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suffragette_citizen t1_isszrrz wrote

As a frequent hiker this is one of my only complaints about the trails here. There are way too many people with untrained dogs who let them run loose, and then act like you're the problem if you ask them to leash their animal. Or, god forbid, put a hiking/ski pole between you and the dog when they're acting aggressively towards you.

My husband is also nervous around dogs, especially large ones, and we've had a few different hikes this year interrupted by rude dog owners who got argumentative when we asked them to follow the regulations after their dogs jumped all over us.

If you can't consistently verbally recall your dog the first time, they shouldn't be off leash at all. If a wildlife area/park says leash your dog, they need to be on a leash. If a trail says no dogs...don't take your dog. It's not safe for other people, it's not safe for your dog, and its disruptive to wildlife to let them run all over the place.

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ThisistheInfiniteIs t1_isti69y wrote

>If a wildlife area/park says leash your dog, they need to be on a leash

If there is no sign telling you to leash your dog, that also means you should leash your dog, that is the default, not the other way around.

You should never let your dog off leash anywhere that is not explicitly marked
"off leash allowed" unless you are on private property with the owners permission.

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[deleted] t1_ist1u5v wrote

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ThisistheInfiniteIs t1_ist3zc4 wrote

>Stowe

This is absolutely false, there is a leash law in Stowe, this is just a rumor started by an inconsiderate dog owner. Unfortunately dog people are super selfish and can't be bothered to simply Google the town to see if there is a leash law.

Pro-tip, pretty much every town in Vermont has a leash law.

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beetroot747 OP t1_ist74se wrote

Wow, I had no idea some dog owners can be this mean.

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[deleted] t1_ist597v wrote

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ThisistheInfiniteIs t1_ist7mn4 wrote

Fwiw: People who let their dogs off leash are selfish a-holes, who have no respect for the place they are visiting, or the people who are negatively affected by their narcissistic behavior.

I am sure there were people who's hike was ruined by this incredibly selfish behavior.

There is no legitimate reason to let your pet off leash in public, don't be that person, have a little respect.

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ThisistheInfiniteIs t1_ist9jog wrote

>Those two would lie down at the top, bothering no one

But they ARE obviously bothering people. Have you even bothered to read the comments here? This is why folks hate dog people, they go around claiming that their animal is "bothering no one" even where people are expressing that they are, in fact, quite bothered by this selfish and inconsiderate behavior.

A significant portion of the population has a well deserved fear of dogs. About 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year in the US alone.

This is also very irresponsible towards the wildlife, unleashed dogs chase and harass animals and leave waste behind.

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[deleted] t1_ista2dh wrote

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ThisistheInfiniteIs t1_istd8qd wrote

Again, you are still just insisting on something that is obviously NOT TRUE.

It doesn't matter how well behaved you think your dog is, if it is off leash it is a threat to everyone and to the animals and environment that they are in.

Why are so many dog people assume that everybody loves dogs?

Again, a significant portion of the population has a well deserved fear of dogs and having to encounter an unleashed animal can be quite traumatizing and ruin someones day.

Why do so many dog owners insist on never considering the negative impact that their selfish, narcissistic, behavior has on the people around them?

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[deleted] t1_istefeb wrote

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ThisistheInfiniteIs t1_isth03j wrote

>Is it possible that we could allow these two gentle and passive dogs on just one trail out of the 870 trails in Vermont? That seems ok to me if people were told dogs off leash on trail - which wasn’t posted here.

No, it is super selfish and irresponsible to let dogs off leash on hiking trails.

It is your responsibility to know the law and taking bad advise about "dog friendly" places on the internet is no excuse.

Also assuming that it is ok to let you pet off leash just because there is no sign telling you not to is idiotic, selfish and irresponsible.

When a trail is not marked, the default is leash your dog, not the other way around.

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ThisistheInfiniteIs t1_istge6n wrote

>My behavior is not selfish and narcissistic

Yes, it is. You keep trying to claim that these animals were "harmless" just because YOU thought they were well behaved.

Any unleashed animal is a threat to some people, animals and the environment, no matter how well behaved YOU think they are.

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qrqrqrqr4 t1_istauya wrote

This is definitely not true. I didn't really have a problem with those dogs, but if you sat down to eat a snack up at the top they would sit right down next to you and breath very smelly dog breath in your face while hopefully waiting for a snack. You move, they move. Certainly not aggressive or violent but they did approach people minding their own business

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ThisistheInfiniteIs t1_istdgr6 wrote

Yeah, I don't want your animal anywhere near me, especially if it is not on a leash.

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[deleted] t1_istb5b3 wrote

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qrqrqrqr4 t1_istd2rw wrote

Totally fair. I wasn't upset to see them, but I could see how that behavior, even just occasionally, would bother folks

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beetroot747 OP t1_ist7blj wrote

That’s just terrible. Such people shouldn’t be allowed to have dogs. I’d have freaked out if I saw two unleashed dogs with their owners no where to be seen. It would have brought back PTSD from an incident I had in Denver last year.

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[deleted] t1_ist9myx wrote

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beetroot747 OP t1_ista23k wrote

“Well-behaved” is a subjective term. What may be “well-behaved” to you may be the opposite for me.

Personally, I’d be wary of any dog that’s off leash, no matter how well-behaved the owners claims it to be.

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ThisistheInfiniteIs t1_istdv64 wrote

I don't, letting your dog off leash on a hiking train is super irresponsible and inconsiderate.

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suffragette_citizen t1_ist3hgs wrote

One of the reasons we haven't done it, actually -- we try to check beforehand to see what regulations are, and we go to a lot of bird sanctuaries because they're typically prohibited there. But, of course, people still bring their dogs :/

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