Is leaving your dog at the base of multipitch climb really Animal abuse?

Leave your dog at home wrote:I regularly petition all land managers to forbid dogs from climbing areas.

I regularly petition land managers to forbid idiotic people from petitioning for stupid things.... Apparently it isn't working yet.

^+1

Some dogs would be fine at the busiest crag in the country unsupervised all day. Others are fine with supervision. Others should never be out of arms reach of the owner. Others should never ever leave home. I've seen all of these at the crag.

What is totally abuse to one animal is not to another.

For my new little pooch, we've already started a list of babysitters for multipitch days.

What about a crag parrot? Could it be taught to hang out near you? How much water can one carry?

Some dogs would be fine at the busiest crag in the country unsupervised all day. Others are fine with supervision. Others should never be out of arms reach of the owner. Others should never ever leave home. I've seen all of these at the crag.

What is totally abuse to one animal is not to another.

For my new little pooch, we've already started a list of babysitters for multipitch days.

What about a crag parrot? Could it be taught to hang out near you? How much water can one carry?

nicelegs wrote: What about a crag parrot? Could it be taught to hang out near you? How much water can one carry?

Wow, what a great idea! Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?

You could train your parrot to retrieve gear. Even better it could relay communications when the leader is out of earshot of the belayer. But, would the owner still be expected to clean up the poop?

What about a crag parrot? Could it be taught to hang out near you? How much water can one carry?

It might be able to carry a coconut, but that depends if it's African or European

Yep, crag parrot, I know that one, where is it now???

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Noisy as a dog I say!

I bring my dog as many places as I can, because animal abuse is also ignoring your pack animal and isolating it. I know people don't see it that way, but a dog isn't a lawn ornament or a showpiece for your home.

However, it shouldn't be left at the base of a cliff. Now, recently I ended up climbing multi-pitch at a backcountry ice crag where I didn't know we were climbing multi-pitch. This was unplanned and I was, in fact, concerned about the dog, but since my pack was there and we were the only group on the cliff I knew the dog was fine (he doesn't wander and is protective of my gear), if it was a popular area, I'd have stayed with him on the ground.

Local rules or not, you shouldn't leave your dog at the base of a cliff if the climb is more than one pitch and/or the area is crowded.

You also shouldn't leave it in a car at the west Trapps lot. I've seen this before and seriously considered breaking a window. It's just wrong. Either find a baby sitter or change your plans.

What the hell happened to climbers???

Oh yeah...
the internet.

I leave my dog at the base with a dish of water, a water bottle in case it gets knocked over and someone happens by, food and a blanket and/or a nice smelly shirt of mine. I don't tie her up because I want her to be able to flee if necessary, and wouldn't want her to get her leash tangled up. So I leave her with my things and she knows that this is her spot. She is a cautious dog and doesn't approach other dogs unless she knows they want to play. Initially she whined and climbed up a ways. Since I started bringing the blanket she seems more comfortable and will just chill out, roam around and chew sticks until I get back. I have no doubt that she'd be fine for longer climbs, much happier than she would be if she were left at home all day. I live 2 hours from climbing, so it would be a long day away. I know I'm doing what's best for my dog, but it's all about how well the dog is trained. If a dog is poorly behaved or doesn't get along well with other dogs then it should definitely not be there.

not animal abuse because it's better than leaving him home (depending on route length, available dog-sitters, and weather) but it's definitely an inappropriate burden on other climbers.

Real lesson. If you like hard core outdoor sports don't get a dog. Wither it be climbing backpacking mtn biking trail running skiing or whatever, if you get really into it a dog is going to become a burden. I know all the dog lovers out there are going to have a field day with that one , but think about it. I had a dog and I will never have one again.

keithconn wrote:Real lesson. If you like hard core outdoor sports don't get a dog. Wither it be climbing backpacking mtn biking trail running skiing or whatever, if you get really into it a dog is going to become a burden. I know all the dog lovers out there are going to have a field day with that one , but think about it. I had a dog and I will never have one again.

As I'm getting more into longer trips (be they days or weeks) in the mountains, I'm running into this myself. With the right dog I could taker her on more adventures, but mine is certainly NOT the one to leave at the base of a climb.

I just want a mountain goat so he can climb with me, and help haul up gear to the base.

A goat will just eat your pack, your lunch, everybody's else pack and lunch. Consider a llama or burro. Or a mastiff!

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Who Dat wrote: Maybe the dogs were just able to sense that you're an asshole..?

no the word asshole is reserved for people who bring their dogs to the crag. Particularly people who leave their dog tied up at the base while they go have their multipitch fun. Leave Fido at home!

I used to leave my dog at the base of multi pitch climbs. One July in J-Tree people started complaining so we left her in the car to do some climbs. now I don't have this problem anymore.

mediocre wrote:I used to leave my dog at the base of multi pitch climbs. One July in J-Tree people started complaining so we left her in the car to do some climbs. now I don't have this problem anymore.

because leaving your dog in an unattended car is sooo much better than leaving them at home. c'mon people...

mediocre wrote:I used to leave my dog at the base of multi pitch climbs. One July in J-Tree people started complaining so we left her in the car to do some climbs. now I don't have this problem anymore.

Is the reason you don't have this problem anymore because your dog died from being left in a hot car all day?

Either way is a bad idea. Leave the dog at home or take them to "Doggy Day Care" or overnight boarding if you are unable to leave them home alone.

Dog owners need to be smarter than their dogs....