Spring runoff is nearly in full swing. It’s one of the deadliest times of the season in the mountains for both people and dogs.
Water is a draw for any thirsty dog or inquisitive child. Unfortunately neither realizes the force of high, fast flows during the spring melt. Take one step into the icy cold water and off you go.
Believe me. I know. I spent nearly ten years with the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and every spring we would practice swift water rescue drills in the advent of a rescue. Sadly, many years we were called out to rescue or retrieve someone caught in the water. Fast moving flows can quickly pull you under. Debris in the form of large rocks and tree trunks and branches will grab and hold onto even the strongest victim. That brings me to why I am not in favor of keeping my dogs harnessed up around spring runoff streams.
A dog harness offers a host of advantages for both owner and dog. I have my crew harnessed and buckled into the car seat when we travel. They are harnessed for many different types of walks in the neighborhood or local park. That harness is a safe method to control and protect my team in a crowd. But that same harness will be the thing that can drag them underwater too.
Straps or handles can easily get hooked around a tree branch in fast moving river flows. Shallow water may not seem like a danger but that shallow water flows to meet with deeper pools and more downed debris collected over the winter.
A dog harness, designed to control and protect can become a big risk. Tangling in deep, cold, fast moving water shocks your system and makes it difficult to regain control of your motor functions and get out of the stream. Same for dogs.
I’ve watched my strong english pointer Archie step into a pool of water for a quick drink and decide to crouch in the flow to cool his undercarriage. That’s when I saw him get pushed off of his feet!
Scary stuff. He got out just fine. A couple of weeks later in that same pool he would struggle to regain his footing and get back on the bank.
With that example I want to also suggest keeping younger or older dogs harnessed up and on leash during spring runoff. If they want a drink in a slow pool fine. You have control of where they go and how far into the stream. Makes sense right.
Culverts can act like a pinch point. Water rushes in overwhelming the opening. On the way out the other side the water can be deceptively quick and suck you or your dog down stream and into a deadly branch snag.
Springtime is a fantastic time of season to enjoy the backcountry. The first alpine flowers begin to show. Fields full of runoff water hold numerous yellow glacier lilies. Bluebells cluster around tree trunks and rock walls, white, blue, and purple colored flowers line downfallen trees for true “wall-hanger” photos. It is also time to get the first spring mud on new hiking boots.
Safety is not hard to practice. Remembering to do it can mean a great trip, great photos, and great memories.
Dogs have learned from past experience to look for the slow water for a quick drink. Plus in these photos, the water level is only about six inches deep. Archie found a deeper spot to cool off his body and didn’t get swept away.
Large trunk segments and branches strewn along a dropoff like in the photos illustrate how easy it would be to get banged on the head and lose your balance. Then the second debris collection pulls you under.
Dog Hikes 