I have found that the loose dogs are very
common at AERC rides. And they are unsupervised, untrained and pee on
everything. I belong to other distance riding organizations and they do not seem
to have nearly the loose dog problem. I think it is because the
managers of the non-AERC rides are more forceful in asking the offenders over,
and over again to leash or tie their dogs. And the result is a very pleasant
ride with no lose dogs. Often dogs in parks must be on leash and those managers
enforce that rule, so they won't loose the ability to have the rides in that
area. I know it is a pain to have to spend so much time enforcing the
leash rule but it works and I like to attend the rides where I don't have to dog
sit my hay and belongs. Are the managers afraid of offending the loose dog
folks, too busy or don't care? There are a lot of things that make a good
ride, and the loose dog issue is one of them, IMO. It is not a minor
problem.
