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

joke
[ jôk ]
NOUN
noun: joke · plural noun: jokes
a thing that someone says to cause amusement or laughter, not seen often enough on webforums.

J Marsella wrote: Get a wife to take care of the dog.

Did that - but she whines too when I leave her tied at the base.

curt86iroc wrote: because leaving your dog in an unattended car is sooo much better than leaving them at home. c'mon people...

sat·ire
ˈsaˌtī(ə)r/
noun
noun: satire

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Eric Engberg wrote: Did that - but she whines too when I leave her tied at the base.

FUNNY!

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.

Really not funny,,,,

Jenna Balinski wrote: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.

This is massively inconsiderate to everyone else that uses that cliff. I really don't care how well trained your dog is - when I encounter your dog at the base of a climb, I know *nothing* about its training or what it is or is not capable or willing to do.

cragman2 wrote: 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....

^^^^

Really not funny,,,,</quote

Relax people. My dog , and I'm willing to bet the majority of the dogs owned by people on this forum, is treated better than a lot of children in this country. And that doesn't change just because you leave the dog at home while you're climbing.
While I wouldn't always go as far as to call it animal abuse, it's an asshole move. Not only have you abandoned your dog tied to a tree, now you left a water bottle so that other people can take care of YOUR dog. Don't give me this "well trained" excuse. You don't know how the dog acts in this situation because you're 3 pitches off the ground and out of ear shot.

mediocre wrote: Really not funny,,,,</quote Relax people. My dog , and I'm willing to bet the majority of the dogs owned by people on this forum, is treated better than a lot of children in this country. And that doesn't change just because you leave the dog at home while you're climbing. While I wouldn't always go as far as to call it animal abuse, it's an asshole move. Not only have you abandoned your dog tied to a tree, now you left a water bottle so that other people can take care of YOUR dog. Don't give me this "well trained" excuse. You don't know how the dog acts in this situation because you're 3 pitches off the ground and out of ear shot.

Sorry to overeact to your joke. I'm usually not so humorless. Just don't like jokes about animal mistreatment or any other type of abuse.

Glad to hear how you feel about your dog. Unfortunately, I do occassionally see dogs locked in hot cars here in the suburbs and it makes me very angry...

Think this is the third time i've used this on MP. Never gonna get old.

hate

I agree with the fact that leashing your dog at the bottom is not cool. If your climbing in the middle of nowhere and your dog grew up in this environment and can handle his own then stay out of my business (not that anyone would ever even know otherwise). If you really want to start and argument then lets talk about crack babies. These threads always seam to derive from the OP in such ways anyhow.

Eldo Love wrote:Think this is the third time i've used this on MP. Never gonna get old. I agree with the fact that leashing your dog at the bottom is not cool. If your climbing in the middle of nowhere and your dog grew up in this environment and can handle his own then stay out of my business (not that anyone would ever even know otherwise). If you really want to start and argument then lets talk about crack babies. These threads always seam to derive from the OP in such ways anyhow.

This.

Just leave the dog at home by itself... really is it that hard to understand that they will be fine for a few days without you?

Unless you are going to be gone more than 2 days your dog will be fine by itself and you know what have someone come by every few days to check on it / feed if you are going to be gone extended amounts of time (given this depends on where you live).

My dog growing up feed itself. If you watched him he would make the daily rounds to different places get fed by random people and than come home. What is funny is you knew the houses that hated dogs because it made sure to make big loops and avoid them so noone would yell at it. Cats are even better all you need is a bird feeder and they can take care of the rest.

Clearly this is the answer...

(Go to 55 seconds)

vimeo.com/107415955#t=55s

Parker and Peter...man, I miss those cats.

There was a time before all the self centered douches moved out from the Midwest and East Coast, and there was no problem about what you did at the crag. Screw all the whiny imports from the who's a shiftin this perfectly good culture, please leave my dog alone, He has been climbing longer than you Sally turds. You feel sorry for him? He feels sorry for your Gumby ass

A bit off OP's original subject, but hey, this is MP....

newser.com/story/206742/guy…

I am relatively tired of seeing these kinds of posts.. so I am going to leave my opinion this time

Would it change anyone's opinion if the dog was not bound to a tree, but rather peacefully enjoying a nap in the beautiful outdoors?

I am NOT arguing that a dog at a busy crag that's barking, pissing and chewing ropes should be tolerated by any means... but not all dogs suck! I love my dog and I love to be outdoors on the weekends, so I bring her with me everywhere I can. That being said, I did a multipitch climb last weekend and left her at home because I thought the area might be busy and I don't like to leash her.

I'm not saying I am right and anyone else is wrong, but calling the authorities because YOU feel the dog shouldn't be there is a bit extreme. If the dog is dehydrated and dying, sure, call PETA like the vigilante superhero you are... but I would venture to guess that your dog/cat/aardvark is pretty well rotting away in your dingy living room while mine chases birds and lizards like an animal should have the right to do... Don't be so quick to complain about someone who lets their animal be outside with them, I'm sure the majority of people chiming in here have had some sort of "pet" enslaved in their home for the duration of their life (which in my opinion is just as bad as tying it to a tree for 5 hours, its just a different means of breaking their spirit)

Rogue

ViperScale wrote:Just leave the dog at home by itself... really is it that hard to understand that they will be fine for a few days without you? Unless you are going to be gone more than 2 days your dog will be fine by itself and you know what have someone come by every few days to check on it / feed if you are going to be gone extended amounts of time (given this depends on where you live). My dog growing up feed itself. If you watched him he would make the daily rounds to different places get fed by random people and than come home. What is funny is you knew the houses that hated dogs because it made sure to make big loops and avoid them so noone would yell at it. Cats are even better all you need is a bird feeder and they can take care of the rest.

People here are all up in arms about dogs that go outside for a climbing day with their owner but no one says a word about this animal abuser who leaves his dog alone for days?

I'm all for bringing pets to the crag, but not everyone is comfortable being around dogs, no matter how calm or friendly they behave. It's all about being mindful of others, ask and don't assume, and respect that the cliff base is for everyone.

As for leaving a dog at the base while on multi-pitch climbs--I think it's disrespectful to other climbers to assume everyone will be ok with an unattended pet. Also, no matter how domestic your pet may be, instincts can, and often do, trump learned behaviors.

Jeff G. wrote: People here are all up in arms about dogs that go outside for a climbing day with their owner but no one says a word about this animal abuser who leaves his dog alone for days?

I kinda addressed this previously. Doggy day care or overnight boarding or just having someone take care of the dog in your home if you are gone...

I have nothing against dogs at the crags. In fact, I love having dogs around. I don't take my dog because he is rather high energy and would not behave well but I like when mellower dogs are at the crag. I don't think it is good to leave any pet dog unattended in a public area for hours while climbing multipitch routes. Too many things could go wrong, though most dogs would be just fine. Not sure this really should be called "abuse" but still not looking out for the dog.