Riding with Dogs

diy

This may have been discussed before, but I think it is extremely anti-social to ride on a trail centre or known/popular trail with your dogs. I was riding down BKB on Sunday and came across a family (no problem with slower riders enjoying the trail) and their two dogs, who were bounding up and down and along the lower sections of the trail, effectively racing the bikes. Not only was it dangerous, but as the responsible owner, they cannot be in proper control of their dog.

Personally I think you take a huge risk if you ride with your dog in a public place like this. I had polite words with the owner and was greeted with a "yeah sorry about that", but come on, it stands to reason if you are on your bike and the dog is off the lead, that the dog will think its all a big game and you will have no ability to stop the dog causing an accident.

Do people ride with their dogs? Am I in the minority here?

I have personally gone right off dogs since being bitten by one a while back, while out riding.

big_p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uslwIp4 ... r_embedded

Anonymous

Cats are much better. Don't require exercise, keep themselves clean, dig holes for their own crap and cover it up (in someone else's garden), and if you don't feed them they'll find food and bog off to someone else's house.

Stick a cat out on a trail and they'd just look at you like you're stupid, which would be right.

.blitz

Fairly regular occurence at Cannock, so much so that I have gotten used to it.

Some people haven't though there was almost a punch-up at the end of S11 on Saturday.

cooldad

Hate dogs on trails. End of.

madmax245

recently i wasriding a fast bit of singletrack with my mate, when a dog ran out in front of him.he swerved to miss it but in doing so he slashed a 3 inch hole in his tyres sidewall on a rock.the owner saw the incident but didnt acknowlege us nevermind saying sorry .the not only was the owner a walker, he was walking on a bit of singletrack that is clearly signposted at both ends as no access for walkers or horse riders.

Anonymous

And anything on BKB is fair game. Best fun is the hill runners going up! Scaring the crap out of them hurtling down at speed is fun.

ddraver

Trail centres no, but I don't think you can stop people riding with them on normal bridelways etc. As always it depends how well the dog/s is/are trained, and how much the owner keeps an eye on them.

Raymondavalon

diy wrote:

This may have been discussed before, but I think it is extremely anti-social to ride on a trail centre or known/popular trail with your dogs.

If you hate dogs on the trail, you're going to hate this following you around or getting in your way

Stu Coops

Personally I don't get this I have a dog and she is high energy but I would never take her anywhere near a trail and to be honest can't understand for the life of me why anyone would.

I do take her with me but that's across Dartmoor or Brecon basically open moorland but never where she could get someone hurt or hurt herself, thanfully I have never come across this and I ride a lot of singletrack but I would be pissed off if it did.

getonyourbike

Personally, I think it all depends on how well the dog is trained. I ride with somehow and he brings his Border Collie to the DH track with him, but only when there aren't many people down and the dog's great. It just bounds after you, the dog loves it and I like having dogs around. He also takes him on XC rides and it's the same thing there. I like 'em.

apjs87

big p wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uslwIp48Bw&feature=player_embedded

that is awesome! too bad my dog is a lazy cow lol

Stu Coops

getonyourbike wrote:

Personally, I think it all depends on how well the dog is trained. I ride with somehow and he brings his Border Collie to the DH track with him, but only when there aren't many people down and the dog's great. It just bounds after you, the dog loves it and I like having dogs around. He also takes him on XC rides and it's the same thing there. I like 'em.

Don't get me wrong I love dogs treat mine like a human and I do understand ya point that the dog is really well behaved but an approaching rider doesn't know this and can make them twitchy which can lead to a crash

The Northern Monkey

big p wrote:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uslwIp48Bw&feature=player_embedded

Awesome!

Tony__B

As a dog owner and MTBer my view is that riding with your dog simply isn't fair to the dog. Dogs love to have a good sniff around and explore, and making them run like hell just to keep up with you is wrong. Even the fittest and most energetic dog will have to work hard to keep up with a bike.

Take your dog for a walk and then go out for your ride.

cycle monster

It depends upon the dog owner IME. Those that obey the bye laws in my local forest i.e. dogs on leads are fine. Those that have bothered to train and actually control their dogs are okay too. It is the idiots who let noisy and agressive dogs run riot whilst walking the wrong way round one way singletrack that drive me crazy. If you don't want to bump into people riding mountain bikes at speed, why walk the wrong way up dedicated mountain bike trails in the first place?

If we started riding our bikes along walkers only paths we would never hear the end of it!

diy

I must confess I don't know much about the dangerous dogs act, but it would appear to be a criminal offence to have a dog that is dangerously out of control and a more serious offence if it injures someone while out of control. Don't really know what dangerously out of control is, but I'm guessing if someone was injured as a result of your dog not being under your control, then it would surely go some way to meeting the criteria?

too slow to go

I would love to have my dog run along side me in the forest, country parks (if they are quiet)

On a trail center/single track no way would i consider taking him.


I need to take the dog walks daily, i would like to ride my bike daily.... i walk and ride the same places (woodland near my house), why not kill two birds with one stone? tho i would only do this a a slow pace if i ever did take him out.


Edited to add*** i have never been out with the dog sofar so dont know how he would be, and also read Tonys comment and agree that it would be unfair on my dog as he cant tell me if hes hurting from too much running/keeping pace.

johnnygooner

Im gonna disagree with most.

I dont think it depends on the dog. For me it depends on the other riders. I'm not nor never have been a dog owner and consequently I'm a bit twitchy about dogs generally. So if I see a dog bounding up to me I get nervous. A word of reassurance from the owner is of no use to non-doggie types like me, the dog being on the trail and doing what dogs do has the potential to cause injury to both myself and the dog.

I've even seen people out riding with their dogs out at night at Llandegla. Wholly irresponsible! I think its a dreadful idea

MountainMonster

johnnygooner wrote:

Im gonna disagree with most.

I dont think it depends on the dog. For me it depends on the other riders. I'm not nor never have been a dog owner and consequently I'm a bit twitchy about dogs generally. So if I see a dog bounding up to me I get nervous. A word of reassurance from the owner is of no use to non-doggie types like me, the dog being on the trail and doing what dogs do has the potential to cause injury to both myself and the dog.

I've even seen people out riding with their dogs out at night at Llandegla. Wholly irresponsible! I think its a dreadful idea

Your personal fears are not grounds for saying something is wrong though. You don't like dogs, but some people do, so it is completely irrelevant. Is it also wrong to have your dog in the city with you, or to take the dog anywhere, because someone may have a fear of dogs?

As far as night rides and dogs, that's actually a bit better, as 95% of riders will not be out at all.

1mancity2

I was listening to Jeromy Vine on Radio2, stay with me on this, and he was on about pet insurance and Martin Lewis quoted "Its against the law to have your dog off a lead, If it caused an accident the owner is liable", surely this would also apply if it caused a rider injury?.

I have been knocked off by a dog and it bloody hurt, the owner said sorry and as no lasting damage was done to me or my ride I left it at that.

A guy rides up Gisburn with his dog regular away and we fly past it with no trouble, so i guess it depends on how well the dog is trained.

colin moore

Ride with my dog in Ashridge, the dog loves it, goes crazy at the sight of me in bike gear and lead in hand. Have to stop for frequent drinks breaks but managed 11 miles last week, which is enough for a border terrier. Only take him or myself for that matter weekdays or late evenings in the summer, to avoid the crowds, still plenty of dogwalkers there and never had a problem, always slow down as they have more rights to the footpaths (i often use) than i do, would not want the dog at a trail centre though. The bike enables me to give him plenty of exercise without spending 3/4 hours walking when i should be doing other things.

ddraver

So you ride a bike on a footpath with a dog! You sir, are surely going to hell!

robmanic1

Tony__B wrote:

As a dog owner and MTBer my view is that riding with your dog simply isn't fair to the dog. Dogs love to have a good sniff around and explore, and making them run like hell just to keep up with you is wrong. Even the fittest and most energetic dog will have to work hard to keep up with a bike.

Take your dog for a walk and then go out for your ride.

I'd disagree, to a point. I have a Springer who often accompanies me whilst riding (me, not the dog), she manages fine and if it's a head wind I struggle to keep up! When walking, even when she's off the lead I'm too slow for her.

A steady ride is no problem for most dogs, I wouldn't take her on trails where there is a strong likelihood of other riders however, even the most well behaved dogs can be unpredictable at times. I always make sure, if we meet other riders along the way, that she stays close, I'll even stop and make her wait until the other rider has past, it's just good manners I reckon.

Riding with your dog adds another dimension to it, my dog loves it!

colin moore

ddraver wrote:

So you ride a bike on a footpath with a dog! You sir, are surely going to hell!

shhh! don't tell the ramblers!
much more fun than the cycleways though, also 30 years ago they were for motorcycles as well but no hope of that now as you would be reported in minutes.

Ryan Jones

So now a Mountainbike trail becomes a place to take a dog for a walk ? Whatever next, we going to use them for riding mopeds, or for rambling, or send a torrent of water down them and call them a waterpark ? Dogs should only be out to help catch the evening supper, no more !

diy

if they bite someone while not on a lead in a public place - you are proper screwed as the owner (criminal conviction, possible jail).
if they are dangerously out of control in a public place - you are screwed as above to a lesser extent.
If they injure someone because you are not in control you have civil liability.

The problem seems to be when you get 2 or 3 dogs together as they being pack animals tend to be more unpredictable.

The dangerous dogs act puts very onerous obligations on the owner, which I'm sure most are not aware of.

grim168

I've started taking our 18 month old choc lab out along towpath to get him used to the bike. He loves it but he's not ready for a trail centre yet. I ride alone a lot and mainly mid week and am looking forward to the time he's ready. Trouble is at the moment he keeps jumping in the canal :? . Its a big responsibility both for others and the dog.

bjj.andy.w

Take my dog round gisburn every now and again and he loves it. Only go weekdays first thing in the morning so it's nice and quiet. As long as your dog is well trained I don't have a problem with them. My wife and I spent a lot of time and effort training him as a puppy and we are now reaping the rewards. When out on the trail you just have to be sensible and not run them into the ground. Any fire road I always go a slower pace compaired to when I'm on my own so not to wear him out. Going up hill is no problem because he's always quicker than me but If he gets to far ahead I use my whistle to ether stop him or make him return to me. As for dog toffee if it's on the trail I ALWAYS pick it up and put it in my backpack until I can put it in a bin. I know how unpleasant having some dog muck in your tyres is and anyone who isn't prepared to pick it up should not have a dog IMO.Here's a pick of my pooch, Rogue

Squarepants

I was on an uplift day where two guys had their dogs (dags) with them.. Surprised they were let on the shuttle tbh and I was a bit perplexed by the prospect of doing DH with dogs around.

In fairness they didn't get in the way, think I even saw a whip off one of them (Rover stay on your paws!)

I'm not justifying dogs on piste just because they didn't get in my way, bad form to have them there if you ask me..

t0pc4t

I love riding my bike and I love walking my dog but not at the same time. I'm either in proper control of my dog or the bike but never both.

The people who reckon they are are generally the same people who come out with 'he doesn't normally do that after this dog has behaved in an anti social way

I also think it's selfish as my dog enjoys the time spent with me while walking, not being ignored while I session some trails.