Bushwalks/ Conditioning Walks/ State Forests

[persephone]

Ok ....

maybe now I know why I didn't ever take dogs when I went exploring ;)

[Wobbly]

Impact on wildlife is definitely something to consider, some dogs will give a serious and determined chase, some won't. My dog will, so it's something I assess pretty carefully.

Generally in the State Forests and Aboriginal land I walk, the wildlife has already been shunted out by logging, quarrying, dirtbikes and other commercial and recreational activities that degrade the land too much for it support anything in the way of native wildlife populations. The wildlife my dog has disturbed and harrassed has been all in my own backyard, including an echidna a few weeks ago that I had to get the local wildlife park to come and rescue. Poor little echidna, happy to report the day after they rescued it from my yard, it was eating and appeared healthy and undamaged, they are pretty hardy little creatures.

[leopuppy04]

have a look here ..

http://www.weekendnotes.com/dog-friendly-bushwalking-tracks-melbourne/

http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/305099/Walking-your-Dog-Brochure.pdf

I cannot understand though why someone would want to let dogs run offlead in bush areas where there are , hopefully, wildlife populations .... if you want to give your arms a rest .. and that's a good idea :) use a long line attached to your waist ! My Hamlet was almost always walked that way ..and it meant my hands were free for cameras, etc as well :)

Thanks for the suggestions - however try walking with 4 dogs attached to you - no thanks. These walks are also to keep our dogs in peak physical condition and I'm sorry but I don't think they can meet that via leash walks only. With regards to wildlife - that's why we only choose areas where dogs are welcome and also allowed off leash - while wildlife is still there, it's much less, and I guarantee you that all of our dogs are pretty wildlife friendly other than trekking the same paths that they do and making a bit of noise ;)

I will quite happily run my dogs off-lead persephone. You don't allow them to harass wildlife and if leopuppy's kids are anything like mine they mostly stick to racing along the paths. Can't help you with your question LP but its certainly heaps of fun. I was lucky enough to take my two out on Saturday to the grounds we use for tracking trials to help plot tracks for next weekend.

Both were extremely well behaved despite the number of roos that were around and only had to go on-lead once for a little bit because I didn't want to risk it when the oldie started showing a little to much interest in the roos. Baby dog was oblivious to them .

Exactly what I was thinking Ness. I am always amazed at the 'freedom' that some other countries have where dogs are allowed in all national parks and reserves overseas. I know we have a lot of special wildlife but it's not as though my dogs are hunting them down or ruining their habitats - we always make sure they stay pretty close to the paths.

Have you ever tried negotiating some of the rockier/slipperier trails with an excited dog or two attached to you? As an ecological consultant I started off with a "dogs on leashes only in bush" rule, but the more adventurous we got, the less practical this rule became, and at times it is downright dangerous. I need all my balance, thanks. And it's probably better that my dogs are not trailing a long line that is getting tangled in shrubs and fallen branches and shredding small plants. We compromise with good recalls and put the dogs on leash if we do come across an animal that may be harassed or stressed by the dogs' curiosity. Echidnas, lizards, wallabies, snakes usually. Although Erik brought us a turtle once. We said thank you and put it back by the creek. We find most of our walking spots through Google maps. My partner is not bad at detecting trails from aerial photos. We start on fire trails and explore from there.

That's what we do too Corvus - and the rockier paths are heaps of fun and great exercise for the dogs :)

Impact on wildlife is definitely something to consider, some dogs will give a serious and determined chase, some won't. My dog will, so it's something I assess pretty carefully.

Generally in the State Forests and Aboriginal land I walk, the wildlife has already been shunted out by logging, quarrying, dirtbikes and other commercial and recreational activities that degrade the land too much for it support anything in the way of native wildlife populations. The wildlife my dog has disturbed and harrassed has been all in my own backyard, including an echidna a few weeks ago that I had to get the local wildlife park to come and rescue. Poor little echidna, happy to report the day after they rescued it from my yard, it was eating and appeared healthy and undamaged, they are pretty hardy little creatures.

Exactly - state forest the dogs are usually welcome - but I don't know where the state forests are :laugh:

[persephone]

http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/forests/forest-maps

[corvus]

The only problem is once you have bush dogs, suburban dog parks become too small and tame to contain them. :p They're all like "What's up that embankment? What's through that near impenetrable line of scrub?" Last week someone said "I've never seen any dogs go down THERE before!" as my dogs plunged into an overgrown, bushy drain and started crashing about. Yeah... They find adventure wherever they go, now.

[mantis]

have a look here ..

http://www.weekendnotes.com/dog-friendly-bushwalking-tracks-melbourne/

http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/305099/Walking-your-Dog-Brochure.pdf

I cannot understand though why someone would want to let dogs run offlead in bush areas where there are , hopefully, wildlife populations .... if you want to give your arms a rest .. and that's a good idea :) use a long line attached to your waist ! My Hamlet was almost always walked that way ..and it meant my hands were free for cameras, etc as well :)

I also can't understand people wanting to let their dogs off lead in State forests.

[RazorBlade]

have a look here ..

http://www.weekendnotes.com/dog-friendly-bushwalking-tracks-melbourne/

http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/305099/Walking-your-Dog-Brochure.pdf

I cannot understand though why someone would want to let dogs run offlead in bush areas where there are , hopefully, wildlife populations .... if you want to give your arms a rest .. and that's a good idea :) use a long line attached to your waist ! My Hamlet was almost always walked that way ..and it meant my hands were free for cameras, etc as well :)

I also can't understand people wanting to let their dogs off lead in State forests.

How much time have you spent in a state forest? After the raping they get from logging a few dogs running around is the least of their problems.

[Bindo]

I'm not sure what the situation is in Victoria, but I would be very careful when walking with dogs off lead in state forests where hunting is allowed.

The state forest behind our property in the central tablelands is now open to hunters (including with pig dogs), and I am extremely wary about when and how I walk there now with my two dogs. With a wild dog population, I am sure it would be 'shoot first, ask questions later' if a dog or two was in the sights of certain (not all) hunters.

[LisaCC]

I'm not sure what the situation is in Victoria, but I would be very careful when walking with dogs off lead in state forests where hunting is allowed.

The state forest behind our property in the central tablelands is now open to hunters (including with pig dogs), and I am extremely wary about when and how I walk there now with my two dogs. With a wild dog population, I am sure it would be 'shoot first, ask questions later' if a dog or two was in the sights of certain (not all) hunters.

The state forests are now open to licensed hunters, of course there will be idiots in every organisation but in general these people are very responsible and definitely do not 'shoot first, ask questions later'.

[persephone]

I found THIS link ..updated in April 2013, apparently ..

Increasing numbers of visitors to Victoria's State Forests are causing damage to the natural environmentFortunately many visitors have adopted a new ethic about their use of natural areas. By learning to 'tread lightly' in the bush we can minimise the damage to the natural environment and reduce the need for restrictions on visitor numbers, and track or campsite closures. Without this ethic, we run the very real danger of 'loving our natural environment to death'.

and found this ...

Dog Walking Code

In areas where dogs are allowed:

• Please keep your dog under proper control on a chain, leash or cord.
• Ensure your dog does not cause injury or annoyance to people, damage or interference to property, or disturbance or injury to wildlife.
• Consider others. People visit the parks, forests and the coast for many reasons. Be considerate of other visitors who also have a right to enjoy the natural environment.

logging and all that it destroys is another issue , I know

Edited June 24, 2013 by persephone

[Wobbly]

I guess it's context specific. My off leash walking spot (aboriginal land) is an old quarry, and it has been cleared, so sadly there is no real wildlife there apart from the odd visiting duck (no shade because no trees either which is a bit of an issue for me sometimes in summer), there is more wildlife in my backyard than there unfortunately. But I do know of some State Forests where I most certainly wouldn't allow my dog off leash.

[mantis]

have a look here ..

http://www.weekendnotes.com/dog-friendly-bushwalking-tracks-melbourne/

http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/305099/Walking-your-Dog-Brochure.pdf

I cannot understand though why someone would want to let dogs run offlead in bush areas where there are , hopefully, wildlife populations .... if you want to give your arms a rest .. and that's a good idea :) use a long line attached to your waist ! My Hamlet was almost always walked that way ..and it meant my hands were free for cameras, etc as well :)

I also can't understand people wanting to let their dogs off lead in State forests.

How much time have you spent in a state forest? After the raping they get from logging a few dogs running around is the least of their problems.

My daughters house backs onto a State forest. They have 2 x JRT's that they don't allow to go into, unless on lead.

[corvus]

There are a few studies that suggest dogs impact wildlife just by passing through. They are predators and animals will be disturbed by them regardless of how well they are behaved, although obviously it makes sense to limit the impact they have. We go through some pretty nice places with good habitat. We are very lucky that we can visit such places in the company of our dogs, who clearly have the time of their lives in that environment just dashing around on the rocks and wading in the creeks and sniffing around. They act like it's Disneyland. We show our gratefulness by being respectful of others, cleaning up after our dogs, keeping them away from wildlife, sticking to the tracks as much as possible, and being mindful not to damage habitat. I hope that if we continue to be respectful and careful we will continue to be allowed to enjoy this with our dogs. We love the winter months for the hiking. It is one of our favourite activities, and one of the dogs', too.

[JulesP]

LP asked WHERE she could take her dogs. She didn't ask for a debate on whether she could or should take her dogs in the bush.

Edited June 25, 2013 by JulesP

[J...]

Please be aware of 1080 baiting in some areas.

I don't do a lot of bush walking due to dirt bikes and 4WDs, but some of the places I walk my dogs it's all too easy to stumble into an area that has been baited and not realise. Yes signs are required when baiting, but not every access point to a dog walking area is always sign posted.

[leopuppy04]

There are a few studies that suggest dogs impact wildlife just by passing through. They are predators and animals will be disturbed by them regardless of how well they are behaved, although obviously it makes sense to limit the impact they have. We go through some pretty nice places with good habitat. We are very lucky that we can visit such places in the company of our dogs, who clearly have the time of their lives in that environment just dashing around on the rocks and wading in the creeks and sniffing around. They act like it's Disneyland. We show our gratefulness by being respectful of others, cleaning up after our dogs, keeping them away from wildlife, sticking to the tracks as much as possible, and being mindful not to damage habitat. I hope that if we continue to be respectful and careful we will continue to be allowed to enjoy this with our dogs. We love the winter months for the hiking. It is one of our favourite activities, and one of the dogs', too.

LP asked WERE she could take her dogs. She didn't ask for a debate on whether she could or should take her dogs in the bush.

Exactly - so those that are concerned, maybe a few suggestions of WHERE to actually walk might be time better spent as this may keep us out of areas that unknown to us are not welcome to our doggies - all of who are very well trained and need a place to exercise too. Parks and reserves are just not the same as running through the bush...

[dwynwen]

Please be aware of 1080 baiting in some areas.

I don't do a lot of bush walking due to dirt bikes and 4WDs, but some of the places I walk my dogs it's all too easy to stumble into an area that has been baited and not realise. Yes signs are required when baiting, but not every access point to a dog walking area is always sign posted.

I am near a national park, a state forest and lots of private bushland (NSW) - wild dog baiting is usually done around this time of year - although the SF would have notices, I'm fairly sure some of the land owners would be less diligent - it's particularly annoying as in the summer my dog can't run offlead on my own property for fear of snakes and in the winter I worry about baits relocated onto my place from the neighbours.....

eta: I have had a dog snakebit in June - I realise they're there all the time.

Edited June 25, 2013 by dwynwen

[Wobbly]

Remeber eagles will pick up the baits and drop them too, so an area that is not baited still may have baits. Travelling around Australia I tended to leash her in areas that would have been fine for her (wildlife wise I mean) except for baits.

[PossumCorner]

One of the (lesser) reasons we left the Dandenongs was the lack of anywhere to let the dogs run where there was no risk to them, or other dogs and cyclists etc, or wildlife. We adjoined Sherbrooke Forest, beautiful, but no dogs allowed.

So we moved house to twelve acres sort of middle of no-where, with no resident neighbours, dogs were beside themselves with joy. For a while I did toy with the idea of fencing it dog-proof, and allowing people to come and run their dogs at no risk, with maybe a lure set-up. But when I priced secure fencing it was some thousands, and even with a token entry I doubted if enough people would want to make a day-trip to help pay for it over a few years, so the plan didn't get off the ground.

I still think it's a good general idea, with basic needs, like a loo, a big shed in case it rains, (pigs might fly but we live in hope) and being safe and secure the main thing. Do other people with small acres do this? Or is it not worthwhile because of insurance etc needs?

LeoPuppy, the Glenfern Bushlands used to be excellent, but becoming 'busy' even just a few years ago. Worth checking. Or the old quarry at Ferntree Gully, unless it has been fenced off to protect the idiots from themselves and spoil it for everybody.

(Yesterday I took Piper for a walk off-lead on the dirt roads for nine kilometres "around the block" and saw only three cars, and a lot of sheep and kangaroos - I still don't let the dogs loose in bushland).

[Tempus Fugit]

It might be informative to refer to a previous thread from last month about a husky shot by "hunters".