Dogs on the trail

[grizzled]

On 1/9/2018 at 2:12 PM, balzaccom said:

No dogs are allowed on any trails in Glacier National Park...wilderness areas or not.

Yes, but Glacier, Yellowstone, Yosemite, etc, etc, etc- are most certainly not WILDERNESS.  A whole different agency and a whole different set of rules/regulations.  And development in the parks is rather subjective.  How many cell towers do you get?  Enough RV parking?  Not to mention, in my humble opinion, WAY too many people.  Like Aaron, I try to avoid those places.  So many thousands of square miles of true wilderness out there, why waste your time in a National Park?

I've probably been in Yellowstone many hundreds of times and in my younger days (read 60's-70's) I did do some backpacking there.  Like everything else, it was a different place back then.  The last 3 decades however, my presence there is only because it is the shortest route for my wife and I to get to the Beartooth's-a place that could be Glacier Park, but thankfully isn't.

[packandpeak]

Good topic. We see so many dogs off leash in NH and Maine. I have nothing against dogs off leash if the dog obeys and and actually stays near the owner when called. That is not always the case and I've had multiple situations like those described in this post where a dog comes barreling around a corner and the owner is 100 yards up the trail. Finally, the owner catches up to find me holding my dog while their dog is jumping up on me and trying to get to my dog. "He's friendly don't worry!" Well my dog has anxiety/aggression issues with other dogs. We ALWAYS keep him on a leash and never have issues when we pass other dogs on leashes. Your friendly dog should not be jumping up on anyone and if they don't come to you when called, they should be on a leash.

[balzaccom]

There are other issues as well.  Dogs can carry parasites and diseases that may affect local wildlife, and that can include in their feces.  I don't know many people who take dogs into the wilderness and pack out their poop...

One of the really ironic stories from the early exploration of the Sierra Nevada is John Muir's work as a shepherd in what is now Yosemite National Park.  The sheep he herded carried diseases that virtually wiped about the native bighorn sheep in the Sierra.  Only in the last five years or so have those sheep be re-introduced into Yosemite, more than a century after they disappeared.

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

Great idea to make sure your dog is all up to date on vaccinations and meds all around and for the dog as well - my vet always suggests a couple extras since they know we’ll be out hiking. 

[ppine]

I keep a leash on my dog's pack.  If I see people on the trail I will grab the leash. Then we get off the trail. Especiallly if there are horses, kids, or a large group. 

[balzaccom]

And coyotes, and pumas...

[rickrick]

I always leash my dog while hiking. He is a big hunter so he runs after anything and everything that moves. I don't want to lose my pal so I keep him restrained on the leash.

[ppine]

I have herding dogs. They run back and forth and keep track of everyone.  They never run off.