Quote Originally Posted by TNhiker View Post
again, i will say that sadly this is not a true statement.... with my job that i just got outta of-----i've covered maybe 6 or 7 deaths due to off leashed dogs.....and numerous serious maulings with off leashed dogs.....bottom line, imo, dogs on a leash that are controlled by their owners are going to be safer all around than dogs off a leash.......(and yes, leash size matters).....
Yeah, and down in TN where you are it was not just the unleashed dogs hiking with their owners... it was also hunting dogs that were out on their own with their owners nowhere in sight. One time one of them ran through the shelter area where I was sitting making dinner and took off with my summer sausage which was sitting next to me on the picnic table. I had to chase it 200 yards down the trail and yell at it before it dropped it and ran off. On that same stretch I ran into a thru hiker who made the mistake of feeding one of those hunting dogs and it followed him all the way to Damascus, which was over 30 miles away!