Dog and owner encounters on Powell Butte
I've been mountain biking for most of my life and currently ride Powell Butte bottom to top once or twice a week. I am mindful that bicyclists must learn to get along with other user groups or we lose our right to ride on single track. I ride safely and respectively.
There is a special 'breed' of dog lover who feels they must make a point to bring their biggest, scariest dogs with them on their hikes. Maybe they think that other users will warm up to their snarling wigglebutts when I try to pass them on a 3 foot wide dirt trail. The other day a woman hiking up the hill had three dogs that she clearly could not control. The German Shepard snapped and snarled at me as she tried to control the others so I could pass safely. One dog was not leashed. I told her she couldn't handle all those dogs, of course she just gave me the finger.
A dog breed that is territorial is exactly the wrong animal to bring on a hike with narrow twisting singletrack. Of course, many dog owners don't bother to leash their dog at all. ;(
I love dogs and have owned them for most of my life. Most are a delight to encounter. Fighting breed dogs are unpredictable and bringing them on trails where children and other innocents hike is a horrible tragedy waiting to happen. I am a pit bull attack victim. Encountering an "excited" pit on singletrack with a furmomma that can't handle a dog that "goes postal" is the last thing I want. #breedmatters
Bicyclists have the same rights to be safe on the trails as other users. If the dog alarms you, make sure the human knows how you feel.