Dog Etiquette

[Hikin_Jim]

If you take a dog on Mt. Whitney, does he need a wag bag?

Sure. Just duct tape it to his tail.

[halhiker]

On a busy trail I agree it's best to keep your dog leashed. I used to hike with my dog, off leash, throughout the San Jacintos and on San Gorgonio for years without mishap but I think they've tightened the restrictions since then. That's one reason I prefer to hike in less traveled areas.

My wife tries to keep me on a leash and I don't like it so I'm sure the pooches don't either.

[phydeux]

Yes, national forest regulations require to keep your dog on a leash and under your control. State regulations ban dogs from the wilderness. If you want to own a dog its your responsibility and your inconvienience, not that of others using the trails.

If you insist on letting your dog roam unleashed in the forest, remember that it will be at the mercy of wild animals its unfamiliar with. Coyotes will try to get away if your dog starts chasing it, but they don't hesitiate to turn and put up a quick, aggressive defense if your dog doesn't break off the chase. Rattlesnakes bites can kill a dog quicker than they will a human, and poison oak (typically found at lower elevations) affects dogs just like it does humans.

Personally I got fed up with owners who expect society to put up with their dogs and I don't put up with off-leash dogs anymore. I've been bitten twice and now carry pepper spray or ammonia solution to spray on any dogs that come at me. I figure if the dog's owner doesn't want to keep their dog under direct control, it becomes my call as to what a charging dog is about to do and I'm free to take appropriate defensive action. I'm not putting up with the hospital visits, stitches, or the possibility of rabies treatment (lucky didn't have to go through this!) again.

[SoCalJim]

I was biting my tongue, but Phydeux says it well for me and many others, including other dog owners. I was walking, minding my own business in a local open space park a couple of years ago when an off-leash dog ran up, jumped up on me, and started snapping. Still have a scar on my wrist as a reminder. I too now carry pepper spray for dogs. I've seen owners with their pitbulls off leash on heavily traveled trails and you can almost see the thought balloon over my head directed at the dog owner: "What the f**k are you thinking?" Not everyone is a dog lover. And if human behavior isn't 100% predictable, how can dog owners think they know without question what's going on in their dog's brain? A dog may not be a "biter," until the first time it bites.

[bluerail]

I don't mind running into a dog on the trail... if it has antlers.

oherwise it's just a little unerving for me, wondering what the dog is going to do. I love dogs and love seeing them happy, but I have been bitten before, and by a dog I knew.

They can go crazy from time to time.

[DUG]

If you take a dog on Mt. Whitney, does he need a wag bag?

Dogs are not allowed any farther than Trail Crest and YES and Wag Bag is required.........................................................DUG