People with well behaved crag dogs, what training did you do?

I recently adopted a pup. So far we have gone bouldering and I have been teaching her with relative ease that she should not be on the bouldering pads. If she gets on them I encourage her to get off and reward her once she does, she quickly stopped going onto the pads, what a good pup and eventually a safer crag dog. I suspect it will be just us two for a while or me taking her while I do not climb so I can focus on training her. 

What kinds of things have you trained into/out of your dog(s) to keep them safe and from being a nuisance to others at the crag? 

Thanks for bringing this subject up. It's been a few weeks since we hashed this out. I'm sure we'll get a whole new batch of fresh ideas.

As your first post on Mountain Project, you picked a doozie!

Are you a bot?

Take up running. A tired pup is more typically a well behaved pup. My wife and I would always try and get the dogs (3 husky/malamutes the past 20 years in our case) out for some miles before going climbing.  Going out for a session of climbing typically isn’t sufficient exercise for a non elder dog  

Know that not every climbing area is suitable for dogs.

climb at low traffic venues 

Leash train. Tie them on a short leash without barking/whining/generally freaking out.  Learn to anchor them to trees/rocks in the shade

Teach them to be well socialized around kids/adults/dogs.

FrankPS wrote:

Thanks for bringing this subject up. It's been a few weeks since we hashed this out. I'm sure we'll get a whole new batch of fresh ideas.

As your first post on Mountain Project, you picked a doozie!

Are you a bot?

Do you always respond to bots? Or do you enjoy repeating yourself too? 

This is a nice, potentially productive way to approach an issue that has been pounded flat beyond all recognition. This issue is at least as much about training the owner as it is about training the dog. In addition to Andrew's suggestions:

Bring a nesting spot (i.e. blanket) for the pup, so the pad is of less interest, and they have a 'safe' place.

Train her to not be food stressed, so she isn't desperately seeking food from other people's stuff.

If you aren't able to make sufficient headway with training her to be no-impact to others, be prepared to recognized this, and leave her home.

And please...pack out the crap, no matter where you climb. (And don't leave a poop bag behind.)

I’ll add to this. In addition to pads, please teach your pup to stay off ropes.

I don’t mind a well behaved pup at the crag. I leave my untrained, psychotic, furry friends at home. That being said, I want to fight people when I’m trying to belay and their dog runs up and stands on the rope.  

Joshua Singer wrote:

Do you always respond to bots? Or do you enjoy repeating yourself too? 

Yes and yes. Hey. I just repeated myself!

Consider paying for an actual dog trainer.

While I don’t have a dog, I have certainly interacted with many crag dogs, well-behaved and otherwise, and I feel like my judgement is not clouded in this case, because it’s not MY dog’s behavior.

Case in point, friends of mine had two dogs when they started climbing. The first attempt to bring the dogs to the crag was an unqualified disaster. Leaving them home the weekend wasn’t a feasible option, given the frequency of the climbing trips they wanted.

They took the dogs to training for 6 months, and, of course, followed up by reinforcing the things they learned during training. Those dogs became the dream crag dogs. They have passed from old age now, and have been replaced with new pups who are also well-trained. 

Interesting way to frame the question, and I applaud your good intentions. 

In navigating the feedback, how do you plan to differentiate the 2 or 3 people with well-behaved dogs from the 100 or so folks who sincerely believe they have such pets?

Without super-human powers of discernment, you're better off listening to folks like Lena who DON'T have dogs. My advice: stick to bouldering, where your pup's whines and barks won't be audible, what with all the portable speakers and Ondra-impersonators.

I got a Labrador.

Also, I trained myself to leave her at home when I go climbing, unless someone will be available at the base of a 1 pitch crag to hang with her. 

• Get em hella stoned!

Bring a "nest" for them, so they don't excavate their own, digging is a hard one to undo. 

Pease keep them leashed. Even if your pup is one who will stay put, you just can't guarantee that. I've seen several poor pups running in terror on the road, at City, when storms blew up out of nowhere, and other poor pooches just....wandering along. Looking very lost and forlorn. 

It's a lot like mitigating outcomes for climbing. Sure, it may be a small probability event....but it could have very high consequences. There was an entire full sized HORSE that they couldn't find, for MONTHS, a few years back!

Also? 

At COR, it's the rule. Dogs leashed at all times.

And, if a big chunk of a rangers time is spent telling people that? 10,000 times a season?

The easiest answer is just....no dogs outside of camp. Period.

So? 

Self police, but also gently talk to other people at places like COR, including nonclimbers. Phrase it that way, too, that the powers that be could easily not allow dogs. It costs money from the budget, after all. 

Honestly?

I've met soooo many great pups at the crag, that my pack often has doggy treats in it!

I hope you and your friend(s) have many many happy years together!

Helen

Edit to add, just one dog, just one time, sure, it might be totally fine. But multiply that one exception by everyone else? Yeah...not sustainable.

I’m training mine to find the goodies deeper in the packs

Step one is: Choose the right breed or mix.  There are lots of great breeds and breed mixes that are capable of staying calm in situations where there are other people around. There are only a few that you have to actively avoid.

Step two is:  Understand that if you are cool, your dog will be cool.  Your dog mirrors your behavior.  A lot of your behavior in this context means how you train and relate to them. If you always use positive reinforcement rather than penalization as the basis for training, your dog will be much less likely to be a problem.  A positively oriented and trained dog will always want to do what you want without anxiety or charged, hostile reactions to new situations, including being introduced to situations with more people around than normal.  

Step three is:  Don't cave under weird pressure from a-holes who think that your dog shouldn't eat the food they leave lying out on the ground beside their packs.  You need your dog to be 100% safe to leave around people or kids, in that it will never growl or bite at them, no matter what.  You don't need your dog to learn some bizarre lesson in not eating food that is our on the ground – which is where they normally get it.  

Thanks ya'll for your feedback so far.

What do people think about burying dog poop like you do your own? Should it always be packed out and how do you make this convenient for yourself so that you do not make excuses allowing you to fail to pack it out?  

Dog Owner wrote:

Thanks ya'll for your feedback so far.

What do people think about burying dog poop like you do your own? Should it always be packed out and how do you make this convenient for yourself so that you do not make excuses allowing you to fail to pack it out?  

I hope you are not burying your poop at climbing areas! That is what wag bags are for. We resolved that issue in climbing like 20 years ago. And the same goes for dog poop. Just put it in a bag and tie it to the outside of your pack. No excuses allowed.

Dog Owner wrote:

Thanks ya'll for your feedback so far.

What do people think about burying dog poop like you do your own? Should it always be packed out and how do you make this convenient for yourself so that you do not make excuses allowing you to fail to pack it out?  

Google "Mud falcon." 

Adam Brink wrote:

I hope you are not burying your poop at climbing areas! That is what wag bags are for. We resolved that issue in climbing like 20 years ago. And the same goes for dog poop. Just put it in a bag and tie it to the outside of your pack. No excuses allowed.

This.
Please.

It's also the luck of the draw. Some dogs are naturally chill and others are born apinta and will never be chill no matter how much training is done. Just like people. 

enroll in local dog obedience school complete all the levels

choose clicker or treats for training method

hire a private dog trainer and bring them into your home to observe what u say and do and how u go about interacting with your dog

ie be the pack leader at all times

Dog Owner wrote:

What kinds of things have you trained into/out of your dog(s) to keep them safe and from being a nuisance to others at the crag? 

I train my dogs to not tear up the house when I'm gone. Then they stay at home while I'm at the crag, or a crowded trail, or the store, or eating out. Safety and not being a nuisance are thus assured.