Traveling Companions

[Goatboy]

Hello All,
Don't know if this has been done before, but I couldn't find a similar post on the site. Just wondered what Non-human companions we took away with us.
This is my mutt Snoop, a six year old large Jack Russell (about the size of a cocker spaniel).
He carries his own gear, can help catch food... Rabbits, hares and ducks a speciality, keeps me warm in the shelter at night and is great company. He also lets me know when something/someone is near by.
He's also something of an icebreaker when you meet people out on the trail, as some folk still see a lone wanderer with out " conventional" gear as a little strange.
Would be good to see who your non-human "mooching" chums are? Ferrets, cats there must be a few strange ones out there?
Cheers
Goatboy.

 

[Goatboy]

Opps my pic didn't work, will try to figure it out
Goatboy.

 

[British Red]

 

[Goatboy]

Hey British Red,
Thanks very much for doing that , still getting to grips with the operating procedures here. It's one of the things I do love about 99% of bushcraft folk is that by their nature they tend to be good folk who're always prepared to help.
Thanks again.
Goatboy.

 

[Air Pirate]

We have our little SPCA mutt Ruby. We call her a Foxyote, but we're pretty sure she's a German Sheppard mix of some kind.

She stays close to camp, follows the kids around to keep an eye on them, and on hikes, wanders just far enough ahead of us to keep us in sight. Overall a great camping dog.

 

[Goatboy]

Hey Air Pirate,
She looks a cool wee dog and just right for out playing in the woods, plus with that colouring she'd likely make an excellent trolling dog if you were going hungry. Not that it's often done these days.
Cheers
Goatboy.

 

[Wayland]

Skadi and I get around a fair bit.

She's getting a bit old now but she can still leave me standing if she's a mind to.

 

[GlenM]

Here's my two Killer's , Mother and daughter, Obviously with better things to look at than some sad bloke pointing a camera at them !

 

[GlenM]

Of course, What i failed to say was that my travelling companions are completely invisable!
At least untill i get my son to help me find them.... :

There you are

 

[Goatboy]

Cheers everyone for posting so far ( my first thread),
lols to Glen, I'm having a few we probs with controls here too.
So far we seem to have wee compact multi-purpose dogs that do everything. Must say I fancy trying to cross breed my Jack with a Basenji to see what sort of worker I'd get. But in the end he may be a worker but he's my best buddy first.
Skadi looks like she could be quite a character when she wants to be, nice face.
My old dog was a wolfhound who had a tragically short life. But what a worker, kept the freezers very full, and yet this twelve stone flow machine could pick brambles without damaging them and loved kids. (Huge amount of space in the tent though.)
Thanks
Goatboy.

 

[Mesquite]

Here's Sam.... 16 weeks old so still learning what's out in the woods but he's learning fast

 

[Wayland]

Snip>
Skadi looks like she could be quite a character when she wants to be, nice face.
<Snip

Aye she's certainly a character.

She's a rescue so we don't know how old she really is but she's definitely in her teens.

Lately she's been a bit unpredictable off the lead and a couple of times she's run off on her own up on the moor and turned up later at home. No mean feat as she's got no road sense and there are a couple of major roads to cross in between.

It's a bit worrying really.

 

[drewdunnrespect]

dont have one but would love a gray hound pup really would

 

[irishlostboy]

lol. i take a bear into the woods with me. always.

he even has his own facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2473&id=1519073567&l=055b44efe9

why are you all looking at me like that?/???..........

 

[climberslacker]

I added Mistur Brown as a friend (sent him a message too)

 

[Chinkapin]

I used to take a dog with me most of the time. I have quit. More and more I have became interested in observing wildlife and when you take a dog, quite frankly, the only wildlife you are going to see is that which your dog scares and runs off.

I know some people don't take a dog with them because people they meet on the trail don't like the dog or the dog poop. In the places that I go, they are so remote, it would be a great rarity to see anyone. So, that is just not a factor.

Dogs can be great company and a comfort to a lone camper who might be camping in a really remote place that leaves them a little uneasy.

The last time I went on a hike with someone who had a dog, (they had 3) it really became unpleasant. The dogs were constantly running ahead, barking and chasing everything they saw, then returning, soaking wet, smelly, and ill-behaved. None of the three seemed to have ever heard a command, let alone learned one. Where's Barbara Woodhouse, when you need her? (Do I have that name right, Its been along time???)

I'm not anti-dog, I have a yellow lab, and take him for walks regularly, but I have just evolved away from dogs in the woods.

I'm sure this will start a dog lovers vs dog haters controversy, and I would be hanged in effigy (except no one knows what I look like) LOL.

 

[Bravo4]

Where's Barbara Woodhouse, when you need her?

Walkies! I remember that show. What was it, there are no bad dogs. Plenty of bad owners though. I love a smart trail dog, Foxyote sure has the look of one, reminds me of a dog named "Move-it". We used to ride mountain bikes every Sunday out of a rural village where no dog has ever seen a leash. One day there is this dog sitting at the trailhead and he starts following us up into the hills. Week after week he would join us, never chased game, all that was required was the command "move-it" and he would step aside and let you pass him on the narrow trails.

"Sonny" was just about the best trail dog ever. He absolutely could not resist rolling himself in the freshest, largest turd he could find, usually horse. I mean completly covered in it. We could not keep him from doing this, or chasing wildlife which sometimes would be a rattlesnake but more often a rabbit. Other than that, Sonny knew what you wanted without a word being spoken, just a look and Sonny knew.

I've been bitten by dogs a couple of times out on the trails. I blame the owners who funny enough are never in the least bit apologetic. Some dogs require a 'job' and don't make good pets for doting owners.

Just a couple of years back a man was shot and killed out in the mountains, his dogs attacked another man who pulled out his gun to shoot the dogs. The dog owner pulled his gun and that was that. Pointless. Absolutely pointless. I love New Mex but it can be a little too much like the old west sometimes. Sorry to bring the thread down with bummer story, but it happens.

I read a really interesting book called "Goatwalking, A Guide to Wildland Living" by an old timer named Jim Corbett. Back in the 1980's he smuggled Central American refugees through the Sonoran desert along what was at the time an 'underground railroad' of sorts (lots of chaos down C.A. back in the 80's). He was in his seventies at the time, I believe. Part of the book deals with practical aspects of desert survival and part deals with why people took to the deserts of the world in the first place, and why they took goats. One of his stories tells about when he took an old dog of his out into the desert to put him down. He loved the dog too much to let a stranger do it. Very moving piece. Excellent book.
http://www.amazon.com/Goatwalking-Wildland-Living-Jim-Corbett/dp/0670828467

A good horse, now that would be cool. Hey traderran, how bout' a photo of that 6-horse pack train toting all that yummy food?

 

[treadlightly]

Would like to post but can't work out how to include a pic. Any advice for a techno-retard?

 

[calibanzwei]

Would like to post but can't work out how to include a pic. Any advice for a techno-retard?

Ask, and you'll receive:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13734

 

[treadlightly]

Ask, and you'll receive:
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13734

Thanks. God it sounds complicated. i reckon trial and error is the only way...