Unaccompanied dog on the trail- what do?
Came down a trail today. There’s a house a little ways off the trail, which is probably the dog’s home. I’ve never come across it before. Dog is right on the trail, probably defending his home. Once he spots me, he’s barking. I stop, try to approach slowly, but the closer I get, the more it barks and growls. Ugh. I feel stuck because he’s in my way of getting to the next place. I grab a big stick, mace ready, even got an Oreo out to offer haha. Tried to sweet talk it, it just growls and barks. I’m a small woman, and I just didn’t feel like it’s worth the risk to try and approach. I ended up leaving the trail and making a really wide berth through the rough. All was fine in the end.
This town is over the top pro dog. (I really love dogs too, but..) ‘You shouldn’t be running alone’ ‘You have mace, so’ ‘It could’ve been lost, you should have checked its collar’. ‘That dog’s fine, I’ve seen it’
Am I supposed to keep approaching when it’s warning me not to? Yeah, I have mace, but what, I risk getting bit first trying to get by? I’m just annoyed now.
How do you all approach dogs, I guess? I’ve only come across them with an owner at least in ear shot. Am I overthinking it? I’m useless and I don’t want to have an incident when I’m out on a trail away from others or my car. :/