^Someone's resentful :P

But you're missing the subject completely. We're no longer just talking about dogs on trails, we're talking about dogs on trails with/without leashes. And guess what? There wasn't a single point you made that would be any different with/without a leash. Dogs still run up to people with leashes. All of our trails around here are narrow enough to make even the shortest leash too long to keep a dog from getting in your way & attacking you. Dogs still sh*t on the trail on leashes, but are limited to the distance they can go away from the trail to do so. Dogs are still territorial on leashes, & still have enough room to lash out at you. The fact of the matter is that most trails allow leashed dogs, so it's perfectly legal. And in the spirit of all the anti-dog guys being so stubborn & resentful, I'll join on the bandwagon & say: **** you if you don't like my dog, I'm going to bring him with a leash & he's absolutely going to ruin your day. He's going to constantly create a clothesline across the trail that will prevent anyone from being able to easily get by & he'll likely cause a few people to crash. I'll fart on an elevator after eating a pound of Chinese food & make you vomit. Because that's what happens when people get stubborn & resentful--they turn into total ******bags.

I'm very sorry. I should be more sensitive to your wants and desires. I forgot you're all special and the world owes you and all other dog owners.

Your words, not mine ;)

I'm tired of arguing the same point over & over, & I'm tired of listening to all your points & then having you skim over my posts & pick & choose the things you can & can't argue, rather than responding to everything I actually say. You're all horrible debaters & I thank the god I don't believe in that none of you are politicians. That said, I'll end with this statement:

I don't give a damn whether or not you like dogs. I'm selfish, & I don't care about you or anyone else on the trail, except myself. Based on my own judgment, I would probably never take either of my dogs to the trails. If I ever do, it will be purely out of spite for everyone *****ing about dogs on trails. Goodnight!

I know you're joking, but when people actually do that, that's a ****ty thing to do. When someone's coming the other way, pull in the leash and grab the dog close to its collar.

Tim's post actually did bring some interesting points to the table. I don't agree with everything he said because he generalizes a lot. What I do agree with is many people think their dogs are perfect angels. It's kind of like parents with their kids. The majority of kids, while they have their moments, aren't complete troublemakers, just like the majority of trail dogs are well-trained. However, every so often you get a badly behaved kid or dog. When the teacher calls home and says the kid is behaving badly, some parents will discipline their kid, while others while others refuse to believe that their little darling is capable of such a thing and gets mad at the teacher for accusing their baby. Same with dog owners. Dog owners like this are in the MINORITY, but they DO EXIST. The issue is what do you do about those few dog owners, because all it takes is one to ruin someone's day (or possibly life, if it's a big and angry enough dog). I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that leash laws won't help. The dogs and dog owners who get punished are the good, well-trained dogs and the owners who took the time to train them. The self-absorbed dog owners will be the ones to ignore the laws and bring their little angel along anyway.

Dog owners like you aren't the problem... your words here remind me of a friend's dog which is one of the few dogs I actually like, largely because she is so well trained.

If only there was some way of distinguishing the responsible owners from the irresponsible owners from a distance...

I always hated kids in restaurants or shops or whatever spinning around and acting like fools and getting in the way and running into you and you can't get past them, etc., etc., and always wondered "wtf is wrong with those parents?"

Then one day I found myself in a restaurant with a grin on my face watching my niece spin around, acting like a fool, while some people tried to get past her. I realized what was happening and thought "oh damn, I'm one of them." Of course since then I try to be aware of how she's affecting other people when I'm hanging out with her and if she's doing something that would bug me if I was that person and didn't know this kid, I'll get her to step aside or not yell so loud or whatever.

And it's not like she can't be a ****zy kid when she's around me (or her mother), there's simply a trade off that needs to be made in order to not be a self-absorbed, selfish ******* who's making someone else's day more difficult because they care more about their kids ability to ****z wherever and whenever they want to than someone else's personal space.

I encounter dogs on the trail constantly and 80% of the time they're off leash which means 100% of the time I have to slow way down until I'm past them, because that's the safe thing to do. Even if they're on a leash and heeled I'll still slow down but that's completely different: In the former scenario I'm the only party being considerate and responsible. In the latter we're both being considerate and responsible. And simply it's an ******* move to have your dog off leash or on a long leash that amounts to worse than being off-leash because you're not being considerate or responsible, you're fobbing that off on everyone else that encounters you.

And then probably coming here and turning your self-absorption into some kind of self-righteous victimhood.

Oh yah, you got me... Haha, man you're a cool guy I bet everybody loves riding with you!

Tim, I'm going to basically agree with you. Sorry, but you're now in doggy hating ******bag like me! Haha. :)

Why slow down, if that dog is such hot **** and those owners in total control! Oh that is right, it's a dog - Not a member of the Queen's guard.

http://www.aviewoncities.com/img/london/kveen0742s.jpg

I think the dog/kid analogy has one tiiiny technical issue, dog's aren't people.

http://lordwhatsmymotivation.files.w...pg?w=396&h=300

The charter of human rights isn't for doggies. Of course many dog owners are very confused about this fact.

http://mimg.ugo.com/200902/14768/Spaceballs.jpg
oh, okay... i'll brake for kids

I hope this isn't aimed at me, because it would be silly to say that about someone who has never & has no intentions of bringing their dog to the trail.

Love my dogs. They do NOT go riding with me... Dogs belong in dog parks and walking the neighborhood on a leash.

City people are funny.

Having been raised around show dogs and owning a 100lb GSD that will intimidate most anybody on the trail I would only consider running him on remote trails where I can have him heal and then physically holding him if meeting another trail user. Nothing pisses me off more than a strangers dog approaching me or my dog/ child/ wife then smelling me , or possibly biting me because the dipstick feels his dog is friendly. Unless a dog will sit/ stay on command and then not move they have no business being on the trail. This is seldom the case. Dogs are predators and territorial, this means if you are moving fast their instinct is to attack, this means if you get within 10 feet of the owner the dog will likely protect them. My dog may be quite friendly to another dog UNTIL that dog enters my space, then it is war . I hope everybody sees the problems here and why the average dog on a public trail is a bad idea.

Grew up in a town of 400 people. How about you?

Exactly. You just don't know, because it's not your dog, and oftentimes the owner doesn't know either because they love their dog so much and anthropomorphize it so much they basically assume it's incapable of doing anything really harmful.

I was raised by wolves.

Which one are you?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._and_Remus.jpg

Murder of crows, here.

All too often I see people heading out at noon, on a 86-90 degree day with their dog running full bore, out on a way too long ride, seemingly petrified that their owners are going to leave them behind. Dogs get out of the car and run back and forth, here and there, putting on way more miles than their owners, who are poking along up a hill. By the time they top out, the biker takes off and the dogs are stressed out to keep up. That said, biking with dogs is fine, when within reason! Sure, some dogs are built for speed and can do it, but many can't. Take 'em for 5 miles, then, take them home and go do a beater ride. And leave your puppies at home, unless you want to damage their bones for life.

My dog loves running behind me while we ride. He went for a 6+ mile run the other day. Great exercise for him.

The only problem here is that the stupider somebody is, the more likely it is that they are going to decide that whatever law they find inconvenient isn't "intended for them". Which is why we have to have all of the damn laws in the first place, because people, by and large, are too stupid to figure out how to behave sensibly on their own.