Traveling to National Parks out west with dogs? Advice please!

[Adiredneck]

Speaking as a recently retired Supervisory Park Ranger, my quasi-official answer is: It Depends. National Parks are as different as Yosemite and Statue of Liberty. Some are appropriate for leashed dogs, others are not. Unfortunately, thanks to irresponsible dog owners, campgrounds, backcountry and hiking trails have even more stringent regulations than casual touring. My advice is to plan which parks you wish to visit, go to their website (all sub-sites of www.nps.gov) and see what their pet policy is. Or call and ask their chief law enforcement ranger or campground supervisor. Leaving pets in a camper or vehicle is usually a very bad idea, and can get you ticketed if they bark constantly (in camper) or if weather is warm (in vehicle). So, if you bring them, understand that one of you may have to "dog-sit" while other goes into visitor center, hikes trail, etc. BTW, rangers cannot "make up" rules as they go along. If the park has a pet policy posted on their website, those are the rules. Might you run into the occasional one-bullet Barney Fife with a Napoleon complex? - sadly, yes. Especially since most of the "rangers" you will encounter are four-month "seasonal" hires, and qualifications/experience can vary greatly. You will see and do more without pets while traveling, especially in National Parks. The questions is - would you enjoy your travels more by seeing/doing less, but having your pets along for the trip...?

[brokeboater]

Originally Posted by Adiredneck

BTW, rangers cannot "make up" rules as they go along.

But some do. And you can belittle them as "one bullet Barney Fifes", but they have the power to make a park visit a miserable experience. If you bring a dog to a National Park you make yourself a target for harassment. It doesn't matter if only a small number of rangers are willing to bend the rules to suit their personal vision of what should happen in National Parks, only a few is enough to ruin it.

[n2916s]

I cannot imagine how badly you must have been treated to be this bitter about your National Parks. It's a shame that one poorly trained and disciplined employee has forever ruined your chances of enjoying these amazing places.

I plan on using your example (anonymously of course) during seasonal training this week. My crew will be at least aware of the consequences of their actions.

[VT Wanderer]

Adiredneck - As we travel west regularly from VT, I think you have hit the nail directly on the head - check rules/laws for each park before you get there. We leave our dog with a friend/house sitter in VT. We believe that we have the freedom to enjoy our favorite hikes in the western parks, without worrying about our dog in our trailer, and limiting our enjoyment of the area. (We hike long days.)

[davejay]

Hey,
We have a newf. We kennel her when we go someplace far.
Just a thought. People don t like barkers, especially yippy dogs. Also if your dog is small, keep an eye on them. Eagles will go for them. Lions are attracted by them ,and bears are not to scared of them. Unleashed is a way bad idea. Our newf, for some reason hates little dogs, and will try to kill it. Weird, not a newf trait. 180 pounds of determination is hard to handle. Find yourself a really good family kennel. The kids love the dogs, and will spoil them to death. They ll never miss you.

[Bambii]

Thanks for all the great advice!!

Our border/Aussie mix recently needed life saving surgery. His odds of surviving were at best 50/50. And that bc he is only 3 years old that he had that much of a chance. We were very anxious for the surgery to work and the little buggar made it! He is 2 weeks post op and officially out of he woods! I am so relieved!

The whole experience has made up our minds to just take the pups. They are both athletic and love being outdoors. We will be in Canada for a good 6 weeks which allows dogs (leashed) on all hikes in NP. Yay! So we will do plenty of 12+ 16+ mile hikes in the Canadian Rockies with our dogs to get our fill also I plan on training them with bark collars (they aren't bad) to be considerate. And check policy's ahead of time.
The bottom is after surgery and the top is after this past weekend.

[Lily&Me]

Be mindful of the presence of Bears and mountain lions in the Canadian Rockies.

Maggie

[Bambii]

Noted, we've been hiking in the Canadian Rockies a few times. I think we saw 20+ bears. Luckily all but one from the comfort of our car.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

With our two Neuf's and our Lab, we have the next door kids come over to "dog sit" them when we are on some trips. The dogs are all here at home. They get play time outdoors and attention several times a day. We know they get fed and what they get fed. They are happy to see us come home. They don't appear to be overly stressed or nutty when we get back.

Bob

[LazyGray2]

PetSafe makes a bark collar that sprays a burst of citronella if she barks. Works like a charm on my dog!