FamilySherpa
Trail Wise!
Tangled up in Rhododendron
Posts: 1,791
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Post by FamilySherpa on Sept 7, 2016 10:42:12 GMT -8
One time I saw this guy backpacking with a dog and it was walking behind him. I passed him and said hi.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Sept 7, 2016 19:01:28 GMT -8
The owner apologized and said his dog was friendly but deaf. Seriously dumb to let the animal run loose, then! Nice that your dog knows how to moderate her response.
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texasbb
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Hates chicken
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Post by texasbb on Sept 7, 2016 20:51:10 GMT -8
Valiant efforts, ulightbandit, but in the history of forums, no one's ever been able to tame a dog thread. Here's an early excerpt of one I've been following for longer than I can remember:
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Post by CompassRds on Sept 8, 2016 5:11:18 GMT -8
Yeah, and though I doubt that people who have problem dogs will even read a hiking forum, I still feel like I need to get it off my chest sometimes.
Let me start with the fact that even though I have a small scar from years back to remind me of one reason that trail leash rules exist I am still not anti-dog-on-trail, I just want people to follow the rules. This is especially true as dogs seem to be have moved from trail novelty, seeing a few a year, to seeing at least 2 every hike and a majority unleashed and unruly. While some of this likely related to my move to more popular/populated trails, it definitely gets on my nerves and excuses from owners just makes it worse.
I really don’t know how you can get on a trail with a dog that doesn't like/is afraid of: guys/ guys with beards/ guys in sunglasses / people in hats / people who get to get "too close" (a range from 60+ to under 10 feet when the pet-baby-freak-out starts). Or even worse how you can get on a trail or with a dog who you are willing to admit is scared by: backpacks / frame packs. BTW, this wasn’t an exhaustive list of excuses, just some of the things I could remember from approximately the last year. I forgot my favorite: "you snuck up on us".
Also, I am not sure I am happier with or pissed-off with people who spot me in the distance and grab their dog’s collar. So you don’t have it on a leash, or even appear to have a leash, and you do seem to know that your dog is going to have a problem with people you meet on trail, but you are still out here. Yeah... I believe you... This is the first time... He/she/it never does this... Maybe you just don't know your dog that well, even if you swear up and down that you do...
But hey, please make it the last time and stay off of trails until you can get whatever issue your mutt has sorted out. Or, at the very least, follow the rules.
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joe
Trail Wise!
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Post by joe on Sept 8, 2016 13:21:45 GMT -8
Absarokanaut says;
"Thank gawd on the 3,500,000 acre Bridger-Teton dogs only have to be leashed in DEVELOPED campgrounds, and I think that's the way it is on Most National Forests. They do however have to be "under control." I consider it serious torture to leash a dog well beyond a trailhead unless that dog is problematic. I don't tolerate OWNERS that permit their dogs to chase ANYTHING other than a ball or stick. I'm a nice guy, just don't !@ss me off.
Dog problems more often than not are owner problems."
Amen. In years of hiking and mountain biking (yes, I'm afraid so) I've had, lets see, let me count..... 1 (one) unpleasant encounter with an unleashed dog. And the MUCH bigger problem was the owner, who physically attacked me after I showed her dog my boot. I won that fight in the first round. Enough said.
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Post by wanderingwildcat on Sept 8, 2016 14:35:28 GMT -8
I sometimes take one of my dogs on hikes with me where dogs are allowed. And he's always leashed. Not because he could run off and I'd never catch him, but because of the amount of rattlesnakes where I live. He's a Jack Russell Terrier so naturally an explorer. I just want to keep him closer to me and out of harm's way when I take him with me.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2016 15:00:57 GMT -8
I like dogs and have a lot of tolerance for them. Rarely have a problem. But I have a few stories. Which one you want to hear?
Dog and mountain lion: I sat for about 15 minutes below a ledge where a mountain lion was resting. Didn't have a problem. Then I left. Right behind me some guys with a couple dogs let the dogs wander. One sniffed out the mountain lion. It about killed the dog for being too nosy.
Dog and dead skunk: Loose roaming dog rolls over a dead stinking skunk multiple times, then runs up to me like I'd be glad to pet him. Uh, no thanks, Fido. You stink.
Dog roaming wilderness: I was met by a large dog at the wilderness boundary. He had a tag, and I knew where he lived. But I didn't have time to take him home. He was friendly and led me up four miles of trail and about 2500-foot climb to the top of the peak and led me back home along the same trail. Then he went home for supper. Well, I guess he didn't hurt anything.
Three snapping dobermans at my heels. I emerged from the backcountry on a gravel road about a mile from the trailhead and proceeded to walk the road toward the trailhead. Three dobermans outside a pen at a mountain cabin gave chase and began snapping at my heels. I ignored them for close to a hundred yards and kept walking.
One became very aggressive and finally ticked me off. Without missing a step, I brought the heel of my boot up in a quick snap that caught the dog under the chin. All three dobermans promptly went running home, whining as they went. Animals kick, even humans sometimes. Too bad it was not the owner's chin down there.
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Post by Coolkat on Sept 8, 2016 18:34:50 GMT -8
One became very aggressive and finally ticked me off. Without missing a step, I brought the heel of my boot up in a quick snap that caught the dog under the chin. I had to do this once with a dog chasing me on my bike. It went head over heels literally. However, the next time I road my bike by the same property it just laid there and looked at me as I went by.
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FamilySherpa
Trail Wise!
Tangled up in Rhododendron
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Post by FamilySherpa on Sept 9, 2016 4:21:29 GMT -8
(negative dog experience)
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Post by Coolkat on Sept 9, 2016 5:01:13 GMT -8
(negative dog experience) I've been there. I had one put me in the hospital for several weeks. Won't go into the all the gory details. It took a while but I'm dog friendly now.
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Post by stealthytomato on Sept 9, 2016 7:04:44 GMT -8
I struggle with this issue a lot.
I am a dog-lover and have 2 Labs that have always been my trail companions. And I agree with most of what has been said here, both pro and con. Too many people equals too many dogs, unaware owners, breed differences etc.
Our black Lab was the perfect trail ambassador. Sweet, gentle and well trained, she ignored most people (though she did develop the habit of walking past you then circle behind to gently stick her wet nose in the unsuspecting person's hand. Talk about startling). The worst part being she was black and initially startled some people.
Now I've got crazy yellow Lab. She is indeed one of those dogs that may or may not be afraid of single hikers/sunglasses/hats or a combo of the above. She in not the best trail ambassador. But she is an awesome athletic outdoor dog that has gone with me on all my solo hikes. She pulls me down slopes like a sled dog. She lays down in the cool muddy spots in the trail. She can be a pain in the ass.
The point I came to make is that I am training her NOT to be one of those dogs and I am trying very hard to be a better owner. I remind myself of why that leash rule is there and until she can be trusted to not chase wildlife, ramble off trail, growl at single hat-wearing hikers etc, she will remain on leash regardless of whether anyone else is around. (And if there is the possibility or horses or bikes, forget it, she stays on, no exceptions.)
The last thing I want is to ruin someone else's outdoor experience by crossing paths with me and my dog. This can happen just by the mere fact I am with a dog, on or off leash.
Dogs are very intuitive animals and they will mirror your feelings. If you are distracted, they are distracted, if you are nervous and anxious, so are they. So bringing a dog on trail often amplifies the type of hiker you are. This can be good or bad!
I love my dogs. I love hiking with my dog. But I understand that dogs on trail are a problem and often think they should be banned altogether. The problem is I would probably quick hiking if that were the case.
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reuben
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Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
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Post by reuben on Sept 9, 2016 7:23:39 GMT -8
I don't mind backpacking with dogs as long as they don't try to make me eat okra.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2016 7:32:37 GMT -8
I love my dogs. I love hiking with my dog. But I understand that dogs on trail are a problem and often think they should be banned altogether. The problem is I would probably quick hiking if that were the case. I don't think dogs in general are the problem. Some dogs in some areas around some people can be a problem. In 45 years of backpacking and nearly a lifetime of hiking, I'd rate dogs as one of the least of my concerns. Often I've enjoyed meeting dogs on the trail more than meeting people. And among them, I dare say, are the dogs than ran ahead to sniff my hand before their owners reached me. That's not something I'd ever recommend for their owners, but it's never been a problem for me.
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Post by hikingtiger on Sept 9, 2016 9:10:21 GMT -8
We had to climb up and over, or around more than 75 trees on our hike there. And we can't image what you would do with a dog on a leash in that scenario. I've hiked with friend who brought their dogs (lab mixes) on a hike and we ended up on a section of trail with an insane amount of deadfall like you describe. They had their dogs leashed off and on through that section depending on the situation (like proximity to a dropoff). They did fine.
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mk
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North Texas
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Post by mk on Sept 9, 2016 17:32:10 GMT -8
I don't mind backpacking with dogs as long as they don't try to make me eat okra. Pretty sure they'd forget about the okra if you carry some bacon and a nice scotch.
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