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View Full Version : Anyone read AT Troll's trail journal/dog



Highpointbound
06-16-2010, 19:20
Just wondering if anyone has been following AT Troll's trail journal. I have. There have been several incidents with one of his hiker friend's dog "Ben", who has been doing the hike also.

Seems the dog has taken off after wildlife several times and not come back for a while. AT Troll seemed a bit 'unhappy' with all of this.

Interesting to read through some one else's experiences how an unleashed dog can be a tad bit irritating on the trail.

Of course, im sure that hiker felt her dog was well behaved and would be easy to handle on the trail. :D

John B
06-16-2010, 20:34
Would you please post a link to his journal. Is it on Trailjournals.com?

warraghiyagey
06-16-2010, 20:40
Nope, and couldn't possibly care less. . . . . :confused:

Big Dawg
06-16-2010, 21:11
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=110615

Tinker
06-16-2010, 22:38
Nope, and couldn't possibly care less. . . . . :confused:

Well said. Not that I agree or disagree, just that you said what most people mean when they say "I could care less". They actually mean the exact opposite. :)

Wrangler88
06-16-2010, 22:47
This seems like its going to turn into a dogs or no dogs on the AT thread in the next day or so...




Doesn't seem like anything to get upset by. Its not that big of a deal either way.

Desert Reprobate
06-17-2010, 00:24
Ben seemed like a good dog. He probably doesn't pay attention to Troll like he does to Hopper.

hellomolly
06-17-2010, 08:04
He seems surprised that the dog did not listen to him when it took off after a deer ("I yelled at him and he did not even pause. He disappeared out of site.") Anyone who has a dog with any sort of prey drive would not be surprised by this... dogs are animals, that's what they do. Many of them get tunnel vision when running after something - it's not as though they are ignoring their human, more that they simply do not hear.

Just another example of why a dog with such a prey drive should be kept on a leash when in areas with wildlife. If I were Hopper, I would be concerned that my dog would go after an animal (skunk? porkie? groundhog?) that won't try and run away. In such a case, it's very possible that the dog will kill the creature. That, or get a facefull of quills, skunk pee, or get sliced and diced by sharp rodent teeth.

Miner
06-17-2010, 20:57
Actually, if the dog was disciplined when it was young, if you yelled at it when it first got going, it would stop. I've never had a large dog (or a small one for that matter) that I couldn't get stopped if I yelled at it when it first started to move. Though, once it gets going full speed, forget it; its likely in the next county.

hellomolly
06-17-2010, 22:09
Actually, if the dog was disciplined when it was young, if you yelled at it when it first got going, it would stop. I've never had a large dog (or a small one for that matter) that I couldn't get stopped if I yelled at it when it first started to move. Though, once it gets going full speed, forget it; its likely in the next county.

That's true, to an extent. Seems to me like there is a split second instant when they JUST take off that you can usually get recall. Like you said, though... once they get going, they're gone!

Rain Man
06-18-2010, 10:18
Of course, im sure that hiker felt her dog was well behaved and would be easy to handle on the trail. :D

Like every mama feels her baby is soooo cute. Even my own mama! LOL

Seriously, even police and search-and-rescue professionals keep their dogs on leashes. Why AT hikers are such sanctimonious knuckleheads about their dogs is beyond me. I'm a dog lover and have dogs. But this total fiction of "my dog is well behaved and always obedient" is self-delusion. It doesn't delude anyone else. That's for sure.

Rain:sunMan

.

TexasEd
06-30-2010, 11:55
Actually, if the dog was disciplined when it was young, if you yelled at it when it first got going, it would stop. I've never had a large dog (or a small one for that matter) that I couldn't get stopped if I yelled at it when it first started to move. Though, once it gets going full speed, forget it; its likely in the next county.


This is true. I have a hunting Labrador Retriever and I know many people with labs who hunt with them. I can call my dog off a cripple duck when she is at full speed, but it takes training.

When we are walking and see birds flush she has been trained to sit and wait for me to release her.

It can be trained but most people don't really train their dogs. Some breeds are harder than others as well.

tucker0104
06-30-2010, 21:57
My dog stays behind me on the trail. He has gotten better with age. My recent outing I only had 1 incident in 37 miles of him chasing something.

darkage
11-07-2010, 20:18
Better with age goes for my dogs for sure, i have a 16 year old pitbull who is retired, but always listened on the first command and was friendly to all animals and people .... Now that she no longer hikes i have a 9 month old pitbull named koa who is in my pics and he's been out with me on a couple weekend trips so far and i've had 2 incidents, minor ones but if he was unleashed who knows what would of happened .... The first one a mole cruised up behind me while i was eating lunch and i didn't hear it and the dog just chomped on it and i yelled for him to release and he did but by that time the dmg was done, Second time i was walking down the trail and not but 50 feet behind me and bear thrashed thro the bush and accross the trail and my dog being on his retractable leash BOLTED towards the bear .... i hit the button on the retractable and got tossed forward by his weight .... Had i not had him on his leash, he prolly would of gotten his salad tossed by a bear. I expect things like that right now, he's a puppy ... training helps aton and socializing the dog to people and other animals .... but the wild ones he still makes a dash for, hoping he out grows that.

The Old Fhart
11-08-2010, 08:26
hellomolly-"Just another example of why a dog with such a prey drive should be kept on a leash when in areas with wildlife."That would include all dogs and the nearly 2000 miles of the A.T. they are allowed on.

tucker0104-"My dog stays behind me on the trail. He has gotten better with age. My recent outing I only had 1 incident in 37 miles of him chasing something."extrapolate that to 2000 miles and that could be over 50 "incidents". That would have been prevented simply by the use of a leash

darkage-"Had i not had him on his leash, he prolly would of gotten his salad tossed by a bear."But you were responsible and did have him on a leash. Being responsible does have its rewards.

superman
11-08-2010, 21:32
All depends on the dog, the owner and the training. Winter never chased a deer but I have.:)