What can happen when dog owners aren’t watching their dogs on a hiking trail.
I love hiking with Halo and he truly loves it too. Before we head out, I check the rules of the trail and see if it’s “on leash” or not. I Usually choose trails that require a leash. It’s much less stressful for me if everyone’s dog is under control. You don’t want to leash your dog? That’s cool. Choose a trail that allows dogs off leash. Know before you go. Hiking trails and dog rules.
Yesterday, I drove to the White Mountains for a short hike on Black Cap Mountain. After an hour and a half drive and a steep couple of miles on Hurricane Mountain Road, I arrived at the trailhead parking area.
There were more cars than usual for this trail, but I wanted to hike and get some pictures. It was a cool day with a few clouds. The autumn colors have started but aren’t yet vivid. Still, it was a beautiful day for hiking and photography. My dog loves hiking and people so I thought it would be heaven for him.
The parking area was full, so I parked off to the side of the road behind another car. I geared up, backpack and camera all with my dog, Halo, on his leash. Most trails in the White Mountain National Forest require dogs to be on a leash no longer than six feet. Some trails aren’t even suitable for dogs and are not allowed at all.
Halo and I have hiked this trail several times. Black Cap is an easy hike with excellent views. This is a trail I will often bring friends and family to. Halo loves the extra company and leads the way every time!
You could argue that Halo just smells the tracks of people all heading in the direction of the trailhead. I think he remembers the trail well. Either way, we were walking straight to the trailhead when a dog came bolting out from between two cars, ran to the middle of the lot (at least 15 feet) and attacked my dog. The dog’s owners ran and tried to grab their dog. I could pull my dog away, but the smaller white dog just came in towards Halo. The lady finally grabbed her dog by the collar and got him away. It was only seconds before it was broken up. However, I said, “keep your dog on a leash.”
I hear her say, “sorry ma’am.”
I walked away back towards my car and had Halo sit while another group of hikers entered the parking lot. He did well to sit calmly considering that he just got a good dose of adrenaline defending himself from that dog. I was giving him a good look over to be sure there weren’t any wounds. Thankfully, there were none.
An older couple approached me and started apologizing for their daughter’s dog. Apparently, their daughter had just gotten married at the summit, and there was a large party with them. I asked them why the dog wasn’t on a leash. I was told that the leash was at the summit with her new husband.
“So why wasn’t the dog on the summit attached to the leash? This is a leash only trail.”
How sweet to get married on the summit and have your dog with you. I mean that. Congratulations! That said, there were enough people in the party that someone could have been in charge of the dog.
They must have known about the rules of the trail about dogs to plan the wedding. Not only they did not follow the rules; they did not have control over the dog.
The wedding party was getting ready to leave, so I decided to go up the trail. I wanted to replace his negative experience with a positive one. He loves hiking!
Shortly into the trail, a couple asked if he was the dog that just got attacked by the white pit bull. I hadn’t even noticed that it was a pit bull. So now, we have a newlywed couple that doesn’t have control over their dog and rules don’t apply to them. We wonder why pit bulls have such a bad reputation. Don’t get me wrong; pit bulls can be amazing dogs with the right owners. That goes for all breeds.
I agree that there are many dogs that are perfect off leash and under control by their owner. That’s not my point. This was an on-leash trail. Keep them on a leash unless you have one of the one percent of dogs that have an invisible leash. I have passed hikers with dogs off leash that you wouldn’t even know they were off leash. Those are few and far between, however.
Often, here comes a dog full speed down the trail with no owner in sight. The owners finally show up and say, “oh he’s friendly.” Well, maybe my dog isn’t. Halo is overly friendly towards people. He’s not a super fan of other dogs, but not at all dog aggressive.
Last year, I had hiked Speckled Mountain in Evens Notch. I met a hiker on the summit. She said she was very allergic to dogs, so I kept my dog away from her. Had he not been on a leash, my very friendly dog would have been all over her. She wasn’t annoyed that I had a dog. She just made a statement about her allergies and appreciated that I showed her respect.
Beyond following the rules, the bigger picture is respecting other hikers and other dogs. There isn’t anyone to police our trails so it’s up to all of us to police ourselves. If something goes terribly wrong, the solution will be to ban dogs.
I can count at least a dozen places that allow dogs off leash within a 20-mile radius of my house. I can easily run my dog at those locations and leash him on the others. It’s not a big deal. There really isn’t any reason to take your dog off leash on trails that require a leash.
Regardless of what trail you’re on, it’s up to you to know your dog. If your dog doesn’t have the training or the recall then keep them on leashes.
A recent commenter suggested that I was mistaken by the leash laws on Black Cap Trail. I placed a phone call to the White Mountain Visitors Center and asked about the leash laws for dogs. She told me most trails require a leash. She looked up Black Cap specifically and said it was a dog must be on leash trail.
For more information visit these sites-
White Mountain National Forest Visitor Center
Be sure to so do some research before visiting to make sure your pup can join in the fun.