Peace Pups on the Trails: Not Always Welcomed by Other Hikers

Recently, on one of the hiking forums I belong to we have been having a months long conversation about dogs on the trails and to leash or not to leash. Below is one of my recent response. I felt the information was important enough to torment you all with : ) so here it is.

a fellow forum member wrote:
"the worst case scenario with my dog is she really wants to say hi to the other hikers"

To which I responded:
I do not mean to offend, but allowing your dog to be able to do this with anyone she meets on the trail is a path that will end up getting dogs banned on the trails or someone- human or canine getting hurt. Or worse, I am thinking here of the child who is allergic to dog saliva- yikes!

I think that there is a lot of misinformation about dogs circling about- probably could say that about anything! One fantastic educational resource is Doggone Safe. This group focuses on teaching folks, and specifically children, how to read a dog's body language and keep themselves safe in the process. Many of the ways we humans communicate are not perceived by dogs as being friendly- for example looking directly into a dogs eyes, approaching a dog straight on and hugging dogs may all be viewed as threatening to dogs. Yes, dogs can learn that these human behaviors are all ok, but I would not count on any dog I meet to have been schooled in our ways.

I think the bottom line is that there are going to be folks who adore being with our dogs and want to hike with them (myself included) and there are going to be folks that are not so thrilled with dogs on the trails. How to find a balance and make sure that both camps are respected is key. For me, the bottom line is that I am always able to control my dog so that other folks I meet on the trail never have to interact with him. If other hikers want to say hello to my dog I am all for it. The respectful, safe thing for us to do is to err on the side of politeness and safety.

Not to be preachy.... well, maybe a little bit , but the Doggone Safe website really is an amazing resource. A little bit of education can go a long way to ensure safe dog/human interactions. Here is the link to their "Speak Dog" page:

http://www.doggonesafe.com/Speak_Dog

So, even though we may not be able to completely understand this- there are actually some folks who do not enjoy our dogs as much as we do! Enjoy time hiking with your dog and try to keep this in mind when you meet up with fellow hikers. We want those Peace Pups to continue to be able to be with us as much as possible!