Dog friendly 14ers

Info on gear, conditioning, and preparation for hiking/climbing.
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Missy_Goat
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by Missy_Goat »

The major thing to consider with longer hikes is dehydration and altitude sickness. One of ours got altitude sickness on the way down from Pikes last summer. That was his official last peak, and we retired him. He is big, lazy, and snuggley now :wink:

You just have to be willing to stop when your dog does, and know when to stop pushing them. When you hike or climb with your pup, they are your top priority. Our other one is a bit more hearty and is climbing Handies with us this next weeked \:D/
It is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves - Edmund Hillary
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Canadian in Colorado
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by Canadian in Colorado »

mountainmicah83 wrote:You will always get someone telling you not to take them under a year old because they can damage their ligaments and such but the main rule of thumb is start them small.
I couldn't disagree more. The best thing to do is to make sure your dog is fully developed before hiking them. I would wait for 1 year with any dog but, especially with large breeds. They haven't fully developed and this could cause damage for them later on in life. We have a 100lb Lab/Great Pyranese mix and we didn't take him hiking until he was over a year. Even now we stick to easier 5 or 6 mile hikes with him. I want him to be happy and pain free for as long as he can be...so in my opinion it's not worth pushing it with him.
If you're lucky enough to live in the mountains...you're lucky enough.
natbug72
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by natbug72 »

I have taken my 30lb vizsla up all the following 14ers with me:
Grays/torreys, democrate, lincoln, bross, sunshine, redcloud, Bierdstat, Evans, Elbert, massive, pikes peak, Sherman, quandary and Yale. Yale was the only one where I had to leave her at the saddle with a friend due to the loose rock and scrambling towards the top. I think any of these hikes should be fine for your dog provided you know your dogs limitations and bring plenty of water and food for him. My dog has been my only companion on many of my 14ers and she makes a wonderful hiking partner :)
Enjoy!
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4EVA215
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by 4EVA215 »

I have a 100 lb goldendoodle. He's big and doofy. He wears a backpack when we hike full of his food and a bowl. I hold his water. He seems to love the hikes, except when the rocks are loose and unsteady.

We've hiked Bierstadt (3x), Evans, Greys/Torrey, Princeton and Yale so far.

At Princeton and Yale, I didn't bring him to summit. On Princeton and Yale, my dog was whimpered on the rocks, so we stayed below. A friends dog who was about 50 lbs and a mut was loving it.

Because my dog's paws are so big, I suppose he's not as nimble when navigating the rocks. When I hear the first whimper, I turn around. Then, again, my dog is a puss and whimpers when no one is petting him.. He was just as happy to lay in a snow bank like a polar bear.

As for when to start him .. I brought him to Evans when he was a young pup (3-4 months?). I drove a friend up/down to ski it and I hung out at the lot and the car with Birmy as he got use to snow and altitude. Image

As he got older, we took hikes around Denver. He didn't do his 1st 14er until he was about 1.5 years old.

It's really your judgment call. this is what worked for me.
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Missy_Goat
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by Missy_Goat »

Eva, I feel your pain!! We have a great dane, and large breed mix.

The Mix, Booda, does very well, but has large paws and gets pretty unstable on bigger and looser rocks. He pussed out on Humbolt about 500 feet shy of the summit....mean while a Bernese mountain dog named Guinness made it all the way. Our dane, Copper, has four 14ers under his belt, but is now officially retired at the age of 5! He was SUCH a clutz on his first one! He tackled that around age 1.5 as well.
It is not the mountains we conquer, but ourselves - Edmund Hillary
georgiaccarr
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by georgiaccarr »

My pup was 8 months old when he climbed Quandry Peak. He ran up a few hundred feet, stopped & waited for me, then continued to the top like that. Of course he was pooped on the way back to Denver...after his nap he spent the evening sprinting circles around the yard with another puppy in Denver for a few hours. I don't think any harm was done.
onebyone
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by onebyone »

natbug72 wrote:I have taken my 30lb vizsla up all the following 14ers with me:
Grays/torreys, democrate, lincoln, bross, sunshine, redcloud, Bierdstat, Evans, Elbert, massive, pikes peak, Sherman, quandary and Yale. Yale was the only one where I had to leave her at the saddle with a friend due to the loose rock and scrambling towards the top. I think any of these hikes should be fine for your dog provided you know your dogs limitations and bring plenty of water and food for him. My dog has been my only companion on many of my 14ers and she makes a wonderful hiking partner :)
Enjoy!

Vizslas are insane. They can go forever it seems.
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paul109876
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by paul109876 »

Vaca dogs.jpg
My wife and I brought our dogs with us from Indiana this trip. They are just over a year old and I was very concerned about the altitude.
We stayed in Salida as our base for about 12 days. After about 4 days I started taking my dogs a little higher and after a week took them to Monarch pass. They seemed to be fine. following their noses and acting just like they do in Indiana.
I'd be a little concerned taking them on a 14er just because I do not know how they feel. They do love the outdoors and love their walks.

We are coming back in Late August and bringing them with us again. This time we will take some long walks maybe on Evans or Loveland Pass to see how they do.
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peter303
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by peter303 »

Minimal summit rock is easier on paws. The final 700 feet of the Pikes Crags trail is all rock. You could try booties. Or several progressive conditioning hikes on rock to build paw strength and rock skills.

Or look for 14ers that are mostly tundra to the summit like Handies and Elbert.

Trails with streams help on hot summer days. Like Harvard and Yale.
peter303
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by peter303 »

Horton The Hiking Hound is alleged to have climbed Quandry at least a thousand times. He lived in one of those homes at the base and would tag along with some hiking group every day.
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BuckTurgidson
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Re: Dog friendly 14ers

Post by BuckTurgidson »

onebyone wrote:
natbug72 wrote:I have taken my 30lb vizsla up all the following 14ers with me:
Grays/torreys, democrate, lincoln, bross, sunshine, redcloud, Bierdstat, Evans, Elbert, massive, pikes peak, Sherman, quandary and Yale. Yale was the only one where I had to leave her at the saddle with a friend due to the loose rock and scrambling towards the top. I think any of these hikes should be fine for your dog provided you know your dogs limitations and bring plenty of water and food for him. My dog has been my only companion on many of my 14ers and she makes a wonderful hiking partner :)
Enjoy!

Vizslas are insane. They can go forever it seems.
Tell me about it. Mine is 3 years old and 55 lbs. We keep him on leash, but we did let him off leash on a hike (all below treeline) near Lake City once. He literally ran circles around us at full speed for 6 hours. He was a bit tired afterwards.

He's climbed Handies 3 times, Uncompahgre, Pikes....

I have slowly come around to thinking that dogs are too much of a distraction, though. Besides my two kids, the're just one more thing I need to worry about on a climb.