Help me with the leash thing

[doingtime]

OK, I'm needing help with this. I hike with a dog 50% of the time. My dog runs off leash 95% of the time we're hiking. I do keep her leashed in parking lots, campgrounds, high traffic areas, etc.

I keep a retractable leash attached to my pack at all times and use as needed.

But, on the trail, I just can't see using a leash. Especially a regular 6 foot lead. Just walking a dog n the neighborhood on a 6 foot leash is no fun, so i sure can't see the fun (for me or her) on a leash out in the wide open spaces.

I ask, because i have never seen a dog, on the trail, on a 6 foot leash. I see them all of the time off leash and never had a problem.

My question is, how do you do it? Enjoy being on the trail with a dog on a leash that is?

[kjbrown]

When I hike with Sasha (5 year old female Siberian Huskey) she is on leash at all times. This has more to do with me and making sure that I have total control at all times of her actions and location. I use a modified Skijoring belt with a 10 foot lead for her in a double cross back harness. She is having fun on leash because ske knows that we are going out to walk for a few days at a time or snowshoeing. We both enjoy the time and I am not concerened that she will get lost. If she does get off she could be 10 miles ahead of me before she turns arround to notice that I am not right behind her.

[Gambit McCrae]

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

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[The Solemates]

my dogs are never on a leash. i just cant imagine it happening. people who leash their dogs must have much better behaved dogs than I do. besides that, i have 3 of them. my dogs are well behaved, but leash trained...no. for the courtesy of others I only hike with my dogs on trails in which I know I wont see anyone. these trails abound. I would never take my dogs on the AT.

[plexusbritt]

Given where I live and the hour or so I would have to drive to get to more remote trails, my dogs are always on a leash. I generally hike with only one and she knows the word "trail" to mean that she can walk out in front of me. I use a light weight biner on my hip belt and she just walks in front of me. I never gave much thought to it. She figured out to stay between my trekking poles when I am using them.
Around town she stays next to my knee at the cue, "heel". There are a lot of great youtube videos on "pack walking" and such that were a great resource for training her to be really well behaved on a leash.

If I lived in a more remote area, she may be off leash more. She isn't on one because I cant trust her but, rather because I do not want to pay the fine for violating the leash law.

[plexusbritt]

And to be quite frank, we have had some pretty irritating run in with off leash dogs in the local state parks around here. I tend to avoid off leash dogs because (in general) they are the kind running up into my campsite sticking their nose into everything. I have even had them jump into my vehicle.

[Sarcasm the elf]

On the A.T. or other high traffic trails my dog is on a six foot leash for the most part. The setup is simple, dog has a good supportive harness clipped to te leash, then the other end of the leash is clipped with a carabiner to my waist strap. In this setup the harness is key since it pulls on her body as opposed to a collar which pulls on her neck, this is important for the times that one of us (usually me) takes a tumble. Beyond that it is just a matter of simple leash training and manners which is something that is easily worked on in town.

[GoldenBear]

When you don't leash your dog in bear country.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...t=#post1973134

If, using only voice commands, you can stop your dog from barking and moving towards a bear, great. Most dogs just instinctively attack other mammals.
If you can't do so (or aren't sure), then you definitely WON'T be able to control what can happen next:
1) the bear fights back, attacking the dog.
2) the dog, hopelessly out-classed in the fight, runs back to you.
3) the bear, having its chase instinct activated, now runs directly at you.
4) you get mauled by a pissed-off bear.

Will it happen every time a dog and a bear meet? Of course not.
Can it be prevented by simply having a dog on a 30-foot leash? Yes.
It may not be as fun for you or your dog.
But getting mauled by a bear is even LESS fun.

[Sarcasm the elf]

When you don't leash your dog in bear country.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...t=#post1973134

If, using only voice commands, you can stop your dog from barking and moving towards a bear, great. Most dogs just instinctively attack other mammals.
If you can't do so (or aren't sure), then you definitely WON'T be able to control what can happen next:
1) the bear fights back, attacking the dog.
2) the dog, hopelessly out-classed in the fight, runs back to you.
3) the bear, having its chase instinct activated, now runs directly at you.
4) you get mauled by a pissed-off bear.

Will it happen every time a dog and a bear meet? Of course not.
Can it be prevented by simply having a dog on a 30-foot leash? Yes.
It may not be as fun for you or your dog.
But getting mauled by a bear is even LESS fun.

While I am a proponent of leashing pets on the A.T. your outline above sounds like a freakishly rare scenario that feeds on people's irrational fear of black bears. Can it happen? Sure. But given how routinely bears and dogs share the same space in bear country, especially in the places where bears live among peoples houses and yards, and how unusual attacks are I wouldn't be terribly worried. The normal result is that the dog trees the bear and both leave the encounter unharmed.

Personally I am much more concerned about dealing with other people's off leash dogs or the possibility of my dog following her nose or chasing a deer and getting lost, or of her getting into a tangle with a porcupine or a venomous snake than I am of meeting the one bear in New England that isn't a blood coward.

[DuneElliot]

Wish I could help. I never leash my dogs on trail but they ARE always wearing e-collars. When wearing their packs my dogs never leave the trail...I didn't train them for this they just naturally found that rhythm...one in front and one behind. My dogs are working dogs (border collies) so are used to being off-leash and also being under full voice command at all times. I have had many compliments on the trail about my dogs and always pull off to the side with them and put them in a down-stay position until others pass by. The only issue I have ever had was when another on-leash dog acted aggressively towards my male and he got defensive but still remained under control.

That dog was the only exception, and ironically on-leash, and most people here hike with very well-controlled dogs off-leash. I understand that out west things are a little different with more land and trails but we certainly have our busy trails.

[doingtime]

On the A.T. or other high traffic trails my dog is on a six foot leash for the most part. The setup is simple, dog has a good supportive harness clipped to te leash, then the other end of the leash is clipped with a carabiner to my waist strap. In this setup the harness is key since it pulls on her body as opposed to a collar which pulls on her neck, this is important for the times that one of us (usually me) takes a tumble. Beyond that it is just a matter of simple leash training and manners which is something that is easily worked on in town.

Good info, thanks. I'm going to have this type of setup for my next hike

[doingtime]

Wish I could help. I never leash my dogs on trail but they ARE always wearing e-collars. When wearing their packs my dogs never leave the trail...I didn't train them for this they just naturally found that rhythm...one in front and one behind. My dogs are working dogs (border collies) so are used to being off-leash and also being under full voice command at all times. I have had many compliments on the trail about my dogs and always pull off to the side with them and put them in a down-stay position until others pass by. The only issue I have ever had was when another on-leash dog acted aggressively towards my male and he got defensive but still remained under control.

That dog was the only exception, and ironically on-leash, and most people here hike with very well-controlled dogs off-leash. I understand that out west things are a little different with more land and trails but we certainly have our busy trails.

My dog is also well behaved, stays on the trail, and will sit off trail as others pass. She does not bark or growl at people or other dogs. That's why I ask because if we don't bother anybody, then I will continue as I have been doing.

[lkmi]

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.

[doingtime]

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 realize you exist (non dog owners/lovers), I just don't understand you, and certainly don't understand the fear. I also think you could handle 30 second encounter on the trail, and be prepared to defend yourself if necessary.

[lkmi]

I realize you exist (non dog owners/lovers), I just don't understand you, and certainly don't understand the fear. I also think you could handle 30 second encounter on the trail, and be prepared to defend yourself if necessary.

I should be prepared to defend myself - from what/whom? The dog? Its owner?

[doingtime]

I should be prepared to defend myself - from what/whom? The dog? Its owner?

Any animal or human. Be it a bear, snake or other animal. When I am out on the trail alone, I am prepared for any adversary.

I don't understand anyone that is not.

I am just not scared of dogs. Any dogs.

[rocketsocks]

Doo 'time, it really dosen't matter wether you understand the level of anxziety a person has, dosen't have, the fact is, in many areas there are leash laws, and if your not followin' em yur givin' responsible dog owners a bad name, and if ya don't care (which I assume is the case due to your lack of empathy) than your just being a jag-off.

[Starchild]

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.

Most times I just 'grin and bear it'.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I realize you exist (non dog owners/lovers), I just don't understand you, and certainly don't understand the fear. I also think you could handle 30 second encounter on the trail, and be prepared to defend yourself if necessary.

The explanation is quite simple, keep in mind that I don't know you or your dog, I am just speaking about generally about my experiences.

Many of us, myself included have had encounters with aggressive, uncontrolled dogs on the trail (usually they are normally friendly house dogs that are acting fearful and defensive since they are not used to being in the woods).
One of the major reasons that I keep my very well trained dog on leash on the A.T. is so that I can remain in control of the situation when a strange dog bounds up to us. I have no problem with genuinely well trained dogs that are close by their owners and in verbal control being off leash, but this is rarely the case. Most often my problem encounters happen with a dog that is hiking well in front of it's owner and the owner rarely witnesses the encounter, instead they show up a minute later to let me know the dog that just snapped at me is friendly. While I have sufficient experience with dogs to be able to quickly tell which ones are friendly and which ones I should be wary of, that is not something most people can do which is why so many people are understandably concerned when they encounter a dog that is away from or not being controlled by their owner.

To your last point, if somebody is knowingly doing something on the trail that is forcing another hiker to "be prepared to defend" themselves, then that is a problem. I get the point that you are trying to make, but I think that it can be easily misinterpreted when reading it.

[rafe]

I realize you exist (non dog owners/lovers), I just don't understand you, and certainly don't understand the fear. I also think you could handle 30 second encounter on the trail, and be prepared to defend yourself if necessary.

Your not understanding is irrelevant. It's not my responsibility to "defend myself" from unleashed dogs on the trail. It's your responsibility to keep your dog in check and at your side. Not everyone loves your dog the way you do.