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Dogs

On Wed, 31 Jan 1996, Linda Wacker wrote:

> i'm taking my dog with me and would like to know what your experience
> with dogs on the trail is? did you run across any. i'm looking for good
> and bad stories (all good would be nice but i know better than that).

Linda,
	I took my dogs with me on my not-completely-thru hike in 81. They 
wore doggies packs & helped carry their own food. One thing I found is 
that you have to check them freq. at first to make sure they're not 
getting any abrasive areas from the packs..I solved that problem by 
adding a bandana at the top to help distribute the loads across their 
shoulders & vaselined the areas where they showed any slight sign of 
irritation. I also kept the loads to under 10 lbs. One thing I was 
adament about was having them under control...they early on learned the 
meanings of "you don't cut switchbacks", "stay on the trail", "go to the 
woods"(for those necessary times), and kept them out of shelter water 
supplies (springs, etc.) I really enjoyed having them along plus they are 
great heaters/dish washers. Since I had friends in Knoxville, I had no 
problem with boarding them during the Smokies; In the Shenandoah, I had 
to have them on a leash, which presented a minor problem when they 
decided to run with me attached down the trail, stepping on a rattlesnake 
in the process...luckily, they stepped on his head, one-two, as I jumped 
over...the snake is probaby still trying to figure out where that 
headache came from! 
	Pat