I was wondering… those of you with a canine friend attempting a thru hike and leaving your friend with a sitter ( family, friends, etc ) for 6 months did your best friend suffer any separation anxiety, or attitude change when you returned? I will be attempting a thru in 2007, when I retire, and need to make relevant plans for my dog.
Leonard Pheobus
Mmm, I suspect your dog may be a little depressed but that depends on the relationship between your friend and the dog. If they get to know each other well before hand and do some practice sleep overs.
A hiker friend had a parrot and that thing flipped out, chewed all its feathers off when he left for several months. Maybe birds have higher stress levels but when he got back all the problems went away.
Bushwhack
Sid is one of my best friends. We have been on long distance hikes, and she has been left home on others. I would put my bond with her up against anyones bond with their dog.
I’m not really sure if she really has a concept of time. I can leave her for 6 hours or 6 weeks, and I get the same thrilled reaction each time I return. Honestly, (and my ego and I of course hate to admit this) but I think I miss her more than she misses me…:oh .
I do think for the first couple of days she is a little confused and missing “the pack”, but if she is happy and safe, I have never seen any adverse effects. Don’t get me wrong, she puts on a great show…shaking, cringing, pretending total terror as she is dropped off, but if a biscuit appears, the pure joy and bliss shown by a labrador receiving a treat reappear and mama is forgotten.
I’m the one with seperation anxiety, definitely not my dog. My dog is just fine, and THRILLED when I return.
Mayfly
Mayfly… girl… you KNOW my Lulu rules ! ,
I too have hiked long distance with my pup but this year she is staying in Alaska. I am freaked about leaving her… 
she does bounce back but I believe that she misses me quite a bit. The thing I think about most is that she will be 7 in August …getting old and I am gonna miss 6 or so precious months of her life. I left my other dog in 96 to thru hike the Pct … and then for 5 weeks in 97 to hike the Colorado trail. He got cancer while I was gone and I wished I could get those months back. He was VERY VERY smart and didn’t do well while I was gone. The folks who had him told me that. Anyhow, I swore I wouldn’t leave another one and here I go again…It is all about choice…and Lulu is terribly happy here. She will have a terrific summer…Rambo was different and I wouldn’t do it the same way if I had another chance…
yappy
Your dog will be just fine, much better than if he/she had to brave the trail. And he/she will be very happy to see you when you return. We started our '04 thruhike with our beloved pup, unable to imagine being away from her for an extended time. But it turned out that she was much happier hanging out at my sister’s house waiting for us to return than she was dealing with the demands of the trail.
And as hard as it was being away from her at first, in a short time we were, honestly, relieved to have a break from the stress of having a dog on the trail. It’s hard enough to plan a long distance hike for yourself, much less for someone that can’t tell you if they’re tired/thirsty/hungry/sore. We were lucky that my sister could come visit us a couple times and bring Sasha. If your friend can do that, I highly recommend it.
If possible when picking a sitter, make sure it’s someone who is not new to dogs, who understands that your dog is a member of your family.
camera1
Yap makes a good point. Each dog is different. My last lab detested hiking and prefered sleeping. I literally had to roll her out of the tent so I could put it up. She prefered a good cushion (anyone’s cushion) to a tent floor. My current lab hikes circles around me, and get’s annoyed when I can’t keep up. The longer she out, the happier she is.
Maybe think about giving your pup a little test run for a couple of weeks. Have whoever is going to keep her take her for a while. You will probably know after a couple of days how they are going to handle the situation.
Mayfly
All dogs are different. As a kid, my family adopted a dog (at age 2) from a local pound. The dog became very attached to my mom. As our dog got older it found it more and more difficult to deal with my mom being away. Eventually it got to the point where our dog would become physically ill (throwing up all food and having the runs) if my mom left for more than a day. We honestly believed our dog was emotionally different from having been abondoned once and that later in life he became very stressed if he thought my mom had left him.
I only mention this so you think about having your dog try some shorter stays with the friend before you leave.
April
April
There are many good points made in the comments above. I have cats, since having a dog is like having another kid. But, the point I wished to make about separation anxiety is, do you think having a recording of “his Master’s voice” to play would be of comfort to the animal? :oh
Lady Di