Hiking With Your Dog

If you’ve noticed from the various pictures throughout this website (and I hope you have!) you know that Abby is my hiking companion. She’s a great dog and I wouldn’t trade her for the world. But, I keep her on a leash at all times when we hike. It’s not for her sake (she’d much rather run on her own) or for mine ( I’d much rather watch her run). It’s for everyone else on the trail. With very few exceptions trail rules are quite clear about dogs needing to be leashed. And, unfortunately, with very few exceptions, these rules are consistently ignored.

Your dog’s friendly hello (or Abby’s greeting bark) could be terrifying to someone who doesn’t know dogs. Worse, I’ve had more than one encounter, on the trail, with unleashed and aggressive dogs. 

Dogs are  predators. Yes, fluffy is made to hunt, or at least try to. That predator instinct is why they tend to chase wildlife. The scenery outdoors is wonderful but it would also be nice to see some of the local fauna. Another side to a dog’s chase drive is that should the situation get reversed (say fluffy chases a bear and the bear gets upset) your dog will run back to you for safety. In this instance your dog went from being an annoyance to a life threatening hazard to YOU. A pissed off bear will may well decide you’re easy to catch (and yes my friend, you are much slower than either the dog or the bear) and take out its frustrations on you.

So, please keep your dog on a leash on public trails. It’ll help keep the peace, may keep you safer, and help keep all of our dogs on the trail.

For more ways to minimize your impact read about Leave No Trace principles.

The  Plug

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