The Making of a Trail Dog

[Gary M]

Great story and I wanted to wait until the end before I commented. Its nice to see another pet adopter out that that hikes as well. I am so glad you were able to help with the recovery of an adopted pet. Truman is still young and will have plenty of time to pick up more trail knowledge as he ages.

And I look forward to reading more about your future adventures with Truman. Again, thank you for sharing this great story.

Thank you so much for your kind words!!!

I started hiking with a dog (a massive and legendary black Lab named Rasputin) over 40 years ago. For me it's a great opportunity to combine two activities I really love; hiking and dogs.

I'm looking forward to spring and some great trail time with Truman. I also want to get some better photos of Truman on the trail.

Gary M

Olathe, Kansas

"Isn't the purpose of hiking and backpacking to enjoy the freedom and wonders of the outdoors? To see and explore the beauty of nature first-hand? To experience the trail as if it is your first time seeing such things?"

Edited December 24, 2014 by Gary M

[Dogwood]

How appropriate of a title - The Making(training) of a Trail Dog. It's often overlooked that trail dogs become trail dogs by being competently and conscientiously trained. Being able to competently train a dog means training the human on how to train the dog. You got that. Not everyone who has a dog and brings it on the trail does.

[Gary M]

How appropriate of a title - The Making(training) of a Trail Dog. It's often overlooked that trail dogs become trail dogs by being competently and conscientiously trained. Being able to competently train a dog means training the human on how to train the dog. You got that. Not everyone who has a dog and brings it on the trail does.

Yes, (as I wrote) my point is that there needs to be considerably more to the process than simply taking a dog for a walk in the woods. Team work is required; and as the dog is trained, the dog in turn trains you. Sounds simple, but it takes a great deal of time and effort.

Truman is definitely not a completed project at this point. We both need more trail time and training. I'm looking forward to working toward additional progress and hope to post our results later in 2015.

Gary M

Olathe, Kansas

Truman at Kill Creek

Edited December 27, 2014 by Gary M

[J-Squared]

I enjoyed reading this and it sounds like Truman is very lucky to have found such a great home! We also have a rescue that I am working to develop into a trail companion. His story is very similar to Truman's. He was found half-dead on the streets of a near-by small town. He was starved to the point of no longer being able to stand. He also suffered from fear-based aggression although surprisingly enough, he is not food aggressive. Once he learned meals were a regular thing, he actually became quite a lazy eater. He is a mixed breed and as far as we can tell, part husky, part border collie, part ???

We worked with a professional trainer for about a year and made great progress. He now walks calmly around people but strange dogs are still a problem. He is also very, very protective of his family, particularly my daughter and I (the females in household). It is absolutely essential that we introduce him to people coming to the house, but once we do, he does well.

My hope is that we will continue to make progress and will eventually be able to be around strange dogs without issue. I'm not sure we'll ever fully get to that point and unleashed dogs are a huge problem. He very smart and loving and we think the world of him. He was not our first rescue but has certainly been our most challenging. No regrets about his adoption, we love him!

[Gary M]

I enjoyed reading this and it sounds like Truman is very lucky to have found such a great home! We also have a rescue that I am working to develop into a trail companion. His story is very similar to Truman's. He was found half-dead on the streets of a near-by small town. He was starved to the point of no longer being able to stand. He also suffered from fear-based aggression although surprisingly enough, he is not food aggressive. Once he learned meals were a regular thing, he actually became quite a lazy eater. He is a mixed breed and as far as we can tell, part husky, part border collie, part ???

We worked with a professional trainer for about a year and made great progress. He now walks calmly around people but strange dogs are still a problem. He is also very, very protective of his family, particularly my daughter and I (the females in household). It is absolutely essential that we introduce him to people coming to the house, but once we do, he does well.

My hope is that we will continue to make progress and will eventually be able to be around strange dogs without issue. I'm not sure we'll ever fully get to that point and unleashed dogs are a huge problem. He very smart and loving and we think the world of him. He was not our first rescue but has certainly been our most challenging. No regrets about his adoption, we love him!

J-Squared.....

Thanks for your response, I hope you and others enjoyed Truman's story, The Making of a Trail Dog.

You did not mention if you have tried hiking/camping yet with your rescue dog, hope things go well. Truman is doing really fine, but I won't have him out on the trail till spring hits the Midwest. I plan on following up his story later this year and hope to be able to report additional progress.

We follow the same "introduction" strategy with Truman, and get good results. However, he still will not tolerate any strange dogs, perhaps he will never totally recover from being a stray dog in KC, MO. Also, Truman also shows a similar very protective behavior with my wife and family. Other dogs I have rescued or owned did not show this trait nearly to the same degree.

Maximus, my other rescue Newfoundland, was a similar case healthwise to yours, although I did not go into any details in my story. Max's behavior has always been excellent, but it took me 6 to 9 months to get him healthy.

As I write this, Max and Truman are taking a post-meal nap on my bed. Sometimes things just turn out right for a change! Hope to hear more from you here at TrailGroove!

Gary M

Olathe, Kansas

Edited February 19, 2015 by Gary M

[J-Squared]

Yes, we have hiked and camped quite a bit with Diego, our rescue pup. We had several day hikes under our belts and I felt we were ready to take things a step further. Our first "big" outing was a backpack trip a couple of years ago with just my daughter and I. He had been doing so well and both the trainer and i felt he was ready for this step. It was just a 3-day, 2-night backpack in a nearby state park (Shades in Indiana) that is usually pretty quiet. The trip started our horrible with Diego feeling like everyone we passed was a threat to us. Everyone we came across that day was male which has always been more of a problem with Diego. We set up camp that night and fortunately were the only ones there. The evening went well and we were sitting around a campfire enjoying the night sky when a group came in to set up camp. This did not go well with Diego and we ended up putting our fire out and heading into the tent, hoping to settle him down. We had a very restless night with him pacing around the tent and growling at every little noise.

We awoke the next morning and decided to try some hiking after breakfast. We decided if Diego didn't do any better, we'd cut our trip short and head out. It was a beautiful fall afternoon with quite a few people on the trails. We used the training techniques we'd developed and by the end of the day, Diego was quietly passing people on the trails without so much as a second glance. Yeah!! Still not great with other dogs but the improvements were showing. We hiked all day and spent the evening sitting in the campsite. Diego still didn't like the other campers but he wasn't completely stressed like the night before. That night in the tent was much better with all of us getting some much needed rest.

The next day went well. We broke camp and hiked out, leaving our big packs in the van. We decided on one last short hike at a nearby nature preserve. All went great until we were within a 1/2 mile of our van on the return. We ran into an unleashed Dalmatian. Despite the guy's insistence that his dog wouldn't bother ours, the Dalmatian made a beeline for Diego who of course went into instant fight mode. Fortunately, we were able to divert Diego and the guy ran up and grabbed his dog. The guy then proceeded to chew us out for bringing a dog "like that" on the trails. I pointed out that my dog was the one under control and his was running loose but the point was completely lost on him. It was a huge set-back and unfortunately, our last backpack trip with Diego.

Since then, he's been on numerous RV camp trips and local day hikes and he has done great. My hope is to eventually get him to be a reliable enough companion for backpacking. I don't get to do if often and my last couple of times have had circumstances that I felt it best not include him. He LOVES to go hiking and do have high hopes for him. At this point, the biggest factor is ME putting the time in with him. I know this was long and I apologize for that. It's been quite an interesting road with him and I want so much for people who see how far he's come. He had a terrible start in life and has so much to overcome. I included a picture of him with my daughter at the beginning of our backpack. I hope it works, I'm still learning the ins and outs of this site!

[Gary M]

"We ran into an unleashed Dalmatian. Despite the guy's insistence that his dog wouldn't bother ours, the Dalmatian made a beeline for Diego who of course went into instant fight mode. Fortunately, we were able to divert Diego and the guy ran up and grabbed his dog. The guy then proceeded to chew us out for bringing a dog "like that" on the trails. I pointed out that my dog was the one under control and his was running loose but the point was completely lost on him. It was a huge set-back and unfortunately, our last backpack trip with Diego."

Really enjoyed your story, and sorry to hear about the other unleashed dog.

As I had mentioned in my series, some people (or perhaps just their dogs) do not want other dogs running around unleashed. And if a dog is unleashed, it must be under complete control at all times!

Hope things go well on any future hikes or camping events.

I follow a strategy with new dogs or at risk dogs of making slow progress, one step at a time. I've had Truman about 1 1/2 years and I have not yet tried him on a overnight trip. So far I've taken him on shorter hikes, but hope to graduate to more challenging treks this spring and summer. First I want to make sure he is up to the task without bothering other hikers on the trail. To me, this is just common courtesy. I totally love all dogs, but many other people simply do not. Unfortunately, some folks such as the dalmatian guy just don't get it.

Just don't let it get you down. We will always have a few people on the trail who don't understand what a privilege it is to take in the wonders of nature. To me it is a gift, and I will be forever grateful for the chance to enjoy the outdoors.

Wonderful photo, really hope to hear more from you!

Gary M

Olathe, Kansas

Truman wearing his training bite mask (fall 2014) with Maximus

Edited February 21, 2015 by Gary M

[J-Squared]

First I want to make sure he is up to the task without bothering other hikers on the trail. To me, this is just common courtesy. I totally love all dogs, but many other people simply do not.

This is always a big concern of mine as well. He's come a very long way and we pass most people without a second glance. Since he is so calm around people now, we have the problem of people, especially kids, wanting to pet him. We generally politely say no only because some people don't really know how to approach a dog. Diego has one blue and one brown eye and people instantly focus on that and want to get in his face. He's never made a motion towards aggression but it's obvious he is uncomfortable with it. Given his history, I don't want to take any chances.

[Gary M]

First I want to make sure he is up to the task without bothering other hikers on the trail. To me, this is just common courtesy. I totally love all dogs, but many other people simply do not.

This is always a big concern of mine as well. He's come a very long way and we pass most people without a second glance. Since he is so calm around people now, we have the problem of people, especially kids, wanting to pet him. We generally politely say no only because some people don't really know how to approach a dog. Diego has one blue and one brown eye and people instantly focus on that and want to get in his face. He's never made a motion towards aggression but it's obvious he is uncomfortable with it. Given his history, I don't want to take any chances.

J-Squared;

I agree 100 % and always try to follow your ideas. I definitely see people on the trail who like dogs, and walk up to another person's dog as if they are the best of friends. Folks always need to be cautious when approaching any new dog, or they may regret it! A dog is not a toy stuffed animal, and may respond in an unexpected fashion.

Gary M

Olathe, Kansas

Edited February 24, 2015 by Gary M

[tmountainnut]

I recently joined the dog owning ranks with Kori, the smooth coat collie. He's about 5 years old. I don't think he could handle some of the tougher stuff i do, but i think he will do well for trips with my daughter and some laid back trips. He was a birthday present for her last weekend.

-Ted

Edited March 8, 2015 by tmountainnut