Great response and I appreciate your sharing this experience. I have had the same experience on the trail meeting dogs, except for the on pit bull previously mentioned. Mine is the same way, she is huffing and puffing up the trail.
Now the shelter/campsite experience is a whole different story all together. I love dogs, but i would say something to an owner that let their dogs rummage around in people's personal space. i would not like that at all, not would I allow my dog to do that.
And yes, you are "breaking a rule" by running them off-leash, as we all do when we go 5 mph over the speed limit or pull of a beautiful rolling stop while leaving the neighborhood.
That's why mine is always on a leash when we're in populated areas like parking lots, campgrounds and trail heads. Mine only comes off leash when there is room to run and play safely.
This is part of the reason I don't take my dog to other people's homes. I also do not take her camping when there will be anyone other than my immediate family. I have been a dog owner for my entire life. I have had great dogs and my current 3 year old dog is possibly the best dog I have ever been around. I can allow her to go without a leash, without even a small worry of her running off. She reacts to voice commands well and she does well on a leash. She loves the outdoors and she loves people.
However....... I can't guarantee that I can control her 100% of the time and while she loves people and most people love her, she may lick someone's hand or rub up against them or even put her front legs on someone (she never does that to me or my family but somehow knows who will allow it). While 90% of the encounters may be fine, it is my responsibility to ensure that me wanting to have my dog around doesn't effect anyone else around me. No one should have to change their eating habits, sleeping habits or worry about any domesticated animal bothering their stuff or their person.
I love dogs and I love my dog but I do not like your dog or want it in my face, at my feet or by me when I sleep. I am fairly certain that everyone else who decided not to bring their dog feels the same way. Maybe not always but often times. Even the sweet person that pets your dog and says how cute it is doesn't want it jumping on them or rummaging through their pack.
In my opinion, taking a dog on an overnight hike where others will be around, is simply selfish. There is much more bad that can come from it than good. Just my $0.02
I am going to place my two cents.
As a dog lover, and owned by two very loving dogs, I still believe in leashing dogs on the trail UNLESS the dog is well behaved, wont chase people/critters, and will not go more than a few yards from you at all times. The dog must also know their commands. If the dog can't function on a leash, than it sure as hell shouldn't be off the leash.
That being said; I do hike with my dogs off leash unless I am in a well-used trail, high volume, dangerous conditions, etc. I also hike with one dog off, and one dog on because while my oldest dog is like the dog described, my youngest doesn't follow all her commands just yet.
As far as what the op questioned, get a hands free leash with a stretch leash. It doesn't have to be long. The longer the leash, the more pull the dog will have against your body. It is also better to have controll over your dog in towns, busy trails so a 6 ft long leash seems overkill to me unless you can shorten it.
A good example of a good dog gone bad day for me:
I was hiking at a local park in the back part of the trail system with my two dogs. I had a freind, and I wasnt paying attention. (it can happen even to the best of hikers) I made the mistake of having my youngest off leash for a good training session since I thought we were the only people on the trail. (No cars at the trail head)
We came around a corner, and boom...people. I acted quickly and comanded the oldest to sit/stay where he was off the trail. Lettie on the other hand was a spitfire. She decided she wasnt going to listen. It took me a good few minuets to catch her as she avoided me while keeping eye contact on the other people.
I should of been paying more attention. What usualy happens is, I see the people way up the trail and use that moment to step aside the trail in respect for the other group. Luckily, the group we ran into was completely cool and understanding. They understood that lettie was still being trained, etc.
But still, for now on, I am going to refrain from her being off leash in public parks untill I can get her to listen fully like simba. Imagine if the other group had a dog that was on or off leash, and was aggressive, Lettie could of gotten into some serious problems. Or, if she ran across a big snake.
My son lives near the AT in PA. He has a little twenty pound mix dog that is "well behaved". So rounding the corner a gentleman surprised us coming the other way. So happens the guy was carrying openly. Nothing happened but my son was upset that the gentleman reached for his gun. So I have mixed feelings of dogs off the leash.
In PA loose dogs harassing wildlife in the game lands can be shot legally. No dog is permitted off leash unless it is dog training season and you have a hunting license displayed. PA has a State leash law, best keep them on leash in PA.
Are all breeds and sizes allowed on the AT?
First, I'm a dog owner and love dogs, as is my wife, but my wife was mauled by a Rottweiler mix as a child, and she gets afraid around dogs she doesn't know. IMHO, it's EXTREMELY rude to allow your dog to roam at will in public without a leash. It's just inconsiderate to those that have good reasons to be afraid of dogs. It's also very inconsiderate to think that they should be ready to defend themselves. If your dog is so out of control as to be a risk to people, where they would have to worry about self defense, you need to keep them home.
Time is but the stream I go afishin' in.
Thoreau
"The leash thing" is incredibly easy. Keep your dog leashed where the law requires you to do so. Pretty f'ing simple. Know the law and obey it. Is this really that difficult to comprehend?
I am with you on this issue. Some people aren't dog people for one reason or another, it shouldn't matter how well your dog is trained. By the way I am a dog person and dog owner all of my life. I have had mutts to pure breeds and everything in between. But I also made sure that my dogs would obey me and not jump on other people or pull at a leash because other dogs are around. I have been told by many professional trainers that dogs that misbehave usually have lazy owners, in the fact they won't take the time to work with their dogs and teach them to obey. The "puppy" excuse doesn't work either. That's when you should start working with them the most, so they don't know any other way other than to behave. Finally, dogs are not stupid animals either. They can sense when someone is a dog person. For people out there, here is a rule for you, never approach of pet another dog, especially service dogs without getting permission first.
Blackheart
Should read never approach or pet another dog....
Blackheart
+1 - to which I add know when manners/etiquette should be employed in common areas where others are or are likely to walk into like camping areas. Keeping a dog leashed protects it and others and most hikers I know appreciate the owner who recognizes their responsibility to their dog to keep them out of trouble. I wish I would see more of these folks than I do currently.
I have "rescued" more than one dog that ran off (no doubt chasing something) from the owner & got lost. Nothing sadder than a dog that is hungry, lost, and frantic in the woods unless it's the frantic owner who can't find the dog.
That's the risk you take with an unleashed dog. It seems every year someone looses a dog on the AT. Nearing dusk, I meet a woman frantically calling for her dog about a good mile or more in from a trail head. She asked if I has seen it, and I said "You mean that big dog sitting next to your car back at the parking lot wondering where the heck you are?" The dog had more sense then she did.
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My dog is mostly on a 15ft flexi leash looped through my hip belt, but..... when going down a steep section or very slippery section (like coming off blood mountain with wet/sleet) I always take her off because it is too easy for her to pull me off balance resulting in a serious crash.
I actually had a park ranger from mount Mitchell tell me to "always use a leash that you can drop immediately or keep your dog off leash for steep ascent, descents". I have a feeling he had to rescue someone who didn't follow this simple rule who took a nasty fall.
That being said, the only times my dog ever growled at anyone was. 1) I tripped and she wasn't going to let a stranger near me until I could stand again 2) a beagle tried to sleep in her tent and 3) another dog was going for her food dish. these growls were "back off" holding her ground, not attack or threat.
However I do understand the other side of the equation-
I was very afraid of a man who had 2 pit bulls on cinch collars that I ran into at hawk mountain a few years ago when thru hikers were starting up. He said these dogs were rescued from fighting. Now I'm all for pit bull rescue, but this idiot was begging food from me - he brought no dog food! And the 2 dogs would have killed mine if they got loose. I asked which way he was going, watered up and backtracked away from them. Better to change itinerary than risk attack. I later ran into him at Hiawassi, the dogs had attacked each other and both had stitches to their heads, ears and shoulders. Only time I felt I needed a gun for protection over 40 years camping and hiking. That man should have been arrested for his behavior, but being an idiot maybe isn't an arrest able crime. Just glad no people were hurt.