I'm going to shoot...

[Nasty Dog Virus]

...the next unsecured dog that threatens myself, my son, or my dog. I've had enough! This morning I was hiking northbound from the Rausch Gap Shelter when a big black dog came towards us showing his teeth and growling. I truly thought he was going to attack. I pulled my pistol and told my son to slowly back up. The dog came within 10ft of us and the only thing which kept me from shooting him was the fact that he had a collar on. We had a standstill for what seemed like 30 seconds or more, and then some idiot comes bouncing up the trail calling for his dog. The guy comes up saying "oh, he's friendly". My response "had your dog not had a collar on, he'd be dead". He didn't say a word. Just said "come on" to his dog and continued past us. He looked like a section hiker. His pack was too new and clean to be a thru-hiker unless he just replaced it. Regardless, I'm tired of being threatened by hikers dogs. I hike constantly between Duncannon and RT501. I can't seem to go more than a couple weeks without meeting a dog well before I meet its owner. (this isn't meant to be a rant again dog owners, I'm a lifetime dog owner and lover) It's a rant against inconsiderate dog owners. If you love your dog, keep them on a leash, otherwise, they might get shot...just sayin...

[Nasty Dog Virus]

20 minutes after this event I met a SOBO named "The Jesus". Said he left Maine on June 1st. Really nice guy. I told him that big black dog scared "the jesus" outta me...LOL

[JustaTouron]

Shoot away. The trail needs less dogs.

[BirdBrain]

Another thread being put on ignore.

[Doctari]

Back in my bicycling days, (was often chased by dogs) a large dog, forget the breed, came down from the porch with that "I'm going to eat you!" look & bark. The owner said, he won't hurt you, he's friendly. The dog said otherwise. I calmly said; "the dog touches the ROAD, he DIES!" Owner: A frantic: "HERE ROVER!" (Yea, dog's name was Rover!).
Few years later: another mutt was planning on eating my right leg, I whacked him in the head with my tire pump. Yea, he stayed on the porch after that.

Hate to see a dog get killed, but as most know, a bad dog isn't the dog's fault, it's the owner! Bad owner = Bad dog! NO EXCUSES! Sadly, it's the dog who pays!

[Nasty Dog Virus]

Another thread being put on ignore.

Ignore away! But your location reminds me of another time that I had an unwanted encounter with a dog. Just 3 months ago, I was hiking up to the old Civil War fort off Popham Rd (right by Popham Beach St Park) just south of Bath. Same thing, growling dog, stand off, stupid owner shows up later...

[Sarcasm the elf]

Another thread being put on ignore.

This says just as much about why idiots with pistols shouldn't be allowed in the trail either.

[Slo-go'en]

Hate to see a dog get killed, but as most know, a bad dog isn't the dog's fault, it's the owner! Bad owner = Bad dog! NO EXCUSES! Sadly, it's the dog who pays!

So, shoot the owner instead...

[Nasty Dog Virus]

This says just as much about why idiots with pistols shouldn't be allowed in the trail either.

Would I have been an idiot if that dog attacked my son and I shot it? I think not.

[Malto]

Everyone talks about bears, snakes, mountain lions etc but I have had a couple of very uncomfortable situations with dogs on the AT, two of them in PA. And the human morons all say the same thing, "he's friendly". Anyone that knows anything about dogs knows this cant be assumed in an unfamiliar surrounding such as the trail. If your dog can't stay by your side or come INSTANTLY when called should be on a leash. And for the record, I am hardly a dog hater. Here was a shot when I returned from a hiking trip a couple of years ago.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Would I have been an idiot if that dog attacked my son and I shot it? I think not.

Not necessarily, but you are an idiot for hopping on the Internet and bragging about it. I have a lot of experience with both dogs and guns and and consider both to be a huge responsibility that should be taken seriously. I don't see how you though that posting this would be a good idea for either of those subjects.

In addition to that this forum is not the place to post this sort of crap, please read the guidelines: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...before-posting

I'm sorry to hear about your experience and I make no excuse for bad dog owners (they actually piss me off too), but this post is little more than just venting and is seriously out of line.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Also I can all but assure you that the idiots that are letting their poorly trained pets run amuck on the trail aren't taking the time to read the hiking with dogs forum to learn how to responsibly manage a dog while backpacking.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Everyone talks about bears, snakes, mountain lions etc but I have had a couple of very uncomfortable situations with dogs on the AT, two of them in PA. And the human morons all say the same thing, "he's friendly". Anyone that knows anything about dogs knows this cant be assumed in an unfamiliar surrounding such as the trail. If your dog can't stay by your side or come INSTANTLY when called should be on a leash. And for the record, I am hardly a dog hater. Here was a shot when I returned from a hiking trip a couple of years ago.

What kind of dog is the one in the middle? It sort of looks like a Maremma shepherd

[HikerMom58]

I'm not going to put your thread on ignore.

I can picture exactly where you were on the trail. I just hiked that section in May. The Rausch Gap shelter area is sooo beautiful.

I can understand your frustration with an unfriendly dog encounter. You had something with you to protect yourself and your son. Good for you. I'm glad you didn't shoot first & ask questions later. The innocent dog would have paid the ultimate price.

The dog scared you, for sure, but didn't hurt anyone... thank goodness!!

You have a right to do whatever you can to protect yourself. Hopefully the owner will think twice about letting his unfriendly dog off leash from now on.

Let me ask you ... Are you totally against all dogs off leash on the trail or just the dogs that show signs of aggression as this one did? Did you take the time to explain to the dog owner what his dog's behavior was, that made you feel the need to defend yourself?? The dog owner must be in some kind of denial if he told you his dog was friendly.

[Nasty Dog Virus]

Not necessarily, but you are an idiot for hopping on the Internet and bragging about it. I have a lot of experience with both dogs and guns and and consider both to be a huge responsibility that should be taken seriously. I don't see how you though that posting this would be a good idea for either of those subjects.

In addition to that this forum is not the place to post this sort of crap, please read the guidelines: http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/show...before-posting

I'm sorry to hear about your experience and I make no excuse for bad dog owners, but this post is little more than just venting and is seriously out of line.

What exactly am I bragging about? Did I do something worthy of bragging? This thread is meant to be food for thought. Perhaps those inconsiderate dog owners, who allow their dogs to threaten others in a public place, need to know that there may be repercussions. I don't want to shoot a dog...EVER. But I came very close to it today. Thanks for the link to the rules but I already read them. If you feel that I am "out of line", then report me or whatever you do...

[Alligator]

Threatening to shoot the next dog that gets in your space is not exactly what we have this forum for. Please to post rants about shooting dogs in this forum. Thanks.