Son knocked off by loose dog

[Drago]

At last, a compliment from Glennys Fogey!

 

[Spinney]

Gentle mod reminder: This isn't the cafe, chaps, please try to keep to the cycling aspects of the thread.
Ta!

 

[Drago]

Any way, where we? Ah yes, dogs. I seem to recall a few decades back that the proverbial dog chasing a hapless cyclist was an accepted incident, with inevitable derision being aimed at the poor victim. Like drink driving, allowing ones dog to be in a position to behave in such a way seems to slowly be becoming socially unacceptable.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

I'm not in any way saying they should have got out of our way as it's our priority. My point was these inconsiderate people did nothing to protect their dog, or my son. Their action in this situation could have avoided it all together. I never said dogs should be on 6" leads.

If everyone behaved considerately, thinking of other road users (whatever form that may be) then there would be space for everyone to get along and use the roads etc. These particular owners lack of thought for their dogs safety, and that subsequently of my son, is what caused this (avoidable) accident

As the other responsible adult in this transaction, what did you do to protect your son or anticipate non human minds and reactions in a situation where you'd already encountered lots of them.

Your OP , most people with dogs off leads, one even already making a nuisance of itself with you as the the savvy local amongst a bunch of ignorant tourist types.

Did you have a word with your son and point out the possibility of a random dog? Before or after the spaniel had mithered you? or maybe suggest that tourist dog owners may be distracted more by the touristy scenery than you and he?

If you trust him on the roads with all their possible hazards then he's clearly a decent rider & a bright lad who would pick up on your advice.

Hoefully lessons learned by all the responsible adults.

 

[mjr]

By a parallel, should kids not be allowed to play football in the park in case the ball runs out and a (completely innocent) cyclist is knocked off as a result?

Funny you should say that. As I was about to turn into Stiffkey Close today, a football from the children playing on the green ran out in front of me. I'd seen it and slowed down in time to let the ball pass. Sadly, speeding up to kick it back wasn't an option. I can't accelerate that quick on that bike!

I did think of this thread and wonder how many cyclechatters would have gone over the bars and come online to grumble about out of control children running wild and maiming cyclists

 

[simongt]

Having spent the first forty years of my life with dogs, I can say that a lot of the problem is that owning a dog comes with the responsibility of TRAINING said dog/s. Now training a dog means a LOT of hard work and patience over a period of time. Too many owners won't put the necessary amount of time and effort into this which is why there are so many undertrained dogs about. What does really bug me and the GLW is when a dog comes rushing up to you all muddy paws and slobbery jowls and tries to jump up on you. Then the owner says meekly 'Aww, he/she's only playing - !' No, that's just an excuse for your inadequate training and assumption that everyone likes dogs.

 

[Easytigers]

Not really wanting to get into a debate but sharing an incident that happened with my son.

We were away on a holiday in a caravan. Visiting a zoo, we went to the soft play area and he fell (soft play!) and broke his arm! Ended up staying over in hospital away from home and needless to say he was pretty distraught.

We returned to the caravan the following day...he couldn't swim etc so I suggested a nice walk. Half way through, we were walking down a quiet path when a large dog bounded up and knocked my son over. He then proceeded to lick him to death...I make light of it now but my son was absolutely hysterical and I've never seen him so scared in his life. He can't even walk past a dog now and has awful nightmares. I knew that the dog was 'playing' but had to physically lift the dog off and keep it away from him.

The owner strolled along, taking in that my son was hysterical, and just said...don't worry she's just young and wants to play...

I'm a very calm person but nearly broke!

it's really sad as I want my son to get over it but we're really struggling. The other day I hadn't noticed that there was a dog on a lead and he ran from my side into a road as he was so worried...luckily the car stopped in time!

 

[Yazzoo]

@Easytigers that sounds awful, hope your son comes to terms with it soon, how old is he? Have you got any friends with friendly dogs he can spend time with to try to help maybe? One of our dogs is huge, but still a baby, and if off lead would have probably done exactly what you said, he loves children, has grown up with ours obviously etc - but if you're not a dog person his size and breed makes him look like a big scary wolf running at you, some people have crossed the road to avoid him (always on lead) but he has that wolfy look and big size which seems to amplify and dog fear people have, despite being the wettest, friendliest of our three!

Undeterred we have done 22 miles this morning so hopefully no lasting damage caused!

 

[Crackle]

it's really sad as I want my son to get over it but we're really struggling. The other day I hadn't noticed that there was a dog on a lead and he ran from my side into a road as he was so worried...luckily the car stopped in time!

One of the reasons and I stress one, nor do I necessarily advocate it for you but one of the reasons we have a dog, was sparked by an incident in which a playful dog chased my son up the beach. The fear and panic I saw in his face, I can still see now, so it made an impression. Once we owned one and he learnt to read them that fear went and it may be something a simple as spending time around a trusted dog will help. Not an easy one to tackle though.