Ross may be on something of a crusade but that doesn't mean some of his points are without merit. On at least a couple of occasions on Ridgeline trails I've had clueless owners either block the trail with their dog(s) or fail to keep the dog controlled ( it was leashed ) as prevent it from lunging at me. It isn't enough to just hang a leash on your dog and forget it, one needs to actually reel in the dog when others approach out of courtesy. Besides the safety issue, not everyone wants to socialize with your dog just because you happen to be sharing a (often narrow) trail.