Why I keep my dogs on leashes while hiking.

Safety first.

Tino searched for Fia on Wednesday, May 27th, 2020.  Fia had gone missing the previous day while hiking the Palisades trail near Mount Rainier.  They were hiking with Fia off-leash, and she was there one minute and then simply gone, for no apparent reason.  Fia’s owner searched all day and into the night, with no luck.  I believe they were calling Fia’s name, as most dog owners would in this situation before they learn that isn’t recommended.  They called Three Retrievers for help, and I agreed to bring Tino in the morning so that we could search while the temperatures were cool.  Cool, damp weather is helpful for any search dog, but it is especially important for Tino, who overheats easily.  When a dog has to pant to stay cool, it reduces the ability to analyze scent, as most of the air bypasses the olfactory membranes.

Tino and I left home at 2:30 AM and reached the trailhead at 4.  Fia’s scent items had been left near the trailhead.  There was a towel with plenty of her fur on it.  Tino had lights on and I had a flashlight.  The point where Fia was last seen was almost 4 miles from the trailhead and 2,000 feet of elevation gain, so we had a journey ahead of us before we could even start the search.  We finally reached the Point Last Seen at 6:20 AM.  Fia’s owner had left her jacket there, tied to a tree, so that Fia might be enticed to stick close to the area.

I presented the scent article, the towel, to Tino in the area where Fia had last been seen, 18 hours earlier.  Tino did not seem to pick up the scent, and I wondered if Fia’s owner might be mistaken about where she last saw her.  I tried Tino farther up the trail, and for a hundred yards north and south of the trail, but he didn’t show any signs of catching her scent.  He became frustrated.  We started checking for scent back down the trail, in case the PLS was mistaken or Fia backtracked.  About a quarter mile downhill, Tino started to pick up a fresh, strong scent.  He pulled hard, and I trotted along behind him.  We came around the corner at the viewpoint, and I could see Fia about 100 feet away.  I wanted to let Tino track right up to her, to let Tino have the satisfaction of winning the game, but Fia was looking hesitant, as if she might bolt.  I stopped Tino there, to let Fia relax and get used to us.  Because we were at the ledge, I didn’t want to spook her.  It was about a 500 foot drop from the view point, not quite straight down, but very steep and rocky. Being near the ledge allowed us to get good cell reception.  It was one of the few places along the entire trail where I could get a signal.

I called Fia’s owner, and put her on speakerphone.  As we slowly moved closer to Fia, her face and body language seemed to show that she recognized her owner’s voice, and I think this helped us get close without spooking her.  It didn’t take long for Fia to relax, and I could see that she wasn’t going to bolt.  Because we took our time, because we didn’t shout her name or chase her, Fia let us approach.  Once we were close enough, I offered her food and water, which she was happy to get, and I got the spare leash on her.  She seemed perfectly healthy, as far as I could tell.

Fia walked right near me, all the way down the mountain, and she was such a pleasure to walk with.  Meanwhile, Tino alternated between pulling on the leash and coming back to me, allowing the slack leash to get tangled in some or all of the ten legs.  Fia occasionally looked up at me, seeming to say, “How come your dog doesn’t know how to walk on a leash?”

Top ten reasons why I would keep my dog on a leash while hiking.

I used to enjoy hiking in the Olympics and the Cascades with my dogs off-leash.  I did this for years, and never had any serious problems.  Now that I have become a finder of lost dogs, I realize that I just got lucky on all those hikes, and the dangers of hiking with your dog off-leash are just not worth it.

1. Your dog could get lost.  Having your dog off-leash in the mountains or in remote areas can result in your dog being lost in difficult terrain.  Even if your dog has been fine on numerous hikes, it only takes one time for your dog to chase a deer or get spooked by a swooping owl, and suddenly your dog is gone.  Finding a lost dog in the wilderness has different challenges than finding a lost dog in the city.  I know of many dogs that were lost and never found.

2. Your dog could go off a cliff.  Chloe, a cattle dog, fell off a cliff recently, and needed $7,000 of surgery and vet care after an extensive effort to rescue her.  Other dogs who went off cliffs were never found.  A dog can’t read a topographical map and may be unaware of the danger.

3. Your dog could encounter someone with a gun.  While most hikers are very friendly and tolerant of dogs, there are a few who carry guns and might feel threatened by an off-leash dog unexpectedly coming toward them.  Also, some people who shoot guns in the wilderness don’t have common sense and/or don’t follow reasonable laws or guidelines, judging by the shell casings they leave behind.  If there is gunfire, you want to have your dog near you.

4. Poison mushrooms and other toxins.  One of my dogs is constantly trying to eat things off the ground, and I often find myself prying his jaws apart and fishing something out.  Most hiking trails will have mushrooms growing beside them, and many mushrooms are poisonous.  It can be difficult to tell the edible ones from the toxic ones. Someone might accidentally drop a chocolate bar or a bag of marijuana. Also, some hikers don’t follow protocol when they poop near the trail, and human feces can attract dogs.  While it’s not really toxic, it’s definitely gross.  You want your dog close so you can see what goes in her mouth.

5. Yellow jackets and bees.  If a dog accidentally steps on a ground nest of yellow jackets, they will cling to his fur and bite repeatedly until you scrape them all off.  Dogs can be allergic to bee stings, too.  If your dog is near you, on a leash, on the trail, this will reduce the chances of encountering bees or yellow jackets.  Plus, you will be able to quickly administer anti-histamine if needed.

6. Your dog could be swept into a fast river.  I was hiking along the Duckabush River with my three dogs, and the trail came close to the river.  I stopped to take pictures, trying to keep an eye on my dogs and keep them away from the water with verbal commands.  I looked upstream and saw my black Lab, a very good swimmer, standing near the river.  I looked away, and looked back a moment later and she was gone.  The river was very loud, and I couldn’t hear any event or incident.  I looked around and saw her on the river bank fifteen feet downstream, wet, with big eyes, clearly alarmed at how fast the river took her away.  I’m probably just lucky I didn’t lose her that day.

7. Bears and cougars and coyotes.  If there are bears and cougars around, you definitely want to have your dogs close to you, on leash, under control.  One thing that can happen with bears in particular is that the dog might chase after a bear, soon realize that was a mistake, and then come running back to you, with the bear close behind. A dog might outrun a bear, but you definitely won’t.  Coyotes have been known to flirt with dogs and entice them to chase.  They can lead a dog far away and get them lost.  If your dog is off-leash, you might not be aware of a bear or cougar or coyote until it’s too late if your dog is wandering far ahead of you.

8. Devil’s club.  Most dogs will avoid brambles and thorns if they are bothered by them, and some dogs just don’t care about them.  Devil’s club, Oplopanax horridus, has thorns that can cause infection, and take a long time to heal.  A dog wandering off-leash wouldn’t be able to tell Devil’s Club apart from any other plant.  Google it to see a picture, but it grows near streams or wet areas, usually five to fifteen feet tall, with very large leaves, with spines on every part of the stem and the leaf.

9. You can monitor your dog for signs of fatigue or dehydration.  If your dog is on leash, near you, you can see symptoms that may come on quickly.  Another risk if your dog is off-leash would be over-hydration, or water toxicity.  Several of my dogs tend to drink large amounts of water when they get hot or if they play in fresh water. They don’t seem to ever reach a point when they have had enough.  I monitor them to make sure they don’t drink too much, which I couldn’t do if they were off leash, out of sight.

10. It’s just the polite thing to do.  While many hikers won’t care if your happy, friendly dog is off-leash, some hikers really don’t like dogs.  They should be able to enjoy the wilderness without having to endure unwanted visits from dogs.  Also, if your dog is on a leash, you will be able to see if he poops and you can pick it up.  If he’s out of sight, you might miss it.  It’s also rude to wildlife to let your dogs harass the critters.

Even if you have hiked with your dog off-leash for years, without any problems, please consider keeping your dog on a leash on future hikes.  If you are just starting hiking with your dog, train him right, from the beginning, to walk on a leash with you while hiking.  Although the risks listed above may be somewhat unlikely, if you hike for years, your dog will eventually encounter one or more of these dangers.  If your off-leash dog never came back from a hiking adventure, you would never forgive yourself.  Be safe, and keep your best friend close to you.

Please share the Three Retrievers newsletter with a dog lover.