I don't wait till they bite. Tap, tap. I will not hesitate in an emergency. Truth
I just love when people brag about their willingness to shoot things. Comments like that make me wonder why they allow guns on the trail. Truth.Originally Posted by Velvet Gooch
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Wow this is good, we have dogs and guns in the same thread, can someone work in hanging/sleeping with food and treating/not treating water. We could settle everything right here
I love dogs, but they are not people. It's the owners that need to be held accountable. Please if you have a dog on the trail, keep it under control for the dogs sake. If my dog attacked someone without cause, I would put him down myself, or make sure he spent the rest of his life in a place where he could do no harm.
People come first.
Well, if you carry some old/bad cheese where you can get to it fast and give it to the dog, maybe it won't bite you. Not sure how long you have to carry the cheese before it gets old/bad.
do you put it on the end of a trekking pole and stick it outside the tent?
I'm so confused, I'm not sure if I lost my horse or found a rope.
First you must use said cheese as a pillow!do you put it on the end of a trekking pole and stick it outside the tent?
This is one of those subjects that hit a nerve with me, because I've been dealing with dogs since I started riding my bike to work in the late 80's and now I got to deal with them when I run on the beach.
Just the other day I had a huge rottweiler (it was a cop's dog, boy was he apologetic) come at me. They say not to look a dog in the eyes, but that's exactly what I do; I look him in the eye with the full intent of kicking his teeth out if he comes any closer - 9 times out of ten it works, I really think they can sense your strong emotions. But there have been a few times I've had to kick them.
It is the owner's fault, but that really doesn't matter when a dog is coming at you, your only thought is to keep from getting bit and I'd have no problems killing a dog if one kick doesn't work. So if there's any legal action between me and a dog owner, it'll probably be the dog owner trying to sue me
Going to catch grief for this, I know, but I don't care. Never understood why people would want to hike with their dog. Maybe on a super private trail like BMT or PCT, but not the AT... way too many people. It's your hike, not your dogs. If you are so uncomfortable hiking by yourself, perhaps you should find yourself a new hobby. My brother took his dog on a 3 day hike here in Ohio last year, dog cut his pad on a piece of glass wondering off the trail... my brother carried his 60 pound dog like 3 miles back to the car with a gushing paw wound... He has 4 dogs that he looks at as his children, and said he will never do it again. Leave the animals at home. Just my $.02.
Live your life and I'll live mine, perhaps one day they will intertwine. SEMPER FI! 2013 SOBO
I love dogs and I train mine well. And I seriously thought about getting a younger dog to accompany me. I then decided that it just wouldn't be fair to the dog. In many of the journals, you read of dog after dog who is sent home because they have hurt or cut their paws. Likewise, there are snakes, bears, ticks, and other dangers that could really compromise his health and I'm not strong enough to carry him to a vet, who may be quite a distance. If a bear is approaching, I don't think that any amount of training would prevent the breed I have to not go after the bear in an attempt to "protect" me. So even though I would truly enjoy a dog on the trail, I think that it is generally too hard on the majority of dogs. And probably the biggest reason is that I live 1800 miles from the closest spot on the AT. I don't have a family member that I can just call and have them quickly pick up the dog if he's having problems.
"So if there's any legal action between me and a dog owner, it'll probably be the dog owner trying to sue me"
I would rather be tried by 12, than carried by 6........................
Cherokee Bill ..... previously known as "billyboy"
Following that logic, Either outcome you will cause you to be removed from society.
That tired old slogan gets thrown around a lot on this site and it doesn't add anything to the conversation aside from making the person that posted it sound like a fool.
On the plus side, that slogan also signals that this thread is about devolve to the point where the mods close it, so have fun!
Last edited by Sarcasm the elf; 06-07-2012 at 19:13.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
If a dog bit me or a member of my family, I wonder how far I'd go to make sure the animal was properly vacinated. I'd start by asking politley, of course.
One thing I have never seen discussed on WB is whether dog owners routinely carry proof of thier animals' vaccinations.
There are all kinds of folks that have to deal with mean, untrained nasty dogs as an occupational hazard everyday. They don't carry guns and shoot dogs. I think some folks that talk about guns and......never mind.
To quote the OP "Had I been the Thru hiker above and a German Shepard bit me twice, I would have shot the dog DEAD on the spot!"
I am not trying to beat up on you BillyBoy however, I totally don't understand where the hiker was going to get a gun if not already carrying one and as experienced hikers and advocates of trail safety we should be preaching the use of non-lethal techniques to fend off those two and four legged critters.
As a dog owner it is our responsibility to the dog and society that we train and leash our dogs regardless of the animals demeanor! With that being said, I now have two very dog aggressive pooches because a fellow animal lover decide to take his dog for a walk in the woods (on the A.T. in PA) w/out a leash and his dog attacked my dogs that were on leash. First inclination was to let my dogs kill the other however that would not be fair so I fended off the dogs attack while holding back my boys (135lbs and 90lbs) injurying myself in the process. The owner was very apologetic but I could not resist in the berating that ensued after his apology.
In short, dog owners need to police their animals and people need to police their thought process regarding animal and firearm education; to include state and national park regulations as 40 plus parks along the A.T. do not allow firearms!
Education is imperative in the fight ag
I love dogs but I don't particularly support them on the trail. Most hikers with dogs (not all) are scared of something and "pack the dog" along with the rest of their fears. Someone with a threatening dog (in my opinion) is like someone brandishing a pistol on the trail - - it is one of the very most dangerous and scary things out there - I've never been bitten but I've been growled at and I've been afraid. Someone who owns a threatening dog (unless they are a working member of the military police or something) is a BAD person and an animal abuser in my book - - absolutely the worst sort of person. I feel so very sorry for bad and (usually) mistreated dogs but they top my list of most feared things on the trail (and often when crossing rural farm roads). Next comes ticks and limes disease, bees, lightening, people with guns (I don't really like them either - sorry to the military gung-ho types here) - - way down on my list are things like poisonous snakes. Here is how I deal with dogs on the trail:
1) If the dog is obviously friendly - slobbering on me, licking me, etc., I go ahead and make friends - - if I can, I gently and carefully touch on dog subjects with the owner - - mainly involving the dog's safety and well-being on the trail.
2) If I am approaching a road - usually rural and hear baying and barking - - sometimes this is bear dogs (esp, in NC and TN) - - I go into stealth mode. I look very carefully for threatening dogs and try to go quietly and calmly through the area - - always with an eye out for a boulder or tree to climb - - unlike bears, dogs are not good climbers
3) If I am actually threatened by a dog, I do not run. I try not to make eye contact but I do casually pick up a big stick if I can find one. I give the dog a wide berth and make sure not to corner them - - I move laterally (off trail as necessary) and well around the dog. So far, knock on wood, this has worked. I suppose that if it was required, I'd clock the dog on the head with the stick or a rock as hard as I could if attacked but this would be an absolute last resort.
Naa Mate if you are talkin from the heart - no grief required. Posting while drinking Kool Aid and talkin crap about killing Animals has no place here. Your brother has empathy... Its good to have family like that and that's cool.
By the way I am in Wildlife Control... Pest Control
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
Papa D just saw your post..
Add NEVER let a dog get behind you...
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
To you cry-babies about guns!
We were killing each other, thousands of years before there were guns! So get off that kick! If there were NO GUNS, people would still find ways to kill each other!
Guns no more kill people, than pencils mis-spell words!
People, kill people!
Therefore, what U R saying, I/we no longer have our 1st Amendment rights?
I'll bet the 1st time one of your family is violated, raped, mauled, etc., your opinion changes!
Let's consider this thread closed, and the dead-horse, dead!
Cherokee Bill ..... previously known as "billyboy"
I agree with this
So my question is - what happened to the dog? Is it still on the trail or did its owner get smart and take it home?
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