You are of course free to recommend or not recommend bringing any dog on a 14er, but I respectfully disagree. I have taken my dog Sierra (a 50lb female Australian Shepherd mix) on nearly 100 14er ascents (class 1 to class 3+, Winter peaks, steep snow), countless 13ers/12ers/11ers/10ers, many hundreds of ascents of the peaks in Boulder OSMP, the Aspen 4 Pass loop (26+ miles with 8,000+ feet of gain), all day bushwhacks through LCW, semi technical canyoneering, etc... and have never had a single physical issue with her. Not one bloody paw, not one cut, rip, tear, twisted anything. She has had a few cactus thorns in her paws over the years, has been covered in burrs, has rolled in stinky stuff and has been very tired at the end of a long day(s), but nothing more.Holliewd wrote:I would not recommend bringing any dog on a 14r.
She has a very intuitive sense of route finding and has, on multiple occasions led me through the easiest way on difficult peaks. She also has the sense to not push her limits beyond what she knows she can handle and on multiple occasions we have bailed in favor of an easier route.
I constantly monitor her condition, give her plenty of food and water and never push her beyond what I know she can do (and am constantly re-assessing/adjusting those limits as she ages).
I have also left her home on many occasions as well, where I know the route will be too dangerous, either to her, or others.
There are MANY other dogs out there as well who have done this much and more without incident.
Again (like people), dogs vary widely in their athleticism, agility, fitness, experience, durability, desire and intuition. One thing most dogs have in common though are that they are willing and eager to follow/please/obey their human and thus puts a great deal of responsibility upon the owner to accurately assess their dog and if they are a good fit for any given mountain adventure.
I can say with 100% confidence that Sierra and her closest canine climbing companions over the years (Scooby, Shep, Kiefer) enjoy the mountains every bit as much as we do.