hey buddy can you move forward so my dog can't see you?
 

Some guy asked me that at a stoplight. I laughed and looked forward. He had a pitbull in the front seat with the window and sure enough the dog tried to jump out and he cought it. What would you have done? I was very temped to mace the Ba$stard.

Tell him to keep his dog under control. If you feel like it, get his plate number and report it to animal control -- an animal that lunges at anyone in view shouldn't be out in public. Using mace on a dog that's being restrained by its owner would have gotten you in a world of ****, and deservedly so.

His dog, his responsibility to train and/or control it. And if the dog is jumping around like that inside the vehicle, he's risking a careless driving ticket or worse.

I get REALLY annoyed by people who expect others to change their behaviour to accomodate the first person's poorly trained pets OR children.

I don't get upset real easy -- but that I share that view...

Mace the owner and the dog.

I probably would have jumped in the car and played with the dog. Can't fault a dawg for being a dawg.

Y'all are freaks. ;p

My dog is a big, sweet lab mix from the shelter. He's 4 years old and 100 pounds. He would never hurt a fly. Meanwhile... he freaks the F out at EVERY bicycle and motorcycle that ride by the house. The barking is SO loud. I have no idea why he hates bikes so much. It's a sickness I guess. Should I "control" my dog better? Umm, good luck with that. I do make sure he isn't outside off leash where there is any possibility of bike traffic, but I can't keep the boy from barking.

Anybody know why some dogs hate bikes and freak out so? My dog was much quieter and calmer until my wife became pregnant with the girls. Maybe he started being more protective? Who knows...

I'm going to guess you aren't asking people not to bike past your house, though! That's the kind of thing I mean. You're doing a reasonable amount by not letting him off leash when there might be bikes, and that's fair.

Or, if it was possible to do so, you could have said "sure, no problem" and moved forward a bit.

Why is everyone so confrontational? He asked a request, you didnt have to oblige, but you also didnt have to think about macing a dog when you could have simply moved forward and avoided the situation.

Bingo.

It was a simple, reasonable, polite request.

No doubt. How hard is it to roll forward a few feet so the guy does not have to deal with an excited dog in his cab? It's not like the dog is capable of abstract and rational thought.

Or he could have rolled up his window. Or backed up. Or pulled forward.

I doubt a vehicle would have been able to back up or pull forward while at a stoplight without running into another car.

Rolling up the window is another solution, but the man chose to ask the man to move forward a bit.

A little bit of courtesy goes a long way.

Fail

How do you know if the driver was stopped in front of another car or had room before the stop line?

lame

I wouldnt care to have the jaws of death clamped around my leg, so I probably wouldve just moved forward, muttered some profanaties under my breath and be thankful that I still had both legs while hoping to never encounter this beast again.

So, let me get this straight... The majority of commuters here on these very forums demand equal rights to the road and piss and moan when they aren't treated with respect as another vehicle on the road, then when someone's dog gets inconvenienced, the commuter is supposed to act like a kid on a toy and get away from the man, his dog and his car?

Give me a break. People have said that it was unlikely that the car could have moved forward or back, and the OP was at the intersection beside the dog/car/driver... Cyclist moves up into the CROSSWALK and is now obstructing pedestrian traffic and, if he's supposed to be another vehicle, he is not supposed to be in the crosswalk. The dog is barking out the side window at the cyclist and we're supposed to believe that if the cyclist moves forward a couple of feet that the dog would not then be barking at the windshield? I call BS.

So many of the posters who have posted about moving forward and common courtesy and all that crap are the same ones who have stated in other threads that once you step across the top tube you cease to be a pedestrian. I suggest that you make up your minds.

I'm guessing that everyone here who has ever driven a vehicle has, at one time or another, encountered a dog wildly barking at you while at a stop light, while in your car. Would you have been so courteous as to have moved forward a few feet into oncoming traffic just to possibly placate a dog? I doubt it very seriously.

The driver chose to bring his dog along, possibly knowing how the animal reacts to cyclists. The dog and its actions are his responsibility, not anyone else's.

Demand the rights of the road or don't, but don't be wishy-washy when someone else decides to take their rightful place in traffic with the rest of the vehicles along the commute.

The dog was in a car... You read that part, right? Not likely to be ankled by the dog from inside a car.

+1

Very eloquently put.

So what you're saying is, you are looking for a confrontation whenever you go out riding because you dont want to be a decent human being. Gotcha.

Absolutely. Clearly the driver knew his dog was dangerous. A dangerous dog should not be allowed in public. And the owner certainly shouldn't expect deferential treatment from others to accommodate his dangerous dog.

Some dogs just have strange behaviour about some things... I have one dog that will not go under any sort of line or barrier... has no problem with going under my desk or the kitchen table, but will not go under a rope strung horizontally from two points. (this was really funny when we had some construction and barriers in various places).

But in spite of this... I do agree with the premise that we should not have to accomodate pets and children in any special way.

The OP never said that he was at the front of the stoplight, he never exercised the circumstances on whether or not he had the ability to move forward, so I cant say if he had room or not. If you remember, I did say "if you had the room". If he didnt have the room, he could have said "Sorry man, if I move forward enough I'll be out in traffic."

Oh, stop it, for heaven's sake. Go sweep up all that straw. Heavens to Betsy.

Wow, you read into a lot don't you. I don't see how you read that though. I think what he's saying is that it's HIS problem, not the person on the bike. I agree with the one's saying this. I don't go looking for a confrontation, but I do want people to leave me the hell alone though. If I was in a car and the dog was barking at me, the guy wouldn't have asked me to move forward.

Anyone care to fit this in with the story?

Some of you need to keep your eye on the ball and lose the drama.