Irresponsible Dog Owners!

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Jody

Stubborn git
and the children tend not to eat or hump bikes.

Depends on where you live :laugh:
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Can you imagine the fury in the press if we put up the equivalent of these Dutch cycleway/footway reminder signs?
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smutchin

Cat 6 Racer
Location
The Red Enclave
in the eyes of the law they are not under control if not on a lead

Not strictly true. A dog will be considered to be "under control" if it returns to the owner when called. Obviously not the case for the OP, but I'm wary of taking his account at face value - it sounds like the dog's reaction was due to being startled. But ultimately, yes, it is the dog owner's responsibility to ensure that the dog is under control at all times, whether that's on the lead or off it. It would be simpler to have a blanket rule that dogs should be kept on the lead in public places but as @mjr says, that's not going to go down well with a nation of dog lovers.

I've always been wary of dogs since an incident when I was a young child, but became a dog owner just over a year ago for the first time, and it has opened my eyes in a big way. I have come to realise that a lot of my problems with dogs are down to my own behaviour towards them. It has certainly changed the way I ride on shared paths when there are dogs around.

Our dog does have a tendency to jump up and bark at cyclists, but that's why we do always keep him on a short lead whenever we're likely to encounter cyclists. And we're trying to train it out of him. More than anything else, I don't want him to get kicked.
 
OP
OP
hoppym27

hoppym27

Well-Known Member
My main point is this..... if you are walking your dog where you know cyclists are going to be in abundance it is your own personal responsibility to ensure your dog isnt a danger or hindrance to others....the same personal responsibility I take when cycling on the same path i.e riding slower, ringing my bell to alert people im there and covering my brakes.....surely thats not too much to ask?
 

BoldonLad

Not part of the Elite
Location
South Tyneside
My main point is this..... if you are walking your dog where you know cyclists are going to be in abundance it is your own personal responsibility to ensure your dog isnt a danger or hindrance to others....the same personal responsibility I take when cycling on the same path i.e riding slower, ringing my bell to alert people im there and covering my brakes.....surely thats not too much to ask?

Exactly! Consideration or Respect is a two way process.
 

Maenchi

StoneDog
Location
Cornwall
dogs and small children can both just decide to run straight at you ..................why?:crazy:........:smile:
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
dogs and small children can both just decide to run straight at you ..................why?:crazy:........:smile:
I don't remember small children ever running straight at me, but I guess bikes are commonplace here and they grow up learning how to interact. Unlike dogs, which never learn except when the pack leader (hopefully the owner) wants to teach them.

I remember riding along a small no-through-motors residential street and a maybe 7yo girl was playing in the road. Her mother told her to beware as I passed or similar and the child replied "don't be silly, Mummy, it's a bike and I'm not too close" (she was about 3m away). Human-scale transport :smile:
 

snorri

Legendary Member
Let's see:
Low to the ground - check
A bit stupid - check
Unpredictable - check
Owners will get antsy with you if you run it over/kick it in the face and claim "but I had priority" - check.

Makes a lot of sense to me.
You conveniently missed out that all to regular newspaper headline "Man hospitalised after random attack by toddler" - check.
 

glasgowcyclist

Charming but somewhat feckless
Location
Scotland
The OP knows that there are dogs loose on the path but...

The dog owner knows it's a shared path too so he should have his dog under proper control.

If I'm being attacked and escape isn't feasible, I'll fight back. If that means kicking my attacker that's too bad.

Some dogs are very fast runners and I'm not going to be forced to ride fast, in a panic, putting me (and possibly others) at further risk.
Sorry, but the threatening dog will get a dose of aversion therapy.
 

guitarpete247

Just about surviving
Location
Leicestershire
How many of the "dog freedom" supporters, on here, react the same way when they see a dog run out into the peleton.
Plus we had a selfish owner reaction a few years ago when walking with granddaughters along Dovedale. We were in a section that had signs to keep dogs on leads. GD's wanted to walk up a narrow path off the main track. It gets up to 2m above main path. We were walking below them in case of either slipping when a family with 2 dogs running all around them. Dogs spotted the girls and ran up the track towards them. Having had poor previous experience with dogs the GD's were nervous. As dogs charged towards them I ran up the embankment while the missus gave the twonk of an owner (who had 2 leads round his neck) a piece of her mind. The owner gave us the "They won't hurt them".
They may not bite them but if we weren't close by, causing a 4 & 7 year old to fall 2m certainly would have.
I have other stories of inconsiderate owners that could have lead to serious injury if we or parents hadn't been on the ball.
 
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