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[at-l] dogs on trail
At 12:00 AM 8/18/97 -0500, Jim wrote:
>I have a 4 month old dog, do u think she would be ready to hike with us on
>the AT? Jim
In a word, no. Aside from having to carry the dog a lot, its bones and
joints haven't fully closed yet. The strain of a long-distance hike could
leave them permanently damaged. A puppy that small spends a great deal of
time sleeping or resting. A lot of the time, he'll need to rest while you
want to hike. And for every hiker who sees a cute puppy, four or five more
will see it as a miserable, tortured little dog. Then at least one of them
will post to the list that dogs shouldn't hike. That's a drag for the
traildog people, who don't have a good argument for taking puppies on trips.
Short dayhikes might not be a problem. If you're contemplating a thru-hike
or a long section-hike, forget it. Wait until it is older and you both can
enjoy the trip. There is an e-mail list for traildog folks. It has lots of
good information. E-mail me privately for instructions. Have fun on the trail!
Jim Greenway & "Bonnie" (traildog)
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