HEALTH and SAFETY First - mainly the dog’s health, and YOUR safety.
Health and safety are major considerations when taking your dog with you on outings in the Okanagan. And the law.
YOUR SAFETY
Many naturalists and other hikers, as well as some provincial parks, do NOT allow dogs on hikes or within their park boundaries. These folks maintain that dogs can endanger people’s lives by attracting bears to the human party, or endanger the lives of wildlife by chasing and harassing them. Sometimes, even Deborah leaves her dog at home !
Other safety hazards when you bring dogs: getting knocked off a ledge or ridge by an excited canine. If your or your friend’s dog is rambunctious, you may want to avoid the steep trails in the higher areas of places like Rose Valley Regional Park, Kalamoir Regional Park, and Carrot Mountain.
HEALTH, HEAT AND YOUR DOG
Again, the most dangerous time for dogs in the Okanagan is summer.
Dogs can’t sweat like people and horses do. It’s hard for them to dispel heat. Heat is shed from the panting dog’s tongue, thorough the skin on the pads of the feet, and through the finer hair on their underbellies. Sometimes, none of these are enough.
If your dog gets overheated, it will pant very rapidly. Its eyes will look odd, and the ears may be pinned back. The dog looks distracted because it is suffering.
It may find a shaded area and attempt to make a small nest in the earth to lie in.
The dog must be helped to cool its body down- and it may now be unwilling and unable to drink.
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR DOG IS BROILING
Check this with your vet, but the quickest way we know to help a heat-stressed dog is to wet it down with tepid or cool water, and get it out of the heat. Some pet supply outlets sell special dog blankets designed to be wet down- a good idea for people who know they’re going to sometimes get their dogs into overheated situations. You can throw any old cloth over your dog, and wet it down. Or, simply get pour water into your dog’s coat.
CAUTION: It’s probably not a good idea to toss the dog into a mountain stream containing glacial meltwater. As with people, this could shock enough to lead to calamity.
Prevention
Timing: Most dog owners don’t take their dogs out in the heat of the day. It’s more pleasant to walk in the early morning or the evenings, which are usually much cooler.
Water: We recommend that you always carry water for your dog when you’re hiking or cycling, even if you expect to be in the shade most of the time. Thus, you need at least TWO bottles of water, depending on the length or challenge of the hike – one for you and one for the dog.
Don't Push: We HATE to see dogs running beside cyclists on hot days!
(We know someone who nearly killed her dog that way. It took eight hours for the dog to recover from a summertime run around the neighbourhood.)
Water Containers: Many outdoor or pet supply stores sell handy little bags and bowls that you can carry in your pocket or pack or on your belt.
In a pinch, you can use any plastic bag for water for your dog. Just roll the back into a dish-shape, put a rock inside it, and add water.
In the Okanagan Valley your dog can find some interesting trouble in a heck of a hurry.
There are skunks, coyotes and spiny things on the ground. Did we mention the bears?
Deborah recommends carrying a pair of small pliers or tweezers in case your dog gets a cactus in the foot. Be quick to help out- it’s not always good to let the dog try with its teeth! A good old leash – we use one of those retractable ones on the trail- will help prevent skunk or bear encounters, and a sturdy walking stick to brandish may help in the event that coyotes come around pretending they want to play.
- First, wash out the dog’s stinging eyes with cool water.
- Then, rush home to your driveway or yard, wet down the dog’s fur, and slather on at LEAST a half cup of ordinary shampoo- citrus if you have some. Lather like crazy, leave it on for a few minutes, then rinse.
- Do NOT take the dog into your house! If it’s cold outside, put the dog into a car after protecting the upholstery (much easier to air out later) or into the garage on some warm bedding.
- Now, get to the store and get one of those huge cans of tomato juice. As soon as possible, (we had to wait until the next day- luckily it was warm weather, and the poor dog was only two happy to sleep outside that night) slather the tomato juice all over the dog, and rub in thoroughly.
- Try to keep the dog amused for a bit while the tomato juice stays on and works its acid magic.
- Rinse thoroughly with clean water, and dry the dog off.
- Wait- maybe for a week or more- for your dog to smell like its old self again.
P.S. We’ve tried that expensive skunk stuff from the vet – it made very little difference.
IN WINTER, small or low-slung dogs have a hard time in the snow, as do some dogs with webbed feet. Snowballs form in the hair under their bellies and between their toes and can be very painful as the balls twist. Some dogs can’t handle temperatures below minus 10 degrees unless they’ve got human-made coats on, and some – don’t laugh! - need booties on their paws.
Our Experience is that most dogs, especially heavy-coated dogs or double-coated dogs (eg. like a German Shepherd’s - soft down underneath and longer hard hair over top) absolutely love the cold and snow. Many can play and run for some time in temps of minus 20, and it rarely gets colder in the Okanagan.
In snow time, you’re off the hook as far as bringing water for your dog is concerned- dogs tend to happily munch on snow when they want refreshment.
DOG WALKING LEGALITIES:
You need to know that the Regional District of the Central Okanagan has, as of 2005, a “ZERO TOLERANCE FOR OFF-LEASH DOGS”. This means you. And every dog you’re guardian of. You can read the bylaw on the RDCO website.
Westbank and the entire Westside, as well as the Crown Lands surrounding these communities are governed by RDCO, so you can’t legally get away from this.
The Bylaw came about after small dogs were killed in parks- one in the arms of its human guardians- by undisciplined dogs off leash whose own humans were nearby.
The sole loophole for off-leash opportunities is “written permission from the landowner to allow your dog off leash on private land.”
The GOOD news: there are now many more parks and walkways that allow dogs ON leash to accompany their humans.
The other good news: Peachland and the City of Kelowna both have several legal off-leash dog parks. (Listed on municipal websites. ) At present, Westbank has just one legal off-leash zone – the pleasant “Doggie Beach” at Gellatly Bay.
POO !
It’s amazing to us just how many dog people feel that their dogs’ poo is lovely to look at. Even in the most pristine areas, like the snowshoe trail on Mount Last, these folks like to leave their dogs’ poo out in the open, or near sensitive watercourses, to pollute in full view.
PLEASE keep the Westside beautiful- bag that poo, or dig it in and replace the ground cover after in order to Leave No Trace.
MORE LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS:
If your dog is caught running at large, it may be impounded and you will be fined.
If your dog harasses or injures wild or other domestic animals, the situation gets more serious and so do the fines. The dog may be legally shot by conservation officers if it is running deer.
If it injures another pet or a person, you can be required to have your dog destroyed.
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