lots of dogs on my short section

[FossilFool]

Just did a short section hike from Fontana Dam to NOC. 4 days, 3 nights. There were 7-8 dogs on the trail. None were on a leash. When we were at the shelters, a couple of them were just running around free. I love dogs, but don't agree that this should happen. I saw 2 piles of feces, one right in the middle of the trail, the other next to a campsite 20' uphill from the water source (Brown Fork Shelter). These could have been human or dog. Either way, it's disgusting and disappointing.

[Gambit McCrae]

Sounds like mass chaos to me

The AT is a people trail, it is more like a footpath highway then "solitude in nature". It is what it is. Your going to find that there is a whole lot less breaking rules on the trail, then in a city or suburb just simply due to the pop density.

I personally would not complain about seeing 2 dogs a day on a hiking trip. Especially if they did not impact me in any way. I do not leash my dog on any hiking trip, but then again he is glued to my knee the ENTIRE time we are hiking. He wanders around a bit at camp but doesn't bother anything.

The feces: 2 misplaced piles of poo in 30 miles really isn't anything to write home about. You are in south Appalachia during peak thru hiking season(spring), If you filter your water, what does it matter if it is dog poo, or bear poo? poo is poo, boo. I rub it on my face to blend in with those nasty thru hikers.

I would suggest maybe finding a more desolate trail like the BMT, the Florida Long Trail, Pinhoti ETC. Or if its just the dog issue, head on up to the Smokies, there are 800 miles of trails that do not allow dogs in the park have at it! lol

[Sarcasm the elf]

Did you say anything to the owners, especially the ones letting their dogs run around the shelter?

[colorado_rob]

Just curious: are dogs required to be on a leash in this area?

[Pedaling Fool]

I see another red line coming....

[Gambit McCrae]

Its well on its way lol
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[squeezebox]

Geez!!! Another dog thread. Do your dog a favor, as well as yourself, wildlife, other hikers, etc. and leave your dog at home. I don't know Gambit and his dog or others, but must claims that the dog is on full verbal control w/o a leash is most often not true. My dog isn't. But a loose dog around a shelter is going to mess up expensive sleeping bags and such. Which should be the dog owners responsibility to replace. I would not bring my dog and then have to replace sleeping bags and other gear for other hikers. If your dog starts tearing up hikers gear this could turn into a gun thread.
I've heard that long distance hiking for a dog greatly shortens it's life. Not sure how that fits into the Iditarod dogs.
Do everyone a favor and leave the dog with a friend.
So take pooch out for day, weekend, week hikes. But the AT just ain't the right place for a dog.

[soilman]

Sounds like mass chaos to me

The AT is a people trail, it is more like a footpath highway then "solitude in nature". It is what it is. Your going to find that there is a whole lot less breaking rules on the trail, then in a city or suburb just simply due to the pop density.

I personally would not complain about seeing 2 dogs a day on a hiking trip. Especially if they did not impact me in any way. I do not leash my dog on any hiking trip, but then again he is glued to my knee the ENTIRE time we are hiking. He wanders around a bit at camp but doesn't bother anything.

The feces: 2 misplaced piles of poo in 30 miles really isn't anything to write home about. You are in south Appalachia during peak thru hiking season(spring), If you filter your water, what does it matter if it is dog poo, or bear poo? poo is poo, boo. I rub it on my face to blend in with those nasty thru hikers.

I would suggest maybe finding a more desolate trail like the BMT, the Florida Long Trail, Pinhoti ETC. Or if its just the dog issue, head on up to the Smokies, there are 800 miles of trails that do not allow dogs in the park have at it! lol

Leashes are required on pets for over 40% of the AT. I am a dog lover, have four of them. Keep them on a leash for their, your, and others protection. Not everyone is a dog lover. Suggesting the OP hike somewhere else does not solve the problem. In fact I find it kind of offensive. Why should law abiding hikers avoid a trail so others can be free to do as they please?

[DavidNH]

this represents the height of disrespect on the part of the dog owners. Unleashed dogs in the wilderness have no place. Some of us actually appreciate the quiet and piece and the wildlife. We lose all of that when some barking dog is running all over the place. If this isn't against the law it damned well should be.

[colorado_rob]

Leashes are required on pets for over 40% of the AT......

OK, but again, are they required on this particular section?

Why should law abiding hikers avoid a trail so others can be free to do as they please?

???? did you actually just say effectively: "why should some not do as they please so others can do as they please?

[colorado_rob]

... Unleashed dogs in the wilderness have no place. Some of us actually appreciate the quiet and piece and the wildlife..

On the contrary, LEASHED dogs, as long as they are well behaved, have no place in the wilderness, unless required by law.

[adamkrz]

Leashes are required on pets for over 40% of the AT. I am a dog lover, have four of them. Keep them on a leash for their, your, and others protection. Not everyone is a dog lover. Suggesting the OP hike somewhere else does not solve the problem. In fact I find it kind of offensive. Why should law abiding hikers avoid a trail so others can be free to do as they please?

Not everyone is a people lover, Dogs belong more in nature than people, Go walk in in a mall.

[seminoles]

Sounds like mass chaos to me

The AT is a people trail, it is more like a footpath highway then "solitude in nature". It is what it is. Your going to find that there is a whole lot less breaking rules on the trail, then in a city or suburb just simply due to the pop density.

I personally would not complain about seeing 2 dogs a day on a hiking trip. Especially if they did not impact me in any way. I do not leash my dog on any hiking trip, but then again he is glued to my knee the ENTIRE time we are hiking. He wanders around a bit at camp but doesn't bother anything.

The feces: 2 misplaced piles of poo in 30 miles really isn't anything to write home about. You are in south Appalachia during peak thru hiking season(spring), If you filter your water, what does it matter if it is dog poo, or bear poo? poo is poo, boo. I rub it on my face to blend in with those nasty thru hikers.

I would suggest maybe finding a more desolate trail like the BMT, the Florida Long Trail, Pinhoti ETC. Or if its just the dog issue, head on up to the Smokies, there are 800 miles of trails that do not allow dogs in the park have at it! lol

Owners attitudes like this is the issue!

[colorado_rob]

Owners attitudes like this is the issue!

Wrong. Attitudes like perhaps yours, AKA Dog Hating, is the issue.

[Offshore]

Wrong. Attitudes like perhaps yours, AKA Dog Hating, is the issue.

Not dog hating, more like entitled narcissist dog owner hating...

[RockDoc]

Wait till you get up to Tennessee, where lost hunting dogs sleep under the shelter and whine all night.

[Bronk]

I'd have to have an impeccably mannered and disciplined dog to leave it off of a leash around other people. And I haven't met very many of those. The trails I hike these days are not very well traveled...especially in winter. So when I make camp I will let the dog off the leash if I know I'm in an area far from a road and far from other people. My last backpacking trip I had wanted to camp at the summit of a mountain but when I got there and there were already 3 people camped there I hiked another mile along the ridge before setting up camp because I didn't want to keep my dog chained up all evening (though I do always carry a 20ft chain for that purpose if needed, though I have rarely used it. On canoe trips as soon as we pull away from shore he's off the leash until we pull out, usually a couple of days later.

[The Cleaner]

In TN where the trail passes through "Game Management Areas" ,which is most of the trail,firearms and unleashed dogs are prohibited.(unless you are a licensed hunter) So is littering,cutting live vegetation and a few other things.In the last few years many hikers just do as they want.The AT has become a circus here but the only clowns are some hikers.

[Hikingjim]

Had a dog stroll arrive at a shelter last week around 9:45 pm. Running around loose with a nice jingling collar while the owner setup their tent.
I made as much noise as possible when I went by their tent at 6:30 the next morning

Love most of the dogs, not always the owners!

[Traveler]

On the contrary, LEASHED dogs, as long as they are well behaved, have no place in the wilderness, unless required by law.

Designated wilderness does not require dogs to be leashed, nor do any laws protect the dog that is running loose. Kind of a double edged sword.