Best kind of crag dog?

So I know there is a lot of hate on here about people bringing their dogs to the crag and a lot of times I have to agree with the rantings due to the fact of irresponsible pet owners. that aside I would like to get a dog in the near future and I am reaching out to find out from those of you who do own and crag your dogs (and who are responsible with them) what types are best.  are there any breeds, sizes, warning signs, etc. to keep an eye out for.  basically what dogs in your experience have the best demeanor to be good crag dogs? 

And please don't use this as a jump off to complain about dogs at the crag.

Thanks

Mutts

ACD(red or blue heelers)

rescues

hounds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmReh4NHpjA

Kurt G. wrote:

 

And please don't use this as a jump off to complain about dogs at the crag.

Thanks

LOL, good luck with that...

Hunting beagles usually have a good effect on crag psyche in my experience.

None.

Rescues less than 40 lb.s, athletic, obedient, soft spoken, non aggressive (except for vermin trying to chew through your pack) and trained to wait long periods of time, and knows what "rock" and "rope" means when shouted.  Yes, this is realistic but takes the right dog and lots of training. 

My buddy's blue heeler is pretty good. Very athletic, we never have to carry him through anything. 

But more importantly is training and discipline. Do a search on the easiest dogs to train. Some breeds have more tendency to only have to be given a command once.

I believe heelers rate high.

Think of the dogs that make the best service dogs -- i.e. they have intelligence and good temperament: Labs or Retrievers, Poodles, German shepherd, etc. The list is long, but that's the basic idea. And then look for mutts/rescues that have a lot of those breeds in them.

But IMO the most important thing is how you socialize them.

Mellow dogs. The problem with dogs at crags is that their people go up routes and the poor dogs stress out at the bottom. Hence whining and barking and howling. Not good for anyone.

I have a lab. I only take her to the crag if I'm on a trip and MUST bring her with me. She's mellow and tends to go to sleep and not bug people. That's the kind of dog you want. 

Ima strang up yer dawg!

It is beyond obnoxious when owners bring their dogs to the crag, I have seen multiple instances where dogs have gotten into fights, bark incessantly, and more seriously, belayers almost being knocked over by dogs running around. Nothing worse than being 50 ft. up and seeing your belayer dodge a running dog. Naturally this a reflection on the terrible owner rather than the dog itself, but my vote would be no dogs. 

A greyhound, preferably a rescue.  Keep it leashed so it doesn't go off after a varmint, and it will be happy to curl up on a blanket and wait.  In my experience, they also seem to be mellow around strange people.

 In my experience breed doesn’t make a difference it’s whether the crag is empty or crowded and whether you spend time with your dog or not.

Norwegian lundehund. They have special feet for climbing. Plus they are super rare, so you probably won't even have it. 

Andrew Smith wrote:

It is beyond obnoxious when owners bring their dogs to the crag, I have seen multiple instances where dogs have gotten into fights, bark incessantly, and more seriously, belayers almost being knocked over by dogs running around. Nothing worse than being 50 ft. up and seeing your belayer dodge a running dog. Naturally this a reflection on the terrible owner rather than the dog itself, but my vote would be no dogs. 

Didn't see this coming, did ya? : )

We have a 6 month old German Shepard, purebred. She's been out with us 4-5 times and has been great. 

Our breeder specializes in breeding for temperament and health. She's very mellow. Loves people and crowds.

We keep her on a runner (for the foreseeable future, she's a puppy and semi trained at this point) at all times and we're always within view. She doesn't bark.

She'll only join us on single pitch crag days. Not fair to other climbers, or her, to leave her unattended while we're on multipitch.

We focused on temperament and did our best to ensure we got a mellow and friendly (and smart, trainable, and militantly obedient!) dog. My advice would be to not get a puppy unless you meet the parents (we met both), because the mother is a good predictor of personality. If you can't meet the parents, buy a shelter mutt/dog with a gentle disposition, no aggression towards strangers or other dogs, and has low separation anxiety.

Now all we need is Aleks babbling about eating dogs and bringing chickens to the crags....