All 4 of my kids are terrified of strange dogs after an uncontrolled lab bounded up to one of them on a pump track. She’ll jump into a busy road to get away from dogs not on a lead.
Owner couldn’t see the problem and got reported. Makes me **** angry we can’t go back to that pump track without hysterics.
A Lab ?
What a ridiculous comment
@robertajobb what do you find so silly about a small child being scared of a big dog with sharp teeth bounding towards them out of control? Imagine if something that came up to your face with fangs came galloping at you, I bet you'd be scared too.
Dogs, absolutely no problem - we have a red deer hind that lives beside us and considers us intruders on her patch. She’ll give any dog that gets too close a good kicking and will stand her ground with humans. They come into the garden at night, so need to check ‘all clear’ when stepping outside. Bring back wolves I say 😜
Most dogs, I don’t have a problem with - some owners through, less so. I do wish that some people who clearly don’t like dogs would learn how to react - flapping your arms and yelling isn’t going to calm an excited dog. Stand still, don’t make eye contact and they’ll probably ignore you.
I do wish that some people who clearly don’t like dogs would learn how to react
"I have an out of control animal but it's YOUR responsibility to know how to react to it".
Listen to yourself.
These threads always go the same way. It's the dog owner's responsibility to be in control of their dog in a public place. You want it off the lead, you better know where it is and be able to recall it immediately before some other poor ****er has it running at them. If that's too hard, don't get a dog.
“I have an out of control animal but it’s YOUR responsibility to know how to react to it”.
Listen to yourself.
Look at it as damage limitation, not unlike choosing not to exercise your right of way if it saves you from ending up under the wheels of a car driven by someone who couldn't care less...
Are we supposed to be making friends with cars as well now? 🙂
A Lab ?
Geez. Your kids need therapy. Seriously.
In terms of deaths caused by dog attacks, Labs are number 7 in the top 10...
(there are obvious statistical reasons for that fact, but still proves the point that it's usually not the dog / breed but the owner and context that are dangerous)
Like many others here, I generally stop and say hello because I love dogs, have spent most of my life around them and am generally pretty good at reading them. Having said that, any doubt in my mind and I'm not stopping...
Imagine being out on your bike and suddenly a human starts running after you shouting and making threatening sounds. I cant imaging many people would stop and talk nicely to them instead of sprinting off on their bike.
Yeah but it's not the same is it, obviously. It's quite unusual to encounter a human like that. Most of us WOULD run.
Lots of us encounter dogs like that however. It's fairly common and so not always a surprise.
The situation when a dog gets mardy isn't under our control. The only control and hopefully influence you have really is how you react to it.
Sprinting away is something you can do, but it's more likely to make things worse. That's just a fact I'm afraid.
You're trying to go against the psychology of the animal and playing into its innate instinct to chase/see off/attack.
Notice I'm not saying any of this is right. I'm just saying it's a fact.
Dogs are a fact. Out of control dogs are a fact. Running away at speed when a dog is hyped up, hypes it up further. The 'cycle' continues.
The OP asked about a plan, and my plan is (so far) not to run, but to be friendly, stand my ground, stop my bike and talk to the dog, disarming it with my voice.
Not yet been bitten..... not yet.
I can understand though if you have been bitten, then the desire to run is incredibly strong.
I think being around dogs helps you understand how they tick a bit more.
People who avoid or dislike dogs seem to be the ones who get the most grief from them.
Geez. Your kids need therapy. Seriously
Lovely bit of victim blaming there. Minding your own business and something the same size as you gallops 50m across the park barking at you and you're supposed to get off your bike, stop and give it a cuddle age 6?
Get stuffed.
“I think being around dogs helps you understand how they tick a bit more.
People who avoid or dislike dogs seem to be the ones who get the most grief from them”
“Most bites – more than 80% – occur at home, by a dog known to the victim. ” https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/dec/12/lockdown-bad-breeds-or-just-poor-training-why-are-dog-bites-on-the-rise-in-britain
“The majority of dog bites are from a dog known to the victim”“ https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2023/08/15/dog-attacks-on-adults-are-rising-but-science-shows-its-wrong-to-blame-breeds/
Are we supposed to be making friends with cars as well now? 🙂
Unorthodox, but certainly an option. I won't steal your thunder though so I'll let you test the theory an report back 😘
OK, I gave it a go, only mildly injured, but the first driver insisted that the car 'had never done anything like that before', and 'was only being friendly'. The other one said it was my fault because 'he just hates cyclists'. 🙂
It's an interesting analogy though. We have to pass all kinds of tests and obtain licences to operate a big metal dog, but anyone can hop behind the controls of a big, fleshy one with teeth and head out to mix with the public.
Meh, can't please everyone I suppose, forget the analogy then, hope the injuries heal quickly.
For what it's worth I completely agree with your previous post, I should imagine just about everyone does. However, is that the situation we have? No, are things going to change in the near future? No. Self preservation it is then.
My FIL used to commute by bicycle and he used his pump to thwart errant dogs. It was a big frame mounted pump. Modern little ones don't have the same heft.
Often when I see a dog running at me, the owner will shout for me to stop!, Er not likely, I'm not making myself an easier target to catch.
IME a good loud shout into the dogs face can be enough to stop it.
Scariest dog encounter I ever had was when I heard, what I can only describe as galloping coming up behind me and then to my left, only to see a dogs face almost level with mine. This thing was enormous! It made for a snap at my leg and I managed avoid it by swerving whilst sprinting away and shouting into the dogs face. It ran off into the woods to my left. It looked like an Irish Wolfhound. I was a bit shook up after.
“I have an out of control animal but it’s YOUR responsibility to know how to react to it”.
I didn’t say that, I said that when confronted by a situation why react in a way that could make things worse?
I saw a guy out walking his dog with his two small daughters yesterday morning. I rang my bell and said a cheery "morning" as I normally do when approaching folk from behind on the cycle path.
The guy reacted by bracing himself and taking a very strong grasp of the rather thick lead that was attached to a harness on his very big dog.
Don't know what breed it was but it's head has chest height and was shaped like some sort of hound, it was also wearing a full face muzzle.
When it became aware of me, it started barking and growling, then pulled towards me. The guy was getting dragged along by it. I was off sharpish.
Imagine living with that thing in your house with your children? Stuff that!
Edit: I saw plenty of well controlled dogs on my ride with no issues with any of them. Nor cars for that matter.
I give most dogs and owners the benefit of the doubt, but at some point as a non-dog owner i run out of ability to read a dogs body language and the onus is then on the owner to sort any 'situation' out as best as they can. If they can't do that then i am either going to cycle off or if things are going really south, i would whack the dog with something if i felt the need to.
I'm sure neither of those are the ideal response having read the thread but at the end of the day i'm not going for a walk or a bike ride to think about dog behavior and if it's reached that point then the owner has already lost the argument by letting it off its lead.
I must cycle past about 30 dogs in the space of an hours bike ride if i ride around the shared use tracks near where i live and frankly i'm not going to spend my entire time analysing what every single dog is thinking or doing, i'm not interested enough in them to care that much.
but at some point as a non-dog owner i run out of ability to read a dogs body language and the onus is then on the owner to sort any ‘situation’ out as best as they can
This works in theory, sadly too many owners don't have a ****ing clue about their animal, I think people just need to do whatever they need to do to keep themselves safe. If that means wrapping a bike around a dogs bonce, then so be it. Any injury to the dog is simply the owners fault.
@didnthurt I used to do the same a few year back with a full size frame pump. Extended it was 4' long 🙂
I do wish that some people who clearly don’t like dogs would learn how to react
“I have an out of control animal but it’s YOUR responsibility to know how to react to it”.
Listen to yourself.
No, but it seems like the same people who hate dogs seem to repeatedly have issues with them. At some point you might need to question where the problem lies.
e.g. never make eye contact or stand face on to a dog you don't know. Just learn a few simple things and you might not get bitten so often?
I wouldn't give strange dogs treats though, the aim would be to socialize it properly, that doesn't mean "take it to the pub and the BMX track and let it 'socialize' with everyone by passing it round so it isn't scared of anything" as some owners think. It means take it to those places and teach it to ignore everyone apart from you. You don't want to teach it to run up to strangers. The idea isn't to like strangers, it's to do what you tell it to regardless of distractions.
No, but it seems like the same people who hate dogs seem to repeatedly have issues with them. At some point you might need to question where the problem lies.
If we're making assumptions like that, why not 'people who seem to repeatedly have issues with dogs seem to hate them'?
Which would be somewhat understandable?
So we must all become tellepathic, dog analyst experts to ride near a dog... Just keep them on a lead if they're likely to chase. Then spend some time to train it to not react unpredictably to other people who are just trying to live thier lives without the fear of being chased by a dog.
There are plenty of well behaved and well trained dogs out there. Be like them.
never make eye contact or stand face on to a dog you don’t know. Just learn a few simple things and you might not get bitten so often?
So we're supposed to get off the bike and make friends, while not making eye contact or facing them? This dog psychology stuff is mysterious. 🙂
99% of dogs I meet are obviously friendly, I'm friendly to them if they are off the lead and approach in a friendly manner. Agree that a dog that will run up to strangers really shouldn't be off the lead in public but I'm not going to get all militant about it. They are mostly just ambling around curiously.
There's one aggressive bugger on a route I run, it stands at the edge of garden and barks like mad, it could easily jump out (lawn is raised to top of low garden wall with no additional fencing) but never has. Recently the gate was open and it was out on the public road, I picked up a stone as I got close but it slinked away. Anything aggressive that gets within range is tasting my shoe leather at best and I'm not going to give it the benefit of the doubt. I had one previously that needed a proper shouting at and chasing away a few times before it learnt to leave me alone.
Agree that a dog that will run up to strangers really shouldn’t be off the lead in public
The increase in dog numbers, and by extension the increase in dogs that aren't well socialised, means that in reality, all dogs need to be on leads in public if you're likely to meet other people. Dog owners occupy this sort of self-appointed privilege where they've decided that their dog can be off the lead, while at the same time assuming its everyone else's responsibility to mind their pet.
So we’re supposed to get off the bike and make friends, while not making eye contact or facing them? This dog psychology stuff is mysterious. 🙂
You know how friendly dogs stiff each others buts and aggressive ones stand face on making eye contact? Just stand side on to a dog and talk to the owner. Most dogs will then either ignore you or investigate you on their own terms rather than perceive you as a threat or something they feel compelled to interact with to diffuse something they perceive as a situation.
When you were young and single did you go to bars and just stare ladies (or gents) in the eye till they felt uncomfortable to make friends? Do you go to the pub now and stare at people, does that make you friends or invited for a scrap?
When you were young and single did you go to bars and just stare ladies (or gents) in the eye till they felt uncomfortable to make friends? Do you go to the pub now and stare at people, does that make you friends or invited for a scrap?
Have you been following me?
If the owner's right there with the dog, there usually isn't really a situation to defuse. I slow down, make a judgement about whether the mutt is under control, and wait a bit to allow the owner to get them under control if necessary. The majority of owners are fine, and I'm totally relaxed about passing them.
The issue is dogs off the lead, or with owners who have no interest or ability to recall them.
People who avoid or dislike dogs seem to be the ones who get the most grief from them
Interesting parallel to the brake checking/tailgating thread. Those most wound up by it seem to have it happen to them constantly.
Which is the cause, and which is the effect?
people who are just trying to live thier lives without the fear of being chased by a dog.
I mean yeah, that must be awful, but I cycle everywhere and am almost never scared about being chased by dogs.
I have been chased by them many times, but maybe my attitude and approach has helped the situation not turn into an actual attack and for me to not hold on to a constant fear which some people clearly have.
I empathise with that, but it's not something I'm thinking about unless it happens, which is incredibly rare and so far, fairly easily diffused.
My point is that if I sprint off to from a chasing dog its no longer my problem. I just continue my ride. Sure, I'll slow down and make the dog and owner aware before passing but If theres any aggression or chase, I'm off.
Id like to think the owner then might worry about nexr time their dog chases it could get run over chassing down a road or get lost and will keep it on a lead next time.
Lots of doggies have an inbuilt chase instinct (colly, lab, springer etc). If you slow or stop most lose interest immediately.
Also unless you speak dog, you have no idea what they are barking. As an example "woof woof- could mean you arent going fast enough let me show you" Or "bark bark, growl- could be haha, Nobby Nics are shit mate"
. The ones to worry about are the dogs that charge over with no noise. They are the ones with "intent" usually.
If you slow or stop most lose interest immediately.
And the ones that don't bite your leg. Or, in the case of the one that led to my injury, you slow and then they run under your wheels and you crash. The dog doesn't have to be aggressive to cause injury.
I'll stick with getting the hell out of there. I can outstrip a dog on my bike.
There’s one aggressive bugger on a route I run, it stands at the edge of garden and barks like mad, it could easily jump out (lawn is raised to top of low garden wall with no additional fencing) but never has.
Their idea of territory can be odd. One of the neighbours dog barks away through the window but when outside is friendly.
Likewise I used to ride down a road where there was a huge german shepherd thing which used to snarl and growl away whenever anyone passed. It was a sprint section for everyone.
One day had stopped a hundred metres or so passed it when had something touch my leg. The huge snarling hellhound was just standing wagging its tail.
And the ones that don’t bite your leg. Or, in the case of the one that led to my injury, you slow and then they run under your wheels and you crash. The dog doesn’t have to be aggressive to cause injury.
I’ll stick with getting the hell out of there. I can outstrip a dog on my bike.
Agree 100%
Not worth taking any chances. As I said before if I ride off fast the situation is avoided and no risk of being biten. If I stop, I risk being biten. If I sprint off, the problem is over. If the dog gets lost or injured chasing thats the owners problem not mine. Keep the dog on a lead and theres no chase to start with and no risk of the dog being run over.
