Viewing 36 posts - 161 through 196 (of 196 total)
  • Dogs at trail centres. What's all that about then?
  • mattbee
    Full Member

    As they do with those who own the very trail they ride and woe betide any lesser mortal who should dare to impinge on their (I was going to say enjoyment but can shrivelled souls feel that?) useage of said trail.

    RustySpanner
    Full Member

    I find that most dog owners, like most alcoholics, are unaware of the consequences of their actions and behaviour.

    If a dog refuses to return to it's owner when called, it is out of control.
    Why do dog owners find this so difficult to accept?

    I love dogs, but if one displays threatening behaviour and refuses to back off, then it will get the strongest kick in the face I can manage.

    I love seeing well behaved dogs out on the trails, but have experienced so many dodgy incidents (bitten twice, lost count of the number of encounters with aggressive out of control dogs/useless irresponsible owners) that I'm now very wary indeed and treat all unsecured dogs as a potential threat until proven otherwise.

    ditch_jockey
    Full Member

    Good for you – perhaps you should give Jeremy Vine a call.

    thv3
    Free Member

    find that most dog owners, like most alcoholics

    I love it, what a comparison!

    RustySpanner
    Full Member

    Good for you – perhaps you should give Jeremy Vine a call.

    Why would I want to?

    Which part of my post do you disagree with?

    Not trying to be obtuse, just interested. 😐

    RustySpanner
    Full Member

    I find that many dog owners display alcohilic levels of self delusion when it comes to the behaviour of their beloved pet.

    There are exceptions, but then there always are 🙂

    I think the comparison is valid.

    atransition
    Free Member

    trail centres are for bikes !
    dog owners seem to take EVERY OTHER place they want over beaches, playing fields , pavements ,cycle routes,tracks everywhere
    when was the last time you went a walk or cycle and didnt stand on dog poo or get it all over your tyres and clothes
    personally dogs should be walked in designated areas provided by our local councils in all towns NOT anywhere an owner wants to take them
    bikes and dogs dont mix and in these days of health and safety i am very surprised something hasnt been done to seperate the 2

    ditch_jockey
    Full Member

    I'm always amazed by the number if folks on here who's lives seem to lurch from one drama to another – i live in a wee village which is heaving with dog owners and very rarely see any I would consider 'out of control'. There are one or two particular dogs which come to mind (both springers) where the owners have made a choice of breed which isn't really suitable for them and as a consequence the dogs are a bit crazy as they're not getting enough mental and physical stimulation.

    Taking dogs out with the bike is fine with a bit of thought put into it – i take mine for a 'pootle' rather than a 'blast', so in reality being on the bike lets me keep up with the dogs rather than them constantly waiting for me to catch up on foot. We got Border Collies that were going to be suitable for this kind of life and because we keep them physically and mentally stimulated, we don't have a problem with their behaviour. Underpinning this was our commitment to training and socialising them, so much so that I took time out of work when we got our latest pup to spend the first 6 months of her life training her and taking her into all sorts of situations to get her accustomed to them. As an aside, a Border Collie pup on a university campus is an absolute 100% chick magnet, something I could have done with knowing before i was happily married.

    I'm fortunate that as a youth worker i work in a situation where my dig is part pet, part tool for work – we use the dogs to work with kids who are frightened of them, to let them see that, properly trained, dogs can be good fun. It's also useful to be able to educate them about how to train their own dogs, as it's surprising the number of people who don't know much about how to do this. It's surprise
    Ng how effective

    RustySpanner
    Full Member

    i live in a wee village which is heaving with dog owners and very rarely see any I would consider 'out of control'.

    ditch_jockey, what would you consider to be 'out of control'?

    As a dog owner, it might be very, very different to what a non dog owner would consider it to be.

    As stated before, I love dogs, but I hate irresponsible dog owners who refuse to acknowledge that they cannot control their animal.

    hainey
    Free Member

    I take my dog to trail centres and don't see a problem with it. But then i know he comes on command and isn't a threat. If i was unsure of my dogs behaviour then I wouldn't take it.

    I avoid busy times though, makes sense really, the amount of out of control weekend warriors on 29ers and Singlespeeds is a threat to mine and my dogs health. Plus my dog says they smell of vaseline.

    ditch_jockey
    Full Member

    when was the last time you went a walk or cycle and didnt stand on dog poo or get it all over your tyres and clothes

    About three times every day – seriously, I walk our dogs/ cycle round our local trails multiple times during the day and i can only think of 1 occasion in the last year when I stood on shit – ironically in our own garden!

    what would you consider to be out of control

    in reality, probably much the same as you. I aim to have my dogs come at the first command, 2 is the absolute maximum and if I have to repeat myself again they go on the lead for a bit. I don't allow them to jump up on people, and beyond that, it's a matter of context – if no one's about, they get to roam about, if there are bikes/children/traffic/livestock about, they get called in close or put on the lead. We tend to work on voice and hand commands during a walk, so if they're working well, i might test them by keeping them in close – if they're being a bit flighty or distracted, then I'll save myself the hassle and stick them on the lead.

    MrsToast
    Free Member

    when was the last time you went a walk or cycle and didnt stand on dog poo or get it all over your tyres and clothes

    Er, I've never actually managed to get dog poo on myself or my bike in three years of riding (on a trail named after a mtber's dog), and I think I last acidentally trod in dog poo about… I dunno, ten years ago?

    Sheep poo, on the other hand…and foot, and tyres, and coat…

    ditch_jockey
    Full Member

    Horse poo is the real kicker round our way – there's a stable at the other side of the meadow from us, so we're constantly dodging big piles of horse apples – the big saving grace of horse poo is that it doesn't stick like dog/sheep crap.

    The other big hassle round with us is broken glass – came back from our walk this lunchtime with a poo bag full of broken miller lite bottle. Last time one of my dogs stood on glass, she was bandaged for 3 weeks and it cost about £300 to get it stitched etc. I really don't understand the mentality that inspires someone to break glass in the middle of a beautiful open woodland where dogs/kids/wildlife are all vulnerable to injury.

    backhander
    Free Member

    trail centres are for bikes !

    Maybe they should stop putting them in forest parks then?
    The forest parks belong to everyone, although I do agree that the purpose made singletrack is no place for one man and his dog.
    When I ride afan, the mrs sometimes comes with the dog and walks him on the forest roads (some of which are part of the trail). Are you suggesting that she should not do this?

    hora
    Free Member

    In a nice way. I really don't feel the urge to take my Bingo to a trail centre.

    Why do people do this? Is it a statement to other people about you and how good you can control your dog or is it part of your lifestyle statement?

    Do you jump back in your car and touch one of your Apple products afterwards?

    ditch_jockey
    Full Member

    I really don't feel the urge to take my Bingo to a trail centre?

    Why can I imagine that being said by Julian Clary…

    hora
    Free Member

    No that would be:

    I really don't feel the urge to take my Bingo up the trail centre?

    LHS
    Free Member

    Is it a statement to other people about you and how good you can control your dog or is it part of your lifestyle statement?

    Seems an odd statement.

    I think most people take their dogs places so that the dogs enjoy themselves. Mine absolutly loves running distance and so the reason i take him biking with me is so that he enjoys it, keeps fit, and will hopefully live a lot longer than the obese house dogs you see waddling around the place.

    hora
    Free Member

    Dunno. If I'm honest I kinda got bored of this thread 3 pages back. I only revisited as I fancied revisiting the moshpit for one song.

    backhander
    Free Member

    A forest park which has been used by people to walk dogs for decades is now out of bounds because they've built a couple of trails there? 🙄
    I don't know what a lifestyle statement is and don't own an apple product. Maybe if you don't enjoy the outdoors, the people and animals in it you should stay at home and touch yourself.

    timraven
    Full Member

    *You'r valves and logos slip out of alignment under heavy braking.

    It's such a pain when that happens really spoils my flow.

    atransition
    Free Member

    seen a guy the other week at winlatter north route where he nearly run over his dog at speed it was close we stopped and let them by due to the barking of the dog and i rest my case singletrack is for bikes and the sign at the start of the trails say NO DOGS.
    its the last place you expect a dog on a singletrack cycle route wildlife deer etc yes were in the countryside after all.
    and what about the safety of the wildlife with a dog with you……

    would you take a dog onto a motorbike,quad bike track or car racing circuit after all…………….

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    These threads remind me why I never go to trail centres 🙂

    smell_it
    Free Member

    These threads remind me why I never go to trail centres

    If you applied the same thought process to the rest of STW, you could probably talk yourself out of riding a bike too 8)

    mangatank
    Free Member

    would you take a dog onto a motorbike,quad bike track or car racing circuit after all…………….

    I've lost count of the number of shepherds with two or three dogs running beside (or riding on) quad bike around here (Peebles). They love it!

    But it's the whole obstacle thing isn't it? I've been mixing some lovely road and xc routes over the last month and the amount of times I've had to swerve sheep straying on the roads…

    To be generous about dogs at trail centres, at least I only encounter them on the up routes, so no emergency braking has been needed, even when they weave around my bike.

    big_n_daft
    Free Member

    someone nearly lost their "trail hound" over one of the edges at Lee Quarry this week. Three fire engines later, dog and owner reunited.

    I find that most dog owners, like most alcoholics, are unaware of the consequences of their actions and behaviour

    you forgot "and run-off when it goes wrong"

    another safe rule of thumb is that the dog tends to have a higher IQ than the owner as well

    just a thought

    We tend to work on voice and hand commands during a walk, so if they're working well, i might test them by keeping them in close – if they're being a bit flighty or distracted, then I'll save myself the hassle and stick them on the lead.

    so even well trained dogs need on be stuck on a lead occassionally, does that not show up that dogs with owners on bikes are never "always" under control?

    MrNutt
    Free Member

    I live in Swindon which if full of alcoholic dogs, sadly no trail centers (but there is "the woods behind nationwide" but tell no one, there be monsters!)

    U31
    Free Member

    someone nearly lost their "trail hound" over one of the edges at Lee Quarry this week. Three fire engines later, dog and owner reunited.

    We were there that day, slightly more then three units i seem to recall, we were watching from the pump track.

    Fire, mountain rescue, rope rescue then three specialists in individual cars, there must have been around 30 professionals tied up for 3 hours rescuing some sh*t machine.
    Thet finally got it to the top by looping its neck and getting it in to a stretcher, then roping the lot up to the top

    ditch_jockey
    Full Member

    They'll probably have appreciated the opportunity to practice the techniques required.

    In an case, why would a canine "shit machine" be any less worthy of rescue than a primate "shit machine", or are you one of these people who delude yourself that homo sapiens have some special significance in the universe?

    roundwheels
    Free Member

    ditch_jockey mate you sound like you just hate everything not just dogs

    partyboy
    Free Member

    In an case, why would a canine "shit machine" be any less worthy of rescue than a primate "shit machine", or are you one of these people who delude yourself that homo sapiens have some special significance in the universe?

    What a hippy freak!

    roundwheels
    Free Member

    Hippy 😛

    U31
    Free Member

    Because i hate dogs.
    Dumbass.

    Hypothetically, no doubt, you'd be the first to change your tune when your house burns down with your children inside, as half the trained rescue professionals in your area enjoy practising a real rescue on a egg laying smelly canine?

    Cougar
    Full Member

    I don't hate dogs, though I'm far from a 'dog person'. What grinds my gears isn't dogs per se, it's dogs in inappropriate places. There's precious few places where I can ride without causing others inconvenience, so quite why we need to have dogs at trail centres I've no idea. I'm riding my bike at a trail centre, have a near miss with a pooch that's bounding around out of control, and this is somehow my fault?

    I think, fundementally, a lot of people are just completely lacking in common sense. As soon as we started putting warnings on coffee cups, people stopped thinking for themselves. The number of times on the canal I've passed a dog walker and dog, one either side of the path and the dog happily snuffling around looking for poo or something, and just as I ride past the owner goes "here boy!" to cause the animal to run right across in front of me…

    ditch_jockey
    Full Member

    ditch_jockey mate you sound like you just hate everything not just dogs

    Far from it – I'm not the one complaining about dogs being rescued. Calling me a 'hippy' doesn't seem like a particularly coherent rationale for assigning homo sapiens special status either?

    ditch_jockey
    Full Member

    … And I don't have kids, but do have 2 dogs, neither of which smell. They're both neutered, but if they could breed, I'm not aware they're capable of laying eggs.

    You'll be relieved to know that the emergency services have cover plans, so if your local engine is on a shout, somewhere else will be covering your area.

Viewing 36 posts - 161 through 196 (of 196 total)

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