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  1. #41

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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher & Snacktime View Post
    If you are forced to spray, perhaps you should be sure to get both? Love dogs, hate them on the trail. NOBODY keeps them leashed.
    I think this is an excellent idea. Owner first, then the dog!
    The older I get, the faster I hiked.

  2. #42
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zelph View Post
    good info at this site:

    How to Stop a Dog Attack While Backpacking

    https://www.runnersblueprint.com/pre...while-running/
    Alot of good info here, but the part about hitting the dog over the head with a stick is what I tried onetime against a aggressive dog and the stick just broke and pissed the dog off more. That's when I learned what to do with a stick next time. You're not going to hit a dog with a carbon fiber or aluminum hiking stick. But you can utilize as a weapon the way described.

  3. #43
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    I didn't find those suggestions very useful for me... Either I already knew them (like don't run) or it was things that didn't make much sense... like telling the dog to "back off". I doubt.1 in 10 dogs would recognize those words... but 10 in 10 should understand a loud and firm "NO!".

    And "fold your arms"?... Well I guess this was for joggers. When I was walking my neighborhood, there was this one house where if the owner was out front with his dog, this dog WOULD charge me (even though I was standing in the street and NOT in his "territory". In any case, the thing that always worked for me was to firmly point my hiking pole right at the dog. The idea being if he tries to come at me, the pole should keep him 5' away from my torso.

    Actually, the reason I walk the road in my neighborhood with a hiking pole is because one evening a lady stepped out of her car and before she could react, her little toy of a dog jumped out of the car and ran at me and managed to bite... well at least it was only my sock in that case. Bit since that time, I always carry a hiking stick, and my intent to use it for protection is to basically poke the dog with it if it comes within poking distance.

  4. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by ocourse View Post
    That's life. No real harm done. Animals are sometimes unpredictable Hike on!.
    Did you miss the photo of the literal harm done? I mean, it's not a serious injury, but it's also not something to shrug off as an acceptable risk of hiking. When I go for a hike, I have to acknowledge that I might trip and fall, get some bug bites, or even be harmed by a wild animal like a bear or a rattlesnake. That would be unfortunate, but it would be no one's fault, and the small chance that it happens is part of hiking. But getting bitten by another hiker's dog is 100% that dog owner's fault (unless you were to deliberately antagonize it or something) and it was not a risk that I sign up for when I hit the trail.

    As someone who adores dogs and grew up with dogs, I love encountering well-behaved dogs on the trail, but I completely agree with Traveler's comment that the bite should be reported so that the owners take it seriously. As a teacher who leads groups of 5th-8th graders on hikes (in non pandemic times, at least) I would be horrified to have one of my kiddos bitten, and extremely frustrated to find out if it wasn't the first time the dog had been aggressive and nothing had been done.
    A.T. 2018 Thru-hiker
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  5. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by ocourse View Post
    That's life. No real harm done. Animals are sometimes unpredictable Hike on!.
    That's life = easy to say when it is not YOU the victim
    No real harm done = how do you know that?
    Animals are unpredictable = that is exactly why the owners should be hold responsible for their dog's behavior.

  6. #46

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    FWIW,I think a leashed dog is more emboldened by the leash than not as my dog enjoyed "showing out" while leashed;presumably because he knew I was not going to let go.So keep that in mind while hiking.I think the leash makes them more protective as they feel more connected to and "backed up" by their owners.

    I learned this after dog scared my brother (and ME) half to death before I could slam the front door in brother's face for his protection.Dog immediately sat down,looked at me with a GRIN on his face as if to say,"We sure scared him didn't we?!"

  7. #47
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    I hope you sued them!! I've encountered this too many times to be nice to irresponsible dog owners :/
    Take Time to Watch the Trees Dance with The Wind........Then Join In........

  8. #48

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    Quote Originally Posted by HooKooDooKu View Post
    I didn't find those suggestions very useful for me... Either I already knew them (like don't run) or it was things that didn't make much sense... like telling the dog to "back off". I doubt.1 in 10 dogs would recognize those words... but 10 in 10 should understand a loud and firm "NO!".

    And "fold your arms"?... Well I guess this was for joggers. When I was walking my neighborhood, there was this one house where if the owner was out front with his dog, this dog WOULD charge me (even though I was standing in the street and NOT in his "territory". In any case, the thing that always worked for me was to firmly point my hiking pole right at the dog. The idea being if he tries to come at me, the pole should keep him 5' away from my torso.

    Actually, the reason I walk the road in my neighborhood with a hiking pole is because one evening a lady stepped out of her car and before she could react, her little toy of a dog jumped out of the car and ran at me and managed to bite... well at least it was only my sock in that case. Bit since that time, I always carry a hiking stick, and my intent to use it for protection is to basically poke the dog with it if it comes within poking distance.


    Same reason I carry the spray when I run in the neighborhoods. If your dog stays in his yard, he can bark all day. If he leaves your yard, then you don't have him under control and I will prevent him from biting me.

    I've had to explain this to a few owners after their dogs came at me and I sprayed them. Been bitten twice, won't let it happen again.
    The older I get, the faster I hiked.

  9. #49
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    Had a neighbor who said I was the only person the dog would run at. I said great, I'll be the only person taking your house when I sue you. Next week they had an electric fence up that the dog obeyed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by zelph View Post
    Not good


    Scary encounter. The jogger is lucky he wasn't seriously injured.
    If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.

  12. #52
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    I had something similar happen to me on the AT except I was able to avoid getting bit. The owner could not get a leash on the dog and get him under control for several minutes.
    Trail Name - Slapshot
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  13. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by ldsailor View Post
    I had something similar happen to me on the AT except I was able to avoid getting bit. The owner could not get a leash on the dog and get him under control for several minutes.
    That's why the leash should not come off when out , that would not be a problem.

    Ironically just yesterday I let my dog out to pee before I went to work i looked out and the neighbors dog was out there sniffing my dogs butt. I just moved to a new house and my fence is coming soon. Besides my dog looked like he didn’t mind
    So much and my neighbor is the friendly neighborhood leo!
    Last edited by JNI64; 10-21-2020 at 11:35.

  14. #54
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    The more I think about this situation, the more I dislike it to the point of getting pi$$ed off. I may have to get some pepper spray and go for more walks to find offenders that I can spray..........the owners...not the dogs

  15. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by zelph View Post
    The more I think about this situation, the more I dislike it to the point of getting pi$$ed off. I may have to get some pepper spray and go for more walks to find offenders that I can spray..........the owners...not the dogs
    Lol yeah I feel ya ,( ooops sorry covid) I mean I know what ya means. But just a lil advice take bear spray so you don't miss. You never know he or she could have moves like this !

  16. #56

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    Bear spray would not have helped in my situation this time, but other times it might have been handy to have. This of course was not nearly my first encounter with an unrulily dog.

    It's been almost a week now and the wound is mostly healed up and no bad effects which I've noticed.
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  17. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher & Snacktime View Post
    If you are forced to spray, perhaps you should be sure to get both? Love dogs, hate them on the trail. NOBODY keeps them leashed.
    With my experience and reinforced from what I've read on this thread, leashed dogs are more likely to be dangerous dogs. Free running/roaming dogs are rarely a real threat. This may be because people with more dangerous dogs tend to keep them leashed. This also might be because dogs on leash are more likely to be defensive and/or react in fear while off-leash dogs can maintain what they perceive as a safe distance and/or don't feel the same need to show protection to their leash holder. Either way, I've only ever seen dogs attack people either while they are leashed or when someone walks into what they identify as their home territory (i.e. not loose on a trail).

    And, for these reasons, I find it ironic that in these forums that I read of more people complaining about and condemning people for having their dogs off leash than I do about having potentially aggressive dogs anywhere where they have the remote chance of coming into close(ish) contact with other people either on or off leash. In fact, I read of people condemning others for having their dogs off leash based on being bitten by a dog on a leash!!

    The problem is not dogs being off leash. The problem is aggressive, or potentially aggressive dogs being anywhere they can come in contact with other people. Condemn bad behavior (on or off leash) don't condemn well behaved animals roaming free.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

  18. #58
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    Free running/roaming dogs are rarely a real threat. This may be because people with more dangerous dogs tend to keep them leashed



    sadly, this is not a true statement....

  19. #59
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    While leashed dogs aren't automatically safe, I've had many more problems with off-leash dogs than on-leash, mainly because at least the owner is usually forced to pay attention to a leashed dog, while many owners seem to let them just run rampant when off-leash.

    I spent several weeks on my thru-hike with a fellow hiker with an absolute angel of a dog, and I had no complaints about her pup being off leash. That said, while day hiking in the whites, I've been jumped on, licked, and growled at by off leash dogs, far out ahead of their owners (owners often even out of sight). I had one of my middle school students get knocked over into a snowbank by an overly friendly off-leash labrador on one of our school hikes. On an overnight staying at Liberty Springs, a thru-hiker's off-leash dog, put its face right into my ramen that was sitting on my tent platform while the owner was cooking several yards away. I've had a different off-leash dog pee on some of my gear at a different AT shelter while the owner wasn't paying attention.

    If an off-leash dog stays with its owner and doesn't approach other hikers or leashed dogs, and can be trusted not to chase wildlife, then I don't mind an off-leash dog. Unfortunately, the vast majority of off-leash dogs I encounter on the trail do not fit these criteria. WMNF guidelines state that dogs need to be under "voice or leash control." So most of these dogs owners are technically breaking the rules, even on "dog-friendly" trails.

    That said, the only time I've been bitten by a stranger's dog was by a leashed husky that some guy had *inside* a gas station for some reason. Just took a quick snap at me as I came in the door. Luckily only tore my jeans and pinched/bruised my thigh, didn't break the skin.

    If dogs are well-behaved, I'm happy to see them, leash or off leash. Otherwise, I wish the owner would leave them at home.
    A.T. 2018 Thru-hiker
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  20. #60
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    All this talk about unleashed dogs is making me nostalgic for all the road walks we used to have.

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