UKC

Hi all

Has anyone taken a dog with them for a day's climbing at Sennen?

Just wondering if it's feasible for a generally good crag dog.

Thanks in anticipation...

Rob

its feasible but i wouldnt say its a good crag to take a dog to, as you are belaying off of a wavecut platform, and its a bit of a scramble up and down. it might also get washed off the ledge if the swell is big!

I definitely wouldn't want to. 

You'd get a dog down the low tide approach but not the others, there's also a couple of bits of climbing to get along the crag its self. You'd be pretty limited put it that way! 

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Think we will leave him or go elsewhere.

I watched a party take a dog down the climbers approach a couple of years ago. Poor animal was desperate to be with it's people, but equally terrified of the route. It had apparently done it before and " would be fine". It would not be an experience I would choose for my dogs on the basis that they'd probably not fall to their deaths....

My dog will go most places and I climb in West Penwith lots. I Have taken Betsy to Sennen but reluctantly and never to the base of the crag. The top is rocky and busy with walkers as well as climbers and your dog will need to be tied up whenever you are climbing. There are much better crags if you have your dog with you. 

James

Sennen is a dog-free beach, or should be (apart from the morons who ignore that agreed protocol), quite frankly Sennen crag should be dog-free too.

DC

Ok thanks again all...definitely a no for us based on the above!

Fixed

If he's used to being left and well behaved you could leave him staked at the top when you ab in? A lot of people leave their rucksacks etc. up there as well. There was a lovely collie chilling out at the top waiting for his owners when I was there last week. If he'll be stressed if he can't see you then I'd say it's a no go. 

In reply to jt232:

99 times out of 100, dogs left whilst their owners go climbing are a pest in some way. They whine, bark, and shit all over the place. The worst are those left to roam, who will get under your feet/in your rope/generally bother you whilst trying to belay, or decide that your lunch is theirs, or that your property is theirs and piss all over it. Take them for a walk yes, dump them at the bottom of the crag whilst you climb, no thanks. 

Such a shame having to share our planet with other creatures. Why should you feel the slightest inconvenience just so that a lower form of life can have an enjoyable day? Dogs are so selfish. 

Whining and barking? I'll take that over the jangling of everyone's sets of cowbells. We don't own the planet.

All of the things you've mentioned are failures of the owner, not failures of dogs. Some (many?) people shouldn't be pet owners. You can't blame Fido for acting like a reprobate if he's been brought up like a reprobate.

As it goes that isn't quite right. There is a dog ban, main beach only between 1000 and 1800, and I think that was Just July and August. Common sense prevails as outside of the summer peak dogs arent a problem there and we go there a lot.

The big problem at Sennen is litter and that is getting worse and worse. For some reason they have removed half of the bins there and that obviously hasn't helped. 

Sharing are planet with other creatures is very different to domesticating them and then dumping them for the day when we decide we want to do something else. 

Edit to add: I don't dislike dogs. I just think that the crag is not the environment for them unless they have someone with them all day, rather than leaving them to their own devices. In the same way it's perfectly legal to go for a walk down the middle of the A1, it's not really the place for it.

I'd take anything over the jangle of cowbells to be honest  

Failures of the owner they maybe, but that doesn't make it okay nor change the fact that it happens. 

The false equivalency you and the other response are drawing here is pretty moronic. The dog is there because its' owners wanted to go and do something; it is domesticated and kept as a pet for the owners' satisfaction. Nothing about that is about the dog's experience. The owner is forcing it to sit there in a static confined environment and then neglecting it for their own happiness and as an obvious result, it will get bored and bother people. I love dogs and have owned many, but would not take mine to a crag and have only ever had shit experiences of other people's dogs at crags.

In fact the whole idea of a 'crag dog' is a turgid americanism that I'd like to never hear again. Take your dog mountain biking, or ski touring, or for a run. Or just walk it. You got a dog, now look after it properly.

Can I get an AMEN?

I don't disagree with any of that. Being out with your chilled and well-trained elder labrador while you're climbng with a large group, when there are always a few of your group around at the bottom of the crag is vastly different to going climbing as a pair and bringing your seriously troubled rescue german shepherd, leaving him at the bottom while you go play on the crag. Unsurprisingly, in the latter case the dog randomly took a chunk out of my mate's leg as he walked past. The owner subsequently introduced himself with 'are you the guy who put their leg in my dog's mouth?'.

Unfortunately, it would seem that the majority of dog owners don't appreciate this. I'm really passionate about this; I love dogs to bits. They are such amazing, intelligent and emotionally-connected animals. And it makes me really angry that so many owners don't understand and can't meet the needs of their dog, but own one anyone for their own benefit only. I couldn't disagree more with taking a dog to the crag and dumping it while you climb, but it seems a bit pessimistic and unfair to just naturally assume that the OP is one of those people.

Sennen? No, probably not a great place to take a dog even if you're going picnicking with ten of your friends and family - but given that the OP is asking the quesstion, I assume he doesn't already know that.

Entirely. If you bring your dog to the crag, you need to look after it appropriately as you describe. Whilst it is unfair to assume that the OP would not behave this way, over a decade of dragging experience has taught me that appropriate dog care at the crag is the minority of cases, rather than the majority. I've only been to Sennen once but hardly seems to me like the place for a dog.

what does it matter if its the fault of the dog or the owner? all dogs invariably come with owners. the irresponsible dog owner can come to the crag without the dog and cause no problems (ok granted they might be a dick in general, but you can say that about anyone...), but irresponsible owner avec dog = problems, therefore dog at crag = problems.

It's a subtle distinction, but it's important because I think it's unfair to stigmatise an entire species of animal when the problem is invariably the idiot who is entrusted with the care and wellbeing of said animal. My girlfriend is terrified of excitable dogs or dogs that run up to her or jump at her or anything similar, because once upon a time a miscreant collie decided to chomp (properly, not nip) on her leg. She'll probably forever more have a fear of dogs, and that has been caused entirely by a human.

The dog at the crag is a problem only if the human at the crag is an irresponsible idiot. The human is the problem, not the dog.

It is not civilised or acceptable to have dogs on a beach where children play all year round, but especially summer, day or night. No one wants raw sewage.

DC

From that rubbish I guess you dont surf, or indeed get to sennen often. Turds are generally of the human vintage after heavy rain.

It's a pretty happy place. Only stress is in the carpark generally.  Even the break is chilled.

Most of the dogs accompany families, who I guess have made a judgement call on the positive impact of having a well controlled and well trained pooch on life in general. There is a dog ban, which I totally agree with when the place is super busy and it also gives priority over to those who want to choose not to be near a dog for the best couple of weather months.

All hail the walking monkey god! The walking monkey god will sterilize nature and be the one sole ruler of earth. The walking monkey god paradise awaits, never to be bothered by lower forms of life again!

My dog really likes rock climbing, and bothering walking monkey gods. What should I do?!

In reply to jt232:

The worst sort

nobody is stigmatising the species, but even if they were, the dogs not gonna care, its a bloody dog, it cant read!

you seem to be proving my point in the middle of your post, yet somehow still arguing with me! plenty of people are absolutely terrified of ALL dogs, for perfectly legitimate reasons. they are not terrified of dog owners, who may or may not have said dog with them. nobody is going to know if you own a dog if said dog is not with you...

Bit of a stretch to call domestic dogs nature. They don't drive themselves to the crags, they're only there by human action.

I think leaving dogs out of sight (top of a sea cliff) is generally irresponsible. Yes I know everyone on here is a 'good dog owner' (it is everyone else who is a bad owner) but abseiling in and being completely powerless if the dog starts going mental is irresponsible. Bottom of a short crag is a bit better. But I don't like dogs, I had 3 interactions with completely unsupervised climber dogs over the weekend in pembroke. One was extremely agressive, jumping, growling, barking. The other two were harmless. One of them insisted on watching me go to the toilet.

He was looking out for you, Dan, you ungrateful sod. That's what they do (dogs maintain uncomfortable eye-contact with you while they do their business as a way of saying 'I'm vulnerable to attack, watch my back'). 

I'm somewhat on the fence. At a chilled sport crag, a nice doggo in a group (so it always has someone with it) is a welcome addition. Anywhere stressful, I'd rather them not be there. Either way if they're barking or whining then they can really ruin the vibe. 

Let me summarise to clear any confusion. Do I think that the OP should take his dog to Sennen? No, it seems like a poor choice of crag to take a dog. Do I think anyone should take their dog to the crag and leave it unattended while they climb? No, I think that's grossly unfair both on the dog and on everyone else at the crag. Do I think that 'all dogs should be banned from the crag' is fair or sensible? No, of course not, because some people can manage to integrate these two things without issues. Like the group at Curbar yesterday with the most friendly, mellow and chilled dog I've met in a long time. Was it running amok? No. Was it left unattended? No. Was it causing problems? No. So...no problem then.

But unfortunately we need to share the world with them whether we're terrified of them or not. I hate crying, screaming kids - but I don't see them being banned from the crag anytime soon.

Spot on, good post.

We are the (allegedly) dominant species for a reason.

The monkey gods who deem themselves godlike enough to require subservient beings to follow them round are the issue. It's hardly a utopia when the monkey god requires ownership of another animal to make themselves feel better.

I'd prefer the monkey gods and the other inhabitants of this planet to be on an equal footing, rather then master/ dom.  Liberate the canines from their monkey god oppressors! 

So you're saying the little woof woofs should be allowed to wonder round crags at their pleasure with no supervision, as an equal? I agree entirely. 

A monkey god would perceive it as being the law of the jungle, thus would bare teeth and shout and carry on as any monkey would to a perceived threat or intrusion. Said intruding animal would then choose fight or flight and the monkey gods ability to use tools would put paid to the fight forthwith.  Saves having to rely on fleas trapped in fur if a dog can be caught.

Of course I'm only kidding. This monkey god finds dog meat too gamy.

There's a nice flat area at the top that I've seen dogs tied up at every time I've gone. If they're happy being left at the top as opposed to the bottom, crack on.

I wouldn't take my dogs there, too busy and too dangerous for me. I've been pretty worried for myself at Sennen before because of the swell. One of my girls is a ratter DNA wise and is mad as a box of frogs. TBH I've had a few occasions where she's escaped the harness and won't heel so I'll only take her to very quiet crags - bouldering in groups of three these days. She loves it mind.  Luckily where I live you rarely see people at the local crags.

If your dog is chilled and happy sun bathing at the top of a cliff they'll be fine. If I did that with mine she'd bite through the rope and climb down the cliff.

Yes it will be fine.just make sure that there are no big swells running. Wouldn't want it washed out to sea would we?

Crags like Pexhill hill and Shipley Glen are perfect examples of what happens when the cult of fido seek to impose the objects of their selfish obsession on other people. Virtually guaranteed dog shit experience virtually every time.