Ditto.........Originally Posted by Rain Man
I am not young enough to know everything.
I'm thinking [hoping], Pedaling Fool's post was sarcasm.
"That's the thing about possum innards - they's just as good the second day." - Jed Clampett
Love this, Thanks for the laugh.
No advice or comments on my question? It would be easy to say the owner should have done this or that... But that is what this thread title deals with. My situation happens. I was happy for it. Did I do anything wrong? Any experts out there?
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
I'm not an expert, BirdBrain, but I probably would have done the same thing, or something similar to establish my presence. A wagging tail is usually a sign that the dog isn't out to tear you to bits, and an apologetic owner is also a good thing.
I presented a scenario that appears to have no real problem. I love labs. The problem is that not every person would be as receptive. My wife is terrified by dogs. If she was in my place, I am not sure what would have happened. She might have screamed and ran. She might have curled into a ball and screamed. She might have tried to defend herself and screamed. Regardless, screaming would have been involved. What should she do? Blaming the owner won't help stop the occurrence. Blaming her and telling her to stay home is not reasonable. Dog experts, is there an answer for those that fear dogs? How do they defuse that scenario?
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
Birdbrain, when I encounter a friendly but poorly behaved dog there are a couple of different things I've found work, I use one or both depending on the situation.
1) I take my trekkingpoles and cross them in front of me, this stops the dogs from being able to come right up to me and prevents them from jumping on me. It also stops them running up to my leashed dog before I get the chance to assess their temperment.
2) Almost all dogs know the commands "sit" and "no" and if I give one of these commands, the approaching dog responds surprisingly often.
What you did was also perfectly fine, it just depends on how much contact you want with the dog.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Love the trekking pole suggestion. Defensive and non aggressive barrier.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
Interesting that you mention trekking poles. Once a dog approach me somewhat aggressively, and the dog owner mentioned that the dog was very wary of the poles, which at the time were in front of me in normal hiking position. Once I put them next to me, or slightly behind me, the dog relaxed. So now I do that whenever a dog rushes up, unless I see a need to take a more defensive stance.
AMEN. I turned to see a 100LB+ bulldog charging uphill towards me on a hike last week. He was allowed to run loose once his master was away from the parking lot. Nice adrenaline shot for my hike! Later, another woman asked, "You don't mind, do you?" about her unleashed dog.
I always choose to bite my tongue about pointing out the leash laws (yes, this trail has one and it is well posted.)
Thanks for including this reminder for dog owners.
Perfect!
I do not pat or otherwise bother dogs on the trail, I rather expect the same. I have no idea whats on the dogs mind, but know whats on mine, so the poles maintain the distance the dog may not have any training to provide you without them. Its gentle, firm, and likely to end without any problems.
Please don't bite your tongue. The people who are clueless need to hear that their behavior is not acceptable and it needs to be said to their face, not on the internet.
You need to say something when someone is allowing their dog to be out of control. Stay civil, but make it clear that they are doing is a problem. I usually just say "Do you mind controling your dog?" it's simple and clear and avoids the whole leash argument all together.
I can admit to you that there are a couple of mistakes I made when I was first began hiking with my dogs, nothing serious, but things that were probably annoying other hikers. I was well intentioned, but didn't have the experience to realize that I was doing things that were rude. I got criticized once or twice by other hikers, took what they said into consideration and the changed my behavior accordingly.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Thanks, but I'll pass. Too many positions of authority in years past, and I sorta relish in my trail time being my time to not be in charge.
Plus, you often end up passing and being passed by the same people over and over on the hills. Why hike in a bubble of tension or confrontation? As a younger man, I would have welcomed the opportunity to tell people what was what. Now, only the most egregious dog-owner fouls earn a scolding from me. Otherwise, I might spend time scolding my fellow hikers more than once a mile.
My path of least resistance for this park (North Table Mountain Park in Golden, CO) is to mention it to a ranger when I see him. If the rule is widely broken, then it needs to be better enforced.
It's always the responsibility of the dog owner to control the dog. The hiker has no responsibility to control someone elses dog. No excuses should be made for a dog that does something to upset others.
during my thru-hike I experienced someone being bitten. The owners excuse was "You frightened him when you were removing your pack." I have been awakened in the middle of the night by a hikers barking dog. His excuse was, "he was protecting us all." The best one was when I was at Partnership shelter and a hikers dog began to pee on several backpacks. The owners excuse was, " He was just marking his teritory. "
If you can't totaly control your dog he and you should not be on the trail.
Grampie-N->2001
You hadn't mentioned that you were dealing with the hippies out in Golden, CO. They're largely a lost cause. Both my siblings just moved out of Golden and my Sister had constant problems with people's untrained and unleashed dogs in the Boulder and Jefferson County Open space lands.
That said, while it's your decision what you decide to do, I still recommend saying something. It doesn't need to be a lecture and it doesn't even need to cause tension, but if someone's dog is out of control, I will ask them to control it.
Last edited by Sarcasm the elf; 03-28-2015 at 16:04.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Don't get me started on dog owners that give excuses instead of taking responsibility, especially in camp. Nobody's dog is perfect, not even mine, but if something happens because of my dog, it's my job is to apologize and the fix the situation.
Last edited by Sarcasm the elf; 03-29-2015 at 00:25.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Proud? No. Entertaining, yes. I'm just getting back at them for all the times they scared the hell out of me riding my bike.
I got one hell of a story involving a wolf (that was sarcasm...I think it was a German Shepard) that use to chase me on a deserted country road when I had to travel a different route (for about a year) while going to work. I never saw that thing, but I felt its warm breath as it was nipping at my heels. It's one hell of a scary feeling hearing a growling, barking dog as it chases you, but you can't see it.
FWIW, I get along with dogs nowadays and am no longer scared of them. A little fear is good for all of us.
I walk my dog every day and am also a runner, and from time to time a loose dog will come running at us/me. If the owner is not around to call the dog back, usually I can stop the approach by yelling "STAY!" If there's more than one dog, stooping down to pick up a rock or a stick will also generally make them back off. Dogs usually know what that means. If your wife is worried about being attacked, she can either try that, or just work at standing still, with her side to the dog, not staring directly at the dog. He's more likely to back off or circle around.
As both a runner and a dog owner, I really wish that runners and trail bikers would learn to stop when approaching a dog and either walk past slowly or allow us to get off the trail out of the way so they can go by safely. Some people seem to think that if they go really fast, they'll minimize problems, and instead they cause problems because they either scare the dog or trigger his chase instincts. When we first adopted our dog, he had no problem with bikes, but a few encounters with bikes that tried to pass too close and fast scared him badly. It has taken us years to get him less reactive. As a runner, whenever I see a dog, I slow down and speak to him or his owners in a friendly tone. They see there is nothing to fear and don't try to chase me.
I see this as more of a right of way issue that follows some generalized rules and depends where you are when the encounter is made. Bikes are supposed to always yield to hikers/runners though in my experience they seldom do, which is why I try to avoid multi-use trails and bikes altogether. Runners/hikers moving uphill typically have the ROW when approached by downhill runners/hikers (downhillers typically have the ROW if they are ahead of a runner/hiker who is faster). However a dog can change the dynamics and may cause the owner to yield ROW to anyone passing by, especially if the dog will chase or be defensive.
I don't think its reasonable to ask others to stop or slow down to accommodate a nervous dog, though I understand the thought. For example, when I am hiking up grades, once I have hit my pace I am loath to slow down or even say much to people other than nod or a quick thanks if they yield so I can keep climbing. A lot of times I will see people with dogs place themselves between the animal and passers by, which is a great method of mitigation. That puts everyone more at ease, does not interrupt the other persons activity, and should curb the animals urge to bark/bite/chase.
Good luck with that tough guy. You should keep a basic first aid kit handy.
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