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Geocaching and Your Dog
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• Know the local laws. Is a leash required? The law likely requires poop-scooping in urban areas, and even if it doesn’t, scooping is the polite thing to do. Bring those supplies with you! • Bring water for both yourself and your dog. • Make sure your dog is current on all vaccinations, and use tick and mosquito protection for both of you. Consider a Lyme disease vaccination in areas where Lyme is prevalent. Check for ticks after caching in rural areas, and carry a tick puller. • If you hide a cache, consider mentioning in the log if it is dog-friendly, and list local leash laws. • Have fun, and remember to take your camera—you’ll want good pictures of your caching dog! For more information on geocaching and GPS receivers, visit Geocaching—The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site.
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This article first appeared in The Bark, Issue 29, Winter 2004
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Although www.geocaching.com does let members mark their caches with attributes depicting whether a place allows dogs, not all of these are completely suitable for your canine companion. There is a great list of dog friendly caches at www.pawsawhileoc.com. Dog friendly businesses can also link with caches in their area to give dog owners an idea of what restaurants, dog washes, inns, hotels, pet stores etc they can visit with their buddy. They also have some great articles and tips for enjoying this new sport with your dog.
Actually this site is now www.dogcacher.com. It is a great place to not only find out about geocaching with your dog but to find other dog friendly activities such as hotels and inns, restaurants, boat cruises, train rides, dog parks and dog specific event. It is a fun social networking site where you can meet other dog owners who geocache with their dogs as well.
Just got a GPSr and can’t wait to try this out! I’m even designing a dog backpack for Cooper to wear when we go. Dog’s need a job and he loves wearing his backpacks and carrying his own water! Get one out and he’s bouncing off the walls to go. There's nothing like a 75lb. weimaraner that's ready for a hike.
If you are going to take your dog out at night or into the woods it is a good idea to have an illuminated dog collar. Remember it gets dark in the woods long before sunset.
Please, please don't haphazardly recommend something like vaccines—especially like Lyme—one *known* to cause far more detrimental complications than protection to the point that even vet schools won't recommend them. After the puppy shots, most regular dogs only need the rabies vaccination, and even that is primarily in order to be compliant with the law as opposed to maintain immunity. Mine has been titered every year to measure her immunity, and she is still more than covered after seven years since her vaccinations.