[pct-l] Personal experience with dogs

[trekkingamy at yahoo.com (Trekking Amy)]

I have no problem with dogs on the trail -- I have a problem with dogs on me when I'm on the trail.
 
I was attacked by a dog when I was just a small child, and although I am not as terrified as I used to be, I still have small fear issues.  I don't want your dog, no matter how friendly and happy and non-dangerous it is, anywhere near me.  No sniffing, no jumping, no licking, no wagging its tail against my leg.  
 
I appreciate that most dogs are not killer attack dogs -- but if you have a dog that's loyal enough to follow you for 2000+ miles through the wilderness, it is probably a bit fond of you -- which means that if it perceives another hiker as a threat, it might move to protect you.  Being alone with someone for thousands of miles is a great bonding experience, and even if your dog has never attacked anyone on your daily walk through the park, he might feel even more bonded to you after 1000 miles on the trail and I might look (or smell -- scent of fear!) like a threat that needs to be taken out.
 
By all means, take your dogs on the trail if you know they can handle it -- but keep them close to you -- if you don't keep them leashed (which I think is the utmost of disrespect to your fellow hikers, but I do admit to having dog issues), at least make sure that they will respond 100% of the time, no matter what, to verbal commands, and keep them the hell away from other hikers unless that other hiker has asked if they can pet your dog. 
 
Please.   
 


Monty Tam <metam01@earthlink.net> wrote:
This summer I was almost attacked by a big "He's never done that before"
dog just north of 49. It was a severe standoff. The dog would not respond
to the owner. I don't like being that terrified.
A friend was TORN APART by two big dogs near the Desolation Wilderness last
year. The owner couldn't stop the dogs. They threw him around for quite a
while. "They had never done anything like this before." He had severe
blood loss, it was a while before he could get any attention. A large,
about one pound section chunk of one of his legs so mutilated they couldn't
sew it back on. The rest of him was pretty ugly too. It was about a year
before he could start to return to his normal active life. The owners
refused to put the dogs to sleep.
Even though I was not attacked, with the degree of fear I felt, I want the
owner who brought that dog there put to sleep so it won't happen again.
Dogs on the trail? I'm all for
it................................................... Under three pounds
or on a leash.





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As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can.
-- John Muir
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