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Can Dogs Climb Trees?

I wonder if a Go-Pro isn't the right technology for somebody interested in outdoor photographs and other applications.  It seems like a digital camera or smartphone is unavailable whenever something interesting happens.  Surprising and moving events seem more interesting than static poses.

Younger dogs sure are great at jumping.  The other day Q.t.𝞹 was charging a tree because she spotted a chipmunk up there.  I couldn't believe her vertical launches!  Was she actually trying to climb the tree?

With a Go-Pro mounted on my head maybe I could understand her technique, after watching it in slow motion.  Perhaps her body still had upward momentum when she contacted the tree with her paws, and that made it look like she was taking another jump from the tree rather than from the ground. 

After all, dogs have straight claws rather than the curved ones they would need for real climbing. Straight claws are only good for digging in the ground. Grizzlies have straight claws.  Black bears have curved claws that make them great climbers when young.

I once watched a man let his little Jack Russell terrier show off, with this tree climbing ability.  At the time I wondered what I was actually seeing.


Comments

Anonymous said…
There was a house on a pretty busy road in our town that had a two-trunked tree. They had to finally put a ladder in-between the two trunks to keep their schnauzers from climbing up, using their backs to inch up, and then walking back and forth on a horizontal limb that hung over the sidewalk. It was pretty weird to see a dog comfortable in a tree. Yes, what am I seeing?! Especially when both were up there!
Miniature schnauzers, was it? They are nimble. Terriers' image is that of dogs that go to ground, not "to tree!"
Anonymous said…
Not miniature - medium sized. They needed the longer legs as the trunks were wider apart at the top. I saw them do it once while sitting at the stop sign. Pretty nimble - pretty funny.