So we're gonna be in the market for a new dog soon and I'm just curious what you guys/girls would recommend for a hiking companion? I'd like it if the dog could hold some stuff whether it be just his food and water or a little more then that. I'd also like him to be a good family member and guard dog.

Clearly we're talking about a large to extra large dog here.So I'm just curious as to what you guys would suggest? Some of the dogs I was thinking might be good ideas are German Shepherd or some type of Mastiff.

Thanks,
Spencer

In the past, I have had Alaskan Malamutes and have taken them on the trail with me. They are large enough (85-100 lb) to carry their own food and dishes. They are prone to chase deer, elk and moose however. I now have a Golden Retriever who at 75 pounds can carry her food and dish as well. I leave my dog at home when I go desert hiking; carrying water for a dog can be a bit of a burden and keeping them from drinking foul water can be nearly impossible. I have also seen many Labrador Retrievers and Lab mixes on the trail; they seem to be easy-going and pleasant company.

I've had a couple Doberman Pinchers who did great on the trail, non-aggressive, packdogs. My late Yellow Lab X was very good. Great companion, great with people, non-aggressive, but would bark only at bears and packed his food and my trash.

I've seen all sizes and shapes of dogs on the trail. Smaller dogs can't carry as much pack, but they don't eat as much so it works out about the same. You will have to carry them through creek fords and over rough spots, though.

My Hysson (in my avatar) is 3/4 Lab and 1/4 Golden, is a very friendly dog, sheds perpetually (adding R value to the tent floor but making khaki the only possible clothing color in his vicinity) and keeps my feet warm in the tent at night.

I think it was on this forum that someone mentioned having a dachshund who curls up inside his sleeping bag keeping it--and him--warm on cold nights. Another advantage of a small dog! That's not possible with my 80# dog, but he does make a good footrest/warmer.

Be sure you obedience train your dog thoroughly and keep him on leash when other people are around. Scoop his poop (bury it in a cathole like human poop) and keep him away from other people's food. Other hikers will appreciate your dog a lot more.

Also, with a pup, let him get fully grown (i.e. his joints mature) before taking him on long trips or having him carry a pack. With the larger breeds, that's about age 2. A 1-year-old may look mature, but their joints are not!

I'm told that mastiffs drool a lot, which IMHO would be worse than Hysson's shedding.

Hyson is one of the best dogs I have run into in a long time, but I think the shedding is the golden part. I would recommend a lab, black, yellow or mixed. They're strong and want to come along and be with you, its just hard to keep a lab or any retriever out of the water and no one wants a wet dog. My dog is a pointer/grey hound and such a hunting dog is definitely more interested in hunting on her own than in playing with me. "come" is optional to her, and playing ball is only a diversion not a life style. A lab for its short hair, can take extremes of temperature. Dogs with short straight hair are almost self cleaning, my grey can roll in mud and half an hour later it can be brushed off with a hand. Consider the dogs feet and foot size depending on the terrain you'll be in, large paws for snow, smaller ones pick up less mud.
Jim

I take my malamute. See avatar. She like to chase at bark at other people and animals, so I only take her to places with not much people. I got a mal so I could take her winter camping without having to worry about her in the snow. I will leave her at home for summer desert hiking.

Thanks, Jim, for the compliments to my dog!

Hysson also regards "come" as an optional command, but fortunately he responds to "heel" just fine. He comes and sits or walks by my side, ready to be grabbed should he decide to lunge happily at an approaching hiker in an excess of friendliness that makes a lot of people nervous!

He also walks behind me on command, which is especially good on trails. All too often when he's in front of me, he stops dead to investigate an entrancing smell, while I almost fall over him!

Sounds like my Rosie. She views "come" as a suggestion and can spend hours enjoying the subtle aroma of a decomposing kangaroo mouse. She is good with "heel" and excellent with "leave it". If we don't vacuum at least once a week there are windrows of golden fur gathered in corners and under tables. She sheds constantly; our Malamutes, on the other hand, shed badly but seasonally.

I would love an Alaskan Malamute but its gets fairly warm here in the summer and I don't feel it would be fair to them. Not to mention how they blow their coat twice a year! haha

My mother for some reason really doesn't want a lab or retriever, I think its because she is scared he'll jump in the pool and rip the lining.

I noticed no one mentioned German Shepherds, is this simply because no one has experience with them or is there lower back end a problem?

My mother loves Dobermanns so that is a good idea.

Keep rolling out the ideas guys and girl!

Thanks

Try the animal shelter too, my Yellow Lab X was a rescued dog at five months old.

It is about you and not the dog.

I do not want to hurt OregonMouses feeling, but Hysson is an ordinary dog. But Hysson has received skilled and patient training and been showered with attention. I have hiked with Hysson and it is about the best dog I have every seen and is a joy to be around.

Many dogs can become good hiking dogs, IF you are willing to put in the time and energy to train them.

Another one here for a lab. We have a black lab mix, she is 3-years old and much shorter than regular labs and weighs around 50lbs. She packs her own food in and our trash out no problems.

She does have squirrel-attention deficit disorder though and so we do need to be mindful, but with some more training we are hoping that she will be good to go this season.

P
Both Dobermans and German shepherds are on the list that will require additional home owners insurance, simply because they CAN go ballistic and attack people, other than that I love the intelligence of shepherds, they're almost like playing ball with a human. On the other hand they are terrible hiking companions because they might attack other dogs or people on the trail. Of the three dogs that have ever forced me to draw a gun in self protection hiking, 2 were G. Shepherds and one was a Doby. Fortunately unless its a trained attack dog, they know when they are up against a superior enemy and stay back far enough to avoid being shot, on the other hand the people who take them hiking off leash and let tham range out ahead should be shot.
Jim

I 100% agree with this.. and it shouldn't hurt anyone's feelings - it's a compliment to the owner when the dog is well behaved. (Both Hyssen and Benny did very well on the hike we did with them..)

Again Jim, I think this is a lot less about the breed, and a lot more about what the dog has been trained (or not trained) to do. When people buy a dog to be a "guard dog" for "defense" or as a symptom of testosterone poisoining, are you really all that surprised? Now think about what breeds are more likely to be bought for such reasons, even in part, and there ya go.. it's not a symptom of the breed of dog, it's a symptom of (on average) the breed of owner.

phat
I live in Central Oregon, and came from Bend where there are more registered dogs than registered voters. In Bend we simply do not allow "bad dogs" they put them down. You can walk up to any dog in Bend and if you understand dogs, you can pet him no worry. I understand the "bad" owner syndrome, BUT come up here to Sisters and the number of insane pit-bulls is quite contradictory to the county ordinances - same county. Different owners, BUT Pit bulls can go ballistic without warning simply because they were bred to do that, and any animal with the genes is the same, regardless of training. A pet puma, a trained tiger, they all can and occasionally DO return to their "nature" if only briefly. I was talking to my neighbor (having a friendly non-confrontational conversation)and her pit bull walked up to me and sunk her teeth into my calf. The only time a dog ever actually bit me. German Shepherds were bred to protect, and Dobies were bred to protect. Now Pomeranian were not bred for that yet they are probably the most aggressive dogs I have ever encountered.

Yes, good training can overcome DNA 99% of the time. That 1% can be a real problem.

On one bp trip, my male dobie did get between "our" camp and the folks hiking on the trail a hundred feet away and barked a few times. I quieted him right away, he only advanced a short distance, otherwise, on trails I let him range ahead with no problems from him or bp traffic.

The only reason I mention my mal is because that is what I know. I had a bordie collie, and he was great as well, but could carry the same amount of weight.

As for summer, I am sure Ontario doesn't get as hot as Utah. My mal does fine in Utah during the summer. Just make sure she has shade and water, and try not to hike in the heat of the day. But, if you aren't in the desert, I doubt even that is a problem.

But, like every one is saying, the breed isn't so much important as the owner.

Letting a dog range ahead loose can cause lots of problems.

Oncoming hikers who are nervous about dogs are going to have a tizzy fit. Quite a few people have had bad experiences with dogs in the past and are frightened by loose dogs, even if they act friendly. I'm actually one of these--I've overcome a lot of my fear but have a lot of sympathy for people who are truly afraid of dogs. Horses of an oncoming horse party may also be spooked by a loose dog, even if the dog behaves himself. Finally, who knows what wild animals are around the corner. If it's a deer and runs, the dog may be lured into chasing it-illegal and, in some states, could get your dog legally shot. If it's a bear, you might find your dog running back to you for protection, closely followed by irate bear. If it's a cougar, your dog may become dinner. If it's a porcupine, you may be faced with a quick exit to the nearest veterinarian.

I have let Hysson run loose but only when I'm way out in the open and can see that there are no people or animals anywhere in sight. Otherwise he walks behind me on the trail, on or off leash. I don't want him getting out of sight, ever!

Mary, my black Lab mix, is just about the best hiking companion one could desire. We went to obedience school (Mary got a higher grade than I did)and she is fine on the trail. Oddly enough, she is not attracted to water (must be the X-factor paternal gene). We also retrieved her from the pound. That is definitely the place to get, and save, fine animals.

OM
People want their doggy to have a fun time and a great wilderness experience. A couple of dogs have come extremely close to being blown away when they attacked me. I am a dog person, I know when I'm being attacked. That person would be livid if I killed their dog, would that cause them to flip out and to be killed as well? People just don't get it, I guess I should let their puppy maul me so he can have a nice time on his hike. I am not frightened of dogs, only dogs with their head low charging at me growling. At least hunting dogs are sort of safe because they aren't walking with their people, they're not in protect mode, they're out hunting and they act differently, they're not interested in people, they simply find you to be a curiosity...
The reason this upsets me so badly is that I have come close to being forced to blow away some dogs because of their owners irresponsibility, and because of the dog breads natural protective instincts. And why were they all women and girls with the dogs?

I couldn't blame someone for killing a dog if it is attacking or threatening, I would kill it myself. I would have killed my female Dobie if I had caught her attacking and killing my geese the time I came home to find my two geese killed after she climbed her fence. My dog/s were kept reasonably close, after all, where I go there usually aren't many people on the trail. When I had my dogs, they were in the tent with me at night, too worried about skunks, porcupines. My late dog Pooch, was partially trained for SAR and we were given a compliment one time by a SAR trainer on how well we interacted with each other. I think a lot has to do with the training you give your dogs and interact with them around other people. I know what you all mean by dogs being in protect mode or just running loose. I've seen them too.

These are the same dogs that go after my dog when he's on leash. If I'm lucky, the worst that happens is that I'm wound up 3 or 4 times in the leash. If not lucky, I have to rescue Hysson (he's too much of a wimp to fight). So far neither of us has been chewed up, but some time the worst will happen.

I'd suggest pepper spray instead of a gun, but I don't want to use either one around my own dog if he is attacked! As you may have heard, it nearly happened on the Eagle Creek trail last fall just as I was passing the sign that said to keep dogs on leash! I understand the same 2 dogs caught up to and tried to get nasty with Bennie (Bigfoot's dog), too, to say nothing of Bigfoot, Food and Spork.

Either item might be more useful on the owners, except they wouldn't let Hysson stay with me in jail!

EDIT: There's currently an anti-dog rant on nwhikers.net that in a few days has grown to (at last count) 13 pages! Maybe we oughta back off on this hijack before it also grows exponentially?

I don't mind the hijacking, actually I really enjoy reading it haha

At home, when my male Dobie was still young he was attacked at least once by one of my neighbors dogs, when he got older, they left him alone. Poor Pooch, my Yellow Lab X, was scared to walk down our private road at one time due to a few of the neighbors had unleashed/non-penned up and aggressive dogs. Even on a leash he wanted to get away and the dogs weren't scared of me. When those people moved, it was four months before he could go down the road without shying when we went by those places. I would agree, a good shot of pepper spray should work.

But back to the original question.. I'll maintain any healthy dog who can walk the distances involved will make a decent hiking companion in such places as is appropriate.

I seldom have canine companionship on hikes as I am too often places they are outright not allowed, or bear country I will not take them into because they become a hazard to themselves and me in such places.

A dog doesn't have to be huge to carry his own pack. Small dogs need less food after all...

Were I to get a dog, I would definitely get one that would go hiking with me. I would probably rescue a Jindo - they are not for everyone, they are very smart and require a lot of attention, but I think that a Jindo's personality would be a good match for me. The difficulty would be that some of my favorite places to go prohibit dogs.

From our website:

Dogs are not permitted in some areas, and almost always should be on leash. And almost never are. I don’t mind meeting a well-behaved dog on the trail. At times I find it charming to see them out with their family and friends, enjoying the hike. But if you are not ABSOLUTELY sure your dog will behave well, please leave it at home. Dogs barking at campsites at night ruin the wilderness experience for others. Dogs barking or “defending their owners” on the trail have no business being there.

We've owned a small dog, Cairn Terrier, but usually wouldn't take her camping because should could NOT stop chasing the squirrels.

This is the only backpack subject I am an expert on (being a mailman). Based on literally thousands of encounters as I carried >100 different mail routes in all types of neighborhoods.

1 Usually aggressive.

Any sled dog breed: maybe it's the wolf blood.

Great Danes: never met a single friendly one. Hundreds of bad ones.

Pit Bulls: Only a fool would take one into public places, because court jury members are likely predisposed against the breed. Or a poor person with no money and therefore unafraid of liability.

Dobermans.


2 Least likely to threaten mailman:

Golden retrievers and Labs. Sheep and cow dog breeds (except Collies only some of them are well behaved).


3 Barkers:

Smaller dogs. Being small means handicapped in a fight. They must frighten instead, so they bark a lot.

Terriers: The phrase 'barking terriers' is a common saying. And true in my experience.

I've found that small yappy dogs tend to bite as well as bark!

I know this is an older thread, but I just had to reply... Lot's of great comments in this thread. Since you asked specifically about German Shepherds... My trail buddy is my German Shepherd, Timber. Best trail buddy a guy could ask for. He loves being with me on the trail, and I love having him along. He carries most of his own gear and food so I don't have too much extra weight when I bring him along. Here are some pictures of us on the trail.

However...
Without proper training and taking extra care while on the trail, I am reluctant to recommend a 'protection' dog as a trail companion. Unfortunately many (most??) folks don't provide the level of training required to make a hike with a protection dog a safe and pleasant experience (for the dog, owner or other hikers!)

Here are some thoughts:

While it is true that training can alleviate many behavioral problems, a lot of temperament is genetic. Some GSD's may be fine and self confident on the trail, but others may feel insecure, which could lead to aggression. There are some German Shepherds that just should not be on a trail. Knowing your pet and being aware of conditions that make her uncomfortable is our responsibility as owners.

Having a large dog, and especially a protection breed means that training is critical. Way too much on this topic for this thread, but NOT having a WELL trained large breed protection dog in public is asking for disaster and heartache. Training tells your dog he can trust you to be the pack leader, and he does not have to ‘decide’ whether it is appropriate to ‘protect’ or not. Training happens every time you are with your dog. In the house, in the park or on the trail, training is continuous.

I decided before I owned a German Shepherd that I wanted a dog that could be with me in any public place, with other dogs, children, or adults, and he would be comfortable and know how to behave. This means socializing and training, training, training. Training isn't 'work' for either my dogs or me. They love it and look forward to it since it means treats and tons of praise! Payoff for me is having Timber off lead, at a heel and not breaking the heel while a deer crashes through the brush next to us. Yes, he is trembling and asking with every fiber of his body to be released from the heel, but deciding it is worth it to heel and get the boatloads of praise coming his way.

Having a German Shepherd on the trail means taking extra care to be respectful of others on the trail. Some folks are nervous getting close to a German Shepherd. When someone approaches, I step aside, tell Timber to do a sit/stay (or down/stay if there are any children approaching) and we wait for folks to pass us. When they see him under control, it eases their concerns as they pass. Sometimes I have Timber on lead even on trails where it isn’t required, depending on how many other folks are on the trail. Even if he is off lead, he is at a heel or heel/follow at all times. I just don't ever release him to run free on trails.

Bottom line is that German Shepherds CAN make wonderful trail companions. It is a special treat for me when I pass a well behaved, under control dog of any breed (OK, especially a German Shepherd!) while I am on the trail. However, having a large German Shepherd, Dobie or Rottie heading towards me either loose or in control of their owner makes me (and most folks) VERY uncomfortable. These breeds require an investment in your time and may not be suitable for inexperienced dog owners. It's interesting that despite being around dozens of German Shepherds over the years, the only time I have been attacked was not by a protection dog but by a harmless looking midsize floppy eared mutt!

balzaccom said it well. "if you are not ABSOLUTELY sure your dog will behave well, please leave it at home"

Sorry for the book! I am obviously passionate about the GSD breed and this subject!

Randy does an excellent job in his post of not only describing the breed but the training that is necessary to have a good trail dog. I have worked quite a bit with police dogs and even with all the training they recieve some of them would be very poor trail dogs.

I have had one instance in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness where some horse packers had a large loose dog. This dog attacked a smaller dog that was with our group for no apparent reason. I had a nearly full lexan nalgene bottle in my hand and heaved it as hard as I could at that dog and sent him yelping back to his owners. They were not happy with me at all. I didn't give a $%@! They should have not had a dog on the trail that was out of control.

-Skippy

The dogs really enjoy working. My dogs really looked forward to it, or else they knew our short session would lead to off leash, frolicking. The best is working with your dog on SAR training and doing their first alert. Gets no better than that.

Could be Australian Cattle Dog. Super, super durable, can do 10, 20, 30 miles a day no problem. Mid-sized dog. Easy-care coat, doesn't pickup much junk in their fur. Super smart, super protective. Some of them are the best dogs in the world, some can require extra attention.

Only drawbacks are that they can be too smart for their own good. You can't leave a dog like that alone in your house all day while you work, they will redecorate your house if bored. Some aren't crazy about people, other than their owners, some aren't crazy about other dogs at all.

Worth looking into for sure.

+1 on the Aussie (aka Blue or Red Heeler).

I had one for 16+ years and she was very well trained. Good medium sized dog. Great coat. Very intimidating with the mask, but mine was a sweetheart (although very protective).
How can this be, you ask? She would put herself between my kids and any stranger or potential threat. She didn't bark or growl. She just stood there and stared.

Very good at herding my kids too.


Tango61

I have never sued, but as a mail carrier I have gradually become familiar with one bit or workroom table talk about how dog owners win or lose in court.

Even a 'good dog' will bite strangers who are not good people. There are folks out there who like to tease animals and do worse and they still win in court half the time.

EDIT: I am talking lawsuits here, not criminal court.

But not if you have a docile looking animal to bring into the courtroom! That room will be full of strangers doing things that seem strange (to your dog). If he barks you are toast. If he just lies there panting and looking friendly you are likely home free.