What is the best bushcrafting dog?
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Interesting thread.
If a am to sum it up the desired traits of a bushcraft dog are to be able to feed you, carry your load or just be a good companion.
I would like to add that it should be able to "rough it" as much as you choose to do so it doesn't limit your activities.
Here's a great old pic of a real bushcraft dog!
These are my companions.
They can rough it much more than I but they to are a bit fed up with the rain...
If a am to sum it up the desired traits of a bushcraft dog are to be able to feed you, carry your load or just be a good companion.
I would like to add that it should be able to "rough it" as much as you choose to do so it doesn't limit your activities.
Here's a great old pic of a real bushcraft dog!
These are my companions.
They can rough it much more than I but they to are a bit fed up with the rain...
My bush dogs are German Shepard and Shepard/Husky Cross dogs they are all about 90lbs. I have 6 I use 3 to pull my sled. my female is a German Shepard she is lead and a Search and Rescue dog. they do well in cold temperatures and don't run off with the sled. short coat dogs would not do well here. Husky are nice but have a tendency to wander off. I have taught all my dogs to sleep close to me during the night for warmth and to keep them from getting into trouble with wolves and moose. We use a home made sled and i ski behind and act as a break. I can travel a good distance like this in a day. My last trip on January 1 to 3rd we did 35km in 4 hours and they have been known to run 30km/hr with all our gear but generally trot at 10 to 15km/hr once they calm down.
most people don't spend enough time training for obedience a well trained dog is an asset a poorly trained dog is a liability. Spend time to train the dog to not chase or bark at wildlife. If your dog does some thing bad roll up a news paper and hit your self in the head it is your fault for not training properly.
A good tracking dog can follow game, people and find lost items better and faster then any person. 1 trained SAR dog can replace 50 trained searchers.
most people don't spend enough time training for obedience a well trained dog is an asset a poorly trained dog is a liability. Spend time to train the dog to not chase or bark at wildlife. If your dog does some thing bad roll up a news paper and hit your self in the head it is your fault for not training properly.
A good tracking dog can follow game, people and find lost items better and faster then any person. 1 trained SAR dog can replace 50 trained searchers.
border terriers, i have two and when we camp out they just get on with things, afraid of nothing and completely weather proof. let them off the lead and you'll hear them at the other end of the woods while i cook tea on the campfire, and happily they do as they're told (most of the time).
Train them... long down and stays then add distractions. I can call my dogs in to the hammock but is it a little crowed, it is nice to sit and swing. I would get a double coat dog as they tend to be a little sturdier and don't get cut up bush as bad.
Dangerous Dogs hmmm well some of it is due to bad breading but most of it comes down to training. My GSD is bad with strange dogs but now only barks and acts a bit crazy.. She was chained for the first 6months of her life till i rescued her. She was attacked a few times on the chain at a critical period. She is very safe with people and if fine with most dogs if i introduce her. She is a working dog with high prey drive and very dominate. We have a pit bull ban here so the morons now get mastiffs.... we should ban owners not dogs...
we have a lot of gangs here but they are scared of my dogs because i can walk them off lease in a perfect heal and they think they are Personal protection dogs. I am sure if i got in a scuffle they would join in but other wise they love people. I notice that a few people have problems with dogs running off and ignore calls..
here are a few hints
never use the dogs name when scolding your dog.
play hide and seek with your dog. if it goes out of site hide and reward your dog with a big play session when they find you make it easy at first.
Practice calling your dog and reward it with a big play session.... I use a toy not food.
if the dog is running away call them and run the other way... play with them when the catch you.
always stop at the peek of excitement this will make them look forward to the next session.
Never hit you dog... hit your self for being a stupid human.
train with a long leash so they cant run off at first 10m is a good length.
add distractions as they progress like food people other dogs.
your dog should not pull you with a leash but be at heal this is for there safety and yours.
we have a lot of gangs here but they are scared of my dogs because i can walk them off lease in a perfect heal and they think they are Personal protection dogs. I am sure if i got in a scuffle they would join in but other wise they love people. I notice that a few people have problems with dogs running off and ignore calls..
here are a few hints
never use the dogs name when scolding your dog.
play hide and seek with your dog. if it goes out of site hide and reward your dog with a big play session when they find you make it easy at first.
Practice calling your dog and reward it with a big play session.... I use a toy not food.
if the dog is running away call them and run the other way... play with them when the catch you.
always stop at the peek of excitement this will make them look forward to the next session.
Never hit you dog... hit your self for being a stupid human.
train with a long leash so they cant run off at first 10m is a good length.
add distractions as they progress like food people other dogs.
your dog should not pull you with a leash but be at heal this is for there safety and yours.
just bought a patterdale comes from good working strain only 12 weeks old ,cant wait to get all its jabs done and train him to camp out with me also going to smoke some rats out for him
I revived this old thread to ask this question but I think most people did not see it.
My huskies are spoiled and if in a tent they sleep in it with me but otherwise I tether them, either to a "stake out" line which is a wire strung between two trees and with short lengths of swiveling chain at intervals, one for each dog.
This is good but heavy and more often I use a 3m long wire with a ring on one end and a carabiner on the other, one for each dog.
It is important that it is
- strong enough to hold if your dog tryes to get att a passing deer
- thick or stiff enough to not be able to wrap tightly around the dogs leg, constricting it
- short enough that the dog doesn't tangle itself
- long enough so that the dog is comfortable
1,5 m is a good length but you may need the extra length to be able to fasten it around a large boulder when there are no trees around. If you do have a tree you can just wrap it several turns around the trunk.
Note that keping a dog on a static teather is illegal in Sweden for all but polarbreeds on a temporary stay away from home.
Your national laws may be different.
In summer on dry ground the dogs are OK but if wet or in winter they need something to lay on.
I usually have a thin thermalpad, for me on short breaks and for the dogs at night when I use my Thermarest.
This also helps to protect the bottom of the tent from claw punctures.
Am I making any sense?
This is good but heavy and more often I use a 3m long wire with a ring on one end and a carabiner on the other, one for each dog.
It is important that it is
- strong enough to hold if your dog tryes to get att a passing deer
- thick or stiff enough to not be able to wrap tightly around the dogs leg, constricting it
- short enough that the dog doesn't tangle itself
- long enough so that the dog is comfortable
1,5 m is a good length but you may need the extra length to be able to fasten it around a large boulder when there are no trees around. If you do have a tree you can just wrap it several turns around the trunk.
Note that keping a dog on a static teather is illegal in Sweden for all but polarbreeds on a temporary stay away from home.
Your national laws may be different.
In summer on dry ground the dogs are OK but if wet or in winter they need something to lay on.
I usually have a thin thermalpad, for me on short breaks and for the dogs at night when I use my Thermarest.
This also helps to protect the bottom of the tent from claw punctures.
Am I making any sense?
i have two slightly unhinged border terriers, when camping in the woods at our local haunt they are never on a lead or line but it has a lot to do with there being 20 odd acres. the best bit of advice i was ever given was - ignore half of what the vet tells you regarding puppies i.e. first jabs and get them out, find some long grass and leg it from your pup.
keep them off their lead as much as possible.
never follow your dog, thats the dogs job.
socialise them without interferance, 99% of the time its noisy but rarely life threatening.
mine generally wander but come back regular to check we haven't run away!
and if you can train them to recall on a whistle (big bag of treats help) the noise will carry further.
hope this helps.
I would have to say a Border Terrier... i have one called Yogi, who`s 3 years old. Fantastic charactors,loyal,brave and a good worker. Out in the woods he never strays too far as he wants to know where i am and does as he`s told.....most of the time well he is a terrier after all 
.....SQUIRREL !!!!!!!!
.....SQUIRREL !!!!!!!!
You're making a lot of sense except the Summer/Winter thing. My Malamute/Wolf (also an Arctic breed) was the opposite. She was fine in winter cold but suffered terribly in Summer heat. Sub-zero Farenhieght temps meant nothing to her. Tried not to stake her out more than absolutely necessary though. It's legal here but mainly she just couldn't take being away from me. She was totally convinced that being with me was her only reason to exist. Getting her was the best $100 I ever spent. I'd never get another of her breed in this climate though; Just too warm in Florida.
Yes, it all depends on the circumstances.
My huskies are usually ok in the summer but when they have their furcoat and metabolism adjusted to warm weather and we go to the mountains where it may be just a few degrees above freezing and they are soaked with rain, even they need some insulation. Other breeds such as huntingdogs definitely need attention and "Mskiba" was asking specifically about a doberman.
Also many dogsled racers today bring coats for dogs that are especially weak or exausted. Just because they can take "abuse" doesn't mean it is good for them.
Sorry I've taken so long to reply. Yeah, I can see where a sudden change from a warm to a cold climate is undesirable. However when I said "sub-zero temps were nothing to her" I wasn't referring to her ABILITY to take those temperatures but rather she actually PREFFERED them and that was where she thrived. I have never seen any of the dogsled racers use coats for their dogs here (here meaning the US as in Alaska not specifically here in Florida since obviously Fl isn't dogsled territory) The only race I ever watch reports and videos on is the Iditerod so my experience there is limited. Yeah, many breeds, especially Dobermans, are very cold sensitive and wet sensitive. I'm not sure which hunting breeds you're reffering to though. Hounds and most gundogs I can think of might be, especially when wet but breeds like Labs and the retrievers usually have an oily coat that is very water resistant as long as you don't bathe that coat out with soap. My Mal's coat was also dense and oily, It kept her skin completely dry and even flea and tick proof! If I rant on about her (Star was her name) it's because she was such an amazing dog. I got her as a semi-rescue when she was 4 years old and had her company for another 14 years when I finally had to put her down. When my step daughter was pregnant with her first child, Star sensed it and actually dug a den in the back yard! After her son was born, Star insisted on babysitting (the Eskimo and Inuit still use them for this purpose) . She was the healthiest dog I have ever had right up until old age caught up with her at around 15-16 years old. She was totally convinced that her only reason to exist was to be with me. As I said though I had an incident or two here when she nearly had heat stroke (I've seen it happen to other long hair breeds and short muzzle breed here too. Florida is hot and humid in Summer) But she wasn't purebred Malamute either; she was half wolf. That might be part of the acclimitization. Oh, when I say "sub-zero" I'm talking in Farenhiet so it's quite a bit colder than freezing.
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I'd be very tempted to take my cat, particularly if I can teach him to ride on my rucksack. He'll go in a canoe with me, and is a dab hand at catching squirrels and rabbits. His favourite bit is the head, so I wouldn't mind sharing.
C
chopper123
Guest
my old mate loves to be out with me
hes good of the lead but soon as he sees another dog hes gone likes to play
bit skinny i like a chubby dog but vet keeps saying hes all ok
hes good of the lead but soon as he sees another dog hes gone likes to play
bit skinny i like a chubby dog but vet keeps saying hes all ok
Ive a wookie! He opens doors, finds pretty much anything by scent, plays alot, fairly big (36ish kg), fairly fast(only greyhounds and whippets have outpaced him so far and he usually runs em till exhaustion) and for all his youthful playfulness appears to be quite smart. Bit more training and I'll be bringing him out with me proper.
I've just adopted an Alaskan Malamute...he's nearly as big as me, and he's called Stanley
Excellent bushcrafting dog, warm on an evening, and carries his own luggage. He's 1 and...a giant. I'm told I'll have to find him a lot of water in summer though, which is fine being English.
And if you were wondering, a Malamute is like...a slightly bigger husky essentially.
Excellent bushcrafting dog, warm on an evening, and carries his own luggage. He's 1 and...a giant. I'm told I'll have to find him a lot of water in summer though, which is fine being English.
And if you were wondering, a Malamute is like...a slightly bigger husky essentially.
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