“No, I’m good!”, was the response of the climber. They has just been asked to leash their dog at the base of the crag. Flat refusal. Heads turned, eyebrows raised, but what now? Do you have to leash your dog at the crag?
We just spent Saturday climbing at Other Critters in Clear Creek Canyon, enjoying a wonderfully, sunny winter Colorado day. My friend invited their friend, and my now new friend brought their mid-sized seven year old dog, we’ll call her Patch. Patch sat quietly at the base of the route. Leashed and not pulling, no whining, not running off, no barking, nothing but perfect crag dog behavior.
Halfway through the day another group of seven or so people came and occupied the routes around us. Patch continued to behave well. Out of nowhere an unleashed dog ran up causing Patch to jump up, and the two got into a barking session. I was belaying at the time and this, of course, drew my attention away.
My new friend asked the group to please leash their dog, but the dog wasn’t theirs. We called up and down the crag, but no-one seemed to be the owner. One of the members of the group led the dog a hundred yards back to the next crag, ironically called The Doghouse, to find its owner. She returned flustered, saying she’d found them, but when she asked if they could please leash it, had basically been called a Karen, and that they had no obligation to leash their dog.
A while later we headed to The Doghouse ourselves. It’s a compact crag of mostly hard climbs leaving many backpacks and people, squeezed in near the base of the routes. As we approached, the same dog who had run up to us, ran up to Patch and her owner again. There were two unleashed dogs, the other much smaller dog kept its distance. “Can you please leash your dogs?” My new friend asked. The small dog’s owner replied, “you shouldn’t bring a reactive dog to the crag.” We were genuinely surprised. Who was in the right?
They asked again, and the reply was, “No, I’m good”. That wasn’t expected. I said, “But I don’t think she’s good”. Again he said, “you shouldn’t bring a reactive dog to the crag.” Patch had been totally chill all day, with the only exception being when an unleashed dog, with no owner in sight, ran up on her as she napped.
I tried to reason with them, but they were adamant. Of the many people watching the incident, one voice from halfway up a challenging route voiced their opinion. “Just so you know, I think you’re wrong.” The statement was directed at the unleashed dog owner. Thankfully one owner put their dog on a leash, and the other immediately packed up and left.
Personally I love dogs, but they are an undeniable a distraction at the crag. Climbing is inherently dangerous. When they two dogs started barking my head was turned. I was belaying at the time, and my focus was taken away from my task. I’ve seen packs of dogs rough housing at crags. I’ve put up with tied up dogs crying endlessly, dogs left without water while owners multi pitch, aggressive behavior, wildlife being harassed, and have narrowly rescued my backpack from being peed on. And worst of all, I’ve even had my sandwich stolen out of my bag by an unleashed dog!! Most climbers can talk about the time a dog caused a distraction.
So can you have a unleashed dog at a crag? The rules of Clear Creek Canyon in Colorado are clear.
“Dogs on leash are allowed on most trails in Clear Creek County unless otherwise marked. Dogs are NOT allowed off leash on any trails or public land within the County. Increased problems with off-leash dogs and owners who don’t clean up after their pets have recently resulted in increased enforcement and fines. Off-leash dogs are problematic for wildlife and other trail users. Please be courteous – leash your dog and please clean up after them.”
But what about areas that don’t have leash laws? Is it the right thing to do, or should you be allowed to let your dog run free, hundreds of feet away?
The issue for me isn’t even about dogs, but safety. When we choose to increase distractions, we decrease safety. For me, well behaved dogs that don’t cause distractions are more welcome than loud inconsiderate groups that spread out, hog routes, and blast music. I don’t like radios played at crags. Partly because imposing your music tastes on anyone in ear shot isn’t cool, but mostly because we sometimes struggle to hear commands and requests from our climbing partners. I try to minimize how my actions detract from anyones else enjoying their day.
When we choose to increase distractions, we decrease safety.
And then there’s poop bags. Poop bags stashed trailside, are deliberately placed trash. It’s one of my pet peeves (no pun intended) on hiking and approach trails. I would never say I’m going to leave my sandwich wrapper here along this trail and get it later. Even if you plan to collect it on your way out, no-one wants to see your tied up plastic bags of poop. I have no idea how so many dog owners have reached the point where they think this is perfectly acceptable. I have a wag-bag for my own bathroom emergencies, and if I have to use it, it goes in my pack.
Complaints about poor dog interactions with people, pets and wildlife will have an affect on our access to the places we love to climb. Landowners and Land Managers who grant us access may simply choose to not deal with the issues and clean up, and take away access to the climbing resources we enjoy.
I expect to see dogs at all the crags I go to here in Colorado, and who doesn’t want some of that unconditional doggo love. All I ask is that their owners understand their dogs, even the good ones, are an imposition on everyone, and that they do not compromise everyone’s safety, for their own convenience.
Crag Dog Stories From the Web
“Two weeks ago I saw yet another reason why people shouldn’t have off leash dogs at the crag. A mountain goat with super pointed horns came wandering by, this dog runs up and gets all aggressive and starts barking and chasing the goat. The goat got scared and turned to run away at full speed but was on a narrow ledge shared by other climbers and belayers. It was a scary sight seeing this freaked out goat running full speed towards those people, it zoomed right passed them. I managed to stop the dog as they ran by and the owner did nothing to further the good image of dog owners.”
In Colorado letting your dog harass wildlife is a misdemeanor.
“Fun story: I was camped up at Wild Iris a few weeks back. Every day, my partner and I walked down the road that goes to all the campsites. On our way, we would pass a site that had 4 dogs who would go nuts, bark, and charge every time we passed. On the last day, as we walked past, they surrounded my partner. I heard her gasp, turned around and slammed my stick clip into the ground so as to get the dogs’ attention. At that point, the owners *started* to call after the dogs, presumably to get them away from the mean man with the six foot pole. Then my partner stated “please control your dogs; one just bit me”. We walked away.”
“Dogs at climbing areas is a subject of particular interest to me, having been bitten twice and attacked another time by climbers’ dogs. Both bites left a permanent mark, and both dogs were in the presence of the owner, one on a leash held by the owner. In that case, the dog had growled with bared teeth, and then walked up, while I was holding a climber about twenty feet up on belay with a tube device, and bit my leg. In no case did the owner do anything of punishment or other discipline to the dog. One owner did apologize, but only to ensure no consequences for himself; and later ordered me to avoid him and his dog, which he said he would bring again, as he has.”
“I’m not sure if it’s been said yet, but there’s one thing that’s definitely worth consideration: even if the dog behaves well, the risk of falling objects (rocks, biners, people) that can permanently damage or kill the dog should give us pause. The risk can be mitigated slightly by choosing well-protected spots to leash up the pup, but it’s still a risk that should we should know we’re taking when we bring our best friends to the crag.”
“The problem isn’t dogs at the crag, it’s douchebags who think leash laws don’t apply to them. I have this issue in the Catskills constantly where morons think it’s fine to have their off leash dog trampling through the fragile eco system, pissing and shitting where ever, running up to my dog snapping or snarling while they yell “he’s friendly!” From 100 meters back,”
“I have three kids who boulder and climb. They understand English and can learn rules about gyms and outdoor climbing. Your dogs are not the same as children, and can’t follow rules in the same way. If you bring them, leash them away from routes.”
“I was bouldering with friends during the pandemic and one of my good friend’s brought along her decently behaved dog. She ended up falling off a problem and shattered her tib/fib and screamed in pain. The dog wouldn’t let any of us get near her to help her and he bit at least one person and tried to attack the rest of us. She was on the crash pad in excruciating pain and the damn dog turned on the rest of us. He was a husky so it was not any small dog we were dealing with. He was the only dog there. I managed to get him leashed (he knew me best, side from his owner) after my injured friend had to calm down and help me tackle him and hauled him out to her truck. No cell signal and we were nearly two miles down a trail. Needless to say because the dog exacerbated the situation, it turned into hauling her out after dark. The dog problem added nearly an hour to the whole mess and the person who got bit needed stitches. “
“The last time I went out climbing, this girl brought her dog. Then the group split up so it was three of us: I was belaying a guy 50 lbs heavier than me and she was prancing around drinking and smoking while her dog ran around. But her dog started running around the rope and wrapped the leash around my brake strand. Not great but not the end of the world – it would be great if she got her dog. But then she slipped and fell and broke a glass she was holding which cut into her hand. So she’s losing blood and I’ve got this heavy guy on the wall and it’s just the three of us. I’m the only person with medical training. So I’ve got to get this guy down, but first I have to pick up this dog myself and unwrap the braid strand (the dog really got in there) while trying to issue her psychological first aid until I can get my med kit out. “
“Don’t bring your dog on climbing trips. I love my Irish Wolfhound, but he goes on dog trips and not climbing trips.”
Further reading..
