When you hear that the Texas Govenor shot a coyote while hiking with his dog, the first rule is not to be taking your dog into coyote Country/////////////////in my opinion not even leashed despite what article below states

DON'T GO UNLEASHED

Hiking with Dogs, Responsibly

Time for dog owners to start using leashes in the backcountry, not just when walking around town or in city parks.

By Bill Schneider, 8-19-10

I'm hardly the first person to write about this issue, but I want to be one of the first to hit it head on instead of nervously dance around it, so here we go.

If I had a hundred bucks for every time I've observed dog owners acting irresponsibly on wilderness trails, I'd have enough to buy all new hiking gear and clothing--new Lowe-Alpine backpack, new Merrill boots, new Magellan GPS, new G. Loomis backpacking fly outfit, new Patagonia from head to toe, and all the rest--and best. I might even have enough left over for a new Toyota pickup to haul it all to the trailheads.

If I had a hundred bucks for every time I've observed dog owners acting responsibly on wilderness trails, I'd have enough buy one of those new, spiffy, BPA-free, double-walled, vacuum-sealed, stainless-steel water bottles from New Wave Enviro.

Well, not quite, but close. The point is, most people who take their dogs into the wilderness don't get it.

I've done more than my time on the trails, logging thousands of miles over the past 40 years, and I have a few really bad memories, incidents where I feared for my life or that of my children because of dogs gone amuck in the wilderness. To this day, I'm more fearful of large, uncontrolled dogs than I am of bears or mountain lions. But I'm also sure these serious incidents represent a very small minority of dog owners--the proverbial few bad apples in any barrel. These extreme experiences aren't the reason for this commentary, mainly because there's little that can be done about it. 

I'm much more concerned with the vast majority of dog owners who intend to act responsibly when out on the trails with their best friends, but they don't understand how their dog impacts other trail users. The fact is, I observe bad dog owner behavior on almost every hike I take except when hiking national parks where dogs are prohibited on backcountry trails.

During those 40 years of hiking, I have, finally and thankfully, started seeing some dog owners use leashes in urban settings and city parks, but not out in the wilderness. This really needs to change.

For the past few years, I've been hiking with my grandchildren who all like dogs as much as anybody reading this column, but they're commonly startled and scared by dogs they meet on the trails. This is unacceptable, and I'm so totally weary of hearing "don't worry, he's friendly" from a dog owner as his or her pooch scares the stuffing out of me--or worse, my grandchildren.

In most cases, I'm sure well meaning dog owners are genuinely surprised and embarrassed by the behavior of their normally sociable pet. Having been a dog owner most of my life, here's my theory for it.

No doubt almost all dogs are always friendly to their owner's friends and relatives, people they recognize, even people they don't know coming into their "territory," the owner's residence. Out in the backcountry, though, they get protective as their owners approach a group of strangers, often in a narrow trail corridor. Suddenly and unexpectedly, they're growling and acting threatening, especially to children who are eye-level to a big dog.

Even dogs that aren't snarling or barking, but instead are bounding up to other hikers hoping to make a new friend and get a little dog love are a problem. A small child or his or her parents do not know this, do they?

Simply put, allowing dogs to startle or jump on other trail users is not responsible dog ownership, and it seems as if there are only two ways to make sure it doesn't happen--use the leash or leave the dog home.

I understand why dog owners take their pets into the wilderness, but if they do, they must carefully control them, and in my opinion, using a leash is the only way to do it. Dogs that routinely respond to voice commands and are considered "under control" by their owners often are not, in fact, controlled enough out on wilderness trails. Instead, they at least temporarily ignore voice commands. I'm not sure why, but it happens all the time.

Hikers with dogs should yield the right-of-way to hikers without dogs, but this rarely happens because few dogs have been taught this protocol and they're so rarely on leashes. Plus, hikers have often already retreated off the trail in fear of a large, rapidly approaching canine that might be friendly.

For the record, dogs bite roughly 4.7 million people per year in the USA with an average of 17 fatalities annually. That makes grizzly bears seem safe, eh?

Nowadays, most solo female hikers take their dogs hiking, and if were a women hiking alone in the wilderness, I'd also have a big dog with me. I believe most of us would agree with this safety precaution, but these dog owners still must use leashes.

Incidentally, leashes are good for dogs, too. They don't have to fight it out with bigger dogs on the trails, and they don't get lost in the wilderness or end up as an easy lunch for wolves, coyotes or bears.

You might not need yet another reason to use leashes, but here's one more. Many dogs haven't seen much wildlife, so when they do, the predatory instinct can kick in. and they chase after deer or elk, even domestic livestock, which is not only unethical, but also illegal in most states. Allowing this to happen is not only irresponsible dog ownership, but it also can--and has in a few cases--resulted in dogs being shot by wardens or ranchers.

Enough said. Dog owners; please don't take your dogs into the wilderness unleashed.