Reading the comics, again I see a cat successfully resisting a dog attack by climbing a tree. Exposure to the straight dope has taught me to question authority, however, so I came up with the following questions in my mind:[ul][li]Is there any breed of dog that can climb trees?[/li][li]Has anyone ever seen a dog climb a tree?[/li][li]Why can’t dogs climb trees?[/li][li]Can any other species of canine climb trees?[/ul]My answers would be:<UL TYPE=SQUARE>[]No.[/li][li]I haven’t.[/li][li]Because of their weight (though that wouldn’t apply to smaller dogs). Or because their claws aren’t sharp enough?[/li][]Don’t know.[/list]Anyone else?
Well, I’ve never seen a dog climb a tree, either, but animals much heavier than your average dog can do it. Bears, leopards, etc.
My guess would be that there is some problem with their body structure (legs don’t bend the right ways or something) and/or that they have never developed the instincts for it for some reason.
I think it’s the lack of very sharp claws - dogs just can’t get a grip.
I think it’s because dog claws are not extendable and retractable. Cats retain some flexibility in their last knuckles, which make their claws almost prehensile. Well, I don’t know if prehensile is the right word, but they certainly can do a lot with their claws. This is why cats use claws in fighting, but dogs don’t (of course, why would you bother to claw somebody when you can break cow bones in your jaws?)
Also, I think that dogs aren’t quite as adapted to hunched-down movement. I mean, I see cats prowling close to the ground, waiting to pounce; I think it is this low-slung position that makes climbing relatively easy.
I wonder. Cheetahs have non-retractable claws, like pooches (cheetahs are in their own genus, IIRC, while lions and tigers and leopards Oh My! are all Pantera). I wonder if this means cheetahs can’t climb trees either? After all, they are sort of the drag-racers of the predator world; the opposite of jaguars I suppose (the staked-out police cruiser of the predator world?). Dogs are the motorcycle gangs of the predator world. I’ll quit while I’m ahead…
I’ve seen a dog climb a tree before. Mind you, she didn’t climb by digging her claws into the bark and getting a firm grip. Rather, she had a running start, kind of scampered up the trunk (the hardest part, of course), then jumped around from branch to branch.
I think her owner had thrown something up in the tree to fetch. She was quite good at it, jumping around from branch to branch as if it was second nature to her. I was impressed.
I’ve seen dogs climb trees a few times. Really, as Cabbage said, it isn’t true climbing–it’s a running start, leap, and scamper on fairly level and thick branches. I’ve seen a few episodes of “Emergency Vets” where some hyper canine went chasing after squirrels in a tree, only to fall from 15 feet and break a leg or two. Darwin in action for you, there.
Dogs lack the physical make-up to be able to climb. Not only are their claws nonretractable (and hey, so is a bear’s, and they climb well), but their body lacks the flexibility and grip. A dog is built rather like a horse–upright, less flexible, meant to be on all fours, built for running. A cat is more sinewy, and can reach around branches and grab them securely (as does a bear with their “arms”). A dog’s legs simply are not meant for gripping.
AFAIK, cheetahs are poor climbers. Their habitat is the brush, on the ground. Though they are cats, they are less flexible (at least, in their limbs–their back is remarkably flexible) and have legs built for running rather than clinging to a tree branch.
Teaching: The ultimate birth control method.
On the tonight show, back in the Johnny Carson days, they had a dog on who climbed trees. They had a fake “tree” on the stage, and he ran up it. The owner said the dog figured it ouit on his own, he didn’t try to teach it to him.
It is too clear, and so it is hard to see.
My dog Taco, a border collie, used to climb trees. He did it pretty much like those guys described. He got better at it as he got familiar with the neighborhood trees.
He didn’t climb in persuit of cats, though. He loved cats, and most of the local cats put up with him. He would just climb on up and sit there with that idiotic “happy dog” look on his face, waiting for somebody to come along and admire him. Friendliest dog I ever had or knew. He loved everybody.
Thanks for reminding me of him. 
Peace,
mangeorge
Teach your kids to bungee jump.
One them might have to cross a bridge someday.
I remembered hearing stories that foxes could climb trees, and so I went looking. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/urocyon/u._cinereoargenteus#behavior
Huh.
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen
Not only do they do it, but there’s an AKC breed called the Tennessee Treeing Brindle. My Simon and Schuster’s guide to dogs says the following, "It prefers treeing its prey to trailing and often will almost grab it directly, climbing the tree. Its favourite prey is raccoon.
There’s the tail thing, too. Dogs can’t rotate their tails at the base as well as cats can, for balance.
Your brain-in-a-jar,
Myron
Imbibo, ergo sum.
I saw a program on Discovery (or maybe it was the Animal Channel) about the history of dogs. Dogs used to be able to climb trees, but as they were domesticated, that ability was lost.
Foxes do climb trees.
My uncle has a dog that climbs trees, but he does it like the dogs in the descriptions above. Actually, we think he’s part mountain goat. My uncle is a security guard at a university and he was called because someone said an animal was on top of their car. Turns out, it was a dog sitting on top of an SUV…my uncle adopted him. I think he just likes the view from up there.
Thank you all, once again the Teeming Millions come through! I think Ruffian had the best reasons to explain why dogs can’t easily climb. mangeorge, I’m glad I could bring back some happy memories for you. Notthemama, you get a gold star for teaching me about grey foxes, Urocyon cinereoargenteus. Now one of my goals is to one day see a live one in the wild or a nature preserve.
Oh, I forgot. LabRat, could you describe the Tennessee Treeing Brindle? The only information I can find on the Web is that they are a rare breed. What do they look like?
Arnold,
You can find a picture of one at the following link: www.dogbreedinfo.com/treeingtennesseebrindle.htm
Frankly, it’s an ugly looking dog that I’d never believe was a purebred.
-LabRat
ps. I was wrong. The AKC doesn’t recognize them, but several other clubs do.
pps. I found another picture in my Simon and Schuster of two hounds (type unknown) halfway up a tree with a VERY pissed looking lynx looking down at them.
::: dancing around :::
I–got a–GOLD star! I–got a–GOLD star!
“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” - the White Queen
LabRat, thank you for the link to a great site about dogs. I especially liked the Dog Breed Info Center Search where it suggests what kind of dog you should get based on your living situation.
I once lived next door to a coon dog who would climb, and perch upon, the chain-link fence of his enclosure. The dog’s owner claimed the pooch was a Tennesee Walker. I don’t know my coon dogs, and some other folks have told me there’s no such breed.
AskNott
"Measure twice, cut once. Dang! Measure again, cut again.
Some other folks are wrong, unless they are going strictly by the AKC. THe AKC only recognizes the black and tan, and recently the plott hound. The UKC recognizes more of them, including the “treeing walker”, which is sometimes called the “tennessee (treeing) walker” or just the “walker hound”. “Treeing” refers to the dog chasing game up trees, not to the animal climbing them. And it runs.
Coonhounds: http://www.coonhounds.com/hounds.html
Dogs will sometimes climb trees or ladders, although not with a great degree of skill. I remember seeing a video once of a tree climbing dog - the tree was an evergreen with lots of branches, and the dog looked like a lab. The owners claimed the dog just started doing it by himself, though obviously it was working very hard to get a few feet up a small tree.
I used to have a dog who could climb trees. He did it as people had previosly said. He didn’t jump from branch to branch though, i think he was too big. Anyway, cya l8r!!!
bye!!!