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  1. #21
    Registered User LIhikers's Avatar
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    My wife and I almost always have our 90 pound shepherd dog with us.
    The dog is kept on a retractable leash at all times except when we're in our tent (we don't use shelters when the dog is with us).
    It's a long leash, maybe 20 feet, and the dog gets to wander quite a bit.
    The handle end of the leash goes onto a belt that my wife wears around her waist.
    And truth be told, the leash is to keep the dog from chasing every animal she sees.

  2. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by lkmi View Post
    I am not a dog owner.
    I am a hiker.
    Please realize that not everyone loves dogs.
    And I get very nervous when encountering an unleashed dog on the trail.
    "Oh, my dog is very friendly," is always the response. That doesn't help.

    We all make compromises so we can share the trail. Keeping your dog on a leash should be one of them.
    I do realize this which is why I ALWAYS put my dogs in a down-stay position when encountering others on trail. I respect that no one wants to be met and loved on by my dogs unless they say so, and I will always keep my dogs at a distance unless the other party says otherwise. Even I, as a dog owner, get frustrated by uncontrolled dogs off-leash when owners claim "but they're friendly". I guess others have the same issue which is why my dogs get conplimented on their behaviour so often.

  3. #23
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    everybody's dog is "so friendly, wouldn't hurt nuthin', so smart, just sniffin' ya" blah blah blah.

    you don't know how your dog will react to ~me~ because it's never met ~me~.

    so when i react by whacking your unleashed dog with my hiking pole as it growled, bared teeth, and lunged at me then realize that whacking is a risk you were willing to take by not leashing it.

  4. #24

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    Sorry, somehow this, yet again, turned into the on-leash, off-leash debate again.

    As far as being on-leash with your dog, as others have recommended, look at a harness and longer leash set-up that can be hooked to a waist belt. There is one guy who does Youtube videos that has a great set-up with his husky-wolf mix that would probably work for you.

  5. #25

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    I love dogs! Never a time in my life (other than tween dog and morning I did not have dogs in the home), but it would really piss me off if instead of hiking for 3 days I had to spend a week looking for her after she chased a deer cause I thought it was a good idea to do what ever I wanted.

  6. #26

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    The channel is Fronkey Outdoors on Youtube.

  7. #27
    Registered User doingtime's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cliffordbarnabus View Post
    everybody's dog is "so friendly, wouldn't hurt nuthin', so smart, just sniffin' ya" blah blah blah.

    you don't know how your dog will react to ~me~ because it's never met ~me~.

    so when i react by whacking your unleashed dog with my hiking pole as it growled, bared teeth, and lunged at me then realize that whacking is a risk you were willing to take by not leashing it.
    I would have no problem with that. If my dog was aggressive, you have every right to defend yourself.

  8. #28
    Registered User Sandy of PA's Avatar
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    We are visitors to the woods, why should the animals that live there, raising their babies have to be harassed because we want to let our companion animals run free. It is not just for other people that leashes are recommended or required, it is for the real residents of the woods that I go to see.

  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by doingtime View Post
    I would have no problem with that. If my dog was aggressive, you have every right to defend yourself.
    Simply coming up to a person is aggressive to some people. They arent required to wait to be bitten before defending self. If a strangers dog gets in someones personal space, they can shoot it as far as Im concerned. If you dont control your dog , its your problem, not theirs. I love dogs, have two, and would even want to play with your dog. But you have responsibility when you take them out around others. A well trained dog can go off leash. I havent seen a well trained dog on AT yet.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 06-25-2016 at 09:19.

  10. #30

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    I used a 50 foot line on my dog. She had the freedom to stop and sniff within reason. She didn't have the freedom to annoy other hikers, or range off of the trail.

    I saw one single dog (out of perhaps 20 unleashed dogs) that was well ... almost well trained on my recent two month hike. One. People seriously underestimate how poorly trained their dogs are for the trail.

    One dog actually attacked me in camp because I banged my shoes together to remove some mud, and that somehow triggered the dog. About ten of them aggressively barked and growled at me, while the owner stated that old "don't worry, he's harmless" idiocy. One was jumping in and out of the shelter on a muddy rainy day while the owner was talking to the dog like it understood human speech. Some were friendly enough, but clearly ignored the owner's commands.

    The question you have to ask yourself is, "why is my dog unhappy enough that it needs to bark at strangers? The answer is because you haven't trained it to relax and be calm around strangers. If this is the case, you're just allowing your dog to be all stressed out, thinking that it's world is a scary place. That's just horrible dog ownership, and poor training. Until you've conditioned and trained your dog to relax, they belong on a leash. For the dog's own happiness. It's far easier to train a dog to socialize when they're on a leash. The leash will make your dog happier until you can convince them that strangers are not scary. The leash is not a punishment, it's not something that should make your dog sad. The leash is your friend.

  11. #31

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    A dog that approaches me and is not on a leash just may end up getting shot. You cannot predict a dog's temperament until it bites you. And every dog that bites has an owner that says "he doesn't bite." If you don't want a dead dog, I'd suggest you keep it under your control at all times.

  12. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bronk View Post
    A dog that approaches me and is not on a leash just may end up getting shot. You cannot predict a dog's temperament until it bites you. And every dog that bites has an owner that says "he doesn't bite." If you don't want a dead dog, I'd suggest you keep it under your control at all times.
    I've never heard anyone so scared of dogs. If the dog attacks me, I'll fight it like a man as I would a human (or bear for that matter). If shooting dogs off leash on trail was the norm, I'd have to carry a ton of ammo. Geez...

  13. #33

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    Not saying its the norm. Matter of fact, I've never shot a dog. But I'm not afraid to. Letting a dog run free is irresponsible if you cannot control it, and truthfully most people cannot. Just like their children, they assume it is up to the general public to just put up with their bad behavior.

  14. #34
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    I can't speak to the trail aspect of this, but generally speaking there are entirely too many people who only THINK their dog is well behaved, well trained, and 100% capable of being off leash at any time. I've been bitten twice by dogs. Both times their human swore the dog would never bite. One even said her dog would "never hurt a flea." The scars on my leg and I wish we were a flea.

    It's not a dog flaw, it's their humans who screw it up. If your dog is truly under control by voice command at all times in any normal situation, have at it. If not, for the sake of your dog and other humans, keep the dog on a leash. I would think the same would apply anywhere, including in the wilderness. I do see the point made by Sandy of PA, that we (including our domestic animals) are visitors and some consideration should be given to the wild creatures we might encounter.

  15. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by New_2_Hikin' View Post
    I can't speak to the trail aspect of this, but generally speaking there are entirely too many people who only THINK their dog is well behaved, well trained, and 100% capable of being off leash at any time. I've been bitten twice by dogs. Both times their human swore the dog would never bite. One even said her dog would "never hurt a flea." The scars on my leg and I wish we were a flea.

    It's not a dog flaw, it's their humans who screw it up. If your dog is truly under control by voice command at all times in any normal situation, have at it. If not, for the sake of your dog and other humans, keep the dog on a leash. I would think the same would apply anywhere, including in the wilderness. I do see the point made by Sandy of PA, that we (including our domestic animals) are visitors and some consideration should be given to the wild creatures we might encounter.
    I posted pics a couple yrs ago of a hikers shorts, and the dog, that someones dog ripped on PCT when it bit another hiker. Dog was freaked out by large hats, sunglasses, and hiking poles, and became very protective of territory. Lawsuit waiting to happen. "Shes never done that before" was first statement.

    I watched it happen. I was talking to dog owner , dog was roaming around 20 yds away. Hiker came around bend and down trail, dog ran up and bit at his hip, ripping his shorts. Dog owner didnt even apologize. Just " shes never done that before".
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 06-25-2016 at 23:54.

  16. #36
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    According to the ATC leashes are required on over 40% of the AT. More info here: http://www.appalachiantrail.org/home...ilies-and-pets

  17. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gambit McCrae View Post
    I have walked with my dog about 1500 miles, no leash. When we get to towns, highway crossings, trailheads; of the busy nature, the leash goes on. My dog is far from perfect but gets many compliments on the AT and listens pretty good. use common sense, if you flush a rabbit, or deer and can tell her not to chase it, or she plays well with other dogs, or can listen to you when you mean business, then have a leash on hand, but use it at your discretion. Most people on here will be stricter then I in their opinion, I'm sure squeezebox will be along shortly to damn your dog from the AT indefinitely lol

    Attachment 35303 Attachment 35304
    Ha........


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  18. #38
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    I have a close friend who was bit by a dog on a remote trail in Bent Creek Nantahala Forest. The dog was off leash. My friend is a general practice veterinarian who handles dogs daily. He saw the dog off leash in advance, and stopped and dismounted his bike. The owner was in sight. He was standing astride his bike and said as the dog trotted by it looked at him, gave no warning then attacked. He was knocked down and was tangled in the bike. The dog tore into his upper thigh/groin area and then locked onto his forearm. The attack lasted less than 30 seconds before the stunned owner got the dog off. He said, "The dog never has acted like this." My friend was lucky not to have a major vessel hit in his thigh. The forearm was ripped open pretty good and he was lucky to get off without a nerve injury. The owner was held liable.
    This was so random but weird stuff like this does occasionally happen. It is one of the reasons that I hike with poles and one of the reasons that I aggressively defend my space when a dog is around.
    I like dogs and am an owner. But I really don't like to see them in the woods.

  19. #39

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    Average payout in dog bite case is $37,000.
    That alone should be enough reason for anyone with dog over 20 lb to take care.

  20. #40

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    I'm so happy to read this discussion here. I'm another one terribly anxious around dogs & have been bitten. I just don't get the culture that's developing that it's perfectly ok to have a dog run around off leash. I was terribly disappointed last weekend to encounter two dogs off leash in a MD section of the AT. Each dog bounded up to me. Besides my fear of getting bitten, I don't particularly care for an animal jumping up on me. For each encounter, I asked the owner to call his dog. Each one acted perturbed. One said: "He's just getting to know you". Why do I have to be subjected to that?? I'm glad to hear that the general consensus is to be prepared to defend myself. From now on, I will certainly do so.

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