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I was barked at today whilst road biking by an off the lead Alsatian and his Labrador mate. The owner was unable to call them off as the horse she was riding got a little spooked. This is premium grade ****wittery that I’ve seen many times before.
handheld gas horn always gets the dog to back off in my experience
Thats exactly what happens.
She’s not allowed to jump up at anyone or approach anyone uninvited. She’s 16 months old and training is ongoing and continuous, every time we go out.
That's not what I ment, you said she's on a lead for now.
The amount of times I've heard "oh my dogs well trained" or "she's never done that before".
Dogs are animals which are unpredictable creatures, you think you have them trained till the point they show you they're not.
There are loads of mirror threads to this btw, on dog based social media. Basically cyclists are rude self entitled **** At work we organise a “walkathon” at a popular nature trail and every year there are complaints about cyclists, same happened at an event we used to run in Holyrood park.
@piemonster There's a bridleway local to me and it's regularly used by families walking, dog walkers, horse riders and cyclists. I've used it for years either cycling or walking the dog and without a doubt the biggest problem is the cyclists, predominantly mountain bikes ridden by males.
Larry_Lamb
She doesn’t get off lead though as her recall isn’t good enough yet.
Keep her on a lead
Stop looking for a rise out of folk, chaps says his dogs isn’t ready. So doesn’t get let off the lead. Seems you agree.
So why go digging?
I've been chased for over two miles across heathland by a pair of medium sized hounds who ignored their screaming owner. No idea if he ever got them back after they collapsed from exhaustion.
Worst owners are the ones who explain the situation by "well of course you'll get bitten, you startled poor little Trixie".
If an out of control dog attacked either myself or my wife/kids I'd not think twice about kicking it as hard as I could. I hate dogs off leads.
OK so set myself up for shouts of troll etc.
What follows is genuine.
I an a big bugger.
20 stone Lorry driver. Dogs scare the living S@@T out of me. I can cope with ones that don't jump or bark at me but if pushed I will attack a dog.
If I attack a dog there is a bloody good chance I will kill it. Not because I want to but, it is totally fight or flight and I am shit scared.
Before you ask ... yes I have killed dogs.
When it happens I am totally shit scared. Totally absolutally shit scared
Just beforehand the owners have been laughing and saying ... they just want to say hello etc.
I have been called names and abused.. I have been attacked by dog owners..
I totally sympathise with OP.
I genuinely wonder what would happen if I:
Ran up to a random small child and pushed them over then scratched them with my nails.
Walked up to someone on a footpath and smeared mud on their clothing.
Ran over to a family eating a picnic in the park, walked all over their food and stole a scotch egg whilst drooling over everything
Shouted at the top of my voice for 3 hours in my back garden
I guess based on my recent experience that would all have been fine as long as those people were dog owners.
I’ve been chased for over two miles across heathland by a pair of medium sized hounds who ignored their screaming owner. No idea if he ever got them back after they collapsed from exhaustion.
Yeah, I've found trying to outrun them a bit hit and miss. Difficult to judge the top speed of a dog just from a glance. I had one incident last year where the dog was tiny and probably not a significant danger but I booted it just to get away from the aggressive barking. Had to push it over 32mph down a long fireroad before I started to pull away. Doubt the owner saw the dog again for a while. I don't believe people are stupid enough to genuinely not realise how their dog will react to a bike rider and know it needs to be kept on a lead.
I was bitten by a dog last year. Apparently, it was my fault. I was wearing a red jacket and I looked like a postman. I kid you not.
The dog did get a swift kick up the arse though.
I don’t believe people are stupid enough to genuinely not realise...
Someone said a few posts ago, "entitled," and that nails it.
It doesn't matter that it "won't hurt you." I might not like dogs. I might not want to get mud on my nice trousers. I might have a phobia. I might be massively allergic. There might be a dozen other reasons why I don't want your 'fur baby' leaping around in my personal space.
Me, I'm more of a cat person but I like dogs. I like animals generally. But "excuse me, can you call your dog to heel please?" takes priority over "but he's only being friendly," no ifs no buts. Over the years I've had altercations with dogs whilst walking, running, cycling, and sitting eating a sandwich. And if I ask "would you mind awfully extracting your pet from my personal space please" then that takes priority over your precious Fido definitely not eating my lunch or my calf.
Victim blaming 101. Your hound is the aggressor, my front wheel wasn't 'asking for it'.
And,
I'm not a fighter, I'm really not much more than skin and bone. I've lived this long by perfecting the art of running away. But if some random member of the public called my girlfriend a see you next Tuesday for having the audacity to be walking in a straight line minding her own business, they'd find themselves having to stand up again. That's absolutely ****ing outrageous behaviour.
Big dog fan here but the owners of the ones that were involved in op incident are clearly arseholes.
I keep my dog on a leash when walking not because it'll annoy people but because it'll have a go at other dogs. What really annoys me is when other dogs run up to her off lead and I have to hold mine back from attacking them. When I ask the owners to keep their dog away from mine I'm met with the same response every time..'he only wants to play'
One local lady after about 4 times of her dog bounding up to mine I had finally had enough and rather than pull mine away just let it bite the other dog. When I saw the indignant look on the owners face I asked her what the fxxx she thought was going to happen...
Moral of story..dogs are great, but many dog owners are entitled arseholes.
I could say an entitled cat owner that allows their untrained cats to shit in my garden. Wouldn’t mind so much if the owners turned up every day to clean up after their moggies like people expect dog owners to clean up after their dogs but if I went round to a neighbour and asked them to clean up their cats crap I’m likely to receive some unpleasant verbal aggression.
Nothing to do with entitlement. It’s about tolerance. We’re all entitled but not all tolerant. Nothing more entitled than people boasting about attacking or even killing a dog because of their crappy owners.
There's an old railway line and canal near me that I'd love to go running down but sadly they're full of dog walkers. I often fantasize about a world where dogs couldn't bite or people chose non-dangerous pets which they liked to let roam free. I often run across a farm field which has a massive sign declaring dogs on lead due to lambing season. Lately there are plenty of dogs running free in said fields and owners wondering what that grumpy runner is talking about.
I have a dog disclaimer.
If a dog starts to chase me on my bike when out riding, I stop....and I talk to it etc.
Pedalling off at speed reinforces the behaviour to chase.
I understand that some people are immediately terrified and that's the only response they know how to do but yeah, generally if you run, they'll chase.
A bit like grizzly bears. 🐻 😊
Op it sounds as if your dog people were terminal cockwombles.
Pedalling off at speed reinforces the behaviour to chase.
Pedalling off reinforces the message to put the dog on a lead.
Stop looking for a rise out of folk, chaps says his dogs isn’t ready. So doesn’t get let off the lead. Seems you agree.
So why go digging?
I'm not digging, he said he's training the dog ready for the point to come off a lead.
I said keep it on a lead indefinitely.
Pedalling off reinforces the message to put the dog on a lead.
Correct. You'll be the most correct person in the minor injuries unit 👍😉
person in the minor injuries unit
Because your dog attacked me off a lead due to being an irresponsible dog owner?
Maybe I'm just sensitive as a dog owner, but when I read these threads I always imagine the stw reaction if the populace on here were to stumble on a cyclist thread full of these stereo types and generalisations on a dog walking forum, or mumsnet.
Yes, it's shit that there are bad experiences, but some of you need to re-read your posts before clicking 'submit'.
Recently had a 'conversation' with a woman after her 3 German Shepherds came charging towards me while riding on a cyclepath/disused railway line. It's used by walkers/horses/cyclists and can get busy (Sunday morning so fairly busy at the time in question). She had walked out of a nearby carpark and immediately let all 3 off the lead, they went at a few smaller dogs first then when she tried to call them back charged past her and ran around 50 yards straight at me at which point I had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. I don't mind dogs at all but started shaking my head at the owner who declared she had every right to be there and shouldn't have to keep them on a lead despite obviously having no ability to recall or control them. I explained that if three lads on bikes had charged towards her at speed in the same location and manner as they had just done to me she would no doubt be complaining they were out of control/dangerous and rightly so, but she still refused to put them back on the lead and as I rode off they were surrounding and barking at an elderly couple with a small dog on a lead who looked pretty intimidated. Self entitled attitudes are definitely on the rise these days, not dog owners particularly as most can and do control their pets, but in society in general
I guess my point is, it’s not a dog owner problem, it’s a people problem. For me the only solution is to try and avoid the general public as much as possible. The less interactions you have, the less chance you have of bumping into one of life’s pricks and spoiling your day. This generally works for me, as a dog owner/driver/cyclist.
This is it exactly. Riding yesterday and first 3 miles on road, got overtaken by a driver on a blind bend and then followed by a tractor (with long trailer) a few feet behind me trying to overtake at all costs when he just needed to wait about 2 minutes before we got to a long stretch of straight wide clear road. Get to the first gravel road, dogs all over the place not on leads, owners not aware/don't care that it is a cycle route and huff and tut when then have to control their dogs after they get on the way, chase after me etc,.
Come up behind someone running right in the middle of the gravel road, rang bell but she had headphones on so couldn't hear anything and then jumped a mile when I road past.
And all that is on one short ride at 08:00 on a Sunday morning as I always ride early to avoid as many idiots as possible but they seem to be out earlier these days.
Correct. You’ll be the most correct person in the minor injuries unit 👍😉
Because your dog attacked me off a lead due to being an irresponsible dog owner?
Yes, quite possibly. You can spend your life moaning about how some dog owners don't take responsibility but that's unlikely to change unfortunately.
The only real effect you can have on the situation, rightly or wrongly, is to change your behaviour to it.
Dogs can be incredibly threatening and frightening I agree but, if you can just stop instead of rollicking away at speed, you might find that most dogs no longer see any point in chasing you and go off back to squirrels or whatever.
If the dog is actually attacking, at least the owner is near enough to do something should they start to realise their responsibility.
People are dicks. Dogs are just dogs..
And all that is on one short ride at 08:00 on a Sunday morning
The late morning crowd around here are much better. I've stopped going out early except for commuting, I get to meet people and there's less stress.
It's the dog owners responsibility to keep the dog under control. In busy environments with other people around, and exciting and interesting things for your dog to interact with, the 100% most effective way of doing that is keep it on a lead. Off the lead, you've effectively delegating control of your pet to other people, and that doesn't seem right to me. I don't mind dogs, but the lack of foresight that your dog might not be welcome to others is pretty bad.
I've been riding along the Mersey recently, and the biggest issue for everyone; are dogs not being controlled sufficiently well by their owners . The owners, the people that are having to deal with them, the folks running or cycling getting tangled up in extendable leads; all of them having a shit time because of lack of training, lack of courtesy, lack of common sense. Saw a bloke throw a dog into the river yesterday as it was yapping around his young daughter.
I genuinely wonder what would happen if...
This. All those things wouldn't be acceptable for a human to do, so they're not acceptable for a human-owned pet to do either (entirely owners' fault not the dogs').
I wonder how many owners have actually bothered to properly train their dogs -confirmation bias probably but I reckon it must be quite low.
Many people's idea of taking a dog for a walk seems to be to drive to the local park and let it off the lead for a shit.
You can spend your life moaning about how some dog owners don’t take responsibility but that’s unlikely to change unfortunately.
I dunno, if I can get some idiot dog owner having to break into a jog for half a mile down a fire road shouting 'Fenton' to retrieve their furbaby, that counts as a win, and has some educational value.
Obviously, depends on the speed/stamina of the breed. Not recommended on a climb.
I have 3 small dogs(harmless) but can be bit excited/barky. Dog people understand I apologise to non dog folks. I know some folks are just terrified of dogs of any size but acting nervous just escalates the issue.
I’m a dog person and I don’t understand. Your dogs are either under control or they are not.
And it’s the nervous persons fault too?
It’s this sort of arrogance from dog walkers that is the problem.
Our Boxer is harmless, but we lick people to death. When we are out walking if people are about she is always on the lead. Even in the middle of no where if we can’t see ahead she’s on the lead.
Have to say it’s not just dog walkers though it’s mountain bikers too
but we lick people to death
We ??
Funky indeed 😆
Why doesn't everyone calm the **** down and just try and be nice.
No need to try and kill dogs through booting it or exhaustion. Most of the time a dog has bounded up to me it's usually been pretty young, followed by loads of apologies and an explanation that they are still training it but not quite there yet.
Some dog owners are ****s. Lots in fact. But the people here who get glea from the possibility of hurting their dog is just as much of a ****.
The majority of people are nice we all have to co-exist. Be nice, spread happiness
I wonder how many owners have actually bothered to properly train their dogs -confirmation bias probably but I reckon it must be quite low.
Yep, I reckon you're spot on. Most folks seem to have a passing interest at best of doing this, and expect the dog somehow to learn by itself how to behave.
Pedalling off reinforces the message to put the dog on a lead.
Sadly I don't think it does.
I dunno, if I can get some idiot dog owner having to break into a jog for half a mile down a fire road shouting ‘Fenton’ to retrieve their furbaby, that counts as a win, and has some educational value.
I expect most owners in that situation will just think you are a dick tbh and behave even worse next time they encounter a cyclist.
I have 3 small dogs(harmless) but can be bit excited/barky. Dog people understand I apologise to non dog folks. I know some folks are just terrified of dogs of any size but acting nervous just escalates the issue.
This is what i don't understand about dog owners "acting nervous just escalates the issue" if your dog starts to bark, jump and chase what do you expect me to do just stay there and let it attack me? (yes that a little dramatic) No im likely going to shout at you and the dog. This basically sounds like you're passing the buck and blaming people getting stressed for your dogs behaviour if you can't control your dog keep it on a lead. Due to past dog experiences if i don't know you or your dog i will tell you to keep it far away from me.
It’s this sort of arrogance from dog walkers that is the problem.
agree!
She needs to carry a walking pole, if the dogs get too close, 'wave' it at them - as close/touching as she needs to.
I talk as a dog owner and if my two were bothering her and I hadn't called them to heel, then I'm the problem.
No need to try and kill dogs through exhaustion.
It's true, a brief chase will be fatal to most dogs. Or fun, can't remember which.
I've had a few bad experiences and near misses etc but generally they seem to be well behaved and on leads, and the owners respectful. I usually slow down especially if they are off the lead as I'd rather go a bit slower than hurt a dog. Lesson learned after one sent me over the bars!
Thankfully I don't see many scary dogs riding from home in Sheffield. They all seem to be little weiner dogs and ewok teddy bear things that are really docile.
I’m sorry to hear about your incident yesterday Matt, behaviour like that is totally unacceptable and the owner really shouldn’t have a dog.
Reading this thread got me thinking about dog training and how the pandemic has stopped all of the dog training clubs and therefore lots of untrained young dogs as as result.
We had a similar incident last week, drove out to our local woods with our dogs in the car. Parked up and I got out to get the dogs out of the back of the car when a lovely bouncy Vizla came bounding up to the car obviously excited at the scent of our dogs.
It looked to me as though given half a chance this dog would have jumped up the car so I stood between the dog and the car and asked the owner to recall his dog. The owner then laughed and accused me of being precious about the car!!
At this point I took my phone and started to record the dog, still trying to get past me and then recorded the owner getting angry and still talking about me being precious about the car. I then told the owner that I hoped he was fully insured as if his dog did damage the car he would most certainly be paying.
On reflection, it was very obvious that the owner had no control over the dog which could very easily been run over, running free around a busy car park. I felt sorry for the dog.
That's a shit response from the owner op. Not on at all. Why do so many people have a complete failure of being able to apologise for doing something wrong? I've had similar experiences with drivers who have ****ed up but when you give a little wave or beep to make them aware of you they f and blind and blare their horn back like it was actually you that did something wrong.
Got to say though that Larry's response has made me feel physically sick and scared for humanity as anyone can make an error in dog training and responsibility from time to time and they shouldn't need to live in fear of some nutter killing their dog because of their error.
My lab at 11 is now fully trained and doesn't bother other people or dogs that don't want her attention but as a puppy I'm sure there was the odd embarrassing moment where she slipped from my control briefly.
The same goes with the training of children to be reasonable human beings. Accidents happen and sometimes a child might annoy or upset a stranger and it wouldn't be acceptable to pummel them to death in response. If Larry has that big a phobia of dogs that his default response is murder i suggest some therapy is in order to help control these responses.
Not had any issues walking. But get chased a lot on my bike. If the dog sounds aggressive I just sprint off.
The key is to manage the distance between you and the dog, enough not to get bitten, close enough to keep the dogs interest for a mile or so...
The key is to manage the distance between you and the dog, enough not to get bitten, close enough to keep the dogs interest for a mile or so…
Good luck!
how the pandemic has stopped all of the dog training clubs and therefore lots of untrained young dogs as as result.
No excuse at all. Thousands of YouTube videos and books available.
Sandboy, if you have time to get a phone out and start recording, why not just reach down and hold its collar or distract it by giving it a stroke. I get that some people are scared so don't do this but as a dog owner yourself describing a lovely young dog it doesn't sound like much of a threat