Thread: Is putting a beacon on your dog safe?

I was just reading a thread over at TTtips where they were arguing over a guy selling an F2 and whether it was safe to be selling such an old beacon and someone suggested using it for a dog or tent. I was thinking, putting a beacon on a dog is a great use for an outdated model to keep the pooch safe (needless to say, search mode is sort of irrelevant) - but then I though, hmmm, in a slide, would I rather have two signals (one being dog, one being wife) or one signal and a dead dog. Thoughts? Experiences? This assumes I am not the greatest finder of multiple burials...

Originally Posted by yesIsaidyes

I was just reading a thread over at where they were arguing over a guy selling an F2 and whether it was safe to be selling such an old beacon and someone suggested using it for a dog or tent.

The suggestion was to using it to search for a dog or tent equipped with an older beacon that transmits only at 2257kHz.

The Ortovox F2 sends and receives at both the older 2257kHz frequency and the now standard 457kHz. It uses a shitty attached earphone to locate, and is a 15year old POS beacon that the chump wants someone to pony up $50 for (which people are amazingly willing to do looking at eBay)

This assumes you care more about your wife than you do your dog...



Someone wrote a TR a while back about digging out his dog that he triggered an avalanche on. It was extremely touching to the point that if I took my dog into the BC, he would absolutely have a beacon on. My thought on the subject is this: Buy your dog a beacon and your wife an avalung.

Originally Posted by PacRimRider1

Someone wrote a TR a while back about digging out his dog that he triggered an avalanche on. It was extremely touching to the point that if I took my dog into the BC, he would absolutely have a beacon on. My thought on the subject is this: Buy your dog a beacon and your wife an avalung.

Originally Posted by PacRimRider1

My thought on the subject is this: Buy your dog a beacon and your wife an avalung.

damn, thats some stone cold shit...CJ - I'm with you on the old beacons, it was just tempting to think there was SOME good use for the things...

NO I said NO!!!

is putting bacon on your dog safe?

Originally Posted by yesIsaidyes

is putting bacon on your dog safe?

Not in bear country.

More stuff I didn't think of - what if the pooch doesn't get buried? You have to chase him around to turn off his beacon so you can find your partner. After reading this I think no for the pooch beacon unless its a 2275 or specially made for dogs (god, that seems so yuppie)...

hey yes,
i think beacons on dogs is a bad idea. unless it's an alt frequency. if someone dug out their dog before they dug me out i would haunt them relentlessly for the rest of their lives and sucker punch them once they died, just for good measure.

to that end. i have stopped heading to the mountains with dogs, which unfortunately means without my dog loving friends as well. it's not safe (particularly with my friends very untrained dogs) to be in avy terrain with dogs.

Yeah, sorry...I didn't exactly make myself clear. The wife can have a beacon too. I don't have a wife and I'm not trying to kill her. I'm just saying make the pooch beep. That's all.

Edit: The only one out there without a full understanding of the inherent risk of backcountry skiing is the dog.

Originally Posted by PacRimRider1

Edit: The only one out there without a full understanding of the inherent risk of backcountry skiing is the dog.

So leave the partner without consent, avy knowledge, probe, shovel, and first aid training at home.

SOS make an alternate frequency beacon intended for sleds but they work for dogs. Obviously (?) vou'd need to carry one of them as well to be able to search for your pooch.

There's already been a ton of stuff posted about this but the consensus seems to be that putting a 457 beacon on a dog qualifies one for a smack across the back of the head with a shovel (metal not plastic - they break)

We had a big discussion on this last year here. I am not searching for the thread cause Im feeling lazy, but the general consensus is that it is a bad idea to put one on the dog. Like you said, one live person and dead pooch or two signals you have to dig for, hoping the one you dig up first is your wife.


I love my dog, but human lives are worth more, IMHO.


Ask your wife what she thinks about these scenarios, the answer should come out pretty quick.


Just leave the dog home on any day you feel it may avie. Then you and your wife stay home TOO (or go lower angle).

My 2 cents.

Just leave the dog home on any day you feel it may avie.

You mean any day there is snow on the ground... I think there are days that are deadly and stupid to be out there, but I dont' think there are any days with snow on the ground where I don't feel that it may avalanche.

Originally Posted by Wandrin*

You mean any day there is snow on the ground... I think there are days that are deadly and stupid to be out there, but I dont' think there are any days with snow on the ground where I don't feel that it may avalanche.

You forgot to quote the rest of what I said. The second part is more important.

I have seen several instances where the dogs running around triggered avalanches and have had friends buried and their dogs killed. If a friend of mine would have had a becons on his dogs when they were flushed he would have been the one who would have died not the dogs.

Originally Posted by Avmapper

I have seen several instances where the dogs running around triggered avalanches and have had friends buried and their dogs killed. If a friend of mine would have had a becons on his dogs when they were flushed he would have been the one who would have died not the dogs.

Now Doug you know that probably isn't going to happen.

On a lighter note, does anyone have an old beacon (2257khz) or two that they are trying to get rid of? I would be willing to pony up some $$$ for a couple.
They way I figure it is the dog can have the old beacon, and I'll keep the second one in my pack. If the worst case scenario happens, I'll get dug up first then we can search for the pooch.