“FRANK! STOP! NO! FRANK! FRAAAAAAAAANK! FRAANKAAARRRGHFAAARRRKKK!” The absolutely desperate cry of Kath Fourie’s partner Mark, as his voices garbles into non-sensical hysterical roar. Mark throws his Santa Cruz Nickel to the ground and sprints into the pines chasing a black dog with white spotty paws.
Frank, our Dalmatian X Bull Mastiff, has managed to catch a juvenile jackal and our other two dogs (Cake, a whippety Africanus, and Skollie, a caramel coloured mixed breed with big ears and a white snow drop on the end of her tail) have caught up with him and joined in the fray. The jackal is screaming in pure falsetto (literally, who would’ve thought jackal’s sound like children screeching blue murder) and the dogs are in what might be termed a “blood lust state of utter madness”. Mark manages to somehow get Frank to drop the poor jackal, and he regains control of the situation. However, by this time I’ve also got involved, the jackal has buggered off as fast as lightning and there is a gash on Frank’s nose. Blood and spit is all over us, including our riding gloves. Only an hour later when we’re heading back to the car do we debate the fact that jackals are one of the few animals that can carry rabies. Awesome.
I can officially tell you that rabies shots cost 420 bucks a pop, the first one is free, and then you need to pay for the next four. They also hurt like tetanus shots. And the moral of the story is that the concept of “trail dogs” is a big fat lie. When you take dogs running on a trail that does not mean they stick to the actual trail. In fact, when you take dogs onto public trails, it comes with a heap of responsibilities that you need to recognise before you can actually enjoy having doggie companions when you’re out riding. This article is to explain the main considerations when wanting to turn your dog into the mythical “trail dog”.
Instinct: Think like a dog, plan ahead to avoid drama
All dogs are born to be outside, to hunt, and to be in a pack and they are most definitely born to run. Some dogs are better at running than others, but they all enjoy running. When you take them out into a wildish area, filled with amazing sensory stimulation, they tend to be far more doggy instinct orientated than if you take them to the park. They behave differently, they behave less like pets and more like untamed animals, and that requires thinking ahead when you’re riding. Planning which way to go to avoid main roads, to avoid a farm with cows that roam, to avoid the muddy patch where they love to just flop and get covered by gunk; they will do everything you don’t want them to do, hence planning is a key factor.
Water: The pups need water more than you do
Having dogs out on a ride with you is like having kids. They have needs (the first need is always to poop immediately as they get out the car) and you, as their human, have to tend to those needs. Three dogs drink a heap of water, and if you are going on a ride that doesn’t take them past a stream or dam it is a very good idea (not even a maybe, it’s a must) to take a full hydration pack of water for all of you (3 litre bladder). There are some very nifty folding drinking bowls that you can flatten and slide into your pack that weigh nothing. They make the world of difference to your dogs who then don’t have to attempt drinking out of your cupped hand as you hop around in small circles trying to raise the hydration pack high enough to get the water flowing, while squeezing the mouth piece with the other hand. It’s a fail, you look like a hunchback leprechaun having an epileptic fit, and you spill most of the water, so rather pay the R25 for the fancy plastic bag that turns into a bowl. We have got our dogs figured out now, and they need to drink about every 5kms. If we are going on a big ride, say 25km, we plan to go past a dam or deep stream so they can cool down and drink a heap. A useful sign to know when your dogs are actually thirsty is when they attempt to drink out of tiny, filthy puddles. Or if they have “spade” tongues, dragging along the ground. That is not a good thing.
Ticks: Biliary
Your dogs are going to get ticks in summer. Absolutely no doubt. Skollie (she has that name for a reason) seems to attract ticks more than the other two dogs. It’s important to get your dogs onto a tick repellent system whether it’s an oral tick repellent, a tick collar or a tick repellent spray. All dogs react differently to each of these methods, and some people aren’t so keen on letting their dogs ingest stuff that can kill ticks, but you have to choose a method. It isn’t fair on the dogs if you take them to running paradise and then let them die of biliary. Na-uh. We find that our dogs swim a lot, so we need to apply the spray on tick repellent more often than it recommends. I found a tick on Skollie’s poepol the other day, and it was embarrassing for both of us. Avoid the awkies moments with your dogs, get tick repellent.
Over-exercising: Injury
Now, you might be really enjoying your ride and keen to push it for a few more kilometres, but you have to put your pups first. The problem is dogs love their humans so they will just keep going and going until they fall over. There are a number of injuries that they can get, from heat-stroke to tendinitis to arthritis and the outer part of their pads can get ripped off. Owie. Mark and I shamefully have done that once before on a 15km ride, but it wasn’t that the ride was too far for their fitness, it was that they hadn’t been conditioned to the terrain and the wet weather of the season. Just be sensible, you might be feeling like you’re on it and ready to take every KOM on the ride, but Rover may just be the one you really dethrone by hurting his body.
Irritating other people: Not everyone likes your dogs as much as you do
Believe it or not, not everyone thinks your amazing trail dogs (who weave in and out of your bikes and bark at you to get you riding while nipping you through your shorts) are awesome. Sad, but a very true fact. You have to keep your dogs out of other riders (and walkers and runners) way. Not only will they cuss you as you ride away yelling: “Sorry man, they’re so unruly, sorry hey, for realsies!”. Your wild pack can also cause injury to other trail users. Ever seen someone veer off the path into a tree as your dog heads straight for them coming out of a blind corner? You don’t want that. Luckily the worst we’ve had are death stares, headshakes and one or two telling comments on Facebook.
Key to avoiding irritating other people (and lawsuits) is to plan the time, the day and the place you take them running with you. For example, taking them along The Spruit on a Sunday morning would be suicide. We are lucky to live in an area that has trails where bumping into people is pretty rare, but even so, we don’t take them to the trail head on a busy Sunday morning where we know there is a good chance we’ll cross other riders’ paths too often. Oh, and don’t ever take them to a pump track. Very bad idea. It’s like playing Russian Roulette every time you go round the track, except your chances of being shot are multiplied by the quantity of dogs present.
Human shit: The Grumpy Boyfriend
There are other wild animals that make potty along the trails, and they care not whether your canine friends are drawn to their excretion. We have learned to pay extra special attention to Frank when he veers towards bushes all of a sudden, or makes to flop onto his back. Once, when they still lived in Jo’burg, Mark took the dogs to a jump building session in some veld, and Frank rolled through a very loose human stool…so loose that Mark had to pour sand across his back and scrape it off with a stick once the sand had absorbed some of the moisture. When relating the story, I have heard him describe it as “gritty chocolate icing”.
Chasing animals: Oh No
We’ve had an introduction into this one via the rabies tale earlier, but our pack will chase anything. Literally. If they don’t find an animal to harass, they chase each other instead. Sometimes whatever they have found is much quicker and much bigger, and they give up fairly quickly. We are still annoyed and still frustrated with them when they do this (aside from the jackal, they have only ever caught some Delta Park bunnies in Jo’burg), but one does understand it’s pure instinct that drives them. They listen exceptionally well at home or at the local dog walking area, but put a scared beastie in front of them and they turn into nutters.
Too fit: shoot yourself in foot
It is really awesome having a crew of fuzzballs to ride with, the excitement on their faces when they realise they’re going somewhere on the back of the bakkie is just lovely. When they kick your ass down the single track and race you like they need to win if it’s the last thing they do, it’s delightful! But when they are easily running15km and it’s not even touching sides in terms of burning up their energy, you have basically created a trail doggie monster. You know those runners who get addicted to distance, and if they don’t run twice a day most days they’re a misery? Ja, that’s what the dogs become like. If they don’t get a really good hit of trail, they take it out on you… by digging up your garden, dragging their dog beds around the yard and waking up at 4am ready for breakfast and play time. There will be days when it’s freezing and wet, you’re tired and you know the trails are going to be less than optimal, but you will go anyway just because the trail doggie monsters will not let you sleep through the night otherwise. So, I guess it does wonders for your fitness too.
But even with the responsibilities: I wouldn’t change it for anything
Once you’ve got used to the typical things that go wrong, preparing for a doggy ride, knowing that the ride is not about you, it’s about the dogs you get into a rhythm with your pack and riding becomes something else. The joy we get from seeing our animals doing what they are genetically designed to do, and seeing their woofy, cheeky faces light up as they “sit, paw, shake…wait…okay go!” and fly off the tail-gate of the bakkie, is immense. Cake is sitting on my lap as I type this piece, draped over me like a skinned fox, passed out with happiness after a Friday evening brush-cutting trail with Mark. They are pretty lucky pups, we often say that when we see the many dogs around our neighbourhood who never leave their yards, but it has to be said, I think Mark and I are the luckiest of all.
Bio
Kath Fourie is a downhill racing, thesis smashing, doggie training star. She’s currently working from 4:30am to 7am on her thesis, putting in a 8 to 4:30 shift at work, then she has to take her canine pack for a run and get back to her thesis for another two and a half hours after 8pm. Look out for her and her KOM chasing pack on the trails of Howick. She accepts both compliments on her writing and beers from Full Sus readers, but she’d probably prefer a beer.
