I go where there are not usually many people when dog hiking. My dog
He does not travel far from me. usually he is just ahead and goes out to about 30 yards and then comes back, gets behind me and then waits for me allow him to pass. This is natural dog behavior - I have had coon dogs(not mine) follow me for days and they did the same thing. My other dogs did it also. I imagine they think we are a hunting 'team' and the one in front is on scent and needs some space. If he stops I will usually wait for him to sniff it out and start moving instead of walking past him. I think he expects me to be courteous as he is.
He is a quiet dog and does not bark in the woods. He does bark when someone or another dog passes our house. He has never been in the house and lives in the back yard with my older Golden (3rd retired). He will growl and bark when someone approaches us.
In camp he just plays, rests, swims, wants food. Wants more food. More food. He is not a begger and will not raid the food bags, but he will shove his way in to get some. He won't steal it. I have to give it to him - all natural behavior. He is a real pig out in the woods.
He does stuff at night, and the tarp is easy for him to get in and out of. He sleeps right next to me when not roving and sometimes I wake up and his muzzle is in my bag.
I let him enjoy his time. Only leashed when absolutely needed - roads, cliffs, ect....
I used to be a boater and would never leash him when river crossing, but have had to take the pack across and then go back and assist him. He will learn to handle moving water in due time. I do not leave the leash on him when not needed. He comes to me when I whistle, just like all my dogs have. We have a loving friendship. Not master and dog. He comes to me because he loves me, just like all my dogs have. They respond well to kindness and understanding. It works.
He was abused as a puppy and sometimes he shakes when touched, and it just breaks my heart.
I know he is a dog and dogs do things that people do not and I accept that. I do not try to turn him into a robot or get mad at him when he chews the guys lines off my tarp - although he has not done that in a while. He goes to the creek at night and comes back soaking and needs a hug, so I just burrow down in my bivy and he eventually quits poking at me. I use a bivy even though its not for weather, it sure is nice when he is wet. I use a floorless tarp so that it is fit for a dogs needs.
I do the cooking and dividing and he does the dishes. He rearranges wood in the fire sometimes. He is almost always in my face trying to see what I am doing. Dogs are certainly this mans best friend.