Leash your dog PLEASE!

[Drybones]

IMO how a dog behaves has a lot to do with the breed and how it is raised.[/QUOTE]

I agree that some dogs, like people are born bad tempered but 90% of it is in how they're raised...both dogs and people. We bought a doberman puppy that my wife was afraid of when he was still small, he was very dominate. The wife took him to obediance training...they train the owner, not the dog. The trainers did not believe the dog would work out because he was so dominate and she let the dog control her. Unbelieveable change, the dog does anything she instructs him to do now, he's nothing but a big cupcake now and as laid back as could be. Had Michael Vick owned him he would have gone to the dark side

[yellowsirocco]

When I was kid there was a dog that use to attack all bike riders. I started carrying a water gun with amonia and when the dog got close enough I put my bike between me and dog and shot it in the face with the amonia. After a couple of times of doing that the dog left me alone. Of course my friends could never figure out why the dog would leave me alone and go after them.


Any dog will bite. I have been biten twice by small dogs, both times unprovoked when the dogs came up from behind to bite me on the back of the leg.

I have owned dogs all my life and preferr Labs as I find them to be a very mellow dog. IMO how a dog behaves has a lot to do with the breed and how it is raised.

Amonia, are you f-ing serious. That is not something that I would be admiring to. Water would have done just fine. If I did that I would be spending some time in church asking for forgiveness and not telling people about it like it is a tip.

You don't deserve to own a dog when you don't know that spraying chemicals in their face is wrong.

[Namaste]

Thanks for clearing up the confusion .... the post was kind of confusing when you mentioned the Las Vegas piece. Once again tho, no questions were asked to clarify your post. Jumping to conclusions and making judgement calls seems to be the norm sometimes. It's a good reminder for us all to ask clarifying questions before we "speak out". I'm sorry that happened to you Namaste.... both the dog bite and the misunderstanding.

Thanks HM....appreciate it.

[SassyWindsor]

Bitten is one worry, contracting RABIES is a whole other thing. Hikers that leash their dog are very few and hard to find. Hikers who let their dogs roam are rarely concerned about others and when an attack happens it's usually followed by a statement that goes "he(or she) has never done that before" the attacked hiker will occasionally get blamed for provoking the dog and causing the attack. Asking these people to "PLEASE" leash their dog is akin to wasting breath.

[Namaste]

SW the owner said exactly that....."she has never done that before" then proceeded to say "it must be the hiking poles". When I said you're kidding, right? This is a hiking trail. I wear knee braces and always use poles and never had a problem with other dogs before. On the AT in Maryland I had 2 unleashed golden labs jump me but just wanted to lick and be friendly (yuck). How do you know who's friendly, who's not! Whatever, they should be leashed. In the end the owner did admit it was her fault and that I did nothing to provoke her dog (duh).

[Thirsty DPD]

Asking these people to "PLEASE" leash their dog is akin to wasting breath.

That's quite an assumption. Might I ask who "these people" are? A dog that is not leashed is not necessarily roaming, though many are and not under the control of their owner. As a responsible dog owner, I wish some would leash their thoughts before lifting their leg on Angus & I with broad brush assumptions. A fews time a week we are circled by some ill behaved mutt, who's thoughtless ill behaved owner is no where in site, so I appreciate & respect your frustration, can you appreiciate mine? I really have to visit this site less often...................."Angus, that's the computer screen, you know better then to lift your leg on them. Two wrongs don't make it right, just because they don't know any better, you do, now go finish your homework."

[silverscuba22]

If your dog cant walk down the street with you in and around where you live without them misbehaving, you shouldnt let them off leash in the woods.... my dog was off leash for 500 miles of the AT this summer and we never had a problem... serveral people from WB met her....i have serveral people tell me if i"lost" her they would make sure she had a good home....... only "problem" we had was one night when we got to the shelter, someone was collecting firewood for the night and she kept running up and stealing sticks wanting people to play fetch with her.lol

[Thirsty DPD]

If your dog cant walk down the street with you in and around where you live without them misbehaving, you shouldnt let them off leash in the woods.... my dog was off leash for 500 miles of the AT this summer and we never had a problem... serveral people from WB met her....i have serveral people tell me if i"lost" her they would make sure she had a good home....... only "problem" we had was one night when we got to the shelter, someone was collecting firewood for the night and she kept running up and stealing sticks wanting people to play fetch with her.lol

Angus & I experience much the same on the trail. Everyone we meet comments on his pleasent disposition & behavior. Folks that regularly hike & backpack with their dogs are not the problem, & WB is not the place to continually whine about unleashed dogs. It's the preachin' to the choir thing. I don't care to become part of any group by default, then judged by those that included me for membership. A couple folks on WB have threatened, they'll strike a unleashed dog on the trail, (I assume that includes Angus). I am responsible for our behavior & his safety on the trail. I will hold anyone that raises a hand to my dog accountable. Make quite sure you're taking a bite you can swallow if you attack him. In all fairness, attached is his mug shot, so you can think twice. Forunately, both Angus & I are good judges of characters, & keep a distance. Angus ignores folks on the trail, just as he does here on WB. He may have just taught me something.........."Good boy".

[tdoczi]

Angus & I experience much the same on the trail. Everyone we meet comments on his pleasent disposition & behavior. Folks that regularly hike & backpack with their dogs are not the problem, & WB is not the place to continually whine about unleashed dogs. It's the preachin' to the choir thing. I don't care to become part of any group by default, then judged by those that included me for membership. A couple folks on WB have threatened, they'll strike a unleashed dog on the trail, (I assume that includes Angus). I am responsible for our behavior & his safety on the trail. I will hold anyone that raises a hand to my dog accountable. Make quite sure you're taking a bite you can swallow if you attack him. In all fairness, attached is his mug shot, so you can think twice. Forunately, both Angus & I are good judges of characters, & keep a distance. Angus ignores folks on the trail, just as he does here on WB. He may have just taught me something.........."Good boy".

anger towards dogs on the trail is one of those "only on white blaze" things. amongst people who are actually out hiking, ive yet to see anyone ever be annoyed at the presence of a dog. leashed, unleashed, in a shelter, not in a shelter. most people are happy theres a dog around.

[Thirsty DPD]

anger towards dogs on the trail is one of those "only on white blaze" things. amongst people who are actually out hiking, ive yet to see anyone ever be annoyed at the presence of a dog. leashed, unleashed, in a shelter, not in a shelter. most people are happy theres a dog around.

Agree, we're out everyday & have yet to experience the "WB anger towards dog owners thing". Fortunately, on WB most of the anger is directed at the owners. Probably, owners that don't regularly hike, & are not going to be on WB, need to hear the whining. Good thing most dogs can't read.........."Angus, put down the paper & let's go hikin'."

[Train Wreck]

I feel like I'm in the minority here, but I happen to like meeting dogs on the trail, leashed, unleashed, whatever...my only complaint is that it slows me down, because I can't resist petting & giving head scratches to every one of them.

I do expect that in camp, the owner will be considerate enough to make sure his dog is a good neighbor. But that's something any responsible dog owner already knows.

I'm not enjoying the remarks about hitting or striking dogs, either

[RED-DOG]

Most of the people that Hike AT with dogs don't care they just let their dogs run wild all over the other hikers and their gear, I agree PLEASE keep your dog on a leash.

[Train Wreck]

Most of the people that Hike AT with dogs don't care they just let their dogs run wild all over the other hikers and their gear, I agree PLEASE keep your dog on a leash.

Really? That hasn't been my experience at all. I haven't thru-hiked, but have section hiked for about 20 yrs now and can remember camping with lots of hikers with dogs, but not one negative encounter.

The only bad encounter I've observed with a dog while camping was at a public campground, when some car campers showed up with a troublesome mutt that picked fights with other campers' dogs and went around peeing on people's tents. But that's another situation and another group of people entirely.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Agree, we're out everyday & have yet to experience the "WB anger towards dog owners thing". Fortunately, on WB most of the anger is directed at the owners. Probably, owners that don't regularly hike, & are not going to be on WB, need to hear the whining. Good thing most dogs can't read.........."Angus, put down the paper & let's go hikin'."

Yup, typical dog forum thread: An opening comment posted regarding a legitimate issue, a useful discussion begins, then the usual suspects jump in to vent about their dislike of dogs on the trail and the discussion devolves from there. Like you said, posting here is preaching to the choir since most responsible people that hike with dogs also have a strong dislike for irresponsible dog owners. The question I always have is, do the repeat complainers ever say anything to be offending parties on the trail or do they just vent here?

[Namaste]

If that dog had been leashed this thread would never have been started. The discussion could go on til the end of time but I'm sitting here with painful holes in my calf due to an unleashed "friendly" dog. I'm a hiker and I didn't enjoy spending my last 2 vacation days sitting around rather than hiking because of someone's careless, inconsiderate behaviour regarding her "friendly" dog.

I don't condone harming any domestic animal but I will act accordingly next time.

[Thirsty DPD]

Yup, typical dog forum thread: An opening comment posted regarding a legitimate issue, a useful discussion begins, then the usual suspects jump in to vent about their dislike of dogs on the trail and the discussion devolves from there. Like you said, posting here is preaching to the choir since most responsible people that hike with dogs also have a strong dislike for irresponsible dog owners. The question I always have is, do the repeat complainers ever say anything to be offending parties on the trail or do they just vent here?

Yep, same old, same old.

[Thirsty DPD]

Most of the people that Hike AT with dogs don't care they just let their dogs run wild all over the other hikers and their gear, I agree PLEASE keep your dog on a leash.

Agreed, most of the dogs we encounter on the trail are ill mannered & representitive of their owners. However, I know when Angus belongs on his leash, & don't need to be told by anyone here, HYOH.

[pheldozer]

anyone else notice how much less intimidated people are of a dog when it has a dog pack on and a bandanna around its neck?

[RED-DOG]

I am not intimidated by dogs its the fact that almost every time i go hiking i have to replace a piece of gear because owners of uncontroled dogs allow them to do pretty much whatever they want, like in 06 i replaced 2 sleeping bags TWO and this year right after my thru-hike i went on a little section hike and this was at Wayah shelter i went to get some water got back and my 80 dollar sleeping pad was torn in a million pieces and the only thing the owner said was and i Quote "Hi man i quess my dog liked your pad ha ha ha" unquote well needless to say that guy wasn't saying too much as he walked away, So i say again PLEASE keep your dog on a leash or under control. RED-DOG

[turtle fast]

RED DOG So did any of the owners ever pay for their dogs damage or just give you the run around?