Carol Severin of the East Bay Regional Park District pens a bunch of hiking tips for dog owners. Among the highlights:
- Don’t let your dog chase squirrels, rabbits, deer, etc or run up to other park visitors.
- Pack out dog droppings rather than leaving them on or near a trail.
- If you see others with their dog on a leash, leash yours as well. This is generally a sign that they would rather not have other dogs run up to theirs.
- If you run into a rattler on the trail, leave it alone. Snakes don’t have to be coiled to strike, and they don’t always rattle before they strike. If your dog is bitten by a rattlesnake, loosen the dog’s collar in case the neck swells and go to your veterinarian immediately.
- After any hike, do a careful check for ticks on both you and your dog and for any burrs or foxtails in your dog’s coat, especially around the ears and nose.
Given a choice between dogs on the trail and 1,400-pound black angus bulls, I’ll take dogs anytime.
This is a nice elaboration on the Leave No Trace principles. Planning for your dog’s water and health is part of “Plan Ahead and Prepare”, dealing with dog poop is “Dispose of Waste Properly”, yielding right of way is part of “Be Considerate of Other Visitors”, and one of the rules under “Respect Wildlife” is “Control pets at all times or leave them at home.”
The seven principles are outlined here:
http://www.lnt.org/programs/lnt7/index.html
LNT (Leave No Trace) is a great program, supported by just about every federal agency that manages land and taught by Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and even REI.
Hey, LNT could be a column!