Trail dogs “Etiquette” and state Law

Ron

Well-Known Member
So there I am riding my bike in the woods. Doing a solo ride in a NJ State Park where by law leashes are required on dogs. I come around a corner and encounter another cyclist with 2 large dogs running down the middle of the trail. Both dogs off leashes and in the middle of the trail. As I swerve to miss the dogs and proceed to go over the handlebars the guy gives me an ear full about responsible riding. A man who is breaking the law by having dogs on a trail not on leashes and in the middle of the trail blocking it yells at me. Then rides off calling his dogs with him, that continue running down the middle of the trail.

I am all for letting dogs stretch their legs. But let’s have some common sense. And this is not my first encounter with almost running over someone’s dog on a trail that is not on a leash.
 
This is where we post our trail dogs correct
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On a side note, my sister just adopted an Australian shepherd mix. I'm thinking of adopting a litter mate, but don't know if I have time to raise / train a puppy. It would make a great trail dog.

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If I saw that dog coming down the trail I would OTB to pet him/her, well worth it! Adorable! @iLuveketchup go get one, now! J/K it’s a lot of work, if you can’t find the time you would end up hating it…well, maybe when he/she’s fully grown…

@ibike73 would you have to OTB even without the dogs? From your post it seems the guy would have been in violation of riding etiquette just the same, but I may have misunderstood (I do have some comprehension challenges).

I find it a controversial subject, I would love to ride with my Bailey L one day ( right now I can only do that with her on a leash, which presents some challeges and it’s not really ‘riding’) but I do understand state park regulations/laws and why they’re in place as not all dog guardians can handle their furry friends.
 
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Waaa you messed up my strava segment with your law breaking dog, get over it karen. Maybe the tourne or Lewis morris is more your style where dogs are prisoners. Please do confront me on any of the allamuchy trails, my dog probably has better trail etiquette then you.
 
I had an unleashed dog chase me at CR once. Wasn’t a big dog and really had chance to catch me. But it got away from its owner and the owner couldn’t find it.
When I was done with my ride there was whole family out there looking for it. There were some people in the lot and they said I should go help find the dog because it was my fault (for not stopping when the dog chased me).
Ah, not my problem. I smiled and said “sorry, I need to go home and feed my cat”.

90% of that is a true story
 
Waaa you messed up my strava segment with your law breaking dog, get over it karen. Maybe the tourne or Lewis morris is more your style where dogs are prisoners. Please do confront me on any of the allamuchy trails, my dog probably has better trail etiquette then you.

This isn’t really necessary.

@ibike73 sounds like you just found an asshole in the woods that happens to own dogs. Most of us aren’t assholes but some are.

I’ve been nipped at once last year in MA in this scenario. I got over it.

We have a morning crew of dog walkers and this couple with Boxers has no control and they scare the joggers on the jogging path. At some point these 2 will ruin it for all of us.

Most dogs are big goofy fur balls who want whatever food you have. Just a handful of them can be out of control. Sorry you had a bad experience but most of us are not like that.

Those in this thread ragging on the OP need to grow up.
 
This isn’t really necessary.

@ibike73 sounds like you just found an asshole in the woods that happens to own dogs. Most of us aren’t assholes but some are.

I’ve been nipped at once last year in MA in this scenario. I got over it.

We have a morning crew of dog walkers and this couple with Boxers has no control and they scare the joggers on the jogging path. At some point these 2 will ruin it for all of us.

Most dogs are big goofy fur balls who want whatever food you have. Just a handful of them can be out of control. Sorry you had a bad experience but most of us are not like that.

Those in this thread ragging on the OP need to grow up.
I'm all grown up last I saw, but people need to seperate bad owners over bad dogs. Personally never met a bad dog only bad owners. This is a subject that pisses me off, otherwise I'm a pretty happy guy 😁
 
On a side note, my sister just adopted an Australian shepherd mix. I'm thinking of adopting a litter mate, but don't know if I have time to raise / train a puppy. It would make a great trail dog.

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Awesome - Aussie Shepherd mix of any kind is going to be super smart and 100mph of energy = lot of time needed to train
Jump over to the Uncertified Dog training thread when you bring it home for free unsolicited and uncertified advise and tips ;-)
 
I love dogs.
It's a pet peeve of mine (no pun intended-okay maybe intended) when I see a dog running rampant around a trail (mostly rail trails).
I had a Rottweiler start chasing me down once, had to get off my bike and yell at it to get out of here.
The owner shouted "Don't yell at my dog like that!!11!!!11"
I replied, "Get your dog on a leash, it's the law. This ain't a damn dog park or your own yard where you can let your dog do whatever the hell he wants - it's a multi use trail with lots of other users"
I don't blame the dog - they act on animal instinct and don't know any better. Was he threatened? Was he scared? Did he just want to play? Did he want treats? Was he in attack mode? I don't know. But the owners should know better and should respect other users of the trails.
I love dogs.
 
I understand the OP’s frustration but it’s always a great practice to question your own convictions. Had those extra steps been taken then perhaps the OP might have come to the conclusion Norm and Matty did.

As for ragging... Implying people can’t read when they clearly can is ragging
 
Know a couple of ppl who ride with their dog/s and they are better behaved than Max
This is not to say I haven't seen bad owners who cant control their dogs.

But I know we all do it at times... the adrenaline makes us do stupid things but really shouldn't fly thru a blind corner.
 
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