Pets at the Crag - Thoughts/Storytime/Discussion

Sarah Nguyenwrote:

At one point, one of the dogs escapes its harness and this man has his full weight on the dog, straddling it, pinning it down, and yelling at the dog to stop. I am shielding my cat with my body, apologizing profusely to the owner, saying “I’m sorry, I know it’s not common to see a cat out here.” 

Sounds like you had nothing to apologize for in this encounter, since your animal was leashed and under control and theirs weren't. Adopt the fender-bender mentality. 

If I had a nut for every time I've heard "Oh, he's never done that before!", I could aid the Nose in a single pitch.

When the dog in my life visits the crag, there's a third person on dedicated dog-minding duty who keeps her on a leash.

I’m going to go on the side of dogs here and say that dogs are fine at the crag… with some exceptions.  I take mine out all the time, but I avoid super crowded weekends and especially hazardous areas.  And obviously if your dog isn’t friendly to humans or other animals you shouldn’t be taking it anywhere in public off leash.  But if you have a well behaved dog that would never attack another human or animal. Then I see no issue taking it out to areas where it’s not that crowded.  And for those that say “I love my dog but I think dogs should always be left home”,  well I love my dog differently and go far out of my way to make sure I can bring her along in most things I do.  Obviously I have to leave her at home for some things, but an afternoon at the local crag doesn’t hurt anyone. 

seems like i remember reading a story about a pet monkey.............

Some people say I'm prone to exaggeration.   

Merl Berry wrote:

I’m going to go on the side of dogs here and say that dogs are fine at the crag… with some exceptions.  I take mine out all the time, but I avoid super crowded weekends and especially hazardous areas.  And obviously if your dog isn’t friendly to humans or other animals you shouldn’t be taking it anywhere in public off leash.  But if you have a well behaved dog that would never attack another human or animal. Then I see no issue taking it out to areas where it’s not that crowded.  And for those that say “I love my dog but I think dogs should always be left home”,  well I love my dog differently and go far out of my way to make sure I can bring her along in most things I do.  Obviously I have to leave her at home for some things, but an afternoon at the local crag doesn’t hurt anyone. 

Sounds like you have a good idea how to crag and own a dog.  Just remember don't let that love ruin other peoples time. There are places the dog shouldn't be due to popularity or space. 

I have a similar situation, my dog is probably the least intimidating creature in existence. Everything is obsessed with my dog, my dog lives in constant fear. Take my dog on a walk, most other dogs think he is a toy and just lunge at him. Cats always go towards him. Homeless people think he is a stuffed animal. Humans, humans think he is the cutest thing they have ever seen. So I rarely bring him to the crag, because he just draws way too much attention. 

@cragcat I've wrestled with this since I got my cat two years ago. I've always wanted a trail cat and I've always wanted to enjoy the outdoors with my cat. When thinking of making my cat a "crag cat", it came down to my ability to give it attention/ protection when needed at all times. He is my responsibility and I am bringing him into this unknown environment that has potential dangers. Yes I know cats can protect themselves, but there are so many things I can't foresee or know that what may happen. That being said, when roped climbing there are times that I would not be able to be attentive to my cat because I am either climbing or belaying my climber. This point was the line for me to not take my cat out to crags, I can't control what other animals, people, or objects may do. I can control how much attention I can devote to my cat, and if in those brief times I have to give my attention to the climb or my partner I have to be okay with the potential outcome of me not being able to protect my cat. I am personally not okay with that outcome, and the situation that happened to you is my worst fear to happen to my companion. So I stick to walking and hiking with my bud, so that if I need to stop and pick him up or stop what I'm doing to focus on the cat, I can. 

I'm not making a point for or against animals at the crag, just what my thoughts are on taking my best bud to the great outdoors! Anything can happen out there, and I'd feel awful if I was belaying and had to watch my cat get loose or attacked and I'm powerless to help. 

I love dogs.  If your dog is friendly and well behaved, and you are a responsible owner, I am fine with dogs at crags.  Not really a cat person, but same rules apply.

Princess Puppy Lovrwrote:

So I rarely bring him to the crag, because he just draws way too much attention. 

I must have misjudged you, I thought attention is all you crave.

Zack Clarkewrote:

My friend just got bit out at Patricia Bowl last weekend. Luckily it wasn’t bad. Please leave your dog at home, especially if they are unfriendly. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard “they’ve never done that before” I’d be a rich man. 

How's the snow / if any? Been wondering if it's too early to go there or not

Did this incident happen to occur in riggins Idaho?

Merl Berrywrote:

I’m going to go on the side of dogs here and say that dogs are fine at the crag… with some exceptions.  I take mine out all the time, but I avoid super crowded weekends and especially hazardous areas.  And obviously if your dog isn’t friendly to humans or other animals you shouldn’t be taking it anywhere in public off leash.  But if you have a well behaved dog that would never attack another human or animal. Then I see no issue taking it out to areas where it’s not that crowded.  And for those that say “I love my dog but I think dogs should always be left home”,  well I love my dog differently and go far out of my way to make sure I can bring her along in most things I do.  Obviously I have to leave her at home for some things, but an afternoon at the local crag doesn’t hurt anyone. 

This is my favorite take. It really is all about the situation. Is bringing your dog out to a crowded crag really good for anyone but you? I love my husky, but as a climber, I probably should have never gotten him. He is a lot to take anywhere, especially a climbing area. I think the real issue with dogs in climbing areas are the people who expect to bring their (typically) big dogs out and think because "it's the woods" they can let them off leash and go be dogs, because everyone's dog is "such a good boy/girl". As someone who almost exclusively climbs alone and has nobody to watch the ol doggo, I base my climbing trips around my dog, not the other way around. Uncrowded/empty cliffs is what I look for anyway for TRS/LRS, and then I just look for cooler weekdays so he's not unnecessarily stressed. Even then I still am constantly worried about other people/animals and don't climb anything that requires I go outside of his vision for more than a couple seconds, and I keep him leashed. Does that limit my climbing significantly? Always, but I'm the one with the dog. I feel like a bit of conscientiousness goes a long way. 

As a dog owner, we should be the one's going out of our way to accommodate our dogs and our fellow climbers. Not the other way around. If you can, leave them at home. If you can't, don't expect to push grades and hit the classics. 

my big concern with bringing cats outside of their territory is the cat either getting chased by a dog and lost or simply going hunting and getting lost.  cats are all about territory.  If they are left home alone its no big deal because thats their turf and they feel safe there. Put them in strange territory and all bets are off.

Love the  doggos - even at the crag, despite the fact that I dont have one. The problem usually lies with the people who own them. Since a few bad actors cant take responsibility for their pets, they have ruined it for others who do actually take the time to train them. 

dogs are just like people . some play well with other children and some don't. The problem lies in the fact that people are so in love with their dogs that they are blind to the fact that Nobody else loves their dog like they do.  And saying he usually dosent do that is a load of BS. 

I love crag dogs, so it’s a bummer there’s so much negativity about it. I have two dogs, and don’t bring my disruptive dog to crags (although I did make that mistake once—sorry)… and I also love cats, so would try my best to be mindful of yours if I had my dog and ran into you, I would definitely put her on leash if I knew your cat was there…but also I think (my opinion) generally speaking, cats are happier at home and dogs are better set up to be away from the house. 

cats safest in their own den. Dogs want to be with the pack.   I love Bernie the Wonder dog but I am well aware that he is not always welcome. we were in a remote camping spot a few weeks ago and with the Bern but there just happened to two other parties camping out there.   One party was super cool with Bern. The other party obviously didn't want him in their business. We didn't sleep much  mostly because we were worried that Bern would hear a critter in the night and bark waking everyone else up. he slep like a log snoring and farting while I tossed and turned and worried. the next morning while we were on our morning walk  we thought we were far enough away from camp to have Bern off  leash  so naturally he went dashing and barking into the bushes. He came back out and a few min later a disheveled climber with a trowel and a roll of TP in his hand  emerged from the bushes.   bern was perfect while we climbed but we were limited in our objectives because of him. Later in the afternoon while walking on the 4th class rd 6 miles from pavement  a jeep came by. Isa grabbed his collar while the jeep passed us and then decided it was time to do some training. With the jeep about 200m down the track she said Stay and let go of the collar. Bern was gone in a flash. The jeep sped up but not fast enough to discourage Bern so he ran a good half mile down the road before giving up. that caused us both a whole bunch of stress but the best dog in the whole world came trotting back wondering why he was in trouble... 

We are No longer free. Not even close. 

Every min of every day we are responsible for that bundle of Fur. My cat on the other hand is pretty much self sufficient as long as He gets to live at the cabin. I am planning to move so now even the cat is huge factor in how the move will pan out as I have a responsibility to keep him safe and happy as well.

I often wonder how honest folks are with their assement of their dogs impact on other people... I know I am embarrassed  quite often.  Then I remember the chick with the mirrored sun glasses in Jackson Hole who blissfully looked the other way pretending not to notice while her German Shepard dropped a steaming duce right next to the outdoor dining area of a coffe shop....  Literally in the middle of their entrance way.. Nothing to see here..   Fck It! My dog is the best dog in the whole world and if you don't like him you are a bad person. 

Nick Goldsmithwrote:

We are No longer free. Not even close. 

Nicely said. I totally get that everyone wants to think the lady with the doorway shitting dog is the "real" problem. And obviously she is a problem. But it takes some legit self reflection to realize that even a dog as wonderful as Bern is still nowhere near a well-trained dog and has no business at/near a crag. Good on ya for realizing that, and good luck with the training (or whatever tack you take)!

I lock my doors downtown, I latch my bear box in Yosemite, and I don’t bring cats where I know there will be a ton of off leash dogs.

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Is a cat at the crag really a thing? I thought the point of having a cat was so that you can leave it at home with a box of sand, tray of water and food and go have fun without it for a week!