

>be intollerent of behaviour you don't want at the crag and he will learn his boundaries quite quickly

Good point. He's a bright boy, but does like to push the boundaries at the moment!

In reply to Wee Davie:

Also, avoid taking your dog bouldering. He will settle down on that big, comfy mattress you have carried to the crag for him and...

In reply to 3leggeddog:


Yeah- a short messy career in 'spotting' if I land on him!

Hi All. I have a two year old Husky, of whom i always take cragging with me. He tends to just lie at the bottom of the cliff and look at us stupid people climbing things. the only real issue i have ever faced i small multi pitches, he tends to wonder up to the top to greet us, by sitting there panting, with his pink thing hanging out.. Like it has been mentioned, crag discipline is vital. and if your going bouldering take a roll mat tucked inbetween for the dog, and put it in shade, He has one of these as a bed at home aswell, so he knows his place of safety.....

Luckily our dog has never been that interested in people. and tends to ignore them, unless they show him attention or attract him with food, but again this has come through discipline training him, to obey general commands such as "stay" then moving yourself further away untill he eventually stays at about 20m.

Hope some of this makes sense, and good luck with the training

In reply to willstuckey and all:

Thanks for the tips. Some great common sense advice there : )
Maybe in a year or so you might encounter me and Brodie at a crag...?

In reply to Wee Davie:
My dog Sparky loves coming to the crag with me and as soon as I take my rucsack off and take the gear out he lies down on it and guards it. He is a jack russell and knows its his job to guard my bag. If someone gets really close he will bark at them but he is just doing his job and guarding the bag. I tend to leave my bag and him abit away from the path and hes fine.

In reply to biscuit:



EXECUTION!

In reply to Wee Davie: If you could train him not to do poos at the bottom of routes, that would be great. A trait sadly missing from canines frequenting Denham Quarry.

In reply to andyb211:


It probably would be the only sure way to stop him but i feel its a bit drastic