Cyclists urged to slow in parks

[LOGAN 5]

Running in the park once and an off the lead and clearly out of control dog in a public place thought he'd take a bite out of my leg. Not a word from the owner until I swung around and made to kick the ***ing thing then he shouted a load of abuse at me because I'd dared to stop his dog biting me

Some dog owners are awful - not all of course but a fair proportion especially those who don't pick up their dog's mess.

 

[Jake]

you should rdie throug the poo remembering to take your mudguard off first, so that it flys back into their faces! (why am i so angry, deep breaths)

 

[the reluctant cyclist]

Re the article on canal towpath cyclists - I got moaned at the other day for cycling on the towpath.... and it was by a dog owner.

I could see the dog owner and his spaniel walking up ahead and I went really really slowly and then as I was just behind them I went really wide to overtake them - seriously not at more than 4/5 mph - the bloke shouted at me that I shouldnt' be on the path etc etc and muttered on and on as I rode away.

I'm not sure what the regulation is but I would have thought that there was room for everyone - with care - on the towpath?

Can't bloody win can we:-

On the road - get on the pavement you stupid b*tch.... or bibbed at constantly just for being there!?
On the pavement - illegal.
Cycle paths - For a start what cycle paths and secondly - why do they just end?! No warning, nothing! Whoops where did that cycle path go?
Parks - watch me dog FFS.
Canals - watch me dog FFS.

The list is endless really!

Just my Thursday afternoon rant really!

Oh and by the way I LOVE dogs and am forever nagging my husband to let us have one - my motto is never trust a man who doesn't like a dog!! (Hubby likes them by the way just not the vets bills!)

 

[Jake]

well there is a sign at the top end of the towpath saying dogs wshould be kept on a lead, and clean up after your dog poo!

 

[hackbike 6]

I prefer the AirZound to a little bell, far more effective at scattering peds I find!

I find my new double horn sound* very effective...It does actually fool motorists at a guess that they think they are being honked by another car.

*=The idea was thought up after yet more peds didn't see me and I blew the horn on the wrong side.I had two buttons now joined into one.

Airzound was good but half the time it was flat or I forgot to fill it up.

 

[Auntie Helen]

I'm a dog owner and cyclist and can see both sides of the argument.

My dog, being a weimaraner, is rather keen on chasing 'prey' and that used to include cyclists and skaters. Obviously I did my utmost to prevent this (and we seem to pretty much have it sorted now) but whilst we were training her out of this behaviour (she was a second-hand dog) we had a few lapses. The main reason was that bikes are so dead quiet. We'd be ambling along in the park, dog off the lead of course, and suddenly a bike would whizz past me. I don't mind that, the path's wide enough, only Lucy Locket would then take off after them for a race. It was always just a race, nothing vicious, but of course the poor cyclist didn't know that!

I used to regularly check around the park that there weren't cyclists coming but one or two would be so quick or would have been briefly hidden behind trees or something that they would get past me unawares. I was always very apologetic but I know it wasn't fun for the cyclist.

As I hinted earlier, Lucy Locket has now been trained out of that habit (every time a cyclist appeared on the horizon I called her to me, made her sit, the cyclist went past whilst she was sitting and she then got a treat). In fact she quite likes cyclists because it usually means she comes to me and gets a treat. But it wasn't particularly easy with a grown dog and the occasional lapses when I didn't hear/see cyclists coming didn't help the training programme.

There are, of course, irresponsible dog owners who just let them roam and hassle everyone. I would hope most responsible cyclists are also responsible dog owners.

 

[Jake]

sounds great, wish there were more peole like you. The inline skatter, is that what they are called? got hunted down and attacked by one of those council estate dogs while he was zooming down the road one evening! lots of cuts and grazes

 

[Crackle]

Fantastic, thats the worms sorted out. Just a hideous cocktail of enteric bacteria to be concerned with.

The idea that wiping the ground with a bit of tissue or a plastic bag will effectively sanitise grass exposed to raw dog s41t is, if you'll excuse me, barking. By all means, keep a pet for your own entertainment; how is exposing others to untreated residue of your carnivores excreta (orders of magnitude more dubious than the fairly inocuous droppings of a horse) fair?

Enteric bacteria is also determined by what you feed your dog. Give it a decent diet, keep it wormed and you reduce this massively. For instance Salmonella is common in rendered foods so if you don't feed your dog rendered food you don't pass it on to him.

Aside from cleaning up after your dog so that there's know trace of faeces what else do you suggest, have a street cleaner follow you.

As for hypocrisy, that's quite laughable, sorry it is. Name any activity or interest which you do and I'll point out the hypocrisy involved in it, including cycling.

I'm glad you like dogs, I was beginning to form the impression that you lived in a joyless world, now I just think you take joy from crushing other peoples enjoyment.

 

[Cab]

Lawks Cab, you're very passionate about *everything*.

I'm not, but you can rest assured that if I open my mouth on a subject I probably mean it. I can rarely be arsed otherwise.

 

[Cab]

Enteric bacteria is also determined by what you feed your dog. Give it a decent diet, keep it wormed and you reduce this massively. For instance Salmonella is common in rendered foods so if you don't feed your dog rendered food you don't pass it on to him.

The bactarial flora of the intestinal tract of any mammal with a mixed diet will contain bacteria that, if they get in via cuts, abraisions or through ingestion, get up to no good. Fact. Deal with it.

If you take your dog out and it s1hts then you're spreading bacteria that are potentially harmful and no amount of changing diet can prevent it.

Aside from cleaning up after your dog so that there's know trace of faeces what else do you suggest, have a street cleaner follow you.

You cannot clean up the bacterial by any practical means and cleaning the area properly. If you don't do that then you're basically saying to the world that they just have to put up with your animals s41t spreading bacteria about. Don't believe me? Go ahead, take a smear from the site where you've 'cleaned' the dog muck and grow it up on, say, nutrient agar. See what you get.

As for hypocrisy, that's quite laughable, sorry it is. Name any ctivity or interest which you do and I'll point out the hypocrisy involved in it, including cycling.

Go on then, tell me, how does cycling make me a hypocrite?

The truth is that if you're an animal lover and you keep a carnivorous pet fed on any intensively farmed foods (which means commercial dogfoods, unless you've been out and seen for yourself the standards to which the meat was produced) then you're a hypocrite. To put one animal (or many) through the barbarism that is factory farming to feed another is the antithesis of being an animal lover. Its blatant hypocrisy.

I'm glad you like dogs, I was beginning to form the impression that you lived in a joyless world, now I just think you take joy from crushing other peoples enjoyment.

Ooh, how melodromatic. And your mother smells like elderberries. Happy now?

 

[Origamist]

Very informative - you certainly know a lot about sh1t, Cab...!

 

[Crackle]

Well first I'm not an animal lover. All animals have a purpose including my dog.

Secondly I eat intensively farmed foods myself and, I repeat, 'cause you don't seem to get it. I don't feed my dog rendered foods. ergo I have no issues with feeding him. I also have no issues with people feeding their dogs commercial foods if they so choose. I would advise them not to for many reasons but if they choose to do so that's up to them.

Thirdly, so dogs produce bacteria. Lots of other things do to, including humans. Next time you've got a cold make sure you stay indoors so you don't spread it, because you might justy kill some old lady with it. I'd also advise you to be vary careful next time you're cleaning your wheelie bin. I assume you do clean it don't you, what with all the bacteria in there and what not?

The fact is you have an unreasonable dislike of people who have dogs. You are unable to deal with or acknowledge that people can act responsibly with dogs. Instead you tar everyone with the same brush and hide your dislike behind a smokescreen of toxicology. Go on admit it.

 

[Jake]

groan.

 

[4F]

groan.

This thread really has gone down hill once the dog hater arrived

 

[Cab]

Very informative - you certainly know a lot about sh1t, Cab...!

You might say I've had professional dealings with sh1t