“Dogs don’t say, ‘Hey, can we go hike Quandary Peak today?’”— Brandon Ciullo, Summit County Rescue Group member and co-founder of Summit Lost Pet Rescue
“Be your dog’s advocate. Don’t be the reason that they have a bad day.” — John Reller, CSAR director and veteran avalanche dog handler
Many people make mistakes in the backcountry – misjudging the length of a hike, underdressing or under preparing, getting disoriented or lost – even some of our own members have made these mistakes at times throughout our lives. We don’t judge, but we should all remember that our dogs don’t make choices and shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences. Dogs don’t read weather forecasts, study maps, or assess avalanche danger. They just follow in our footsteps, trusting us to make good choices for them.
While many backcountry search and rescue teams in Colorado don’t officially rescue dogs, most teams are full of dog lovers. We know that if we don’t go out for an injured or exhausted dog, we may end up going out for the dog’s injured or exhausted owner later, after an unsuccessful solo rescue attempt. Here are some tips to help make sure none of our volunteer teams have to rescue your dog.
Tips for summer
- Know your dog’s habits, preferences and capabilities. Every dog is different, even if your last dog was the same breed.
- Build your dog’s endurance up gradually, just like you would your own.
- Always carry extra food and plenty of water for your dog on the trail.
- Remember that your dog can’t sweat to cool himself, like you can. Don’t hike with a dog in extreme heat. Should your dog show signs of heat exhaustion, stop frequently in the shade and put cold water on her stomach.
- Protect your dog’s paw pads in scree and boulder fields. Check them frequently and turn back, tape them up or put on booties if you see signs of injury.
- Carry supplies for worst-case scenarios – an emergency dog-carrying harness, tape and/or glue for torn pads, a first aid kit.
- Always bring a leash. Even in areas where dogs are not required to be leashed, you may need it. Should you become injured, someone else, like a friend or a search and rescue responder, may need to bring your pooch back to the trailhead or home. Your dog will want to follow you and you may be going out another way, such as in a litter or a helicopter.
Tips for winter
- Never take your dog into avalanche terrain. It’s simply not fair to your dog. And putting an avalanche transceiver on your dog, unless you have a dog-specific avalanche transmitter and transceiver, is not fair to the people who may be caught in an avalanche with your dog (including you!)
- Train your dog to stay away from sharp ski edges, which can slice a leg or a paw.
- Recognize that variable snow conditions can cause injury to a running dog. Snow can collapse, or a sudden change in texture can cause the dog to posthole and injure a shoulder or knee.
- Know how much cold your dog can reasonably handle. If you’re cold, your dog is probably cold too. Carry a windbreaker dog coat, just in case.
- Be aware that dogs can suffer frostbite, and a dog coat will not prevent that.
- Use musher’s wax to prevent snow from clumping up in your dog’s paws. Vaseline works too, but won’t last as long. In variable conditions, balls of snow can build up between their paw pads faster, then freeze and rip up their skin. Musher’s wax forms a breathable, dense barrier that protects paw pads from snow and ice.
- In high alpine terrain, consider doggles to protect your dog’s eyes from the sun, especially if your dog has lighter-colored eyes. Strong winds and blowing snow can also injure a dog’s eyes.
Our dogs will follow us anywhere, anytime, always. They don’t question our decisions, tell us they need to rest, or plan how much water to bring. They just continue to follow us loyally until perhaps their paws are bleeding or they collapse in exhaustion. We must be the guardians of their safety if we want to prevent their suffering.