Twice in a row now I’ve had to pull my dog in another direction due to people walking their dogs without a leash. Why tf do you feel so confident in your damn dog to not react? In fact I don’t fucking care. It’s a fucking law and it’s inconsiderate of other individuals and their pets. Seriously fuck you. Nobody cares how well trained your dog is or whatever the fuck you’re doing to stroke your damn ego.
Took my dog for a walk once to the local field and this teen with a puppy off leash just allowed her dog to come right up to mine. My dog flipped out. The teen said, “It’s okay, my dog is friendly!” I spat back, “My dog isn’t!” while she flipped out at the end of her leash. Thankfully she has never graduated out of her gentle leader so I always have control, but seriously. My (rescue) dog has leash aggression and anxiety but she still deserves to go on walks in peace.
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Working dogs are no joke. We have a Doberman puppy, and I have to take him for hikes every day, plus he needs lots of self-directed playtime, training, some sort of job like nose work, interactive toys and games, and a bunch of time to chew. He’s an amazing dog when he gets all of those things, but if life gets in the way and we miss something on a given day, he’s like “I’ma fuck something up real good!”, and we can see the boredom kick into destructive searching.
As a working-line Shepherd owner, people just don’t understand that working dogs are on a whole other level.
We had a dog like that. He had plenty of socialization, but he just hated other dogs that weren’t our second dog. But he was cute so people always crossed the street to come say hi, even though I crossed the street to get away from them. I finally started yelling out “HE BITES!” and that solved the problem. He didn’t really bite, but he would growl and nip at other dogs, and I hated putting him through that.
“The dog doesn’t bite, but I am mean as hell.”
I hike with my dog off-leash every day, but I do it in a remote area. I’ve run into other people only twice, and both times they had off-leash dogs too. We saw each other from a quarter mile away, recalled our dogs, and leashed them. I think I’m behaving in an appropriate manner.
Are you saying that you see people walking their dogs without leashes in the city? Because that’s just crazy!
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I can’t imagine having a dog off-leash in an unfenced urban area. That’s just crazy! Even the best trained dog in the world can have a spaz out moment which ends in tragedy.
I’m partially disabled with chronic spinal issues, but I can still do a physical therapy routine on a bike. Any behavior that asks me to “trust you” is no different to me than pointing a loaded gun at my head. Walking on the left side, keeping a leashed dog on the left side, walking a dog without a leash, doing anything inconsistent or unpredictable on any bike path (right of way laws exist and apply to everyone all the time without exception), or some stupid child acting irresponsibly on a bike; all are threatening my life with eminent danger. You can’t see how much I’m hurting just to be on a bike or what I’m going through each and every day. On a bike I look reasonably normal.
Every time you see someone doing something stupid that puts other people at risk in public, that person is telling themselves “trust me, this is fine”; all those terrible drivers and close calls you’ve had, they are all this same paradigm. Every time you say out loud, or to yourself, trust me you are everyone else’s dimwitted imbecile. No excuses.
keeping a leashed dog on the left side
I don’t understand this statement. Dogs are typically trained to heel on the left side, so that the person has their dominant hand free.
On a bike trail in the USA, right of way is to maintain ‘as far to the right as practicable’. In practice, a dog on the left side while walking in a right of way is an irresponsible hazard where the passing lane is endangered by the random behavior of a domestic animal. In my 170k miles on a bike, I’ve encountered countless times when a dog crosses the line when passing, even in instances when multiple traffic is passing in both directions and full attention is required. Your first responsibility on a bike path is always the right of way. Nearly all injuries on a bike path are due to right of way failures. I have had crashes, I have seen many crashes, and I watched a 36 year old mother die in front of her two kids from such a crash. Right of way is absolutely essential on every roadway and bike path.
It is hard to see the scale of the issue if you do not ride a road bike. Even with disability, I’m riding a 26 mile route. When walking, your scale of time and traffic are very different. What seems like the few people you encounter and the seriousness of the issue are different. You may see a dozen people in an hour. On a bike, the person may be riding 100 miles and encountering several hundred people just like you. People on the wrong side or creating hazards are somewhere around 1 in 20 to 1 in 100. Many such hazards act entitled or oblivious. On a bike, at speed, it is nearly impossible to predict them all. Healthy riders generally just ignore or become totally indifferent and just buzz you for it.
The thing is, from a distance and at speed, it is impossible to gauge how long a leash is, dog temperaments, training, size, or the cognitive state of the person on foot. None of that is the problem or responsibility of the passing rider. The only responsibility is to pass safely when it is clear in the designated passing lane. No one has a right to endanger or potentially endanger anyone that may use that designated passing lane. Lines are not lanes, and you do not have a right to occupy a lane width either. The obligation is to be as far to the right as practicable. Even multiple people occupying a lane is not legal and is subject to legal recourse. A bike path with a designated right of way is not a sidewalk. That right of way can mean life or death and the laws in California back that up well. Elsewhere your results may vary.
Oh, well a pedestrian and a dog have no business on a bike path anyways. That’s the source of your problem, not the fact that dogs are typically trained to walk on the left.
On a bike, the person may be riding 100 miles and encountering several hundred people just like you.
No need to get personal. I don’t take my dog on bike paths. Like I said above, we have no business there. I do ride bikes, and thankfully I’ve never seen any other dogs on those paths either. It’s not an issue where I live. I can see why you’re frustrated though.
Not intended as personal. I almost never take on a direct adversarial perspective, but I tend to use the indefinite personal pronoun form of you poorly, and apologize for such. Thanks for your understanding.
S’all good man.
Have you considered installing those spinning blades on your wheels like they used in old James Bond movies?
^Disclaimer: this is not legal advice^
No but I have learned to call out “broke neck disabled guy” constantly at anyone that is acting unpredictably or hazardous. Funny thing is since I started doing that ~2019, all traffic on the trails I ride seems to have improved drastically. I’m MUCH more regular than most. I still get random new people problems, but there are not poorly behaving neighborhood cultures like there were in the past.
I usually ride in the evening or at night anyways because after riding I’m physically and mentally totally useless. I am only on the road with traffic for the first three quarters of a mile from home. I can’t see over my left shoulder due to neck issues. I must sit up and rotate my lumbar spine to see behind me. After years of commuting and observing how hard it is to judge distances with bike lights at night, and noticing how automotive lighting has shifted to more and more modern cars casting a lot of light onto the ground directly around the vehicle – I started riding with a second taillight on my non-drive-side chainstay pointed at the ground. It lights up my left leg some as I pedal which, even at a distance clearly indicates I’m a cyclist. The light also shows exactly where I am when a vehicle is closing distance and it shows my true width along with what 3 feet looks like in practice. I also run another taillight under my saddle pointed straight behind me.
I'd call that my non lethal spinning blade. It is a little corny IMO, but I'm a cat that has fully spent 8 of 9 lives with no buffer left to give.
That black bar shadow is the foot rail/ski/skid/thingy of a raised lifeguard shack my bike was proped up against.
An older friend carries a can of pepper spray for camping/bears. Others I know often replace missing water bottles, while others prefer a longer steel frame pump.
Have you considered installing rear view mirrors so that you have easier visibility behind you and over your shoulder? I put some on my recumbent and they’re awesome. Are you riding a recumbent? If not, I highly suggest one. I have back and neck issues too from a motorcycle accident decades ago, and it turned my bike rides from annoying and painful, to enjoyable and easy. I still ride a regular mountain bike, but my days of regular road bikes are over.
Just ignore them and keep the focus on what you’re doing. If your dog respects you, they’ll follow your lead.
Your dog can feel your energy. If you start getting worked up at the sight of an unleashed dog, yours is far more likely to get anxious and react.
I’m getting downvoted for not taking responsibility for other dog owners’ lack of control. Cool.
If my dog is off the leash and under control, your dog is your problem, not mine.
Yeah unless they have anxiety and leash aggression. Some dogs have PTSD from stuff that happened before you got them. Staying calm only does so much.
That’s still not the unleashed dog/owners problem.
Your dog doesn’t think “That dog’s offa leash! I go chase!”
They’re going to react regardless.
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Okay, but you somehow missed the part where my dog is under control and not interacting with your dog.
My dude, you are just doing Main Character Syndrom… 'Yea other people suck, but what if I was doing it but like in a slightly different way?!"
No. No you’re NOT special. Stop it. You’re merely trying to inject yourself while removing peoples’ specific complaints from the scenario.
This isn’t about you or your well behaved dog. This is about how it’s irresponsible towards others. You know others? People besides you? They actually exist.
My dog is scared of all dogs. She jumped into my arms like friggin scooby doo the other day when a poodle ran up to us. The lady kept saying “shes friendly! shes friendly!” over and over. Madam I am holding a 60 pound animal like a frightened child, we don’t want to meet you. I had to walk away carrying my dog because she wouldn’t get her dog away from me.
100% Fuck you and fuck your unleashed dog. Mostly fuck you.
I let’m hear it though, directly. I also kicked some stupid woman’s unleashed aggressive dog in the face, no compunction whatsoever.
Lady, I will fuck your dog up before I let it near mine.
