Dog incident at Gunks 12/12

Was anyone else aware of the dog that wound up biting a climber up near Three Pines/Something Interesting? Happened today around 1-2 PM.

Would also be interested in hearing about this. A close friend of mine was bitten by an unfriendly dog at the trapps a few months ago and I have personally seen several cases of 'poorly managed' dogs under the cliff.

I agree. I was surprised with this guys' dog. The dog wound up biting one guy, then went after 2 others. The owner was climbing something interesting, and just kind of laughed the whole issue off. I've been to a lot of crags with dogs, but this was one of the worst cases of an unruly dog I've seen.

Man bites dog, story!

Just kidding -- bad owners bite.

Ryan R wrote:I agree. I was surprised with this guys' dog. The dog wound up biting one guy, then went after 2 others. The owner was climbing something interesting, and just kind of laughed the whole issue off. I've been to a lot of crags with dogs, but this was one of the worst cases of an unruly dog I've seen.

Pepper spray sounds like a good idea?

Or this…

Does anyone know or recognize the owner, and what breed of dog was it? I had a similar experience a couple of weeks ago at the base of Son Of Easy O, but avoided the bite.

Yeah I'm pretty sure that was them. It was a lighter like tan and white pit-bull if I remember correctly. Between the owners and dog, it gives responsible dog owners a bad name. I still don't feel that dogs should be at the crag. Let alone a dog like that.

THAT dog shouldn't be at the crag. Let's not lump all dogs together. How about no kiddos and no people with belay cards at crags ;-)

One good thing about the rural West being filled with heavily armed ranchers: unruly dogs risk getting shot, so owners tend to keep them under control. Hope everyone's OK.

Start carrying this!

Guaranteed for griz, I'm sure it'd do the job on a dog. Maybe it's owner, too.

Ryan R wrote:I agree. I was surprised with this guys' dog. The dog wound up biting one guy, then went after 2 others. The owner was climbing something interesting, and just kind of laughed the whole issue off. I've been to a lot of crags with dogs, but this was one of the worst cases of an unruly dog I've seen.

I take it you've never been to Colorado. That sounds pretty tame, compared the shitshow out here.

James Sledd wrote:One good thing about the rural West being filled with heavily armed ranchers: unruly dogs risk getting shot, so owners tend to keep them under control. Hope everyone's OK.

That's what I liked about climbing in West Virginia. Unfortunately Colorado doesn't count as the rural West. People here seem perfectly content to put up with it. In fact out here if you dare to say anything about it, you are the problem...

Stagg54 wrote: That's what I liked about climbing in West Virginia. Unfortunately The Front Range doesn't count as the rural West. People here seem perfectly content to put up with it. In fact out here if you dare to say anything about it, you are the problem...

Fixed it for you.

That dude was a total dick. And the guy who got bit was way too nice. Dude was lucky Rick didn't have a gun or he would have put the dog down in front of the owner. It was a terrier mix and the owner was tall with a goatee and part of a party of 3 dudes. Total dickhead

Vinny Casilio wrote: the owner was tall with a goatee

No goatees at the crag either. People who have them are the true culprits here. Along with their visors and baseball dad sunglasses.

Ryan K. wrote:THAT dog shouldn't be at the crag. Let's not lump all dogs together. How about no kiddos and no people with belay cards at crags ;-)

As someone with a sweet, quiet, well mannered/trained dog I appreciate this post.

The underlying issue is that not everyone should be dog owners, as well as not all dogs are socialized enough (or properly) for being at a busy climbing area in the first place. This particular dog doesn't belong because it can't handle being around other people. The owner is facing serious financial issues if the dog bites the wrong person. The dog gets put down, and owner sued.

Posting this issue publicly is hopefully good for the owner to avoid all this.

Kevin Heckeler wrote: As someone with a sweet, quiet, well mannered/trained dog I appreciate this post. The underlying issue is that not everyone should be dog owners, as well as not all dogs are socialized enough (or properly) for being at a busy climbing area in the first place. This particular dog doesn't belong because it can't handle being around other people. The owner is facing serious financial issues if the dog bites the wrong person. The dog gets put down, and owner sued. Posting this issue publicly is hopefully good for the owner to avoid all this.

It would be a real shame if a dog gets put down because of a bad owner.
Should put the owner down and send the dog to someone who can train it and be responsible.

I have 2 dogs. One is fine around people, the other somewhat unpredictable. I am aware of this and do not put bthe dog in situations where he might be an annoyance or, worse, bite someone. He has been trained but I still just don't take him climbing or leave him unattended.

Ryan K. wrote:THAT dog shouldn't be at the crag. Let's not lump all dogs together. How about no kiddos and no people with belay cards at crags ;-)

This seems to always be the response when someone makes the unrealistic request that all dogs be banned. But lets be real: children can be annoying, but I've never seen a child intentionally put a climber in the hospital. People with belay cards can be dangerous, but most of the time it's only their own party they're putting in danger. I've been there when a person was hospitalized because of a dog going for their face while they were sitting down, eating lunch. The owner was climbing and when they came down they swore up and down that "he never does anything like that!"

If you're going somewhere that you can assure yourself even if your dog snaps and goes berserk, they won't hurt you, then go for it. If you are bringing them to the trapps where literally hundreds of strangers will stomp by them all day, and you will be off the ground not next to them consoling them, then consider what will be the outcome if your dog does something that "he never does"

cragman2 wrote: It would be a real shame if a dog gets put down because of a bad owner. Should put the owner down and send the dog to someone who can train it and be responsible. I have 2 dogs. One is fine around people, the other somewhat unpredictable. I am aware of this and do not put bthe dog in situations where he might be an annoyance or, worse, bite someone. He has been trained but I still just don't take him climbing or leave him unattended.

Lest anyone think I'm a lunatic, I was not serious about "putting the owner down".

Seriously though, it is truly tragic if an animal dies because they are dependent on an irresponsible idiot owner to not put them in a situation where they might behave badly.

cragman2 wrote: Lest anyone think I'm a lunatic, I was not serious about "putting the owner down". Seriously though, it is truly tragic if an animal dies because they are dependent on an irresponsible idiot owner to not put them in a situation where they might behave badly.

I dunno, I've always viewed dog attacks as attacks perpetrated by the owner, deliberate or otherwise, and controlled my dogs accordingly. The gist of the outlook is this: dogs can and will start fights for you. If you are not prepared to finish a fight, then you need to make sure that the dog doesn't start any.

Doesn't mean I'm gonna start punching people if their dog bites me, but I can't be that surprised if I get punched if my dog bites somebody.

Rob D. wrote:... I've been there when a person was hospitalized because of a dog going for their face while they were sitting down, eating lunch. The owner was climbing and when they came down they swore up and down that "he never does anything like that!" If you're going somewhere that you can assure yourself even if your dog snaps and goes berserk, they won't hurt you, then go for it. If you are bringing them to the trapps where literally hundreds of strangers will stomp by them all day, and you will be off the ground not next to them consoling them, then consider what will be the outcome if your dog does something that "he never does"

I see a lot of aggression from larger dogs aimed at my smaller dog (Louie). It doesn't surprise me that the same aggression sometimes carries over into aggression towards people. I'd say a small part of the time it's a rescue dog, possibly in the middle of doggie rehab. In a couple cases I struck up a conversation to only confirm this (can usually tell by the corrective technique being employed by the owner). These owners are always attentive and responsible, knowing their dogs are still unpredictable/poorly mannered.

However, much of the time the owner acts like their dog's a menace and apply their "it's never worked but I keep doing it" techniques.