Four-Pawing It and Assorted Dog Tales aka Please Leash Your Dogs

Hello!  Jaime typing - I'm honored to guest-post for Angella's second Hike-a-Thon season.  I'll quickly echo Angella's comments about Mt. Rainier on Saturday. . .it felt more like a fall hike than a summer one, but it was still beautiful! Now back to my regularly scheduled topic: Hiking With Your Dogs. Though I completely understand why, dogs aren't allowed on trails in Mt. Rainier and I'm sad I didn't get to take them last weekend.

I have two dogs that I love to take hiking and walking.  I love them.  I love all dogs.  I'd love your dog(s) too - if they were leashed. I do not love unleashed dogs when I'm hiking with leashed dogs in areas where dogs need to be leashed (this means you, Mom). 

 

You simply can't expect your domesticated pampered pal to behave appropriately in the wilderness. Also, it's the law.  Please don't ruin it for the rest of us.

The most important thing to remember about hiking with your unleashed dog is that it's not about you or your dog.  It's about the other people on the trail and respect for the environment that you are out there to enjoy.   You will ruin a significant number of people's days with your furry friend off-leash. And they will complain about you and your off-leash ways. And dogs will subsequently be banned from those trails. I can't count the number of times that a strange dog has gotten far too close to me (with or without my dogs).  If I didn't love dogs and was afraid of them, a few of those encounters would have had me in tears.  So, in a nutshell: don't be a selfish jerk - leash your dogs as the law requires.  There are plenty of safe off-leash areas in the Seattle area where everyone's on the same page about how much they love watching their "canine co-habitators" go wild off-leash.

If you still think your dog is behaved enough to be off-leash, like the people in this picture from a recent hike, read this local article.

 

I'm thankful that it ended well for Arlo and his owner - because as the ranger says, for five in the last year, it didn't.

Please, keep your pets safe and show respect for others and the environment - leash them or leave them home. Thank you!

Happy, Healthy, and Leashed!

-- Jaime