micromobility·micromobility - Bikes, scooters, boards: Whatever floats your goat, this is micromobilityby_haha_oh_wow_
Your dog is great, just not on the group ride
https://www.singletracks.com/community/opinion-i-like-dogs-but-i-dont-want-to-ride-with-your-dog/Open linkView original on sh.itjust.works
11 replies
Well, I don't have a dog in this fight (pun intended), because I don't do group rides. But it doesn't seem all that unreasonable to request that people not be expected to deal with your dog without prior clearance. Like showing up at the trailhead before you mention if you want to bring your dog along puts people who don't want to ride with your dog in an awkward position. To me it's just common courtesy. And even if he didn't have a daughter who was scared of dogs--take that out of the equation entirely--the behavior described in the article of the dog owners whose dogs were off-leash in a place that (presumably) required them to be on-leash is not acceptable. If your dog is off-leash in an area where leashes are required, you ought to have 100% voice command of that dog. As the author said, "usually" just doesn't cut it.
the guy's daughter has a phobia. and while I agree that unleashed dogs are an issue sometimes, the world does not need to be sanitized of dogs for trail rides just cause your 6 year old has an issue with them.
the chances of meeting a dog on a trail is not going to go away just because he's annoyed he has to deal with his daughter having a meltdown over even seeing a dog. and its irrational for him to expect that everyone will cater to that.
He definitely shouldn't expect people to leave their dogs at home just because his daughter doesn't like them, but people shouldn't have their dogs off-leash, allowing the dog to run up to any and everyone. It's unkind to people that might be frightened, and unfair to other dogs on-leash that might not respond well.
My current dog, a rescued Great Dane that is a big girl with an unknown past, loves people but has an aggressive fear response to other dogs. If your off-leash dog runs up to us, we all have a problem. I've taken 3 small, off-leash dogs out of her mouth and thankfully injuries have been minor. I dread the day a big dog comes at her because if that happens I'm going to have to drop the leash to keep from getting tangled up and injured myself. Who knows how it'll play out but I'll likely be suing some idiot for vet bills that could have been avoided by keeping their dog under control.
I've got a rescue dog too so I know this feeling. She's great with people - her reaction to other dogs can be difficult to predict. I have to take her outside because that's what a dog needs to live a healthy life. But sometimes outside comes with off-leash dogs that aren't under very good control.
Some more background... all 3 incidents I've had with my dog were walking in my neighborhood. She was on-leash and the other dogs were not. They all charged her. The first was just trying to be friendly I believe but freaked her out by standing on its back legs and pawing at her and things went sideways... it was our first experience with her and another dog the week we adopted her. Owner came out, was great and apologized. My wife and I were shook up though.
2nd incident again off-leash dog charged her while I was backing me and our dog up yelling for the owner to get their dog and for it to get back/stop, to no avail. Again owner was great and apologized but I still felt terrible even if the dog wasn't seriously injured.
3rd dog ran at us from behind and was in my dog's face - and mouth - before we even saw it. Like all 3 I put my hand in my dogs mouth to get her to let go and she thankfully did and the dog was OK. Owners weren't around and we found the dog left their backyard due to an open fence.
Where we live the law requires pets be on-leash. I can't help it if the dog's rush us. My "drop the leash" statement is really a matter of not knowing what I'll do if we ever get attacked by a large dog. We walked passed a house with 2 highly aggressive Rottweilers restrained only by an invisible fence and i have to say I started thinking about what I'd do if they decided to push past the fence. I can imagine a case where the dog fight gets crazy enough that I'm going to get tangled in the lead or bit by being in the mix. I'm not going to feel guilty for my possible reaction to some other dog owners' negligence. Are you going to try and limit your dog's ability to defend herself from being attacked by 2 huge dogs? I'm dropping the lead and not even sure what I'm doing after that. We don't walk down that street anymore.
Yeah, let the bullies win, if a judge saw that someone kept getting bullied by an off leash human(pos crotch goblin), it's surely means there is something wrong with the kid being picked on....right?
i didn't say anything of the sort. i just hope everyone stays safe.
i hope nothing happens to the kid in that scenario or the dog.
have a pleasant evening.
Yeah, it sounds like this author should work on desensitization for his daughter instead of expecting people to cater to an uncommon behavior.
If you read the whole piece, you'd find other relevant complaints. Like two occasions of dogs getting in the way of the ride, with one leading to a fall of the author.
No, thanks. I believe I got a pretty good understanding of the argument from what I did read. Mostly, I do not agree. Good dog ownership is something that should be championed. The few bad examples shouldn't cause punishment for everyone else.
This concern seems so niche