I like to hike, and I have two large dogs (German Shepherd, Presa Canario).
After a long hike I look reasonably homeless (long hair, unshaven, muddy). Combined with two large, potentially dangerous dogs, it might scare off some people.
How can I make sure we do not scare people / make them more comfortable meeting us on the trail?
Couple suggestions for meeting people on the trail with dogs,
As someone who is fine with dogs, I'm saddened that my son was nipped by a puppy when he was very young and is now very nervous when needing to walk past dogs, and there are lots of strays where I live. In time, I hope to help him react to dogs in a different way, but right now he is afraid of them.
If you met him with your dogs, there is nothing you can do that will change that. As a dog owner and lover, that might not sit very comfortably with you. But you would only be able to minimise his exposure and fear towards your dogs.
Charlie gives good advice on showing you have control, but if you stopped to talk to my son whilst your dogs were obediently sitting by your side, he'd still be scared. If you recognised that and asked "Are you scared by my dogs?" and were prepared to cheerily move on without taking it personally if the answer was "Yes", then I would say you've done all you reasonably can.
I know I'm focussing on the title of the question, because the details show you're looking to accomplish something a bit different, but I wanted to make the point: some people are just afraid of dogs.
Though you don't actually state it, I get the impression you normally let your dogs roam free on your hikes. If this is correct, then you are taking a very large risk with other people's health and welfare.
Both your dogs are large and very capable of inflicting significant injury on even an adult human. Dogs will react violently if they feel threatened or if their hunting instinct is aroused. You cannot predict with certainty how your dog is going to react if someone suddenly comes round the bend. Perhaps they are laughing loudly, or they suddenly scream because a bee flew into their hair, or maybe they are bleeding from a scratch. Any tiny thing could surprise the tiny mind of a dog and trigger its primal reflex - you will not be able to predict this or be able to control it with a verbal command, no matter how much you think you know your dogs.
Even if your dog only wants to be friendly it can still injure a person. As you probably have observed, dogs show affection by muzzle-licking. Since our muzzles are high up on our bodies, dogs have to leap up on us to reach them. A large dog like one of yours, will send a child flying if it leaps on it at speed.
I understand you want to live the free life of roaming the hills with your trusty doggie companions but the reality is that you risk serious injury to some innocent passer-by. Please reflect on this and leash your dogs.
The most important thing is keeping all dogs on-leash in public areas. Technically, you can't make any person not feel afraid. But a leash will do a lot to reassure someone who is frightened or concerned, so they know they can maintain a physical distance according to their comfort level.
Some folks, such as myself, are highly allergic to dogs. Many times, I have been completely accosted by off-leash dogs and told by their owner, "Don't worry, they're friendly" as if that makes it all okay. I love dogs, but as you might imagine, it's really frustrating to have to cut an excursion short to go shower off the allergens and change clothes before I get (too) sick. In my case, the fact that your dogs are extra-friendly just means they'll be even better at covering me with the stuff that will force me to go home sick instead of enjoying my day off. :\
I've also known some people who have had a traumatic experience with a dog, and sadly, are going to be afraid of any dog no matter how sweet or friendly. Some people are autistic and just don't like to be touched by anyone. Young children may be startled to encounter an unfamiliar dog, and become terrified when they realize there is nothing to stop it from jumping on them if they back away. Etc., etc.
In all of these cases, it's not a personal thing against you and your dogs -- honest! So please don't take it that way. There are just some people who, for whatever reason, won't want to get up close and personal with your dogs -- and that's okay. There's no need for you to prove how friendly your dogs really are, or for us to explain why we don't want physical contact. For people like us, the best reassurance of all is that your pups are on-leash, so that we are free to initiate contact (or not) on our own terms, as our needs allow.
Peace.
Some more points in addition mainly to @CharlieBrumbaugh's answer:
Both in Central Europe (where I'm from) and traveling Canada I've only once in my life encountered a "visibly" and truly homeless person in the "outdoors" (actually just outside my home). All other encounters with homeless persons I personally had took place in cities and typically quite downtown. From that observation: I'd say the risk of confusion with homeless person would be maybe highest at a train station on the way home.
The one point that would make me wary (both outdoors and in town) would be beer/alcohol smell.
Other than that, a friendly grinning muddy backpacker saying "Hi" with happy muddy tired dogs would not rise a hobo impression with me. Hiking backpack and homeless person's backpack also typically look somewhat different, even if the hiker had to resort to plastic bags. If you want to make sure, let a GPS device dangle visibly from your shoulder strap ;-)
About the dogs:
Many people have commented already: some people are afraid of dogs, and typically more so of large dogs. And some are allergic to dogs.
What I haven't seen so far in this thread is: lots of people are also totally inexperienced with dogs: I grew up in rural place, we always had dogs and so had our neighbours etc. After a gap due to studying and working in large cities, I'm now back living in a village and have a currently adolescent Greater Swiss. I'm now just learning that most of my friends and acquaintances that met during studies and as colleagues (and also their kids) don't have a clue how to approach a dog (no clue as in asking whether "is this a threatening gesture" when the dog was yawning). And most of them are very fond of the outdoors (in a town-folk manner). This got me thinking:
While most people I meet locally outdoors are used to dogs (ask interested questions, walk their own dog, ... - we're rural area [for Germany] that is nice but not so exciting people would come here for a day hike from anywhere else) I expect to meet more dog-inexperienced people in more "famous" regions.
In consequence, I train my dog in ways inexperienced people approach dogs, like
It's really rather simple.
All dogs in all public areas must be kept under control at all times. If your dog goes toward other people, it is not under control and must be kept on a leash, as others have said.
In my experience, the only dogs that are under control of accompanying humans without being on the leash are service dogs and other working dogs (such as guide dogs for the blind¹ (unlikely to find on a hiking trail, although I did once meet a blind hiker on a narrow hiking trail along a steep slope)) and hunting dogs. I've met plenty of hunting dogs in nature, and they all seemed to totally ignore me. I'm afraid of dogs (including Liams “sea sponge”), but I don't mind hunting dogs. They appear to be true professionals. And that's for the better, because keeping a hunting dog on a leash would be impractical. A hunting dog may startle me but as it ignores me it will not scare me.
For any other kind of dog, I have rarely if ever experienced that an owner was actually in control. Therefore, the advice in other answers applies: your dog must be on the leash at all times, because you almost never know for sure if other hikers are near.
¹Of course, guide dogs for the blind are always on a very short "leash" (I don't know the correct word), I mean that I haven't seen that the human needed this "leash" to stop the dog from going to other people.
Unless your dogs are well behaved (will sit on a single command and not move) then address the dogs and distract them. Grab them by the collar. If the people don't bother you then the dogs are not likely to be bothered.
If the dogs will sit then leash them and order them to sit to the trail side. I don't see a need or benefit to engage the people other than hello. You want to teach the dogs that trail people are of no concern.
Consider a dog vest or one of those cute outfits women dress up there pets with. Always have your dog on a leash and under control. Make sure you have water and a treat available anytime you are out doors.
Get a visible dog muzzle, so people clearly see that your dogs are harmless.
Something like this:
but nothing like this:
I'd like to suggest a different approach than the majority which seem to suggest that dogs shouldn't ever get to go hiking without being leashed.
To me, you need two components, and you'll be successful according to how well you can pull them off:
If you're not sure on the first point, assume they don't want to meet your dogs. Personally, I love to meet dogs out walking, and I'll always say a 'Hey, pup' or something like that - it should be obvious if someone else is keen for a pat, just as it's obvious if people want to chat or keep walking without stopping.
The idea that dogs must always be leashed in public really saddens me. Yes, some people are afraid or allergic - and that's totally legitimate - but dogs are part of our world, and I think it's perfectly appropriate that they are governed by manners rather than ropes and muzzles.
As a hiker, you have the right to expect that you're not licked or bitten by someone else's pet in public, but I don't agree that that translates to every pet needing to be tied to its owner at all times.
Most of the times the hikers might be more afraid of the owners having big dogs than the dogs themselves.
So (if you at least want this), make yourself and/or the dogs as least aggressive looking as possible. Maybe by putting some funny accessory on the dogs, or the leash, or on yourself.
If you look like a macho guy with some macho dogs, than less macho people might feel uncomfortable. Of course this works best if you use the tips from others here (keep your dogs near you/leashed/smile/talk to them etc).
I read a leash as maybe saying, "The owner doesn't trust this dog unleashed"; and no-leash as saying, "This is a well-behaved dog."
That's if I can assume that the dog-owner is competent.
IMO it's just as good (as using a leash) to demonstrate your control by giving "sit!" or "heel" or whatever else. Ideally your dog is looking to (looking at) you for instructions, in which case I can ignore the dog and talk to you. If the dog is looking at me and trying to make its own mind up, then maybe I'll avoid all y'all (so that the dog stays closer to you than to me).
The important thing (the only important thing) is to be safe. It doesn't matter so much whether I'm scared of the dog and/or want to talk with you, the most (or only) important thing is that I mustn't be attacked.
I tend to use a leash only for safety's sake (not to punish the dog, not to make people feel happy) and/or to comply with the law.
The other bit ("homeless, long hair, unshaven, muddy") is maybe a bit more important than the dogs.
I guess my message is that it's possible to visibly control the dogs even without a leash. I cycle on a mixed-use tow-path and so cross paths with dozens of dogs per year. I ring my bell as I approach (so I can see what the dog's reaction to me will be while I'm still at a distance). Sometimes after an off-leash dog sees me, the owner "checks" the dog -- tells it to sit or just calls its name, at which point the dog might do a shoulder-check to the owner ("Hello, yes, I am still with you") -- as long as the dog is more interested in what the owner wants than it is in me then all's good (in my opinion). If the attention of the owner and the dog are on me and not on each other -- then I don't know.
