Becoming a Mountain Guide for Your Dog

Several years ago I went on an alpine climbing trip to Mt. Hood with a group of friends. Although I had sport climbed for many years and was very familiar with the basics of climbing safety, I had never even picked up an ice axe before or worn a legitimate set of crampons. Needless to say we had a learning curve and we hired guides. Their role was to educate, guide and ultimately keep us out of harm's way. 

We spent two days learning technique, getting familiar with gear and preparing as a team. The guides worked to set us up for success. On the third day, we had a classic alpine start (in the complete dark) and the whole way up, I kept thinking “Thank goodness we hired guides because I literally can’t see more than a foot in front of me and at this point I would probably be off the side of the mountain.”. Jokes aside, I fully trusted our guides. I felt secure because I knew they were experts and they had properly prepared us to summit safely. 

THIS is the relationship that we should have with our dogs. We are their mountain guides in life and on the trail. Our dogs don’t magically understand our trail rules that we’ve set in place in our human world. It is our role as their partner to educate, guide and keep them safe while we are out adventuring together. 

Last year I became obsessed with helping people and their dogs adventure safely together. This idea that we are their mountain guide. I had always offered 1:1 sessions on the trail but I wanted to offer something for a group to help build a community of adventure dog enthusiasts. Which is why I recently launched a series of group classes focused on just that! 

The group class list consists of: 

1. On Trail & Leash Skills 

2. Bike Dog 101 

3. Bike Dog 102 (Group Ride)

3. Recall 

Details on each class can be found on the group class tab!