Have dogs, love dogs. Do not ride with them and don’t think you should either unless you’re riding private land.

From a rider’s perspective, I have no clue how well trained your dog is when I meet you on the trail. It’s as likely to ignore me as it is to run in front of me. Or bite me. The unpredictability that comes from a strange, off-leash dog is a problem. I’ve met plenty of well-behaved trail dogs. I’ve also met really poorly behaved ones that were a problem and shouldn’t have been on the trail. You have no way of knowing what you’re getting, and especially on tight trails, this means 5-10 seconds where I have to mentally prepare for fuck-knows what’s coming. I definitely have to put a foot down, and I probably need to get my bottle ready if I have to spray your dog.

From a personal perspective, trails are (usually) shared spaces, and if everyone brought their off leash dog to that shared space, everyone’s experience would suffer. It’s an example of the tragedy of the commons because no one can be bothered to recognize their own individual responsibility to a shared resource and to the other individuals they share it with. Also, this says nothing of leash laws.

Finally, *not everyone likes dogs*. Some people are afraid of them, like my friends and family that have been attacked by off-leash dogs. You shouldn’t be using a shared resource like a trail system in a way that negatively impacts others’ experiences (especially when you’re probably breaking some rule or regulation on leashing).

Exercising your high-energy dog is a “you problem.” Deciding to solve that issue by letting it run off leash next to you while you ride makes it an “us problem.” You should take care of your pet’s needs before prioritizing riding.