CBWM: Piper!
My trusty pup searches for the source of the mysterious “chirping” noise
For those of you that own a dog, I’m sure you know the look you get when you leave the house without them. My dog Piper also perceives that if I’m putting on boots and have binoculars around my neck, then I'm leaving for a walk in the woods, which breaks her heart even more. So I ask, even knowing that your dog will inevitably reduce the birds that you’ll see, how can you justify even having a dog if you’re not taking them out with you? Today, Piper came birding with me.
The downsides are clear. The sheer excitement Piper gets as we start our walk means that for the first half mile or so, she's pulling me in any direction her nose can think of. If I have the good fortune to see a bird, she’s pulling so hard that I can’t even steady my binoculars. After she’s calmed down enough to let me start looking through the binoculars, her presence scares away all but the most common birds. The mighty Robin and House Sparrow exhibit the most bravery in the face of my ferocious attack animal, seemingly unfazed by her barks and yaps at the end of her leash (she’s a King Charles Spaniel that weighs 18lbs). However any bird that I might consider even slightly interesting for not being a “common everyday bird”, disappears before we get remotely close.
How do you leave this pup behind?
This makes gear selection difficult. When taking a dog birding, you're going to want binoculars that have a very high magnification so you can see the birds before your dog scares them away. However, since your dog will be unpredictably pulling you, you’ll also want an optic that doesn’t shake too much when using the full zoom. This of course is a trade-off that doesn’t exist as far as I can tell, no matter how much money you have.
Are there upsides to birding with a dog you might ask? The good news is that there are a few upsides (beyond avoiding the inevitable “puppy-dog eyes” guilt trip):
A meandering birdwalk is great training. At times your pace will move with them, but a birder will also slow to a crawl, move in small motions to gain better views, and come to a full stop at unpredictable times. For a dog that's used to pulling you around the neighborhood, I find that this forces a bit of patience and discipline. We don’t go because Piper pulls, we go when I decide we go, and that's an important lesson (or so I’ve seen from that Dog Whisperer show).
It means less pressure on birding. Going out while leaving the family behind can sometimes mean I get a little bit frantic. Does this sound familiar: “I have 2 hours, so I have to cover as much ground as possible, but also not go too fast and miss something, and I need to find time to sit and appreciate nature, but also I probably can hit two different spots if I hustle”. With the dog, my expectations for birding are low, and I tend to just enjoy the walk a bit more.
She finds birds! I’m sure I pass countless birds that have evaded me by simply tucking in and waiting for me to pass. Piper is more in tune with squirrels, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t caught a scent that's resulted in a bird I wouldn’t have seen. Good dog!
As far as what’s worked for me, I keep Piper on the leash at all times, and I tie my leash to my waist. This is really important because it allows me to hold my binoculars with both hands, and if she starts pulling I can step on the leash to keep her close while keeping my body stable.
In the end it may seem like a fool’s errand to go birding with a dog, but I disagree. As with much in life, I think the mindset just needs to be flipped. Now I subscribe to the idea that sometimes I'm so fortunate that I get to fit some birding in on my dog walks.