[nagdu] Backpacking

Steven Johnson blinddog3 at charter.net
Tue Jan 24 04:02:06 UTC 2012 

Hi Abbigail,

Have you ever thought of using a travois-like device to have your guide tote
some of the load?  
Saddle bags are a good idea, but it might be worth looking into.  The
travois was used quite extensively by Native American peoples, thus using
the dog essentially as a pack animal.  I came up with a lot of hits on
google.

Steve


-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Abigail Lanier
Sent: Monday, January 23, 2012 9:56 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Backpacking

Mark,

Thank you for your response, but I am really looking for advice in regards
to hiking with a guide dog. I've done lots of camping and hiking before I
got my guide and even some short day trips with her, but as I said in a
previous message, I"m looking into a week long hike of the Appalachian Trail
this March and I want to take Alexa with me. I'm doing lots of research and
considering the pros and cons of taking her. Her health and well being is
just as important as mine.

Abigail

On Jan 22, 2012, at 11:30 PM, Mark J. Cadigan wrote:

> I go backpacking all the time. For water purification I just use the
purification tablets you get at any camping or army surplus store.
> 
> 
> 
> You can set up your tent completely independently; it just depends on
practice, and having a small tent. Chances are, if you are backpacking you
will have a small tent.
> 
> 
> 
> For food, I like the freeze dried food. It's a lot easier to carry than
canned food.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeffrey Young"
<jeff.young8806 at gmail.com>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2012 7:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Backpacking
> 
> 
>> Thanks Tami. We probably won't do any hiking in the first year, but maybe
some car camping.
>> 
>> Abigail, the biggest issue on a long trip is water. It doesn't sound as
though you are, but if you or anyone is backpacking in a dry desert area, I
would not recommend bringing a dog. The reason being that you have to pack
all of your own water. This can become very heavy, and packing the
additional water for the dog would be hard to deal with. Ideally you will
only need to bring two or three leaders along with a water purification
system. You can get water from streams, but it needs to be purified so you
or your dog do not contract geardia. I'm sure I misspelled it, but it's also
known as backpackers disease. It's easy to cure when near a hospital or vet,
but not in the wild, especially because you won't have a functional
bathroom.
>> 
>> Check with the organizer of the event to see if he or she is bringing a
purifier, that way you won't need to by your own. Another thing is to make
sure you are familiar with your own equipment. IE setting up your tent on
your own ETC. You will need a hand with most tents, but you will need to
make sure that you can do the majority of the work. Everyone else on the
trip will have their own equipment, and having to help someone else a lot
can be annoying to them.
>> 
>> This is all stuff I learned on the trips we took. I was twelve and
theirteen on most of ours, and my dad came on one and basically told me if I
wanted to keep going I needed to be more independent.
>> 
>> Good Luck, and don't hesitate with any other questions. Also, you can
find a lot of first time resources online.
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
>> Jeff Young
>> Home of the world's healthiest energy drink. No Caffeine, no added sugar.
E-mail me for a free sample today.
>> Phone: (318) 243-3003
>> E-mail: jeff.young8806 at gmail.com
>> 
>> http://actoverview.com
>> 
>> On Jan 22, 2012, at 3:55 PM, Tami Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net> wrote:
>> 
>>> Jeff,
>>> 
>>> These are all excellent suggestions of things to consider. And
congratulations on your soon-to-be first child. You will certainly be too
busy to go camping! /grin/ Unless you decide next year your brave enough to
put the kid in a backpack and go for it. I know people who do and don't know
whether to admire their courage or wonder about their sanity... Just
kidding.
>>> 
>>> Another piece of good advice I got from an avid guide dog using hiker
and camper was to always wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from low
hanging branches, just in case. And also to wear a baseball cap, for the
same reason. This is certainly something I do when using the cane on a
trail, and good thing! With the tame trails we usually do, I'm not as
motivated to remember when I'm using Mitzi, but I really try to make it a
practice. Just in case! /smile/
>>> 
>>> I've only gotten out on short day trips with Mitzi so far, but one thing
I did, knowing I wanted to add more of that in the future, was to use the
off leash obedience I'd taught her to give her freedom to explore the first
time or two, while I used my cane to navigate and try to figure out how I
planned to use her as a guide dog. So then, when I did start doing trails
with her in harness, we were able to work out the kinks together pretty
well. I haven't gone on any of the really good backpacking and camping trips
I would like to. Yet. But I do like using more than one tool, depending on
which works best in which environment. Well, and Mitzi really does do the
jingle guide and squeak guide thing, in addition to leash guiding, so that
gives us a lot of flexibility.
>>> 
>>> That wouldn't work for everybody and every dog, though, so on a safety
first basis: Don't do it unless you're sure your dog will be safe. Honestly,
I can't see myself trying it at all with a program-trained dog, simply
because the pups are protected and streamlined for guide work, not for
running wild and free in the wilderness... Mitzi ran free with a big pack o'
poodles and other dogs until she was 7 months, so the other dogs taught her
the fundamentals of doggy safety. That made socializing her and all in the
city quite the adventure, but it has given me a lot of freedom to train from
the beginning towards the outdoor life. She does really well at city slicker
stuff now, of course, but that doesn't mean we can't throw off our fancy
duds and hit the trail! /lol/
>>> 
>>> One way to work with a dog without risking letting it run off leash
where it doesn't know the dangers or might get too excited and run off and
forget to come back would perhaps be to do some long leash work with dog
while you use your cane. Our dogs are about as not stupid as dogs can be,
after all, and they really do seem to grasp that their purpose in our lives
is our safety and theirs. So giving the dog a chance to observe some of the
special obstacles and other challenges of hiking a trail could be to give
the dog an opportunity to watch you take them on and figure it out with your
cane. If that makes sense. Also, I have found it to be a good way to plan
*how* I want to hike with my guide when the time comes that she will be in
harness and I will be using a rigid cane or trekking pole in the other hand
for gauging distances up and down.
>>> 
>>> If that makes sense. /smile/
>>> 
>>> Tami
>>> 
>>> On 01/22/2012 12:09 PM, Jeffrey Young wrote:
>>>> So I have done extensive backpacking as a boy scout, but I haven't had
a chance to do any with my guideDog. One thing I'd recommend is to bring a
cane along. A good sturdy cane not a telescoping one. The cane would serve
two purposes. One as a walking stick. Most backpackers use a walking stick.
A walking stick is especially useful on steep rough terrain.
>>>> 
>>>> Secondly, when hiking you may encounter many obstacles that your dog
might not normally encounter. You can use the cane to explore the
obstruction before moving on. Also, make sure your dog is well fortified
against flees and especially ticks. I don't remember if you said in the
first email, but you might want to find out how rough the hiking will be and
how many miles per day you will need to travel.
>>>> 
>>>> If you and your dog only travel a mile or two a day on city sidewalks
and you are expected to travel six or seven miles a day on the trip, then
this could pose a challenge of potentially overworking your dog as well as
yourself.
>>>> 
>>>> I could probably come up with some other tips, but I don't want to
ramble to much. If you have any general backpacking questions feel free to
let me know. Also, I'm sure we have some other backpackers on the list.
>>>> 
>>>> I should add that I can't wait to take Hansel on a trip, but we are
having our first child in August, so their won't be much, if any camping
this summer.
>>>> 
>>>> Jeff and Hansel
>>>> Jeff Young
>>>> 
>>>> Home of the world's healthiest energy drink. No Caffeine, no added
sugar. Email me for a free sample today.
>>>> Phone: (318) 243-3003
>>>> E-mail: jeff.young8806 at gmail.com
>>>> Website: http://jhyrumyoung.drinkactweb.com/
>>>> 
>>>> On Jan 22, 2012, at 9:57 AM, Abigail Lanier wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Julie,
>>>>> 
>>>>> The book's title is "Blind Courage" and I am going to try and get a
copy of it.
>>>>> 
>>>>> The good news is that I already live in the mountains of North
Carolina and Alexa and I are fairly used to hills and such. We have done
some hiking, but I wouldn't say that we are well seasoned or experienced
hikers.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I'll let you know of our "progress" :-)
>>>>> 
>>>>> Abigail
>>>>> 
>>>>> On Jan 22, 2012, at 9:01 AM, Julie J. wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> Abigail,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I have been backpacking, but not with my guide.   The trip I went on
was 5 days in Colorado in the Rockies.  I'd estimate the pack I carried was
50 pounds or so.  It was just about all I could do to carry the thing.
*smile*   Of course that was just my stuff.  I agree with Nicole to have
your guide carry her own food.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> My      suggestion would be to get a pack for yourself and for your
guide now and start building up your strength to carry it.  Add in a little
more weight each day, practicing going up and down stairs to simulate
mountain hiking.  Your guide won't be used to carrying weight and will also
need to build up strength to be able to do so comfortably.  There are a lot
of web sites that talk about dog backpacking, you could check out some of
them to get an idea of how much the maximum weight is that your guide could
potentially carry. I'd subtract a bit from that because guiding is work too.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> There is a book about a guy who hiked the entire Appalachian trail
with his guide dog.  NLS has it.  I want to say it was called, "Blind
Courage" but I could be misremembering.  I've read a load of dog books and
they sometimes get cross-wired in my head! *smile*
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Best of luck,
>>>>>> Julie
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
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>>>>> 
>>>>> 
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