How do y'all handle hikes?
Just curious how everyone here does it.
My last guy was very dog reactive but LOVED people. All people were just friends he hadn't met yet. He was the love of my life and I only had him for just under 4 years, but I tried to make those years fun, full of love, and deliciously full of cheeseburgers. When we went for hikes, my only concern was people with unleashed dogs. We could encounter toddlers or seniors or anyone in between and he would see excited to meet them all. He was such a happy boy. I miss him dearly.
My current foster is very different. I wanted a dog with good energy. I was fine with some reactivity as long as I could take the pup on hikes and not have to worry. This guy could absolutely run circles around me on a hike, but he is so darn reactive to everyone and everything. Thankfully his last foster family muzzle trained him (they adore him and would have stayed with them if there wasn't a resident dog that didn't mesh well with this guy). I'd love to take him on hikes and we have the muzzle and he is small enough at ~50lbs that I can lift him off his front legs with his harness so he can't lunge too easily, but he is still just so much. I'd love to take him on hikes to get more energy out of him but I'm so concerned that even though he is muzzled he will scare people or someone with a dog not properly restrained will hurt him because I'm the one being responsible but the dog will react badly to my guy's reaction.
Do you all take your pups out? Do you look for more secluded spaces? Or do you just deal with the reactivity since it's not every second? Or do you not take your dogs out because it's best for their stress levels to just stay in what they know?