I think if it's trained well, it's okay on natural trails (such as Jacob's Ladder, the Peak District, etc). I also think that at quiet trail centres or during the week, it's also okay.

However, I flat out would not take a dog along to a busy trail centre on a weekend. My local one, Cannock, which I ride at often, you sometimes see a dog on the weekends, but while the dog might be trained well, other riders aren't. I, for one, don't know if your dog is well trained or not and if it'll run in front of me or stick with you, which makes me worried that I'll hit it. And I know a few local riders who have had issues with dogs before - one of my friends had a dog run in front of him a while back on the trail, and he hit the dog, came off, and looked like he'd been in a very savage bar fight.

So most of the time, if it's trained, yes. Trail centres on a weekend, absolutely not!
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