nova

Heheh dogs are great. Beneti from the time he was a puppy i use to pick him up one hand on each side and do a false body slam with him. As he got older he got to big to do that with obviously but id get him all hyper and running hed come charging and id just touch him on the side and hed toss him self side ways and go sliding on his side. I had concerned drivers call the animal control and humain sociaty (sp?) on me many times. Like i could realy send a 80 to 90 pound dog sliding like that.

In the winter months and if you read the breed info on the page youll have a good understandign of the breed and their tempreture extream tolerance. He would sleep under the snow in the dead of winter. Here in ohio in a bad year temps can go as low as 1 or 20 below with out wind chill in the worst part of winter. He would sleep in the snow under the snow or even on top of it even when it was that cold. Well one day early in the winter we had a solid 2 foot of snow on the ground with drifts of 3 to 4 feet around the house and of corse this included his own dog house. Well some driver goes down the street and sees him mostly burried in the snow and reports us.

I of corse have no clue that they did this. Im heading out to feed him and check his water and add to his water if needed when the animal control officer pulls up. And tells me of the complaint. Im like huh?

he then tells me that some one reported that i had a dog out side that could not get to shelter and was laying dead just under the snow. I said dead to the world maybe but unless some one shot him or beat him to death hes fine at this point i yelled his name 2 or 3 times He realy wasnt ready to get up so he slowly gets up. Does this big old stretch and ever so slowly comes over to us.

The animal control officer had this expresion on his face a mix of what the hell and curiosity about the breed beneti was. Corse he asked why i didnt take him in during the coldest of nights. Simply put beneti loved the cold it was the time of year he liked the best.

I had him in one night in 20 below weather with 30 to 40 below wind chill and he cried and wined all night long till i took him back out. Instead of going to his dog house he walked over to his now burried water dish dug it out busted the thin layer of ice drank a good bit then dug out his little tunnel under his dog house and went to bed. Next mornign he was back out under the snow with only the top of his head visable.

In the winter i tripped over him more than once while he was under the snow.

When you see one a rod ridge back you think that they are a thin coated breed wrong they have quite thick fur coats with many layers of hair tightly packed. They also dont shed very much summer or winter just the top layer for the most part. In the winter their coat goes from a dark red (its why many people call them rodesian red ridge backs as they look like you poured paint or blood down their back) t a much lighter orange/tan color

slowandsteady

Well, where I live I get chased almost daily by a dog. Lots of farm land, no leashes. Once so far, a dog caught up to me and bit my ankle on every down stroke. I had to go to the hospital and get rabies shots. They go directly into the wound you know. Not fun. I have since carried mace. Since I live in a rural area, hostile drivers(heck any drivers) are virtually nonexistant. But the threat of dogs is real, and not just yappy ones. How about dobermans, rottweilers, labradors, and great pyranees? And I have never had any wild animal chase me. Squirrels, groundhogs, chipmunks, and rabbits are not known to chase humans, as they aren't carnivores.

nova

Think im gona see if the mods will maybe make a sticky for pet talk in another sub forum heh.

AshevilleFusion

Some years ago I was sitting on my front steps minding my own business when one of our cats chased a chipmunk toward me. It ran up onto the toe of one of my boots, paused, then headed up the inside of my pant leg. For a paleface I did a pretty creditable war dance

Worse than that, though, was another critter encounter whilst motorcycling: had a hornet zoom inside a nostril and sting me. Got the bike stopped okay. Swole up some. Sought Emergency Medication at the nearest tavern.

- Dave, having had no recent encounters with chipmunks, hornets, or firewater

nova

Lol at the chipmonk.
Some of my funniest moments on bikes is having birds fly along side in one case had a bird shadowing me like that for over a mile was quite intresting. This was on a mtb back in the woods i asume the bird was shadowing me to get any bugs i was stiring up every once and a while it would fly off a ways or slow down and do a couple quick darty turns and fly back to its positions to my right rear or would fly back and forth behind me.

One of the more strange and some what scary encounters was a coyote in the woods doign the same thing but further away. Only guess on that one is it was hoping for me to spook a rabbit so it could get a easy meal. Makes sence as the trails I road on on my mtb were frequented by mountain bikers and mostly created by them.

Corse i got stung may many times on mtb road bike bmx etc. It got to the point where i didnt even bother stopping after a bee sting. Its funny but if you dont have alergic reactions to bee stings they get to the point where they dont even bother you after a while.

I tend to not worry bout getting dog bit on bikes Im more worried about owners with to long of leashes cloths lining me with them. Last year aloan i ran over about 5 fully extended run out leashes the big 12 to 20 foot deals that as far as im concerned shuld not even be sold.

SingingSabre 

+1

I'm not afraid of making a few enemies. Hell, I'm a Mexican Jew...there's not a country in the world that doesn't have a row with a part of me. Besides, I think I'm permanently on ILTB's enemy list.

On a more serious note, bbonnn has a good point. If someone corrects a dangerous behaviour for any reason, that's a positive result.

filtersweep

I am conflicted on this matter. I love animals, but unfortunately, some dog owners are arrogant a¤¤holes. I was biking on the bike superhighway back home, where it is clearly posted to keep dogs on leashes (there are separate bike trails in each direction and a separate ped. trail. A large dog came at me out of some weeds and I screeched to a stop to avoid him/her. I saw the owner and nicely told HER that she might want to keep her dog on a leash-- of course she told me to "**** off" and unleashed a string of profanities. It was rather uncalled for.

The problem is that the owner deserves a worse fate than the dog. Dogs are just generally stupid-- owners should know better.

KrautFed

Yea, I am a dog lover too. Hopefully buying an Australian Shepard pup within a year, I love herding dogs.

Its not as if I dont think the dog owner was neglecting the fact that her little dog chases bikes. Like I said, this is a small subdivision on the side of town where NO ONE cycles. I'm pretty sure I was the first cyclist ever on that street, and the dog owner was probably just having her little yapper outside while she was tooling around in the flower bed.

I guess my fear is that the woman doesnt understand what I am doing, and causes hostility. I cut my cool down short just because I had this sinking feeling that the 2nd time I passed by, she was going to say "why are you trying to get my dog to chase you again?". I guess I'm being passive aggressive but this is near my parents house, and they don't even live on that street, so I am a stranger. Showing up at the same time everyday doing my cool down will probably ease things... get the owner used to my riding, the dog used to the bike, and everyone will be cool.

The best thing about the street is the little kids following me trying to keep up with their streamers and training wheels.

slowandsteady

At least the cat didn't decide to follow that chipmunk up your pant leg. Now that would have been painful!

slowandsteady

I haven't had to mace any dogs yet, but I know I will feel guilty when I do. I love animals and have a ton of pets myself, all the way from chickens, cats, a dog, to horses and goats. I just wish there was some way to mace the owners instead. It isn't the dog's fault it is blindly following its instincts. That is why there are leash laws, dogs just don't know any better, and they can be deadly. In my case, I was chased and bitten by an Australian cattle dog. I am sure it was just trying to herd me and as they do with sheep, he bit my ankles to make me comply.

nova

Thats exactly what he was doing. To hiim your are a strangly shaped animal not a person.

You got to admit we sure do look prety weird with our helmets and our bike wheels sure dont look like any legs they have ever seen. The dog simply grabbed the part of the "body" that was movign the most. Likly didnt even relize you were a person till he got a good smell of you.

Ive had dogs go from acting vicious to friendly when im at a yard sale with my helmet on and then take it off. The helmet changes my shape from that of a person to that of some unknown animal. Some dogs high tail it the other direction others will bite or threaten to others will run up to you then back off when you look at them or move and repeat.

2manybikes

Most towns have leash laws. Many towns or even parks etc. will have them available on line.

Use the computer to see if there is a leash law and report the owner to the police if the owner is putting the dog or a cyclist in any danger. This may be the best thing for the dog. Keep putting in complaints to the police and keep records of your complaints to build your case if needed.

Paul Graham

<grins>
Reminds me of a golden retriever that belongs to the owner of a bike shop not far from here. She sometimes brings the dog to work, where it "helps" around the shop.

First time I met this dog, I was standing outside the shop with a group of other cyclists. Dog is used to bicycles, of course, so spinning wheels and people in helmets don't faze it a bit...but the moment it saw me, it went into a defensive stance, front paws stretched way out in front of it, head down, barking frantically. It wasn't acting aggressive, just scared, and calling its owner for backup.

The owner grinned and translated the barks for me: "He says you have too many eyes." I stood there looking confused and foolish for a few seconds before I figured out what she meant: just about everyone there was wearing helmets, but mine was the only helmet with an LED light strapped to the top. From the dog's point of view, I was some kind of wierd three-eyed monster, and he was justifiably alarmed.

The moment I took off the helmet and became a standard-issue, two-eyed creature, the dog was suddenly my best friend, wagging his tail and leaning his head against me to get his ears scratched in recognition of what a Good Dog he'd been in chasing off the monster who was here a second ago.


Epilogue:
I told this story to a coworker of mine later that day. His comment was, "That's a damned smart dog. He could even read the logo on your light."

Again, took me a second to catch on: Cateye.

bmclaughlin807

Dogs most certainly are NOT stupid! Untrained and/or inexperienced, maybe, but never stupid.

mechBgon

!

sgtsmile

We had this amazing hilarious dog once, a cross between a border collie and a austrialian shepherd. She had a collie face, but was coloured and textured much like a timber wolf. She was gorgeous and exceptionally smart and fast as hell. I LOVED that dog (she wigged out on us - the original owners, bastards that they were, crated her 24/7 and bred her on her first heat - when we got her, she was 1 year old and broken and could not handle us leaving for work every day and ruined our apt - big dog for an apt, but she got 5 plus km of running and two walks a day - we gave her to a farm where she lived for years running around like a mad fool).

Anyhow, I was on a walk with her using a nose lead clipped to her buckle collar (only way to steer that muscle beast ;p) when a loose lab/wolf hound charged us. I gave my dog a bit of lead so she could move and waited. This other dog was about 100% bigger than Mishka (my mutt) and started giving her a hard time. Mishka just sat there while this other dog sniffed her, climbed on her, and harassed her. Then, with no warning (growl, bark, etc) she rotated in her skin (you had to see it to know what i mean) and lunged straight up for its throat. There was an audible clack of teeth. The massive dog did a true cartoon physics moment as it levitated straight up, rotated, and accellerated back to its own house yipping like mad. Mishka never touched him. The funny thing is, she then sat down, tounge out to one side, one ear up and one down, and laughed her ass off.

I wish we had had enough room to give her a dedicated room of her own that she could flip out in when we went to work - if that had happened, we would still have her.

I feel much the same as most on this thread, I like dogs, but not while on the bike (some exceptions - like the aussie shepherds and lab I saw the other day trained to run with but NOT HERD mtn bikes - beautiful animals). I have a doggie survival tip for you though: SLOW DOWN. If a family is walking with a dog, the dog will identify the family as its pack. If you come up to its pack at a high speed (by its definition, not the pack's...) it will move to intercept to defend the pack. I wonder how many "dog charges cyclist on path" attacks are just that. So please slow to a walk if the dog is off the lead and say hi. If the pack boss (owner) is cool with you, the dog likely will be too and not bother you. As well, please ask them to hold the dog. Most people will. (ok ok, some will sic it on you with intent to see you mauled- happened to a friend of mine who booted the dog in the head with mtn bike shoes - result? end of dog, and terrified owner who ran like the blazes - never sick a dog on someone with goodenough bike handling skills to bunny hop a mtn bike unclipped over two feet straight up.....)

Tom Stormcrowe

Actually, if you have damage to your bike after their dog struck your bike, you have a legal claim for said damage. Don't get me wrong here, I love dogs, and would seriously hate to have one killed by an impact with my bike, but will do what I need to to avoid injury myself. A dog owner is liable for the action of their dog, and rquired to leash them or otherwise secure them from the road in a manner like fencing tham in or other means. Expression of sorrow for "striking" their dog can actually weaken your claim, and if you need to file a police report to document damage, use the term "the dog struck your bike, causing you to lose control and crash", rather than you hit the dog. You can tell them you are sorry you "couldn't avoid" their dog, though without weakening your position.

cudak888 

Ah, this discussion reminds me of a little yapping Yorkie from a few streets down from me. The idiots who reside there always kept the dog loose out front. As you would expect, that dog was always ready to charge and chase any cyclist coming down the street.

Fed up with it after a while, I figured I'd have a laugh at their expense for a change. On a day with some time to kill, I set up one of my spare machines (for inquiring minds, it was a chaap hybrid) with a front basket. Inside the basket, I placed a small, brand-new gas tank for a generator, with a hose running down from the bottom of the tank down to the right chainstay, where the hose cut off. I filled the tank with water, and plugged the hole at the bottom of the tank with a q-tip affixed to a chopstick, allowing me to yank this makeshift plug out on command. As a final touch, I mounted a cheap ball-end air horn in case the dog made a beeline for the front wheel.

With this curious machine, I pedaled down to meet that Yorkie, who was, as always, ready to chase me. As with all previous times, he placed himself behind the right pedal, at the mid-point of the chainstay. After two seconds or so, I yanked the chopstick 'plug' and water began pouring out.

I look a look down at my right pedal, just in time to see one Yorkie recieve a very un-expected bath. I laughed my head off right then and there, and was still chucking when I got home.

-Kurt

banerjek

Any responsible dog owner would agree -- it p*sses me off when I see dog owner trying to weasel out of their obligations. I once even paid a $489 vet bill for a dog that attacked mine and lost the fight. Everyone thought I was insane (mine was leashed, the other wasn't so I certainly had no legal obligation), but I felt bad about how the fight turned out. I couldn't see why the dog should have to suffer any more than necessary because of his owner's stupidity.

FlatTop

Okay, that's one of the funniest things I've ever read on BF.
But I wonder how many riders get heart failure the first time they see this monster dog chasing after them?
And how many have gotten the surprise of their lives when squirting him with water didn't drive him off, but made him chase all the harder to get a drink?

Lamplight

I've never had a dog actually catch me and bite me, or run into my bike or vice versa. It seems my problem is dogs always chase me when I'm about to go onto a much busier street. I can't pay the dog any attention because I have to concentrate on traffic, and the owner is naturally freaking out because their precious puff ball is sprinting toward lots of cars going 40+. In fact this happened just yesterday. I could still hear the dog once I was on the main road, along with the owner screaming in the distance. I sped up to 20-something and the dog gave up, but it still could have easily been killed by a car. I came back by on my way home and dog and owner were no longer in the front yard. MY first reaction is to think "Man, some dogs are so dumb". But then I realize the dog just saw something to chase and did so, which is natural. Then I remember that the average person in this town has the same iq as the dog, at best.