Dog Etiquette on the trails

HI--
Question about dog etiquette on the trails:
My all human companion hiking days are over--I'll now happily be hiking with my very friendly young dog. This presents a whole new learning curve though, as I don't know what appropriate dog etiquette is on the trails. While I'm always happy to run into friendly dogs, I'm guessing that not everyone else is, and I want to be respectful of people's hiking experience as well as the environment.
We'll mostly be day hiking in the Whites, working on finishing the NH 48. We may occasionally do some backpacking in the area as well.

We're grateful for any feedback or suggestions anyone can offer--

Thanks!

Hi Evgeneia,

Well, this topic generally draws a lot of comments both positive and some a bit negative. The basics for good dog etiquette are pretty simple. Be able to control your dog under all conditions. Pick up or bury your dog's poop.

While some folks will tell you to leave your dog home for x, y, or z reason, hiking with a (well-behaved) dog is truely a rewarding experience. They never complain and are always eager to go. I've hiked with my dog for nearly 10 years now and she has probably met over 2000 hikers. I can only recall about three people who expressed displeasure when seeing my dog.

That said, you should be aware that not everyone is fond of dogs. I always keep my dog by my side when someone approaches and try to judge their reaction before I let Nell meet them. It's taken awhile, but I can generally judge whether or not someone is open to meeting my dog or not. If they are, I'll let Nell approach them, if they seem reticent, I'll keep her by my side (note, I seldom use a leash, but only because Nell listens to me).

Luckily, Nell is very indifferent to other dogs (I believe she doesn't think of herself as one) so I've had few problems in that regard.

In summary, if you make sure your dog listens and minds you off the trail you should have no problems when you take her on the trail.

Thanks for the feedback!
Guess I should have read back further--I'd have caught that Leash Law thread. I checked it out though, and was surprised at the strength of emotion is stirred.
Either way, I have a bit more to ponder before she hits the trails with me

Thanks!

A Lot to Think About

There really is a great deal to think about. I started that most recent Leash Law thread. They come up every once in a while. It really is an eye opener to see how many vocal leash supporters there are. For me there's something wonderful about having my dog along and free to roam and I've always enjoyed visiting with other well behaved dogs on the trail. Will I be keeping my dog on a leash now that I've read the dissenting opinions? I guess you'll have to see me on the trail to know for sure.....

Here is a trip report.....

.... for your amusement, and education.

Go to the "trip reports" forum, on the second page, find the report "Cascade, Porter and a visit with Mr. Hanky"

Mike

Two sides, both are right? Hmmm.

I used to hike with someone that was terrified of dogs. Folks were usually pretty cool about it, and I made sure they kept the dog away from her, or I would go up and pet it so it would stay away from her.

Personally, I can't wait to get one and I am sure I will get one that is capable of hiking with me. I have, on the other hand, had dogs lunge at me, growl at me and corner me while hiking. If you dog is mean, keep it at home, if not...I will be happy to give it a pat on the head.

Good luck.

I love dogs and have hiked with them for years.
I cannot emphasize enough how much good dog training helps. Take your pup to obedience school. Lots of dog schools are into using treats for positive reinforcement and it worked very well with my Akita. (They are very stubborn dogs.)Practice the commands several times/day. Never give them a command you cannot reinforce because it just confuses them.
Socialize your pup early on. Hike with them on a leash. Pups do get lost on trails. Check with your vet to see how long and how far you should take him/her. If you do too much with a young one you can damage their tendons and ligaments and that can be costly to repair. They grow for about one year.
I keep my Akita on a leash because she is dog aggresive and I don't like her near children. She was not raised with children and is skittish around them. I don't trust her for that reason.
Respect other people's fears. They have nice long retractable leashes now and no-pull harnesses which make things easier for both man and beast.
I like the Sporn no-pull. I don't like the ones that fit over the dog's faces. They told us in school that if you pull on them, you can dislocate or damage the cervical spine.
I think you will have much fun hiking with your pooch. I wouldn't want to hike without mine. They are great companions and you see the world differently when they are with you. They also are a great conversation piece.
Good luck!

Dogs and bears

I love dogs, but don't happen to own one. However, while on an overnighter with a friend and his dog I heard some advice for why it is important to leash your dog while in "Bear infested campsites" from a New York State Ranger. He told us, the bear probably won't go after your dog, but any self respecting Australian Cattle Dog ( my friend's dog breed) will probably go after the bear. If threatened the bear will attack the dog and will kill it.

Now I've never heard of any dogs attacking bears or bears killing dogs in the Adirondacks, but his advice seemed to make sense. I have read some posts about several dogs treeing bears. Any stories out there to learn from?

Dogs in the woods

I've hiked with dogs for many years. All of them have loved hiking. They do that excited happy dog dance when they see the boots and packs come out! I work with my dogs continually on training and socialization in an effort to help them meet and greet other hikers and dogs successfully. It's important to have really reliable control and a solid recall if you allow your dog off lead. My current dog is not at that point yet, so he hikes mainly on a leash.

When approaching unknown hikers/dogs, I handle him assuming that the hikers dislike/fear dogs and that the dogs are not good with other dogs. In other words, I try to keep him quiet and sitting in heel position several feet off the trail unless the hiker expresses an interest in meeting him. Different people react in different ways to all kinds of dog behaviors and the last thing I want my dog to do is to spoil someone else's hike - even if he's doing something as innocent as nuzzling a hand for petting.

When dogs approach I usually call out to ask other hikers to call/leash their dogs, especially if the behavior looks at all iffy (hackles up, stiff legged advance, etc). I'm much more careful about letting other dogs approach my dog since one attacked my dog recently. While the owner was prying her dog from my dog's neck she repeatedly said how friendly her dog was. Don't blindly believe other handlers when they say that their dog is friendly, non threatening, etc.

As for wildlife, I'd worry more about running into a moose than a bear. Keeping a dog on lead/under control could prevent encounters with skunks or porcupines too. Another thing to consider are human artifacts that could hurt a dog - old garbage dumps, broken glass, rusted cans, remnants of barbed wire fences, old wells, traps, snares, etc.

If your dog pulls on lead, halters are less dangerous than choke collars. With any collar/halter the damage is done if you let them hit the end of the leash at speed. If you're trying to train them to not pull, this is not something you should allow to happen. I've used the Sporn no pull harness, but I prefer the Gentle Leader halter. I've also used a pinch collar, but Dugan became reactive/aggressive with it. My goal with Dugan is to transition to a flat, non-choking collar, once he's learned not to pull.

The main thing to remember is that dogs are predators. They will hunt, kill, and eat other animals. Virtually all dogs will bite if they are pushed hard enough. This includes ALL dogs, even your own.

Dogs on trails, pt 2

Forgot about the dreaded brown klister...
Try to manage dog waste as though it were your own:
Don't let them go near/on trails, a water source, camp site, or something someone may handle.
It's easy to train them to head off a trail when they have to go - every time they are about to start, move them off the trail.
Pick up and pack out what you can, no matter how icky. If you don't want to deal with the stuff that came out of your dog, chances are other people want to deal with it even less!

If you want to hike with a dog err on the side of caution: don't do things that might cause anti-dog rules, regs, or legislation.

I second Dugan's advice. I've often come across what appears to be dog waste in the middle of a trial, often right where I need to put my hand in order to hitch myself over a rock. Please keep that stuff off the trail. But, make sure that your dog follows leave no trace principles and does his business on a durable surface. Also, above treeline a leash is always a good idea so that your dog won't dig up the fragile alpine vegetation.

Good advice from Dugan. I'll add this.... I have a 26 foot retractable lead that I keep clipped to my pack shoulder strap with a carabiner. Chica hikes with a pack, and this clips into a D ring on the back of her pack. I let her run free when we are hiking in unpopulated areas and clip her in whenever we are approaching people. With the 'biner, the retractable lead and 20 meters of parachute cord I can make a fairly good run when we camp, especially if we camp near people (we prefer to camp alone if possible). I try to dispose of Chicas waste the same way I would dispose of my own. Regarding threats by other animals, my biggest concern is coyotes and porcupines. A quilled dog is not a pretty sight; been there once and I never want to repeat it.

Lots of great advice--thank you!
After reading everything, I'm now thinking that Lucy will be leashed for a while until we master listening when excited and wanting to say HI to other people and dogs.
Hopefully she'll learn that quickly because hiking off leash (in unpopulated areas) is much more fun!

Do most of you use retractable leashes, or the regular type?

I have both and usually use the 26 foot retractable--but recently read about a dog hike where they required the regular non-retractable type. Don't know why...??

Well...Let Me See Here...

- make sure you keep your dog on a leash at or near a trailhead (ie. when prepping to leave, when leaving parking and when getting close to arriving back at trailhead at end of hike) other than that let him run free.
- obedience train your dog
- always heel your dog and leash it when encountering anyone else on the trail
- accept the fact that there are others who don't like dogs, and that even those who do like dogs don't like dirty wet stinky dogs
- if someone incamp truely doesn't like dogs, it's best to move camp (imo) unless you want to hear alot of whining and like to oppress your dog from being a dog
-Don't let fido poop on the trail, if you catch them squeezing, verbally scold them, then pick up mr.hanky and move him offtrail, then call fido over and praise them for the poop being where you put it. After a while, fido will learn go off to the side of the trail.
- obedience train your dog
- accept that fido will want to lay on your sleeping bag.
- accept that fido will want to get wet and that your stuff will eventually get wet also.
- accept the fact that you are better off with synthetic insulation rather than down-fill due to the moisture-factor.
- did I mention obedience training?
- a thin sheet brought to throw over everything in your shelter will, albeit not keep the moisture off everything, but will keep the dirt off everything.
- bring a tennis ball to keep fido busy incamp
- never let fido stray out of sight (if you play hide and seek when it's young it'll learn to keep track of you and well, it won't let you out if it's site. To do this, when the dog strays too far ahead, hide from it and make it realize you're gone and it'll start looking for you. Praise it when it finally finds you. Do this at every chance you get and soon the dog will rarely stray farther than it's site of you.)
- use heartworm, tick, flea, etc. medicine, get it it's shots and keep them update.
- and it's better to heel, leash and move off the trail and let those coming the other direction pass while you wait.
- never physically hit your dog.
- never let it just jump out of your vehicle, make it wait until you command it to exit
- never assume your dog can go without water when there's no water around, always carry extra for your best friend where there's no water.
- never let fido take a dunk in or upstream of a spring/watersource
- when it's hot, take water and work it into the fir on fido's back to cool it off
- It's best to leave your tent door open at night so fido can come and go as it pleases. It's that or you'll have to get up and let it in/out alot as you can't keep a good dog down.
- in cold weather, bring an extra groundpad for fido to lay on at night as even dogs need insulation from freezing ground. A small insulated balnket, such as the top half of an old sleepingbag, to throw over him while sleeping is also is a nice touch if it's freezing out and fido is a house dog
_- and even dogs need more calories per day when hiking, so don't forget the treats.

If I think of anymore tips I'll be sure to let you know.
Buddur
btw - I love all the dog avitar pics on this thread.

Eve.............

This thread seems to have a much more reasonable tone than other "DOGS" or "KIDS" on the trail threads so I feel more comfortable to respond.

I have two dogs (a Husky and Samoyed) and both are what I would term as OVERLY friendly (i.e. which means they will attempt to jump up on you and lick you to death). I don't mind this behavior, but I certainly do understand that others might cringe at it, or at least not feel the same way I do. Because of that, I rarely take my dogs hiking. Simply, when we hike, I feel compeled to leash, control, guard and protect my dogs to an extent that I find I am treating them differently on the trail as I would at home. That's not right and it's too much of a hassle for me to deal with, so I don't.

As guess what I'm saying is that in public places, IMO, you really need to control your animals (and kids, yourself, etc..) so that you are considerate of others that may be out there trying to enjoy the outdoors too.

Bottom line, If you see me on the trail you probably won't see my pets (by personal choice). If I see you, you can bet I will pet and enjoy your pooch fully (so long as he/she doesn't try to bite me). Let common sense dictate your actions and you'll be fine.

Mavs...

Thanks for your understanding. I HATE it when dogs want to jump up on me and lick me.

I enjoy a well behaved dog as much as the next guy but I don't appreciate slobber on my shorts by a dog that insists on sniffing my crotch (these are the same animals that feast on the cat litter box - remember that when you get your face licked.)

As far as the guy in Bedford, if a dog is off his leash and appears to threaten my kids, I can't say that I would have done it differently. Last week I was running on the street and a dog proceeded to come after me and cross the street. It was on an unfortunate section of road with a blind hill and this caused a 3 car accident. No one was hurt but this stupid dog that wasn't on a leash (we have a leash law) caused a lot of needless damage and wasted time. Please be a responsible owner!

Mavs00, the only thing about controlling the dog is the cop may have also been trying to handle two frightened children.

The whole thing is a sad affair, and I admit its hard to think that the shooting, or at least repeated shooting was necessary.

But if this dog owner follows the rules, this never happens, and thats my bottom line. Cop could have been wrong, but the only person who will ever know if there was imminent danger is him. Even the dog owner didn't see what actually happened.

This type of incident is exactly why the leash laws are necessary. To protect people AND dogs.

All IMO, of course.

2 deleted posts

2 posts referring to someone as a "crook, liar and asshole" were just deleted.
While the poster may in fact have decades of personal experience that generated these opinions, they don't belong on VFTT.
There are other boards where anything goes and is in fact welcomed.
Please keep it factual and keep it O.T. and related to hiking. Lets not turn this into a censorship debate. It doesn't belong on VFTT.

PB

Deleted mine

I deleted my post that referrenced the deleted posts mentioned above. they got OT anyway.