[Closed] Dogs - is it me or are there more aggressive / poorly controlled ones

There's been a recent shift in the MTB industry to lower and slacker bikes.

You need to get yourself an old Santa Cruz Bullit or a Cove Stiffee; they should keep you out of harms way.

Meh, what do you expect? Most people nowadays can hardly keep control of their kids. Add a dog into the equation and it will run riot!

Not sure what advice to give other than toughen up and challenge the owners/walkers, why should you be inconvenienced or seek other routes because of wayward dogs?

I'm a dog owner,always have been. I have trained and socialised every dog I have owned to not be a bloody nuisance when out and about with people and other dogs. If I can do it theres no excuse for anyone else not doing it. All it takes is time and patience if they can't give that don't get a dog!

There seems to be a rise in weaponized dogs, if you get my drift.

Dog owners, some need to have an aggressive huge dog to go with their gold chain, tracky bottoms. Worse they often combine this with small children who are more at risk. Plenty of idiots around

Too many owners not realising that training is ongoing and not just for puppies. I recently found myself telling a dog owner whose dog had just run in front of my wheel that I wanted to stay in one piece.

Am finding dogs an utter pita these days.

If you remember the dog probably has a higher IQ than the owner you should be OK

It's all part of the 'so called' Dog State. They are rising up from beneath us.
You mark my words. Today, nibbled ankles. 12 months? We'll be sat watching our slobbery furry overlords execute cats live on Al Pupeera....

Bloody terrierists.

Dog owners, some need to have an aggressive huge dog to go with their gold chain, tracky bottoms.

I don't find these guys an issue, as they tend not to frequent the great outdoors, more of an issue are the people that treat their dogs like babies, wrap them in cotton wool, then the dog gets frightened when you cycle past.

'It's okay, he won't bite'. Aye, whatever...

I think personally, it a lack of proper training, so the dog pulls on the lead, which is a PITA, so they go to places where they can let it off, dog goes running about and is barely in control (as it's not been trained) and does pretty much what it wants. Dog owner secretly knows he/she hasn't done a particularly great job, and is passive/aggressive to people who point this out to them.

OP, all I can say is it's not you. I too have started avoided places where people are likely to be walking dogs. I have never actually been bitten but have been threatened countless times. When it happens a number of times on one ride, kind of spoils your fun. Like you say, it doesn't matter how considerate you are or how you try to manage the situation, it's always "your fault" and nothing to do with irresponsible owner having an out of control dog.
And I don't really think it's the gold chain and tracky bums crowd who are to blame, they don't seem to frequent places where people ride mountain bikes. I think it's more down to people not giving a damn about anybody else.
I used to live in Helsinki, where there are forests everywhere. Dogs are nearly always on leads over there even in the forests. I used to feel sorry for the dogs - all that undergrowth to explore with all its different smells - but god it made cycling nice.
As for a solution, I have thought about getting some spray to deter dogs or something to make a noise but they don't really seem very practical.
I suppose the only comfort I take is that we are not alone, I saw some people exercising their horses on a beach the other day, they were completely under control and not causing any problems. What did the dog owners do? Why, let them chase after of course. Sadly, none of them got a hoof to the head - the owners that is rather than the dogs 🙂

Pilot i tend to agree, its often smaller family dogs that are the problem, as has been said with little or no training. It may be my opportunities to ride in the family schedule coinciding with when people take their dogs out. More often than not its in parks and the rough ground near housing thats the problem, not when you stray a bit further from convenient parking. Pretty much stopped riding in stanmer park now, falmer woods arent much better on a Sunday morning.

I've certainly noticed an increase, but then the population of people round here is increasing so I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise. Two dogs came at me yesterday when I was out running. They were clearly just having fun but I didn't really want to be covered in all the crap they'd been jumping into. At least the owner had the decency to apologise, which is increasingly rare.

Owner is probably too busy tieing a bag of its crap to a nearby branch to notice.

For people who don't bike or know people who bike I imagine it can be quite difficult to train a dog to not be scared of one.

Not an excuse but some people are probably not used to coming across bikers and as such haven't given it a thought.

On a related note - does anyone actually know why pretty much everything and everyone seems to be scared of, or have a problem with bikes? Serious(ish) question - dogs, horses, sheep, cows, walkers - in fact nearly everything you're likely to meet out on a ride seems to have some kind of an issue with bikes. And why does it seem to be "our" problem and not theirs?

I had a lady on a horse suggest I should stop and get off my bike as her horse was scared of them - this was on a road!

On a related note - out with my dog at the weekend. We see group coming towards us with their dogs, so as a matter of courtesy put ours on leads.

One of their dogs then "goes" for ours, to which we get the reply, "he doesn't like other dogs on leads"

??????

We take our Border Collie to dog training every week and the trainers there say that pretty much all dog issues are related to poor handling. I agree.

You see handlers struggling to control their dogs and then as soon as a trainer takes the dog they are as good as gold because they know what to do with them and the dog senses that the handler is in control.

It is indeed an ongoing thing and we see ourselves continuing the training for as long as we see fit. Unfortunately a lot of people just get a dog and presume that it will fall into place and just behave. It doesn't work like that and they take a lot of time and effort to pull into line. Time and effort that some just don't want to put in.

Don't get me wrong, dogs will always try to get away with things but it is up to the owner / handler to get that dog back under control and if the dog isn't listening or paying attention to them then this is no different to an un-disciplined child playing up in public. The work starts at home.

Straight after this photo was taken I saw the red mist and bit both arms off and beat the child around it's head with the soggy ends.

[img] [/img]

Grrrrrrrrr.

I'm really starting to dislike dogs and dog owners. It started when I had kids. I would take my daughter to the park and lost count how many times she got knocked over by an overly friendly dog jumping up her or licking her face. The owners would always have the same line "it’s OK the dogs just being friendly". The final straw for my daughter was when a dog went for her when we were viewing a house we were looking to buy. I got revenge by unknowingly walking dog poo all through their house after they failed to clean it up from the mess that was the garden. My daughter is now scared of dogs and I can’t blame her.
Another rant is the amount of turds on every park and bit of woodland I ride or take the kids. Within seconds of arriving at Kinver on Sunday mine and my daughters bikes had it on the wheels. I obviously look where I'm going but some is well camouflaged.
Also the pavement outside our row of houses seems to attract every dog to do its business. I'm waiting to catch someone letting their dog do it and leaving it behind. I will follow them and post it back to them in the night.

For reference I have had dogs in the past and really don't blame the dog and I know not all owners are irresponsible. I do think that some owners just don't understand that not everyone wants to be mauled by a huge overly friendly dog and they get uppity when you politely ask them to control him/her.

Edit: I have also been bitten 3 times. Twice whilst riding and one when walking. The time when walking was by an English terrier that clamped onto my calf and wouldn't let go. The owner wasn't interested.

When I was a "faster" runner our long Sunday run took us out around Bickerstaff from Kirby stadium. The first time I joined the group after about 5 miles the pace quickened significantly and I found myself at the back of the group, it got faster and I was working very hard to hang on (close to 5 min miling I estimate) only when 2 collies came flying out of one of the farm gates did I realised what was happening. Everyone thought it was hilarious but its true what they say. You dont have to outrun the dog just the last runner 🙂

Just out of interest...

wice whilst riding and one when walking. The time when walking was by an English terrier that clamped onto my calf and wouldn't let go. The owner wasn't interested.

What happens if you're attacked by a dog and kill/injure it?

I'm not tying to sound "hard" [lol, I am far from it], but if someone's dog attacked and injured me I think it's possible I'd lose it and attack the thing back. With a bike, stones/branch or a good set of boots, I think it might not work-out well for the dog.

What then?

you people need to stop smearing goose fat on your ankles.

I didn't want to write it as it makes me sound cruel but when dog wouldn't let go the only thing I could do was repeatedly kick it in the head with my other leg. It was still didn't let go straight away.

I was raised with dogs in the house and I'm generally very relaxed around them. Dogs can sense apprehension and seem to respond in kind.

About ten years ago, I was riding along a canal towpath which was designated as a cycle path. I woman in an adjacent field threw a stick for her dog, which darted out in front of me and nearly forced me into the canal. I remonstrated with the owner, explaining that I almost hit her unrestrained dog, but she countered with "this isn't a cycle path", whilst stood ten feet away from a sign that stated otherwise.

She simply wouldn't respond to reason, so I turned to her hitherto silent husband and asked "it must be so very difficult being married to someone so colossally stupid?" before heading off on my merry way.

I have always sought to be polite to the owners, slow down, not provide a race/chase opportunity

you mean stop?
slowing down would actually encourage the dog that you are 'playing'
either carry on regardless or stop and stand your ground

On a related note - out with my dog at the weekend. We see group coming towards us with their dogs, so as a matter of courtesy put ours on leads.

One of their dogs then "goes" for ours, to which we get the reply, "he doesn't like other dogs on leads"

That's not that uncommon in my experience. Worst thing is when someone picks up there dog as that will make other dogs become very interested.

On a related note - does anyone actually know why pretty much everything and everyone seems to be scared of, or have a problem with bikes? Serious(ish) question - dogs, horses, sheep, cows, walkers - in fact nearly everything you're likely to meet out on a ride seems to have some kind of an issue with bikes. And why does it seem to be "our" problem and not theirs?

You do realize that if *everyone* else has a problem, then in general its not them with the problem? 🙂

What happens if you're attacked by a dog and kill/injure it?

I'm not tying to sound "hard" [lol, I am far from it], but if someone's dog attacked and injured me I think it's possible I'd lose it and attack the thing back. With a bike, stones/branch or a good set of boots, I think it might not work-out well for the dog.

What then?

I have heard of someone who kicked a dog in a local park, causing quite a lot of damage to its jaw (builder with a temper) Owners asked him to pay the vet bills, he refused, then posters appeared around where he lived (every day) and his kids school with his picture on and the dog with bandages etc, warning people to guard their pets as a vicious animal hater lived here and could lose control at any point.

Made his, his wifes and kids lives hell (kids at school are cruel), reported to the police (couldn't help, as there was no proof) and he ended up moving as it was that or a divorce.

Personally if you kick either of my dogs and he/she was threatening you in anyway then your kick would be the least they had to worry about. However if you kick them as you don't like dogs, you thought that it might threaten you or your are simply being a dick, then we would have a discussion as people tend to get quite protective of their pets are you are very attached to them.

Any tips for avoiding/diffusing the situation when it does hapoen

If you can see the dog coming then say in a loud, sharp , high pitched voice - "Sit!" with emphasis on the T.

If the dog has had any training at all then this'll be the one universal command that it'll have been taught and there's a fair chance it'll at least think about complying.

People ofen fail to understand that dogs struggle to cope with negative concepts like "No" and "stop".
If you want a dog to [b]stop[/b] doing something, tell it to do something else instead. "Stop doing that!" rarely works

I used to have a dog who would chase anyone on a bike

In the end I had to take the bike off him.

Any tips for avoiding/diffusing the situation when it does hapoen

Alternatively, just stay still and don't look at the dog, and keep your arms at your sides; if it jumps turn your back on it and keep turning if it moves around to jump again; dogs get bored very quickly. Don't run, wave your arms or stare at it, as that can/usually means that you are playing a game.

I understand people shouldn't have to do anything, but if you do this should work in most cases; whereas running rarely will.
This site sums it up very well: http://www.be-a-tree.com/kid%20main.htm

and I've seen kids do this a few times in park etc, to indicate to dogs they don't want to play or want to stop playing with them. tbh I have more problems with kids hassling my dogs to play than vice versa, and mine know to stay still or lie down and the kids will get bored pretty quickly 🙂

I take the "dogs sense fear" argument to a point, but i didnt used to have a problem and too grew up around dogs. I also ride solo a lot these days, and possibly makes me more of a target. It does ultimately come down to training of the dogs, and many people are responsible, but it seems an increasing number just buy a dog and expect everything to just happen. On both occasions i was bitten i reported the incident but apparently i was supposed to take the name and address of the owner and have detailed knowledge of the breeed. I know the police are stretched but disappointed that i never had any follow up.

The first time i had gopro of the dog and owner and the second time it was a dog walker and a description of their vehicle and location. Neither occasion did i even get a call to say soory weve looked into it but havent enough info or priority to pursue.

if someone's [b]dog attacked and injured me[/b]

if someone's dog attacked and injured me

If you consider an attack to be the dog bites you, then we are on the same page. If a dog jumps up at you or runs towards you, whilst its annoying, would you consider that an attack? As some people on here seem to.

No, I mean biting with actual harm and fear of further substantial injury.

If a dog runs up and snarls at me then I consider that an attack. if I wave a big knife around at you or your kids but don't actually stab you in the eye (this time) are you okay with that?

No, I mean biting with actual harm and fear of further substantial injury.

If a dog runs up and snarls at me then I consider that an attack.

Snarling at you isn't an attack, its is unacceptable behavior but calling it an attack is trivializing people who do actually get attacked by dogs.

Snarling at you isn't an attack, its is unacceptable behavior but calling it an attack is trivializing people who do actually get attacked by dogs.

Snarling at you isn't an attack, its is unacceptable behavior but calling it an attack is trivializing people who do actually get attacked by dogs.

It's not too big a step for a snarling dog to then attack.

Its when the snarling or growling stops you need to be worried; guard/police dogs don't bark at you once they have decided you have crossed the line, as that wastes air thats better served getting to you faster.

Semantics, try telling that to my 3 year old.

Most dogs are very cautious of small children, as the ones that aren't are/were killed as its not a desirable trait and if a dog snarls at at puppy the mother will either try to kill the dog or be killed itself, hence why you see most dogs lying down or being very submissive with puppies/young dogs as the consequences of not being so, are huge and painful.

Rubbish, it's a massive step from snarling to biting. A snarl/growl is a warning, if the warning doesn't work then [b]depending on the dog [/b]it will either run or fight.

and TBH there's the problem in a nut shell.

The person best able to make that assessment is the owner, and not some random member of the public who doesn't have a clue what the dog will do, and it winds me up no end when irresponsible dog owners abdicate that responsibility to others because they can't be arsed to train their dogs well enough.

I do enjoy a good dog thread on here.
You get the sane normal people who dont like being run at / chased / bitten and the evangelical dog owners who somehow try and put the blame on you for not recognising their specific niche breed and its character traits.
Im pretty meh about dogs really. But each to their own.

I blame the owners. Every time.

Absolutely how am i to determine the normal behaviour of a dog on frst encounter. Based on my recent experience i now assume fight/bite, previously i assumed flight. Twice bitten 3rd time shy.

Dont worry they're just noisy i was told seconds before removing my leg from the dog's mouth.

The person best able to make that assessment is the owner, and not some random member of the public who doesn't have a clue what the dog will do, and it winds me up no end when irresponsible dog owners abdicate that responsibility to others because they can't be arsed to train their dogs well enough.

Responsibility is normally always with the owner, there are exceptions for when people are aggressive to the dog first IMHO; if you kick a dog just because and it bites you then you get what you deserve.

However, I don't consider a dog running towards someone threatening, I don't consider dogs barking at each other threatening, I do consider a dog snarling at *anyone* unacceptable, I do consider a dog biting someone a huge deal even though it happens.

One of mine has bitten someone who entered my house without permission after checking if the door was locked and let themselves in on a quiet Sunday morning (house has a footpath running past it), but they have never been aggressive to anyone off my property, even when provoked (ie: cyclists being rude/aggressive to 7 month pregnant GF to get off the footpath, as they were racing on it, not sure if they shouted Strava first though)

richc, would you consider a dog chasing after and running along side of a cyclist on a canal tow path covered with frozen puddles threatening?

However, I don't consider a dog running towards someone threatening

Others do though, as has been pointed out, people shouldn't have to try and work out what the dog is going to do. Pretty much every eventuality is resolved by keeping a dog on a lead IMO. I know other's disagree, and I can understand that dog owners love to see their dogs running free and having a great time, and TBH "most" dogs and owners are great. It's just trying to guess which ones are going to cause problems that's the issue!

richc, would you consider a dog chasing after and running along side of a cyclist on a canal tow path covered with frozen puddles threatening?

No, why would a dog running along a shared path be threatening? I think I would worry about that as much as I would worry about an oncoming cyclist tbh.

I'm fairly certain mine have done this at some point, as they were trying to get somewhere as the cyclist was too slow, so briefly they would have shared the path until either they overtook the cyclist, they got to their destination or the cyclist overtook them.

Others do though, as has been pointed out

To put a different spin on this, using your logic a lot of people don't think cyclist should be on the road, would than mean that you wouldn't ride on them?

It would be threatening because one wrong move from the dog could put the rider on the ground or in the canal. The key point is it was very icy, riding in a straight line was possible but any braking or turning would be dangerous. The owner was behind and had tried once to call the dog back but with no success.

It would be threatening because one wrong move from the dog could put the rider on the ground or in the canal

Also out of interest why do you have more rights to use this path than the dog walker? A dog running along is not threatening.

However, I don't consider a dog running towards someone threatening,

To add to the animals and bikes debate, I once scared a horse who was being lunged in a paddock. I could see he was getting a bit nervy but I really didn't think it could be anything to do with me as I was quite a way off. When it became clear it was indeed me who was causing the horse to become nervous, I slowed to super slow (I wasn't going fast anyway) and asked the owner if it was me the horse was scared of and if so I was sorry. I didn't get a reply so I asked her if she had thought about whether she had considered if it was actually her actions that had caused the horse to become nervous. When a horse gets scared, its reaction is to run. It was her that had deprived the horse of its natural reaction to fear and perhaps that was the real problem. Didn't get a reply to that neither but then I wasn't really expecting to.

I was recently watching a football match seven a side type when a dog just peed through the wired fencing all over the players gear that included their drinking bottles. I challenged the owner who just seemed bemused and mumbled an apology but made no effort to stop his dog in the act. Didn't end nicely.

i dont know if its any more frequent, but the rise of the dog walkers 'controlling' 6+ dogs certainly seems to add to it. i like dogs, but had some silly bint in stanmer screaming at me because one of her dogs went for me and I promptly hoofed the little sod.

you people need to stop smearing goose fat on your ankles.

Indeed. I ride bikes, walk my dog in places with lots of dogs and have never been attacked. Maybe I'm just lucky. My son is 5 he comes with me a lot he's never been attacked or knocked over either. Had a few run ins with dogs attacking mine but nothing serious.

Dog ownership has became a fashion epidemic in the UK, which has brought with it all the anti-social nobs that cause trouble where ever they go.

Apparently dog owners are doing us all favour taking their dogs for a shit on our streets, not where they live of course! hanging bags from trees in spite and keeping their aggressive dogs under control and claiming all public space for their exclusive use. Same old same old problems you get with inconsiderate selfish people who think they own everything to the exclusion of anyone else not like them.

[img] [/img]

But why is no-one thinking of the poor children?!!!!

richc here's a dictionary definition for you to think about.
Threatened: to cause someone to feel insecure or anxious
On your other point I have the same rights to use the path as the dog walker as long as I behave responsibly.
A dog chasing and then running in close quarter to me on an extremely icy path is threatening, see the definition above.
Was the dog walker behaving responsibly?

[quote=richc ]Depends on your definition of attacked and injured, I know TJ used to consider a dog off the lead within a 100 meters of him an emotional attack that would injure his psyche requiring thousands of hours of counseling to get over; whereas my opinion on that form of attack was he was mentally ill.

I reckon all that means is that you didn't read what he wrote (or like in many other places on this thread you're exaggerating for effect) and that it says more about you than it does about him.

[quote=richc ]personally I know my dogs

Fine - but nobody else does, and knows that they're not going to be the aggressive ones.

To put a different spin on this, using your logic a lot of people don't think cyclist should be on the road, would than mean that you wouldn't ride on them?

Wonderful analogy. How many of those people who think cyclists shouldn't be on the road have been injured by one?

[quote=richc ]

It would be threatening because one wrong move from the dog could put the rider on the ground or in the canal

Ah, so that particular dog didn't - does that make it an irrational fear despite the fact that there's a reasonable chance of it happening?

He has more rights simply because a dog is required to be under control in a public place, and yes dogs running towards you very much are threatening given (as you yourself have pointed out) you get very little warning before they bite. Every time I've been bitten has been a dog just running along a path I was riding or running along just before - not only does it take but an instant to go from a dog not under control to a dog dangerously out of control, but there doesn't appear to be any way of knowing in advance.

I love these threads.

not really a dog fan myself, or perhaps it's more some of the owners I have encountered over the years...

Is a dog running towards you threatening? Well that's a bit of an open ended question and I'm not sure yet.
I will tell you once it gets to me and either has a curious sniff about or or clamps it's jaws round a limb...

The fact is that if I see a dog bounding about off the lead I'll judge that it's not under control, until I see it responding to it's owner's commands, how often do they actually follow commands? Pretty seldom IME...

Basically I assume the worst about all dogs/owners until they demonstrate otherwise, sadly they tend to prove out my assumptions for the most part...

An animal under control shouldn't make strangers nervous or force them to alter their course/speed whether on foot, bicycle or horseback...
Frankly I don't give a crap what it takes for the owner to achieve that, they bought the bastard thing and have a duty to control it in public...

I always hold the owners completely responsible for the behaviour of their animals. Just because you like dogs doesn't mean I have to. A dog running at me always raises my guard as I don't know it or the owner.
Unfortunately dog owners don't see things this way. Most dogs however are generally curious & playful. Doesn't mean I like it. The unfortunate thing for responsible owners is that there is a rise in so called status dogs, which puts people's guard up even more as the distrust of the dog gets bigger.

"I used to have a dog who would chase anyone on a bike

In the end I had to take the bike off him."

That made me laugh Welshfarmer. 😀

I used to be scared of dogs after being chased by one on a bike when I was younger. I then manned up. The worse that most uncontrolled dogs (some farms dogs for example) can do is chase and nip, which is usually resolved with a quick kick. Bigger breads, can obviously do more damage, but the chances of them doing serious damage are very low I imagine.

An animal under control shouldn't make strangers nervous or force them to alter their course/speed whether on foot, bicycle or horseback...

has more rights simply because a dog is required to be under control in a public place,

I'm pretty sure dogs have to be under control in certain places like roads around livestock etc, but it can be out of control in public as long as it is not dangerously so. Its can be dangerous when people have [u]reasonable[/u] cause to feel threatened. So a dog running at you not barking or growling or whatever might not be reasonable I dont know. Poor manners on the part of the owner though with younger dogs it may well happen. I always think smaller dogs are most often the poorest trained as people with bigger dogs are more aware of it being intimidating.

Once passed a chap walking two dogs on the local canal towpath. I shouted ahead, he gathered the dogs and I thanked him and passed slowly and with a wide berth - all well and good. However, once I was past and speeding up he released the dogs. One, a young chocolate lab ran after me. I realised it only wanted to run, and was looking at me with a big grin on its face. By this time I was a couple of hundred yards from the owner and realised he may lose his dog, so I stopped. Dog jumped up for a cuddle (didn't bother me as I was filthy anyway). Owner came running up red faced and angry looking, yelling "Noooooo!"

Turns out he'd spent weeks teaching the dog not to leap up at people - oops!

I think dog ownership had become more fashionable, so there do seem to be more folk out and about with dogs who aren't really dog people and probably resent having to crap the thing once the novelty has worn off.

What is threatening? A boisterous dog trying jump into my daughters pram will be treated like a slavering hell hound and swiftly booted. If I was on my own I'd probably pat it. Point is, the owner isn't really the best person to judge what's threatening.

A dog jumping up at a pram would be reasonably judged to having the potential to cause harm so a boot in the chops would be a reasonable response.

To understand the mindset of someone who doesn't like dogs or is uncomfortable around them would be a cyclist on the road. Do they assume that all other motorists are going to give them the space and priority they should get, or do they assume that all motorists are likely to do something completely random at some point putting the cyclist in danger?
You cant look at a Ford Focus or a Daimler Sovereign and predict how they are going to be driven, why would a dog be any different?

anagallis_arvensis said Its can be dangerous when people have [u]reasonable[/u] cause to feel threatened.

no, you're wrong.

[i]Your dog is considered dangerously out of control if it:

injures someone
makes someone worried that it might injure them. [/i]

From the www.gov.uk site

It doesn't have to be "reasonable" for the reasons posters keep pointing out. The people best positioned to judge how their dog will react are the owners, not people who've never encountered the dog before.

I tend to think that people who have a blanket hatred of dogs aren't worth knowing.

What is really sad, and something I have never experienced elsewhere, is the number of parents up here in London who are visibly terrified of dogs and are training their kids to be the same. I can be walking along the pavement with the dog (a soppy-looking spaniel, not exactly a ferocious beast) on a lead, walking nicely to heel, and there are parents who will gasp and virtually throw themselves in front of their children to shield them. Children who will scream, throw their arms around and dart out into the road when they see a dog coming, and the parents do nothing to reassure them.

Children need lessons in how to deal with dogs - ideally from their parents, but if not, maybe at school (and I know of a rural school where they get a local farmer to take the occasional litter of puppies in to meet the young children). If there's a young dog in the park, screaming and waving your arms around when it comes within 50m is going to make the dog think it's a game and that children are fun. Simply ignoring the dog means most of the time it will ignore you back. A lot of these bad interactions that set the tone for a child's impression of dogs for life could be avoided with training on both sides.

A considerate biker on a bridleway would slow down for a dog.

Agreed, a polite, sociable person enjoying being outside probably would slow and make space just because it is good manners, but that doesn't change what I wrote, other ROW users shouldn't be intimidated or forced to take unexpected action because of your inability to control your animal... Either train it or get rid of it.

You sound like a real passive agressive charmer

Me to a tee, have we met? 😉

I tend to think that people who have a blanket hatred of dogs aren't worth knowing.

So, say I was attacked and bitten as a 6 year old by an Alsatian. And say I've since been bitten by a Jack Russell whilst minding my own business in a public car park, had my heels nipped by a Collie whilst on my bike and seen my son flattened and bitten by an out of control dog. Do you think I might have a reason to dislike dogs in general?

That's great stereotyping, in the same class as "all dog owners are irresponsible".
So, say I was attacked and bitten as a 6 year old by an Alsatian. And say I've since been bitten by a Jack Russell whilst minding my own business in a public car park, had my heels nipped by a Collie whilst on my bike and seen my son flattened and bitten by an out of control dog. Do you think I might have a reason to dislike dogs in general?

I tend to think that people who have a blanket hatred of dogs aren't worth knowing.

met any? And what did you say? 😆

For the record, I don't hate dogs, I'm not scared of them, grew up with dogs all my life. I'm not one for "hating" I'll treat every case as I come across it. As I've said on this thread, it's just the irresponsible owners that get on my nerves, most are perfectly cool.

No. You have a reason to dislike those four dogs. I hope you've given your son a chance to meet some nice, under-control dogs and appreciate they're not going to hurt him so that he doesn't go through life scared of dogs.

As we're all formed by our experiences, my view of dogs is overwhelmingly negative. I have no intention of seeking out "nice" dogs because I neither want them nor need them in my life.

Rather than project that onto my son, my efforts to try and persuade him that it was a one off have been undone by so many dogs we've met since then not being controlled by their owners. The apologies from the owners need to be replaced by proper control in the first place. I can't influence that.

injures someone
makes someone worried that it might injure them.

From the http://www.gov.uk site

That link isnt helpful and I doubt the law says what you say. Although our interpretations sound very similar tbf

other ROW users shouldn't be intimidated or forced to take unexpected action because of your inability to control your animal... Either train it or get rid of it.

My dog is well behaved thanks. To be honest when I said passive aggressive what I meant was you come across as a complete nutter trying to be an internet hardman.

[quote=oldbloke]The apologies from the owners need to be replaced by proper control in the first place. I can't influence that.

Some people feel the same about kids 😉

Hounds are like kids, some are nice, some are little shits, some are scared, some outgoing etc. You dont have to like them, but its usually best to assume they're unpredictable since they're like 4 year olds...If you slow down for dogs and give the owners a chance to exert control, the outcome is usually better.

The dogs who 'dont like bicycles' and get aggressive need to be kept on a bloody lead and get trained. Sadly its the bad owners/dogs that you remember.

Some people feel the same about kids

[quote=fionap ]I tend to think that people who have a blanket hatred of dogs aren't worth knowing.

For the record I don't hate dogs - and TBH I reckon that's actually part of the problem. The times I've been bitten I've just ignored the dogs involved and expected them to be friendly.

[quote=anagallis_arvensis ]

injures someone
makes someone worried that it might injure them.
From the http://www.gov.uk site

Well do your own research!

It took me all of 30s to find a page on that website which has [b]exactly[/b] the wording nickc quoted. What do you reckon the chances are it www.gov.uk is incorrect about the law?

Victorian cyclists had an effective method of dealing with nuisance dogs:
[img] [/img]

Have to say I've not had much bother with them recently. Farm dogs used to be really scary when I was growing up, but presumably enough ramblers got savaged that farmers have stopped letting rabid dobermans run loose round their farmyards. Fat labs and yippy rat-type things barely register, just ride on past. Some dog owners are selfish, entitled dicks, but that's just the way of the world.

injures someone
makes someone worried that it might injure them.

From the http://www.gov.uk site

That link isnt helpful and I doubt the law says what you say. Although our interpretations sound very similar tbf

The law says: "[url= http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/65/section/10 ]a dog shall be regarded as dangerously out of control on any occasion on which there are grounds for reasonable apprehension that it will injure any person, whether or not it actually does so[/url]"

I seem to meet many dangerously out-of-control dogs whilst out cycling and running, although strangely the owners don't seem to comprehend this.