Poll: Whats your opinion on dogs at the crag?

Children should not be allowed in public off leash.

Off-leash dogs are fine if they are not aggressive.

Bring em to the crag! The more the merrier. However, understand a few things:

I will pet your dog at my convenience without asking.

I will feed your dog whatever I eat.

If you're dog bites me, I will kick it until it runs away.

If you're dog bites my dog, I will hit it with blunt object until it runs away.

Don Ferris wrote:Bring em to the crag! The more the merrier. However, understand a few things: I will pet your dog at my convenience without asking. I will feed your dog whatever I eat. If you're dog bites me, I will kick it until it runs away. If you're dog bites my dog, I will hit it with blunt object until it runs away.

+1

Kick the dog? You guys are real bunch of bad asses!

Kick the owner.

Bill Kirby wrote:Kick the dog? You guys are real bunch of bad asses! Kick the owner.

Might be safer to kick the owner. Anyone that kicked my Akita would be in major s--t unless they were heavily armed. Total badass dog...

How many times is this discussion going to take place on MP?

Don Ferris wrote:Bring em to the crag! The more the merrier. However, understand a few things: I will pet your dog at my convenience without asking. I will feed your dog whatever I eat. If you're dog bites me, I will kick it until it runs away. If you're dog bites my dog, I will hit it with blunt object until it runs away.

If you approach dogs with this attitude I'm not surprised you get bitten occasionally.
How would you feel if someone stuck their hand in your face without being invited.

- Ask people if it is OK to approach or pet their dog.

- Do not feed their dogs without being asked (our's gets diarrhea when she eats poultry, it also
encourages them to beg for food.)

- If a dog approaches you, do not adopt confrontational body language or run.

- If a dog looks apprehensive, do not approach

- If a dog is not large enough to do serious harm and it bites or attacks you, do not overreact. Calmy withdrawal.

- If a large dog feints or snaps, calmly withdrawal.

- If a large dog attacks in earnest, fight back in earnest.

- If two dogs get into a fight, know how to separate them
"The safest way to break up a dogfight requires 2 people. Each person grabs the back feet of one of the dogs. The dog back feet are then picked up like a wheelbarrow. With the legs up, both dogs are then pulled apart.

Once the dog fight is broken up and the dogs pulled apart it is critical that the people do not release the dogs or the dog fight will begin again. The two people need to start turning in a circle, or slowly swinging the dogs in a circle while they back away from the other dog. This stops the dog from curling and coming back and biting the person holding their legs."
Beating a dog with a blunt object will only validate its feeling that it's in a threatening situation, and will likely intensify the fight.

Note that out of the many scenarios involving dogs, only one involves any kind of violence on your part. That situation is also quite rare.

powhound84 wrote: Are you saying it's not OK to kick a dog that bites you? Of course, the owner would be the next to deal with me after I'm done with the dog but if I get bit, the beast is gettin it!

Christian said it better than I can.

Come on would you really approach a crag dog like Don wrote?

This is really a unique topic of conversation. I'm glad someone finally decided to talk about this subject.

Bill Kirby wrote: Christian said it better than I can. Come on would you really approach a crag dog like Don wrote?

Generally when a dog bites, growls, etc.. it is because it feels threatened. The best response there is to avoid escalating the situation.

It's certainly OK to defend yourself if necessary.
If a large and dangerous dog sincerely attacks you, you may need to seriously hurt it, and you are in for one hell of a fight. This is (thankfully) very rare.

Is the distinction clear? It's much the same as any other kind of self defense.

Violence in necessary defense of your safety = OK
Violence because you "were provoked" or in response to some perceived transgression = not OK

Dogs suck.

If you need companionship so bad that you're willing to annoy other people and pick up crap with your hands just make a friend or talk to a specialist, don't buy the world's most annoying animal.

"I like my dogs better than I like most people but I don't take them to the crags because I realize not everyone feels the same about them and I know they can be annoying to some folks. Dogs at the crag don't bother me but I try to be considerate of others (unlike smokers)."

-respect

I like well behaved dogs. Some people need to realize their "friendly" dog is not well behaved. A couple of weeks ago I almost got pushed down a steep section along a trail because someone hadn't trained their dog to not jump on strangers. Again, owners fault, but some dogs don't belong on steep terrain.

powhound84 wrote: Not as much shit as your badass dog would be in if he bit me.

I'm not one of those people that thinks it's cool to own a badass dog, but I know my dog and he is a problem. Wish he wasn't so aggressive. Simple, though- I just don't put him in situations where he might get in trouble. For his sake as well as everyone else's.

powhound84 wrote: Not as much shit as your badass dog would be in if he bit me.

yup!

"Kids suck.

If you need companionship so bad that you're willing to annoy other people and pick up crap with your hands just make a friend or talk to a specialist, don't breed the world's most annoying animal."

Ha, touché! But at least my kids will turn into climbing partners while dogs are like annoying babies their whole life, and they can't even go to national parks. I don't take them climbing with other people around either.

Adam Stackhouse wrote: yup!

Wouldn't bite anyone at the crag 'cause I leave him at home where he belongs

I really hate it when people bring these things to the crag:

SO many tough guys who can go around and kick the shite out of doggies! Wow, so bad ass.
Wherever it's legal and convenient, for me, I'll bring my dog. Too bad for you dog haters.

Blake Cash wrote:This is really a unique topic of conversation. I'm glad someone finally decided to talk about this subject.

Yeah, not sure what else we can say that hasn't been said many times before....

I see a lot of Internet talk about out of control dogs at the crag. This is surprising since I've never actually seen it myself. Granted, I'm a new climber so have maybe 200 crag days under my belt. Im wondering if most stories are second hand and people pass them off as their own, which inflates the number of conflicts that we read about. Or maybe I'm just lucky. Or too spaced out when I climb to notice. Never heard a crying baby or a boom box or a drone either.

It makes me feel better to talk about how dumb dogs are, so there's a silver lining