Dogs loose in the woods-your opinion?

[cuphead]

What about if two scary dogs coming swimming towards ya, that's a whole different ball game eh !

Are you out of your freaking mind, put a leash on those! What were you thinking arming a pitbull with a baton, NEGLIGENCE, NEGLIGENCE I TELL YOU!:thumbup:

 

[mete]

The law here says the dog must be on a leash. I always carry a gun in the woods for possible feral dogs or people. I came very close to shooting a large dog who ran toward me , owners not in sight. At the last moment the owner appeared .I hope he learned his lesson. "Good " dogs can change under certain circumstances. There's no excuse to not control your dog.

 

[hollowdweller]

I have a number of dogs but only 1 I feel comfortable to take hiking off my land. And then I'd only take him where I wouldn't encounter any people.

We went hiking this summer with my friend and he brought his little dog.

It was a great hiker but any time we ran onto a deer it would take off after it. It would always come back after a few minutes.

I've also had bears ran past me by other hikers loose dogs.

I have 1 dog that is allowed to be out on the farm but I never take him hiking even in my woods because despite only being about 30 lbs he can run down and actually kill a deer:thumbdn:

Mostly I don't like dogs in the woods. Humans aside they chase the wildlife around and I like to see wildlife.

 

[C_Kyle]

Short answer: 1. Follow the law. 2. Within the law, don't act, or allow your dog to act in a way that might bother or frighten someone else.

We all go to the woods for different reasons, but I think we all share a common goal when venturing out, which is to get away from civilization/people/stupid people issues/etc.

Would you want someone else disturbing/irritating/frightening you while you're out trying to enjoy the peace of the outdoors? No. This applies to way more than just dogs on the trail.

 

[Pritch]

I hate it when this topic comes up. I love dogs and miss mine terribly. I have no use for extremists who argue that dogs have no place in the woods. I am also embarrassed by dog owners who feel it is their God-given right to inflict their dog on others.

Even if your dog is not aggressive, if it is not under your control it can provoke a leashed aggressive dog. I'd hate to kill a sweet dog that was too dumb to not approach my pooch after my yelling at both it and the owner to keep it away. I knew my dog was dog aggressive and always kept her leashed. Time after time encounters with off leash dogs went like this:

• Off leash dog sees my leashed dog and rushes in.
• I assertively direct the dog to stop, to no avail.
• Owner shouts (from a hundred yards down the trail) that his dog is friendly.
• I position myself between the two dogs, restraining mine and attempting to deter the off leash dog.
• Sometimes the dog insisted, and took umberage at me getting between it and my dog. The clueless owners would usually show up shocked that I was so upset, and acting so "mean" to their little darling.

I got very close to putting down an off leash pit bull who aggressively charged. I shouted to the owner to get control because my dog didn't get along with other dogs and the dumass said to get out of the way and "let them sort it out." I told him flat out that if I had to kill his dog, he and I would have a BIG problem. (Pit and others, I know that pitbulls can be wonderful dogs. Unfortunately, they are also popular with aggressive, stupid punks.)

-- FLIX

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Example: I had a dog accost me (walks up to me growling with its head down, hackles raised) while I'm walking on a public trail once and the owner comes up to me with the "I'm sorry, he has never done that before" story.

What are the rules, regs, and laws which apply to the areas to which you go?

Obey them. That's your part of the bargain.

So now that all the emotions have surfaced, maybe someone should start a thread like "Backcountry sacred rules for Dog-Owners and the sheeple, heheh

The only rules some dog owners seem to know are the ones on their little wallet cards: one side says "It's OK, he's friendly" and the other side says "I'm sorry, he has never done that before".

Not good. I am not "scared" of dogs. I've trained guard dogs: a boxer and two Great Danes. But I am now crippled and do not appreciate being rushed by an animal large enough to knock me down.

People feel their dogs should get some free time to run off-leash, and I agree. But when other people are around, those other people have more rights than your dog. Local laws here say if the dog is off your property, it has to be on a leash and under control. The park I walk in is clearly posted off-limits to dogs anyway.

Why should I respect your dog's needs when you won't respect mine?

 

[Mentor]

I have learned quite a bit from this thread.

Perhaps I have underestimated the extent to which others view dogs on the trail as a potential threat. I suppose that I have always been aware of the possibility of aggression (believe me, I have the scars to prove that it can happen), but I find my reactions to off-leash dogs influenced by the overwhelmingly positive encounters I have had with dogs while on the trails.

All the best,

- Mike

 

[Bushman5]

touchy subject, hopefully we can keep it pleasant eh! I love animals, more than humans, but there are times when you need to drop the hammer down and defend yourself.

having been charged by a out of control dog, and having knocked down and bitten, and having defended myself (baseball sized rock to head of the dog), and having had to deal with an angry owner who then assaulted me and who was only stopped when other hikers stopped him, and having dealing with the aftermath with the police (no charges against me) part of me really hates confrontations on the trail. The aftermath is a frigging nightmare, worse than the attack.

However, i'm not just going to sit by and let a dog who's behaviour i dont know, attack me. I will use verbal commands, talking to it, yelling at it to sit etc, then resort to my hiking stick (if i have one) or my folder knife in a closed position to crack it on the skull. If it escalates, yes i will use a blade on an attacking dog IF it is clear to me that all options have been exhausted and i am in fear for my life at that point.

Thankfully on BC North Shore trails most dogs are happy go lucky city dogs who are delighted to be out of the Vancouver Maximum Security Condo Cells and into the woods. Other areas of BC, more rural areas, all bets are off when it comes to dogs. I have seen some very vicious dogs on the First Nations reserves, and also in farm country.

The only rules some dog owners seem to know are the ones on their little wallet cards: one side says "It's OK, he's friendly" and the other side says "I'm sorry, he has never done that before"

and they use that anytime something happens.......as if that will make what happened all better.....

see it all the time here in the city.

 

[Bushman5]

popular topic!

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 21 (21 members and 0 guests)
Bushman5, BoDot, Butcher1, Darkjedi2, dipbait, flintlock, Helle, jackknife, kycolonel, lazerboy2000, LEGION 12, machine26, Md 25v, Mentor+, ogum17, Rob T, Steve Hayden, Swampdog, Swoopmaster, THE PUNISHER, wulfshrunting

 

[hollowdweller]

The only rules some dog owners seem to know are the ones on their little wallet cards: one side says "It's OK, he's friendly" and the other side says "I'm sorry, he has never done that before". mine?

That's funny. There is this lady at work who has a pit bull and always pooh poohs people who complain about how they can snap.

Then she's not at work and just out of the blue the dog, who had never shown any signs of aggression before attacked her daughter and she actually had to go to the hospital!

 

[dipbait]

I have visited the emergency room because of a dog bite. I have spent five days in the hospital fighting a bone infection caused by a dog bite. I still dont mind dogs in the woods.Though Im a little more wary now.

 

[pitdog]

That's funny. There is this lady at work who has a pit bull and always pooh poohs people who complain about how they can snap.

Then she's not at work and just out of the blue the dog, who had never shown any signs of aggression before attacked her daughter and she actually had to go to the hospital!

Before this thread heads down the " I hate Pitbulls " route I have to say that mine ( Maisy ) is half English Staffordshire and half English Bull terrier, the English Staffies are often called Nanny Dogs because of how good they are with children. Mine lives up to that 100%, would I leave her in a room with a small child....yes without hesitation and god help any adult that went in and tried to harm the child. Would I leave my crazy Russell with one....no chance !

 

[kycolonel]

However, i'm not just going to sit by and let a dog who's behaviour i dont know, attack me. I will use verbal commands, talking to it, yelling at it to sit etc, then resort to my hiking stick (if i have one) or my folder knife in a closed position to crack it on the skull. If it escalates, yes i will use a blade on an attacking dog IF it is clear to me that all options have been exhausted and i am in fear for my life at that point.

To some degree, reactions are (and should be) circumstantial. In my case, I would have thought much less, if anything, of the incident had I been in a city park. The idea of walking three miles out of the mountains with puncture wounds in my leg (or worse) definitely raised my level of concern. Part of the problem is that the locations where people feel most comfortable letting their dogs run such as up in the mountains are also those where other people are most defensive about being attacked, and justifiably so.

 

[angle iron]

I have visited the emergency room because of a dog bite. I have spent five days in the hospital fighting a bone infection caused by a dog bite. I still dont mind dogs in the woods.Though Im a little more wary now.

Mine took six days and two surgeries and the bite originally took only two sutures and could easily have been covered by a band aid. I am a hard core dog lover and had never thought about the infection aspect of a bite nor even worried about a bite before that. I reflexively punched the dog when it happened and knocked one of his teeth out and I still feel like shit just thinking about it. That is what makes the possibility of having to defend myself against a dog even worse, as bad as I feel about the tooth, having to seriously hurt or kill a dog would probably give me nightmares for life.

 

[Iboschi]

My girlfriend and I don't always see eye to eye about dog control. I follow the letter of the law, and she loves to "set him free". I finally found vindication just the other day when we were talking to a woman at a local dog-park who expressed her dislike of people who let their dogs off the leash in populated areas. My Girlfriend initially thought her a prude, and asked "why is that" to which the woman replied, because my other dog is a nightmare and I really fear he could hurt another dog and he doesn't like people much either. It is for THE OTHER DOGS safety. I had actually brought this point up prior, but this drove it home for my Girlfriend. Now, we see eye to eye.

 

[Toucan Oasis]

I was hiking in SMNP with a friend in late October and about 3 miles up a trail when I looked up to see large black dog charging down the hill at me and barking. On the top of the hill were three young backpackers watching the dog and me. I immediately moved my hand to my knife with the full intent of using it if the dog was agressive. When they see me do this, one of the guys yells that the dog is friendly, and at the same time I see his friend drawing a camp hatchet from his pack. Now I'm a dog lover, and I see it is a black lab so let it pull up a foot from me as I'm telling it to sit.

It turns out the dog is friendly, so I pet it while talking down the hikers. It seems their long weekend backpacking trip was ruined when they were ticketed by a park ranger on morning 1, as there are no dogs permitted on the trails. As they tried to decide a course of action and pissed and moaned about how stupid a rule this was, I reminded them about the potentially dangerous confrontation (with both dogs and humans) that could have occured had I been less familiar with canine behavior.

So, I see people letting their dogs loose ALL the time on woods trails and many can't control them with voice commands. What are they thinking? Is it me, or are these people just incredibly stupid about what might happen to their dog, or if someone were to get bitten in the backcountry? How do you handle the situation when someones dog charges you in the woods?

With a Charter 44 special and if the idiot with the hatchet doesn't like it > BOOM.

 

[lava_lamp]

I do a 2-3 mile hike in a national park several times a week on average. I usually bring my two dogs -- a mid-sized Sheltie and a small Bichon. I scan the parking lot (it's small) and if there are only two or three cars, I usually drop one of the leashes when I'm about a half-mile in. Then, I watch and listen as we walk and if I sense someone coming, I grab the leash.

Having done this for many years, I've come to learn that people are idiots. I often have a large loose dog coming running down the trail with the dumb*** owner running behind calling the dog who ignores them. I had a Pit Bull attack the Bichon who was a puppy in her first heat at the time. I scooped her up and the Pit Bull leaped up to snap at her. It happened so fast, there wasn't much I could have done with a knife if I wanted to.

Another time, I came up on a single man on the trail about the time a lone dog came down toward us from the other side snarling with the hair up etc. lunging at the man and fading back and lunging again. That dog's dumb*** owner got there a few seconds later saying how the dog was friendly. I told him it clearly was not, at which point he started saying about how something about the man set off the dog, sometimes it's the way people look etc. That time, I had no dogs of my own with me, but had my son and stepped between him and the dog with my knife in my hand.

I had yet another dog attack me on my bike. The owner came out and and me how it was friendly when it was continually circling behind me snarling with the hair up and doing test lunges.

Oh yeah, I got bit last year from behind by another stupid dog. Nothing major, but I bled a little and had teeth marks for a while.

 

[raindog101]

I'm not a dog hater. Nor am I a dog lover. When in the woods, I just want to be left alone. but I've had too many incidents with aggressive dogs charging/attacking me, to ignore the fact that they can be dangerous animals. Unfortunately, there are many brain-dead owners out there who don't realize this fact about their dog when off-leash, on-trail. The incidents I refer to, I've been able to resolve with quick and accurate use of a few carbide-tipped trekking poles, but luckily these dogs were not the biggest or most agressive I can imagine. If I had been dealing with the aforementioned Afghan Hound, I doubt these would have been enough. Nowadays, I hike with my wife and 2 young daughters (8 months in backpack, 4 year old who walks when we can cajole her to do so). Protecting them is my first responsibility. I carry a Glock 29, my wife a Colt Detective's Special. I still have the trekking poles, but now carry a pointy machete (for bushcraft purposes, of course:thumbup that would probably deter a large aggressive animal a little better, with a few gentle pokes to the snout. I would hate to shoot a dog for aggressive behavior, and definitely do not want the legal aftermath to deal with. But I will protect my family.

 

[eccvets]

I love animals but if an animal you dont know comes at you with the intent to bite/kill you, you should use anything and everything you have to protect yourself. It could have rabies or any other numberous diseases! If any stray animal bites you, you should kill and cut its head off, pack it in ice, and send it to your local public health department for rabies testing!

 

[koyote]

I see this as a training and common sense issue. With dogs, both are in short supply.

Tori will stop, drop, sit, or heel when told to- the only time we have real issues with that is when she's chasing a squirrel (nothing else, only squirrels. they tease her)

so, she can go off leash- not everywhere, not all the time- but in the right environment. I see no problem with this. I see no problem with other people doing it. the basic rules I expect to be followed are:

1: dog is generally friendly to people, and not aggressive in attacking OR jumping.

2: dog is friendly to other dogs.

3: dog will obey some sort of command to stop before reaching other people.

4: dog will sit and stay when told.

5: dog has a harness and can be easily leashed when needed. (collars are very hard to get a hold of in a hurry)