Thanks for proving my point RustyNissan
I'm a dog owner and think it's a fashion/lifestyle/selfish thing.
Okay I'm a dog owner but can see this from both sides. In the wild, fine, go for it. You need to train it and you're less likely to be in a high traffic area if it decides to play silly buggers.
In trail centres I'm less keen. I've had animals run along side me and as said it's really off putting as you don't know what it's going to do. If your dog is trained well enough to run at heel then fine, otherwise I'd say it's as sensible as walking along bike trails (ie. Not). Please remember that for the majority of users trail centres off dedicated trails where you can push a bit harder without having to worry about traffic coming the other way or otherwise interacting with you. If your dog can't comply with that then it really has no business being on a bike trail. I don't want to hurt it and I'm sure you wouldn't want a less confident rider crashing from being distracted or trying to avoid it.
This analogue doesn’t work. If children were running off the and on to trails in front of other riders then it would, but they don’t, they just ride down on bikes like other humans. So it doesn’t.
You've never been on a ride with my daughter. It absolutely does work albeit she's a lot slower and bigger but if she's decided to stop/strop on a blind bend then pulls out to carry on she presents the same danger. Under those circumstances she now knows that she only moves when told until such time that she can competently judge for herself.
Trail Centres are clearly a no no, but off piste is fair game IMO. You shouldn’t be riding your bike there so you’ve got no right to piss and moan if someone else who shouldn’t be riding their bike there also brings a dog.
Er, what? Ever heard of Right to Roam? Theres more to access laws than those of E&W.
Is right to roam the same as dedicated MTB trails then?
If it’s not a dedicated MTB trail then the dog and owner have just as much right to roam as you do, so again, no pissing and moaning allowed.
In scotland right to roam applies everywhere even trail centres
Fair enough, I wouldn’t take a dog to a dedicated trail centre but I would take one to off piste trails if it was well trained.
@DezB sounds like you feel a bit oppressed by the views so far...which I can understand to an extent (reminds me of how drivers talk cyclists sometimes)
But can't you see what an out of control dog is like for many cyclists?
Nah, I don't feel at all oppressed. Just completely disagree and saying so.
My dog's dead so isn't a dog or trail dog anymore, but I certainly know she wasn't a fashion statement.
The key is “is mutt well trained” A well trained dog even at a trail centre is not an issue with me.
Can we agree?
No of course we cant!!
I love dogs even badly trained ones and am more than happy to stop on my rides to give one some fuss but **** me some dog owners are shit for brains morons (like people in general) the thing that grips my shit is the ones that see my young some riding towards them and still leave their dog to run about out of control and dont seem to even care that their stupid mut could get run over, I just cant grasp the lack of care for their own dog.
I would add that dogs and trail centres seem wrong to me, even a well trained dog will cause me to stop or slow right down as I wont know how it will react even if the owner mostly will.
If it’s not a dedicated MTB trail then the dog and owner have just as much right to roam as you do, so again, no pissing and moaning allowed.
Oddly enough we agree but for completely different reasons. In Scotland both have the right to be there whilst in E&W neither do. Obviously common sense (ha!) should apply even off piste as some trails are clearly more off piste than others if you get my meaning.
I was only taking issue with the access rights FWIW.
I am of the opinion live and let live..
Which always translates to “I’m doing what I like and sod anyone else”.
Dog owners are like parents. They think their little pooch is not being a problem to anyone, when in fact it’s making other people have to stop, move, slow down and in many cases make people fearful that they might get bitten.
I’d say that dog owners have the same blind spots as parents do.
The ratio of responsible dog owners, to inconsiderate ****s, is about 80-20. (Nowhere near the 99% mentioned earlier)
But I’m sure if I asked 100 dog owners about their dog, they’d say ‘it’s very well trained and has never chased a cyclist’
if it’s not on a lead you shouldn’t have it anywhere near children, cyclists, livestock. No matter how deluded you are.
Both me and one of my children have been bitten by a dog while riding our bikes. Dogs that did not respond to their owners at all.
It also seems quite irresponsible to take a dog to a designated cycle route where they could be hit by another bike, or lost chasing someone.
I've had a few dogs chase me in the past. All were big, barking, and their owners puzzled while telling me to stop. I won't stop if an angry sounding dog is chasing me. I'll sprint off as fast as I can to avoid injury and continue with my ride.
Keep it on a lead if its likely to chase. And off the designated trails if you don't want it run over.
Dog owners are like parents. They think their little pooch is not being a problem to anyone, when in fact it’s making other people have to stop, move, slow down and in many cases make people fearful that they might get bitten.
I’d say that dog owners have the same blind spots as parents do.
But I’m sure if I asked 100 dog owners about their dog, they’d say ‘it’s very well trained and has never chased a cyclist’
if it’s not on a lead you shouldn’t have it anywhere near children, cyclists, livestock. No matter how deluded you are
This. You'll never change people's opinions though because like many parents they can't see any fault in their dog child. They love it's playful character and the joy it brings them; therefore, everyone else must as well and exception can always be made for their dog because it's "friendly and well trained" to their personal and biased standards.
Everyone is ok with a trail dog on a dedicated bike trail because it's "well behaved, friendly and never hurt anyone"
Everyone is ok with my kids running round Aldi like a pair of turds because they are "well behaved, friendly and never hurt anyone"
Dog owners are like parents. They think their little pooch is not being a problem to anyone, when in fact it’s making other people have to stop, move, slow down and in many cases make people fearful that they might get bitten.
I’d say that dog owners have the same blind spots as parents do.
Bloody cyclists eh? Jumping red lights, riding on the pavements, always making sweeping statements, stereo typing groups of people...
if it’s not on a lead you shouldn’t have it anywhere near children, cyclists, livestock. No matter how deluded you are
not legally required in Scotland and a well trained dog does not need to be on a lead.
The key remains " is the dog properly trained?"
Mt mate had a well trained dog. It would stay at heel when commanded, it would not step off a pavement to cross a road without being told to and it would not bother other people. It never went on a lead. simply no need.
That's all very well TJ but you don't know when approaching that a dog running around off it's lead is 'well trained' so you've got to assume that it's not like the previous 99% of dogs that you encounter & their 'Oh he's never done that before' ****wit owners.
I’ve had a few dogs chase me in the past. All were big, barking, and their owners puzzled while telling me to stop. I won’t stop if an angry sounding dog is chasing me. I’ll sprint off as fast as I can to avoid injury and continue with my ride.
I try and maintain a ten metre gap from the chasing dog, if it is well trained it will be recalled
If it's not the owner gets some exercise
but you don’t know when approaching that a dog running around off it’s lead is ‘well trained’
if its "running around" then its not. simples. I dislike dogs but even I can see this one
I prefer dogs to (most) people.
It seems these days everyone has an ‘issue’ with something - dogs on trails, people not planting enough trees, the nature of some jokes; We are in an ‘I’m offended’ culture now where everyone feels they have a ‘right rather than a privilege’ in every circumstance or situation.
What happened to live and let live, control what you can within your own realm?
As to dogs on trails - no different to other bikers, walkers etc - some will be a pain in the arse, others not. This the way of life in general. You can chose to let it bother you or not.
Page 3 and no mention of Fenton.
Trail dog is cool on a back country bimble but any where near any other riders is a big no no.
Out of interest where are you all riding to be attacked/chased/threatened by dogs? The only time I have seen a dog go after someone was a mate skateboarding in a town centre.
I have just been out for a 25 mile ride, taking in two laps of the local golf course (cotswold way) and a couple picnic/beauty sites. I saw a lot of dogs, probably at least one every 100 feet or so. Not a single one of them looked twice at me. I payed extra attention to what they were doing after reading this thread. Not all of them were perfectly behaved, none did anything wrong just not walking at their owners side off lead, kind of running around being dogs.
I guess I could be a bit biased in that I love dogs and don’t feel threatened by them generally. I stopped and said hello to a lot of them while waiting for a mate and all were just nice dogs.
So yeah where are you all riding for this to be happening? How often is this happening for you to be so concerned to start a thread about it? Not trying to pick holes or argue, just genuinely curious
It’s not a problem generally speaking marksnoot
I think you have to be a massive fanny first and then these things start to creep in.
I’m no expert though.
I did wonder if it was mental thing that being scared could cause someone to act erratically and that do something but I don’t think that would be the case.
Kind of like being paranoid that every person in public wants to mug you. Granted one will eventually but I wouldn’t judge every person I see a threat just because I’ve been mugged in the past. Probably not a relevant analogy but do you get what I mean?
If a dog trots after me while I’m pootling along while the owner is screaming their head off telling it to come back, i just keep going.
It’s hardly my fault if the poor animal hasn’t been trained.
My 2P,
Public place, no problem, dogs allowed.
Dedicated Trail centre, not really on imo, the point of a trail centre is for bikes to be able to let rip more than they would in a public park.
Fwiw, i like dogs, but some dog owners are utter foxwits.
Just like other people in fact.
For what it’s worth I agree, I don’t think trail centres are the place to take your dog for a bike ride. But then if someone’s regular ride and idea of fun is having their dog with them then who am I to say what others should do. I don’t think bike park wales allow dogs on the trails. Unless dogs are banned from a place then unfortunately people have every right to take their dog. If the dog messes with peoples day then I guess you are breaking rule number 1!
I guess part of the problem is that the definition of well trained differs between each of us. Also the definition of a dog being threatening differ too. To some people it may be an inquisitive dog coming to see what is happening, for me I imagine it’s an angry dog trying to attack
Out of interest where are you all riding to be attacked/chased/threatened by dogs?
15 miles from Rotherham, on bridleway. Want to see my left calf?
Cheers!
I.
Alright I was just asking a question. Having never had such an incident it got me thinking about it
To some people it may be an inquisitive dog coming to see what is happening,
thats not acceptable and is a poorly trained dog
live and let live - fine but keep your hound under control and that includes it not coming up to me at all
but you don’t know when approaching that a dog running around off it’s lead is ‘well trained’
if its “running around” then its not. simples
Surely even the best trained dogs like say a police dog or something is allowed to run around off lead at some point?
If a dog trots after me while I’m pootling along while the owner is screaming their head off telling it to come back, i just keep going.
It’s hardly my fault if the poor animal hasn’t been trained.
Which is why if you are not feeling threatened it might be better to stop and tell the owner that they need to up their game rather than potentially lead the dog into trouble.
My brother in law has a guide dog that is exceptional well trained when wearing its harness, when not it’s an idiot that wants to run around and dive in puddles.
I get that you want a dog to do one thing, many people don’t. Just because you are right in your head doesn’t necessarily mean other people are wrong.
Your opinion isn’t fact
I've had dogs come up to me just to say hello. One put its nose right in my rucksack while I was getting a snack which made me laugh. I didn't feel threatened at all. The owner appolagised and we both laughed.
3 other dogs have made me feel threatened though by running after me growling and barking. Keep those kind of dogs on a lead. Luckily I could outsprint the dogs on my bike and didn't stop till I felt safe again. If the dog gets lost its not my fault. Keep it on a lead if its likely to chase someone. If I was a child I could be dead. Keep it on a lead.
I'm with marksnook on this. I'm fascinated to discover where in the country this pack of out of control canines actually is? I'm a dog owner, walker and cyclist. I see many, many dogs out and about every day. Occasionally there may be one that is excited to meet me (in a nice way), very, very occasionally there is one that decides he/she doesn't like my dog's face/scent/whatever and gets a bit angsty. But apart from that, nothing.
In fact in at least two decades of cycling, walking etc i don't think I've ever seen a dog chase a cyclist. Not in the park, not on the river, not on the canal towpaths, the bridleway, the footpaths. Or at a trail centre (otherbthan my dog chasing me). In that time I've seen many, many cyclists jump reds (myself included), but these voracious, aggressive animals? Nope.
I can accept that people may have unwittingly had a dog chase them, or cut across them once, but on a regular basis? I don't think so.
As said above, some people are going to be offended. It might be cyclists that offend them. Or immigrants. Or people of different sexual persuasions. Or dogs. That then becomes a mantra and everything is escalated in a given echo chamber. Isolated incidents become a constant.
And whilst I think about it, the most dangerous thing at trail centres is other people. Braking bumps! Children! Random walkers going the wrong way up descents! Scrotes thieving bikes. You want trail centres to be safer. Ban people.
In fact, all the hurt and pain I've had at trail centres (including breaking bones and losing teeth) has been caused by one consistent offender. Me. So the obvious solution is to ban myself from trail centres!
And finally, the irony of someone who mountain bikes talking about dogs as lifestyle accessories? Where's the self awareness? We swan around on bikes that oftrn cost more than decent 2nd hand cars. Obsess over 1/2 a degree of angle or 5cm of travel. Normal people think we're nuts. They say why do you need a bike to go for a walk, poncing around on your expensive cash traps, scaring honest dog walkers as you fly past and spray them with mud. And they've got a point. But there's loads of them who'll swear blind that they're regularly buzzed by inconsiderate mountain bikers, when it happened once, years ago.
That said, I do empathise with people who don't like/are intimidated by dogs around bicycles. So I won't be taking my dog to a trail centre again.
However I feel for you guys. I mean every bridleway, footpath, towpath, park, pavement, B-road you're going to be meetin dogs. Turns out there's a lot of them out there. Even more with pandemic and all. That's tough for you. I suggest that rather than fight it you work out a way to accommodate it because it's not going away and you'll end up even more miserable than you currently seem to be.
Get dogs growling, barking or even chasing me regularly. Had 3 today. I'm not nervous with dogs and tend to give them a wide berth but I do tend to ride in Country Parks so there are a lot of dogs about, to be fair, the vast majority are fine.
The scariest one that comes to mind was a few years ago when an Irish wolf hound ran out of the trees at me, it's head was almost level with mine, i properly sh$t it.
Dog walkers do make great trails though, even if they occasionally put branches across them to discourage bikes.
I take my dog out for a ride with me most weeks but I'd never do so at a trail centre. She's well trained and knows that on the way up is for bimbling about or chasing squirrels and on the way down it's just about keeping up with me. I still only take her first thing in the morning or when I know it's going to be quiet, not because she will get in the way of anyone else but because I don't know how other riders will react to a dog pelting along a trail and I don't want her or them to get hurt. I'll also only take her down trails we have walked together before so she knows what's coming.
Get dogs growling, barking or even chasing me regularly. Had 3 today. I’m not nervous with dogs and tend to give them a wide berth but I do tend to ride in Country Parks so there are a lot of dogs about, to be fair, the vast majority are fine.
Hmmm. Do you carry, or have you ever carried, raw meat or sausages on your person? Perhaps a pork pie or two? A few old mince pies in your backpack perhaps..
Either that or you're fortunate enough to give off some truly sexy doggie pheromones 😉
Dogs don't seem to like bikes or me, could be me. Maybe I need a t-shirt with "no sausages are stored upon this person!"
I've heard this too many times from dog owners "don't mind him!" As a dog is barking and approaching me.
I'd love a dog but don't have enough spare time to do one justice (although this rule doesn't seem to be universal amongst local dog owners), If I did have one though, I'd spend the time and money getting it properly trained.
What the **** is a trail dog?
Urrr, Yurrr,
Like a dog...
*deleted*
Never mind, you can’t change a selfish persons mind. 🙄🙄
I suggest that rather than fight it you work out a way to accommodate it because it’s not going away
Ahhh... got it... My fault then that I have scars on the legs because I was bitten by the dog.
So silly, silly of me, just being standing there whilst out of control dog was shredding my leg...
Cheers!
I.
Like others have already pointed out, replace dog/trail/bicycle with car/road/inconvenience and some of you are spouting the same hatred people have for cyclists. Oh yeah forgot, we’re not all the same or some argument you all make to justify something.
I build and maintain my local trails. I walk my dog on those trails to make sure they are free of obstruction, I have always trained her to not be scared of humans but to come back to me after smelling them. I think that dragging a dog away from something and making a bigger deal of not going near people reinforces that people are dangerous and make dogs see threat. Caveat, I’m not a dog trainer and I’ve no idea how I came to that conclusion.
I’m not saying my way is right. But I try to be respectful and when in crowded places she is on a lead as she could ruin a good picnic! Again pointless argument and all that..
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suburbanreuben
Free MemberWhat the **** is a trail dog?
https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/trail-dog-videos-361396/blockquote >
Selfish ****s ragging the shit out of their dogs for a sick edit.
