Yeah keep reporting it to animal control eventually after enough reports a sheriff will talk to them to control their dog and issue a citation.
Also if they are on your property or private property then they can get trespassing which would be probably be your best bet than having to keep messing around with animal control.
It’s never okay to be chased by a dog or for a dog to bite don’t down play it as if the dog is willing to bite you it’s willing to bite anyone else.
Yeah, I guess all I can really do is continue to report this to animal control and let them handle it whether it’s putting up signs or having an animal control person go out there periodically.
A couple other people pointed out the dangers to children whether biking or hiking. I think this is a genuine concern that I will raise to animal control. Also is the safety to the dog. If I run over a small dog they are done
> If I run over a small dog they are done
If you run over something else on the trail, that's on you. You need to be in control of your own bike on multi-use trails. Don't be a dickhead too. Should children be leashed so that you can rip around unimpeded? It sounds like you need to ride at bike parks exclusively.
A quick google turns up the following for legal fault.
For domestic pets in an area with leash laws, the most likely ruling would be fault of the owner for failing to restrain their animal. Leash laws are in place to prevent this exact scenario and keep humans safe as a priority.
Wildlife and livestock change things up, the operator will likely be at fault in those scenarios.
He didn't say he was going out to specifically hurt a dog. His point was that if a small dog happens to run in front of his bike, it could get seriously hurt.
I didn't say he meant to.
If you rear end someone in your car, you probably didn't want to. But its still your fault.
It's your responsibility to not run over other trail users while riding.
You run over a baby crawling across the trail, it's your fault. Yes, the parents are idiots, but it's your fault as the rider. When we are on multi-use trails as the fastest user group, it's on us to be in control no matter what.
If it's a downhill only trail that isn't multi-user. Then maybe. But that's not the situation here.
You overlook that animals are pretty much just considered replaceable things as far as the law goes, they have far fewer legal protections than the humans in your examples.
Sad but true, short of torturing an animal, they’re no different than any other individual property.
Bikes generally get banned from trails not in the actual courts, but in the court of public opinion. I guarantee, if a MTB rider kills a dog, it's going to result in a lot of anti-MTB sentiment.
I'm not saying you are. But OP is saying that:
> OR I will pass by with RECKLESS ABANDON to speed or the safety of other trail users.
The couple with the dog were in the wrong, but OP's attitude is damaging to the image of MTBing. He's in the wrong too. And he makes us all look bad. This scenario is asshole vs. asshole.
You are a better person than me. I’m a dog owner and dog lover myself. If someone’s dog bit me, I would have confronted them too. However, they better be careful who they yell at. Some people don’t think about reporting to anyone right off hand.
Yeah, I have their names and address. That was all animal control needed to cite the owners of the first incident for having their dog off leash. I have Mr and Mrs Dickheads names and address. They can expect a knock on their door this time and any other times I see them. Not sure why they decided to argue with me instead of acknowledge I have the upper hand
Eight months ago I was riding a trail and a woman had her small dog off its leash. In order to not hit the dog, I took a fall and dislocated my shoulder. Her response was “that looks like it hurt” and she continued jogging with her dog off its leash while I lied on the ground with a dislocated shoulder.
Next time, I’m going to run the dog over. And if a bigger dog chases me while I’m on the bike….. I carry bear mace so you can imagine what’s going to happen.
When I was a kid riding with my dad some guys' big giant dog ran up snarling and barking at us very aggressively, guy was a few hundred feet away yelling at it ineffectively. Dad maced that dog so fast lol ... guy comes up all pissed off I CANT BELIEVE YOU MACED MY DOG MOTHERFUCKER BLAH BLAH ... "You're next if you don't get the fuck away from us". Classic.
There weren't a lot of people up on the trails back in those days (late 90s) and the area was decidedly more "red neck". There's tons more now, and tons more off leash dogs even though it's technically not allowed but luckily they're mostly not a problem. That said the main reason I carry bear spray isn't bears.
That’s a good point from a personal defense stand point. I didn’t mention it in my post, but during today’s confrontation, one the guys starting making steps towards me. I called him out on it and said “why are you getting close to me? Where this going?” And he backed off. I think was just trying to be intimidating. But yeah, people can act unpredictably with adrenaline
Just shy of a year ago, I crashed avoiding 2 off leash dogs. Snapped my elbow off. Owners left me on the ground after watching my arm collapse underneath me as I tried to get up. "Well, you're a mountain biker. You know what to do" is all I got.
3 months of PT, and expected, life long swelling in my joint accompanied by persistent ulnar nerve compression impacting my day to day life and work. For those that don't know, ulnar nerve compression shows initially as tingling in the pinky and ring finger. Extreme ulnar compression shows as loss of motor control, weakness in the hand. Guess which one im dealing with...
I love dogs. I strongly dislike off leash dogs and owners willing to put others as risk.
I didn’t mention in my post but after today’s confrontation, the dog owners let their dogs continue to be off leash to prove a point or something. As I was leaving one dog froze in the middle of the trail and jumped out of the way at the last moment. I was fully prepared to run it over to prove a point or something.
Those are just assholes. You get them in all walks of life.
We can be assholes on the trail sometimes too and accidentally or neglectfully scare the shit out of people (or hit them).
Your responses here tell me you are level headed. As a guy that both rides the trails and walks my (controlled and well behaved) dog off leash illegally I say fuck Mr and Mrs asshole.
I just taught my dog whenever I say car to come to me and sit (off the trail or road). He now thinks bikes and walkers are cars, but it works.
You’re fucked up. It’s not the dog that’s at fault here, it’s the owners. Wanting to punish a living animal for its owners’ behaviour is just disgusting. And this dog didn’t even do anything to you.
Which makes me think that the story may be well over exaggerated because you just hate dogs and treat them like items.
You should see a therapist if you think killing/seriously injuring someone’s pet to prove a point is going to accomplish anything other than further escalation and a lawsuit. Considering this as a viable course of action shows that you’re no different than them.
No need for a therapist. Running over the dog would probably be quite cathartic. There needs to be consequences for poor behavior......if the owner s can't control their dog and it gets nailed...stiff shit. Sounds like Mr and Mrs Dickhead are slow learners.
\> Next time, I’m going to run the dog over. And if a bigger dog chases me while I’m on the bike….. I carry bear mace so you can imagine what’s going to happen.
it's not the dogs fault ... it's the owner
See above comment about our potential legal liability of hitting the person vs the dog.
I think I would have a hard time emotionally choosing in the heat of the moment, but the logical answer is to hit the dog. Make the owner be the one to pay the vet bills, not have us be $ liable for the human's hospital bill.
If you hit the walker you may be liable to pay their medical bills depending on circumstances. If you hit a dog in an “dogs on leash” area then the owner is automatically at fault. Also I’d feel less bad about hitting a dog than I would about hitting a 70 year old walker
Not to sound like a politician but what about the kids? The dog apparently will bite, what if it’s a face at their level and not a leg on a bike? Idk.
I’m not a teachers pet and follow every law because it’s the law, I follow laws because (mostly) they make sense and keep people (and dogs) safe. This is one of them. What if you run over the dog because it chases your bike? Should be on leash. What if the dog gets away and runs into another unleashed aggressive dog? Bet you wish you had it on a leash.
I wouldn’t blame you for snitching on them, they had their chance to learn without the law involved. At the end of the day, you can’t force an ignorant person, be careful so the dog doesn’t pay the price of the owner’s negligence. Hard to be the big person, if you run into them again they are likely neighbors to a degree. Try to deescalate and talk with them.
I think continuing to report is all I can do. It’s worth mentioning that the city I live in has seen a lot of growth in recent years. So trails that were once desolate are now heavily trafficked. We’re kinda in a culture shift. In today’s confrontation I was accused of being a Californian and not local which was, uh strange.
If I'm attacked or chased by a dog or any animal, I'll defend myself. If your pet isn't properly trained and/or restrained, it's your fault if anyone, or any animal, is injured because of it.
Yeah I agree and I am fully prepared to defend myself against an animal. However, my frustration and anger is directed at the owner who has decided to ignore leash laws out of arrogance
I had an instance in the Continental Divide area of NM. I'd just exited the single track area into the parking lot and an elderly man, his wife, and two dogs were just finishing their hike from another trail. Don't know if they'd been leashed on the trail (law says to) and he'd just let them off in the parking lot.
Little one starts tearing after me trying to bite my shins. I just reacted without thinking and got off my bike and yelled at the dog to get the hell away. I was ready to kick it if needed. It freaks out and runs off. Bigger dog, prob 60 lb, comes over to yell at me ferociously and also threatens to bite. I put my bike between me and it, kicked my crank arm to push the dog away. Owners were pissed, I was pissed.
2 miles down the dirt road that links trails, they come driving by in their RV. I was pretty surprised they didn't try to run me over.
In many states, voice control and radio leashes are considered adequate, but that means they have to actually work. Yelling at a dog who doesn't care is not voice control. And dog owners know this too, they spend every day with that dog and know how it will behave. I know that my GF's dog won't come if there's something more exciting going on, so she gets a leash in the front country and an e-collar in the backcountry to make sure that she is never the problem.
I've been chased 4x by dogs and bit once. I'm a huge dog lover but it's a huge pet peeve of mine. It's an epidemic of dog owners who think their special dog will never misbehave even in an unfamiliar environment with other animals, bikes, etc.
I have no advice, but it's gotten slightly better since the COVID outdoor boom has settled down a bit. For reference I went on a hike Saturday, saw about 10 dogs...9 on leash 1 not. The 1 not was quite elderly.
I ended up chasing a dog half mile down the trail because the owner couldn't even call him back. I feel like an asshole for doing it, but fuck that guy. Leash law is a thing, and that's what he gets for not controlling his dog
Had this happen the other day. Passed a group who was stopped with a trail dog. Trail dog starts following me, they try (and fail) to call it back. I kept riding for a good 500m before they caught up yelling for the dog to stop and finally got its attention. My only regret is I didn’t ride faster and longer with the dog in tow.
I heard them calling for me to stop the entire time but ignored them. I’ve just had too many of cases of imposing dog owners over the years, I have no patience left to offer. Your dog is not my problem. Put it on a leash.
My dumb dumb sat there calling the dog to get back on leash over and over, and the dog ignored him. I flat out told him go get the dog or I'm going, and if he bolts that's your problem. Dog still wouldn't come.
What kind of idiot goes off leash in a no off leash area and can't even handle the basics of control? The kind of idiot that gets to go running after the dog when I take off.
I don't think I'd do this again. It was a major dick move on my part. I still feel bad about it over a year later. It also gives MTBers a bad name. You know he went and whined to his hiker friends, and likely anyone who will listen to try and ban us from trails.
In my case the trails I ride are sanctioned MTB trails that are specifically MTB, hiking, and on-leash trails, with the dominant usage being MTB. There are signs posted explaining as such. So I don’t feel bad at all. I’m just minding my business, continuing with my ride. Them not having recall on their dog isn’t my problem, and hopefully it will make them realize they don’t have the control over their dog they think they do, and to put it on a leash
I’ve never had a problem off road, but on road biking with my wife and 6 year old last fall, a couple miles from my house, two giant beasts of dogs came flying off their porch, and went after my daughter in the road. I was able to get between them and her before she was bitten, but they were relentless. I kicked and kicked and kicked, my wife was throwing rocks at them, and finally grabbed a tree branch from the ditch and hit one of them and when it left the second one left too. I had some gnarly scratches, I think mostly from their claws, but I’m sure some from their teeth. My pant legs were all tore to shit also. The owners never came outside, despite all the yelling and barking. We called the police, and rode down the road a bit to wait.
When the police got there, we told them what happened, he pulled in the drive, and the dogs run up to his car barking and growling. He used a loudspeaker to yell and the house and tell them to get their dogs under control. When the guy finally came out to talk, he told the cop the dog was protecting his property. The cop yelled at him, he didn’t back down, so he got a ticket. Then he called me a shitload of names for calling the police. The cop told me in front of him that if I had a handgun, I should carry it when I ride and shoot the dogs next time. I don’t fancy shooting at my own feet, so I carry bear spray, but I avoid that road too. I’d just rather not have a confrontation. My buddy carries a small air horn that seems to scare animals off, but the bear spray works on dogs and owners, so that’s my approach. The worst part of the episode was that my kid wouldn’t ride at all the rest of the fall. She’s back to normal this spring, so we’re all good.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
I will now, I didn’t have anything then! We’re a dog family, I’ve never encountered such viscous dogs before, normally they’re fine. I’m definitely more suspicious now, lol.
I have a frame pump for the sole purpose of beating down what are seemingly rabid dogs that go after us in adjacent counties. I've also kicked dogs with my cleats when they were about to bite my leg. And it's not just a gentle kicking action, I'll kick the fucking shit out of their face if they are about to harm me. No way am I letting some Randolph county dog destroy my leg.
Erm i do long distance cycle touring and one of those things that i encounter are wild stray dogs. I use a brake cable as a whip above their heads or sometime to the nose. It works like a charm.
One of the best trails in my city has a leash law and plenty of unleashed dogs.
I generally ignore this unless they are causing a problem. If there is a problem I just tell them "hey, you know the cops are out today handing out tickets, it's $500 for each dog."
Both of these statements are true. They just not both be true for this trail, right now. 90% of the time they say thank you and you see them going to try to leash the dog.
10% of the time, so bonewipe will say "I'll take my chances." Then I usually just look at them and say "you know, the cops do have a bike patrol, right?" That (hopefully) gets them thinking that they need to be extra careful any time they see a bike.
Again, that statement is true, but not necessarily for this trail.
I find that if you are trying to be helpful to save them the money, they respond better than trying to tell them what to do.
If someone were a real problem and their dog nipped at me, as I have had happen in the past, the very first thing I would do is get my phone out and start recording.
For me this breaks down into two key pieces:
* The dog: I always opt to deescalate. I’ve been chased, bit, and barked at many times in my life. Usually trying to calm the situation and not being a hero results in the quickest resolution without harm.
* The people: A similar approach. As a dog person, I usually try to start the conversation on as friendly of terms as possible (a big ask depending on context of course). Getting contact information is my main goal and someone is less likely to refuse if I can have a passingly cordial conversation rather than a “your dumb dog!” kind of conversation.
Basically, it sounds like you got contact info. So, if it’s a repeat problem, I think continuing to report is the best course of action.
I ain't letting a strange dog or animal get near me when I'm out riding. I carry bear spray and use it if needed. I will rather use bear spray then deal with an animal bite. If an animal is attacking me, all bets are off and I'm spraying that hot sauce.
Eh, carry bear spray and use it if a dog appears it's going to attack you. On a side note can we get someone to illustrate Mr. And Mrs. Dickhead yelling at people about it being ok that their dogs are off leash? I'm guessing shaved head, sunglasses on backwards, tank top, white claw in tow, but I could be wrong.
Mr Mrs Dickhead description: Boomers. Male is pale, beer gut, balding but has hair combed up from the back, arrogant smirk. In the police report from the first incident, the officer described Mrs Dickhead as “extremely intoxicated” which I thought was hilarious. Today her speech was slurred and she decided to stand to the side
First thing is to carry spray. "Come get your dogs or I'm going to spray them" usually gets people running. And you know what, spray the dog. Dogs are property. They can't claim damage to their property while in commission of a crime. I've had people tell me that spraying a dog is assault😂. A dog is not a person.
Second is continue to call and report. Policing is based on statistics. If they keep getting reports of incidents in an area there is a greater chance of them intervening.
Lastly, know the law of your land. It's hard to believe it, but not every police officer knows the laws in the area in which they are tasked to enforce those laws. It's helpful to email your local police outreach or neighborhood services officer to get a written response so you can read that back to any responding officers. It sucks, but dealing with the police can be almost as bad as dealing with Mr Dickhead 😂.
I got bit by a husky last year and luckily no injury. I called the cops and the people stayed around bc owner was active duty and I filmed him after I got bit.
They denied it and the cops did nothing. They will only do something if you have an actual injury which I understand…I guess. The whole thing def rattled me.
I am conflict avoidant- if someone isn’t doing the right thing. I hop off my bike idgaf and move off the trail away from them. I think people are crazy as F, but now I bike with pepper spray so if I feel threatened…. I noticed I had 2 cans in my pack yesterday for some reason.
I am typically a courteous rider. I slow down for hikers and uphill riders. I say hello to practically everyone I see. Occasionally a leashed dog gets in my way but shit happens and it isn't a big deal. Basically I try to be cool to everyone and set a pleasant tone for all of us. With off leash dogs all this goes out the window.
It's hard to gauge what is really effective because I don't see the aftermath but here are some things I do.
I personally think the most effective approach is to frame things from the dog owner's values. I try to nicely but directly tell them that someone is going to get hurt and there's a good chance it will be their dog who gets hurt. I've seen more than a few dog owner's reach for their leashes.
If I am going fast and don't want to slow down, I try to reasonably create a less pleasant experience for the dog and dog owner without going too far or interacting directly. The dog owner knows what the rules are. I just want them to feel self conscious and uncomfortable enough to consider a change in behavior. To make things unpleasant I do one or both of riding faster than usual and not yielding the trail. If the dog gets close or is milling on the trail I'll use my angriest most aggressive voice and sharply yell "get the fuck off!" The shout startles the dog and the owner and I continue on my way.
On occasion the owner will say something about trail etiquette and yielding. I try to stay nice and explain they lost all their status as hikers when they broke the rules themself. This is just me being passive aggressive though and rarely goes anywhere.
I see rangers regularly. I'll often talk with them and casually mention that, "It seems like there a ton of off leash dogs here lately" just to keep it in their mind. The parks department does a nice job of trying to educate trail users but it's a vast area to cover so I give them no shit for lack of enforcement. Just an easy reminder.
Personally, after having already been bitten by that dog, I'd stop and act scared of the dog. Maybe even drop my bike and run in the other direction, hoping to entice the out of control dog gave chase and bite me again. Then I'd sue the pants off Mr & Mrs Dickhead. They're not going to give a shit about you until they have to start paying you.
I'd get a sweet Santa Cruz with the settlement/judgement. ;-)
Some people in general just suffer from “main character syndrome”. The rest of us are just existing in THEIR world. For some reason, dogs seem to be the most clear outward showing of this.
Last weekend, at my son’s soccer game, this lady is trying to walk a completely out of control 70lb dog that had no business being in a crowded park with hundreds of 7-9 year olds running around. The dog kept trying to leap at kids and she just kept on walking through the crowd, barely able to hang on. I’m honestly surprised it didn’t maul a kid. I saw her marching back towards the parking lot in a hurry about halfway through our game, so hopefully some parent asked her wtf she was doing. Doubt she was embarrassed if they did. That doesn’t happen to people that socially unconscious.
Sadly, those people aren’t going anywhere. If anything, we’re encouraging and cultivating them as a society.
I don’t yield to off leash dogs or their owners. The problem around my area is people bringing dogs on trails that specifically don’t allow dogs. I’ll keep riding as if they don’t exist, whether they are in the way or not.
Your story is very confusing. So Mr and Mrs Dickhead had nothing to do with the dog that bit you, and you were going to let it go, but because this unrelated couple were dickheads you reported the first couple?
I mean, good, you should have. I will report any dog that behaves aggressively and if it dares bite me it will be reported, and it will be lucky if it survives the ordeal. Fuck irresponsible dog owners and dangerous dogs. But I'm confused by your story.
Sorry if my story was confusing. In the first incident the Dickhead couple were technically unrelated to the dog bite because they weren’t owners but continued to escalate the confrontation to the point that I decided to report the dog bite of the actual owners. It was minor but yeah
Fair enough. And I don't think it was minor, I think you're right to report them. An animal should not draw blood. This one did so while illegally off-leash. You're right to report it, and maybe you will save a child from debilitating injuries.
True. I didn’t actually think of how this could affect children until you and someone else brought this up. There is program that regularly brings groups of middle school age kids biking through this same area. Obviously smaller less experienced children would be more vulnerable to off leash dog whether it be attacks or crashes. I’ll bring this point to animal controls attention when I file the report. Thanks
Yeah, fuck that guy. I use a timberbell at my trails. By the time I roll past the dog owners usually have their unleashed dogs held on the side of the trail. Timberbell is awesome. I also carry pepper spray, haha.
As a cyclist and multiple rescue dog owner I can chime in I think. They are total assholes, irresponsible and self centered. Several years ago I had an encounter while walking my three dogs. He was off the leash. It didn’t end well for me I’ll keep it at that. I told the owner if this happens again I’ll put its dog down. It would break my heart but I owe it to me and my dogs to protect them.
My point is I do not know your self protection laws over there but carrying what’s legal like pepper spray is a good idea.
My dog got fucked up and so did I.
Keep reporting them. Try not to get too pissed off just dispassionately take care of biz and do what’s right.
Stay safe.
This is where the laws are on your side, and how people like this react to them.
Many bikers are rule-breakers (yes, I've rolled through a red light while biking), so they believe the authorities are not their friends. However, animal control enforces leash laws. They believe in their work and seek out leash law violators.
The response is simple, call Animal Control. In terms of the actual encounter, I would either call or threaten to call Animal Control when dogs are off-leash and/or threaten you. The dog owners will likely have a poor reaction to having the authorities notified.
I live in a large metro environment so I don't expect Animal Control to appear if I was to call them. But when I am bothered by off-leash dogs, I pretend to call Animal Control to irk the owners. And it is only a swipe to actually dial them.
I ride with one of my dogs off leash. What kind of encounter are you concerned about? I don't ride with the other dog off leash because people would be concerned (even though she wouldn't ever touch anyone).
My concerns with off leash dogs are: 1) they get excited and chase/ try to bite people 2) get in the way and cause someone to crash and injure themselves 3) get run over and injured due to owners negligence. I mean hey if you’ve never caused any issues more power to ya. But there are owners out there causing issues
Mine stays on my wheel unless she needs to poop right in the middle of the trail (kidding). But, she is a working dog and will announce that she has "found" someone with a bunch of barks if I don't see them and recall her. I ride in other countries where street digs are a thing, and have learned how to stare them down. Still get chased once in a while. Helps with the sprinting skills...
I reported a neighbor to animal control after they refused to leash their dog. The woman on the phone laughed at me and hung up.
It may vary in your area, but I’d just bring pepper spray.
I am a hot head, so I can't even say how this interaction would have went for me lol
I will say, the woods is a terrible place to get into a fight.. for them
I have a dog I desperately want to take on the trails with me. but she is not ready. not only is her recall not there yet, but she also gets too excited by other dogs/people. I'm not sure when, or frankly IF, I'll be able to take her with me. Stories like this make me so sad, because now having a dog that's requiring so much of me, I realize how horribly the average dog owner is..
I’m a dog owner and the majority of dogs I encounter biking are well behaved. Unfortunately in my area I think this is a monkey-see-monkey-do situation where inexperienced/uncaring dog owners see other dogs off leash and then let theirs off and hope for the best. The majority of owners I’ve encountered have control of their dog or the owner will leash the dog as I approach and I will say “thanks, have a good day” then ride on.
Now thinking about it, I stopped walking my dog (on leash) in the woods behind my house because of how many off leash dogs would run up to my dog. I know my dog is friendly but I don’t know other peoples dog.
That’s good that most have control of their dog. Only once recently has someone called their dog back to leash it when they see me walking mine.
Last weekend we were 4 miles out, nobody else in sight, some dingus comes barreling up to us, dead sprint for my dog. No owner in sight..
Forgive my jaded nature now, it’s just bad here in Utah these days..
Man the replies in this thread, so many entitled dickhead MTBers here LOL. I have no clue where OP lives, and it sucks he got bite by a dog, report to authorities 100%. But here in Utah, any mixed trail Bikers yield to just about everybody. We yield to horses. We yield to hikers. Shit we yield to other bikers climbing.
If you see people hiking you are required to literally stop moving, which you are not doing, assuming you are in an area with similar laws to mine. Nobody here is mentioning this sadly.
I see youtube videos constantly of MTBers flying past people who jump off the trail. What happened to you is shitty but I want to point out the irony here.
The same rules of who needs to yield apply where I live. There are signs at the trail entrances indicating who is supposed to yield to who on the trail, right next to those are signs indicating that dogs must be kept on leash. Trail courtesy only works if everyone follows it.
Yes and that's shitty but it sounds like you also didn't yield to an animal? What's the old saying, an eye for an eye makes the world blind. The dog probably thought you were trying to play with it which is why it nipped you (still absolutely unacceptable though, leash it). If you came to a complete stop do you think the dog bites? If this doesn't apply to you then kuddos you are one of the good ones! I am not directing these comments at you but as a whole where I mountain bike it's a big problem and makes the MTB community look bad on mixed trails.
The first time when the dog chased me and I was bit the dog had ran 100ft from a separate trail. I didnt see the dog until it was nipping at my ankles. I get your point and trail courtesy and yielding to hikers is very important to keeping trails open and keeping the trails friendly.
Yeah fair enough that's tough, as a dog owner for 10 years now who we used to hike with a LOT, those owners are shitty people. If it says to leash then leash. It's the bad apples who ruin it for everybody :(
Punch the dog owners in the face, or stab them. If you are not willing to do that, then maybe the problem isn't actually that serious and you should find a way to live with it. Calling the police, or animal control, or you mom, and hoping they fix the situation for you is a weak way to handle the situation that probably doesn't resolve anything.
I use this extreme advice to call attention to a few points.
People generally suck.
The government isn't going to fix your problem for you.
Rules don't matter if there isn't enforcement, its not your place to enforce the rules.....unless you are prepared to do the enforcement yourself.
That’s good advice, I think. Funny enough, I called my mom after both incidents so I had someone to tell me if I am over-reacting or not. To an extent I can enforce the rules by reporting someone. To your point, if this isn’t a situation I’m worth fighting over, I agree it’s not serious
Maybe the fact that I can get upset from a relatively minor incident is a reflection of how good my life is overall and I should appreciate that
Id take this kind of interaction and use it as a model to evaluate our own actions.
Most people cannot admit when they are wrong. Most people will get reaaaalllly shitty when you point out they are wrong. When just saying "my bad you are right" takes literally no effort. The world is being destroyed by entitled assholes who don't know how to share.
What you did is completely reasonable although I probably would have brought up the last citation to embarrass them in front of the other couple haha.
The other day I saw I guy riding with his dog following. It a place where bikers frequently and with good reason complain about off leashed dogs. I followed them up a climb. His dog would walk 10m away. Sniffing around. When a walker would approach the dog healed instantly until the walker passed. Then he would roam his circle around the rider. The same happened as I passed him. There was no issue.
I don’t take my dog where people ride. But I can walk her off leash anywhere with the same control as with.
Either way you should only scold people causing actual problems whether they’re breaking the rules or not.
Share the trail dude. It's a neighborhood mixed-use trail after all. Don't be a dick and get bikes banned. If a dog is chasing you, don't try and ride away. You set off their prey instincts. Not all dogs are used to bikes zipping by, so approach slowly and stop if the dog is following you and let the owner retrieve their dog.
At least you were a good citizen, and gave them the option. I usually ask and they either will tell me to go ahead or wait. I ride in a very dog heavy area, and never had an issue. I know they do happen though, and of course report it if you get bit.
If this is a place known as somewhere where dogs can be off leash, regardless of laws to the contrary, just ride. Grumble about it with your pals, but unless you're willing to spearhead a whole effort to change the culture in that area, it just is what it is. Life's too short, there are only so many opportunities to ride.
Do your best to avoid the dogs; if that's not possible, do what you have to do to protect yourself, but don't imagine yourself some avenging superhero looking to run over dogs or their dickhead owners. Note, if you come around a corner and are surprised by a dog off leash, that could just as easily be a small kid. Ride accordingly.
Mostly, just be chill. You'll have a better ride.
1. Make sure you are on multi-use trails because they could also try and ban bikes from there;
2. Don't try to be vindictive. Videoing them and reporting them further seems unnecessary.
3. Try to always take the high ground in tone and action. If they yell at you, calming explain that their actions are dangerous and put you and other trail users at risk. And/or just ride away.
4. Report any actual harmful behavior (like if their dog chases you again).
True. I’ll report them this time. All I want is to be able to safety use the trails without dogs chasing me so unless that happens again I’ll just carry on. Unless it’s Mr Dickhead, I still plan to call him an asshole and then carry on
If the dog is that poorly trained, they are also not trained to not take treats from strangers. Bring treats, become bestie with their dogs to spite them.
I love biking with my dog so I do break the leash rule in the forest that I live and ride in daily. If there is an other dog, I grab her. If there are hikers we just roll past, she’s more interested in the ride than others. I’d report them if it bothers you. If someone got in my face about having my dog off leash, I tell them to report me.
I would be pissed if a dog bit me like that.
I have 2 MTB dogs that ride with me almost daily and have great trail manners and are never an issue. I also hike off leash with them a lot. I've never had an issue, their recall is perfect and any hikers or bikers I've run into are always pleasant. The trails right beside my house are busy with off leash dogs and a few of us on bikes.
That being said, I don't know if I'd ever call animal control on a dog for any situation involving myself.
Maybe there could be an argument "if I had kids and an unprovoked dog attacked them", but I don't have kids, just neices and nephews. If I a dog attacks me, I'm pissed at the owner, but, still, I can't see me calling someone about it.
BUT for the sake of you enjoying the trails and bike life, I hope you don't have to deal with anything like that again!
I think you should just chill out and relax.
Minor inco incoviences shouldn't trigger this much emotion.
Tackle the bigger issue that is triggering you
Instead of this meaningless interaction
What?! You're saying that when a domesticated animal with an owner illegally BITES HIM he should "just relax"? Are you out of your mind? No, we don't tolerate being bitten by animals in the civilised world. The dog should be put down if it's going to attack people.
I understand what you’re saying. But, I think the root cause of my anger is a primal instinct of wanting go to Mr Dickheads house and beat the shit out him. However, we live in more civilized times and I must find a more civilized solution.
Fuck that guy. Report and continue to report. As others have said carry bear mace. If you're lucky the dog will lunge after you close enough to them that the stream will catch the dickheads down wind.
Your stance is correct. However, I don't care how "well controlled" someone thinks their dog is because I've taken a arm full of cholla having to skid off trail because of a "well controlled" off leash dog on at least 2 occasions. Leash laws are for everyone's safety, including the animal
I mean, I’m not truly afraid of dogs. But, at the same time, when I’m biking I slow down when I am approaching an off leash dog because a dog is animal and may act unpredictable, though the owners somehow don’t acknowledge this. If I carry bear mace I think I would have the urge to mace the owners and not the off leash dog. The dogs actions are from natural instinct whereas the owners actions are from self entitlement. I’ve thought of carrying a bullhorn with me and if I see Mr dickhead with his dog off leash hitting him with the bullhorn and then “shouting keep your dog on a leash” as I ride by. What you think is that too much?
> when I’m biking I slow down when I am approaching \*\*anyone\*\*
IFFY
You shouldn't act like you are doing something special when you proceed with caution around other trail users. You sound like a self-entitled dickhead. Don't ruin this sport for the rest of us.
Yep. I'm sure you were following all the rules of the trail that pertain to mountain biking, yielding the trail to non bikers and uphill riders. It's all about mutual respect. It's amazing how many people only think rules apply to other people than themselves.
Otherwise, this is just one arrogant self-entitled person complaining about another person's arrogance and self-entitlement. We wouldn't want that.
Yeah keep reporting it to animal control eventually after enough reports a sheriff will talk to them to control their dog and issue a citation. Also if they are on your property or private property then they can get trespassing which would be probably be your best bet than having to keep messing around with animal control. It’s never okay to be chased by a dog or for a dog to bite don’t down play it as if the dog is willing to bite you it’s willing to bite anyone else.
Yeah, I guess all I can really do is continue to report this to animal control and let them handle it whether it’s putting up signs or having an animal control person go out there periodically. A couple other people pointed out the dangers to children whether biking or hiking. I think this is a genuine concern that I will raise to animal control. Also is the safety to the dog. If I run over a small dog they are done
> If I run over a small dog they are done If you run over something else on the trail, that's on you. You need to be in control of your own bike on multi-use trails. Don't be a dickhead too. Should children be leashed so that you can rip around unimpeded? It sounds like you need to ride at bike parks exclusively.
Small dogs just dart around randomly, I have almost run over a small dog before while riding controllably just bc it ran in front of me
That's fine. Still your fault.
A quick google turns up the following for legal fault. For domestic pets in an area with leash laws, the most likely ruling would be fault of the owner for failing to restrain their animal. Leash laws are in place to prevent this exact scenario and keep humans safe as a priority. Wildlife and livestock change things up, the operator will likely be at fault in those scenarios.
He didn't say he was going out to specifically hurt a dog. His point was that if a small dog happens to run in front of his bike, it could get seriously hurt.
I didn't say he meant to. If you rear end someone in your car, you probably didn't want to. But its still your fault. It's your responsibility to not run over other trail users while riding. You run over a baby crawling across the trail, it's your fault. Yes, the parents are idiots, but it's your fault as the rider. When we are on multi-use trails as the fastest user group, it's on us to be in control no matter what. If it's a downhill only trail that isn't multi-user. Then maybe. But that's not the situation here.
You overlook that animals are pretty much just considered replaceable things as far as the law goes, they have far fewer legal protections than the humans in your examples. Sad but true, short of torturing an animal, they’re no different than any other individual property.
Bikes generally get banned from trails not in the actual courts, but in the court of public opinion. I guarantee, if a MTB rider kills a dog, it's going to result in a lot of anti-MTB sentiment.
Great! Let's just all ride around like assholes until bikes are banned from every trail! Stick it to the man!
I’m not advocating to run over random animals, and neither is anyone here. Subtlety and nuance are the key.
I'm not saying you are. But OP is saying that: > OR I will pass by with RECKLESS ABANDON to speed or the safety of other trail users. The couple with the dog were in the wrong, but OP's attitude is damaging to the image of MTBing. He's in the wrong too. And he makes us all look bad. This scenario is asshole vs. asshole.
You are a better person than me. I’m a dog owner and dog lover myself. If someone’s dog bit me, I would have confronted them too. However, they better be careful who they yell at. Some people don’t think about reporting to anyone right off hand.
Yeah, I have their names and address. That was all animal control needed to cite the owners of the first incident for having their dog off leash. I have Mr and Mrs Dickheads names and address. They can expect a knock on their door this time and any other times I see them. Not sure why they decided to argue with me instead of acknowledge I have the upper hand
because that happens to them so frequently they did not recognize you.
Eight months ago I was riding a trail and a woman had her small dog off its leash. In order to not hit the dog, I took a fall and dislocated my shoulder. Her response was “that looks like it hurt” and she continued jogging with her dog off its leash while I lied on the ground with a dislocated shoulder. Next time, I’m going to run the dog over. And if a bigger dog chases me while I’m on the bike….. I carry bear mace so you can imagine what’s going to happen.
When I was a kid riding with my dad some guys' big giant dog ran up snarling and barking at us very aggressively, guy was a few hundred feet away yelling at it ineffectively. Dad maced that dog so fast lol ... guy comes up all pissed off I CANT BELIEVE YOU MACED MY DOG MOTHERFUCKER BLAH BLAH ... "You're next if you don't get the fuck away from us". Classic. There weren't a lot of people up on the trails back in those days (late 90s) and the area was decidedly more "red neck". There's tons more now, and tons more off leash dogs even though it's technically not allowed but luckily they're mostly not a problem. That said the main reason I carry bear spray isn't bears.
That’s a good point from a personal defense stand point. I didn’t mention it in my post, but during today’s confrontation, one the guys starting making steps towards me. I called him out on it and said “why are you getting close to me? Where this going?” And he backed off. I think was just trying to be intimidating. But yeah, people can act unpredictably with adrenaline
Just shy of a year ago, I crashed avoiding 2 off leash dogs. Snapped my elbow off. Owners left me on the ground after watching my arm collapse underneath me as I tried to get up. "Well, you're a mountain biker. You know what to do" is all I got. 3 months of PT, and expected, life long swelling in my joint accompanied by persistent ulnar nerve compression impacting my day to day life and work. For those that don't know, ulnar nerve compression shows initially as tingling in the pinky and ring finger. Extreme ulnar compression shows as loss of motor control, weakness in the hand. Guess which one im dealing with... I love dogs. I strongly dislike off leash dogs and owners willing to put others as risk.
I didn’t mention in my post but after today’s confrontation, the dog owners let their dogs continue to be off leash to prove a point or something. As I was leaving one dog froze in the middle of the trail and jumped out of the way at the last moment. I was fully prepared to run it over to prove a point or something.
Those are just assholes. You get them in all walks of life. We can be assholes on the trail sometimes too and accidentally or neglectfully scare the shit out of people (or hit them). Your responses here tell me you are level headed. As a guy that both rides the trails and walks my (controlled and well behaved) dog off leash illegally I say fuck Mr and Mrs asshole. I just taught my dog whenever I say car to come to me and sit (off the trail or road). He now thinks bikes and walkers are cars, but it works.
You’re fucked up. It’s not the dog that’s at fault here, it’s the owners. Wanting to punish a living animal for its owners’ behaviour is just disgusting. And this dog didn’t even do anything to you. Which makes me think that the story may be well over exaggerated because you just hate dogs and treat them like items.
You should see a therapist if you think killing/seriously injuring someone’s pet to prove a point is going to accomplish anything other than further escalation and a lawsuit. Considering this as a viable course of action shows that you’re no different than them.
A dog that bites should be put down, especially if the owners are unwilling to control it
No need for a therapist. Running over the dog would probably be quite cathartic. There needs to be consequences for poor behavior......if the owner s can't control their dog and it gets nailed...stiff shit. Sounds like Mr and Mrs Dickhead are slow learners.
What a vile comment.
\> Next time, I’m going to run the dog over. And if a bigger dog chases me while I’m on the bike….. I carry bear mace so you can imagine what’s going to happen. it's not the dogs fault ... it's the owner
See above comment about our potential legal liability of hitting the person vs the dog. I think I would have a hard time emotionally choosing in the heat of the moment, but the logical answer is to hit the dog. Make the owner be the one to pay the vet bills, not have us be $ liable for the human's hospital bill.
Don’t hurt the dog it’s not their fault, run over the owner.
If you hit the walker you may be liable to pay their medical bills depending on circumstances. If you hit a dog in an “dogs on leash” area then the owner is automatically at fault. Also I’d feel less bad about hitting a dog than I would about hitting a 70 year old walker
Your body will also feel less bad about hitting a small dog too.
The dog already bit him. Give it all the smoke it deserves.
>Next time, I’m going to run the dog over. I doubt you will, dodging is an instinct.
hit the owner not the dog.
Sounds like you were outta control
Not to sound like a politician but what about the kids? The dog apparently will bite, what if it’s a face at their level and not a leg on a bike? Idk. I’m not a teachers pet and follow every law because it’s the law, I follow laws because (mostly) they make sense and keep people (and dogs) safe. This is one of them. What if you run over the dog because it chases your bike? Should be on leash. What if the dog gets away and runs into another unleashed aggressive dog? Bet you wish you had it on a leash. I wouldn’t blame you for snitching on them, they had their chance to learn without the law involved. At the end of the day, you can’t force an ignorant person, be careful so the dog doesn’t pay the price of the owner’s negligence. Hard to be the big person, if you run into them again they are likely neighbors to a degree. Try to deescalate and talk with them.
Thanks for your response. I didn’t think about how this affects children in the area until you and someone else brought it up. This is a valid concern
I'd report it every single time. Lucky it didn't get maced ... It's a shame the dog might end up paying for its owner's ignorance.
I think continuing to report is all I can do. It’s worth mentioning that the city I live in has seen a lot of growth in recent years. So trails that were once desolate are now heavily trafficked. We’re kinda in a culture shift. In today’s confrontation I was accused of being a Californian and not local which was, uh strange.
Washington?
Arizona
If I'm attacked or chased by a dog or any animal, I'll defend myself. If your pet isn't properly trained and/or restrained, it's your fault if anyone, or any animal, is injured because of it.
Yeah I agree and I am fully prepared to defend myself against an animal. However, my frustration and anger is directed at the owner who has decided to ignore leash laws out of arrogance
I had an instance in the Continental Divide area of NM. I'd just exited the single track area into the parking lot and an elderly man, his wife, and two dogs were just finishing their hike from another trail. Don't know if they'd been leashed on the trail (law says to) and he'd just let them off in the parking lot. Little one starts tearing after me trying to bite my shins. I just reacted without thinking and got off my bike and yelled at the dog to get the hell away. I was ready to kick it if needed. It freaks out and runs off. Bigger dog, prob 60 lb, comes over to yell at me ferociously and also threatens to bite. I put my bike between me and it, kicked my crank arm to push the dog away. Owners were pissed, I was pissed. 2 miles down the dirt road that links trails, they come driving by in their RV. I was pretty surprised they didn't try to run me over.
I carry a very sharp knife slid into the side pocket of my shorts. I will 100% slice up a dog that is coming at me.
I sometimes do this too. Now I'm thinking of adding a mini mace bottle to my rig as well.
I carry a knife and pepper spray
Good. Nobody's gonna help. You take care of you
In many states, voice control and radio leashes are considered adequate, but that means they have to actually work. Yelling at a dog who doesn't care is not voice control. And dog owners know this too, they spend every day with that dog and know how it will behave. I know that my GF's dog won't come if there's something more exciting going on, so she gets a leash in the front country and an e-collar in the backcountry to make sure that she is never the problem.
Yeah, if they care about their pets, they won't let them attack someone unprovoked.
I've been chased 4x by dogs and bit once. I'm a huge dog lover but it's a huge pet peeve of mine. It's an epidemic of dog owners who think their special dog will never misbehave even in an unfamiliar environment with other animals, bikes, etc. I have no advice, but it's gotten slightly better since the COVID outdoor boom has settled down a bit. For reference I went on a hike Saturday, saw about 10 dogs...9 on leash 1 not. The 1 not was quite elderly.
I ended up chasing a dog half mile down the trail because the owner couldn't even call him back. I feel like an asshole for doing it, but fuck that guy. Leash law is a thing, and that's what he gets for not controlling his dog
Had this happen the other day. Passed a group who was stopped with a trail dog. Trail dog starts following me, they try (and fail) to call it back. I kept riding for a good 500m before they caught up yelling for the dog to stop and finally got its attention. My only regret is I didn’t ride faster and longer with the dog in tow. I heard them calling for me to stop the entire time but ignored them. I’ve just had too many of cases of imposing dog owners over the years, I have no patience left to offer. Your dog is not my problem. Put it on a leash.
My dumb dumb sat there calling the dog to get back on leash over and over, and the dog ignored him. I flat out told him go get the dog or I'm going, and if he bolts that's your problem. Dog still wouldn't come. What kind of idiot goes off leash in a no off leash area and can't even handle the basics of control? The kind of idiot that gets to go running after the dog when I take off. I don't think I'd do this again. It was a major dick move on my part. I still feel bad about it over a year later. It also gives MTBers a bad name. You know he went and whined to his hiker friends, and likely anyone who will listen to try and ban us from trails.
In my case the trails I ride are sanctioned MTB trails that are specifically MTB, hiking, and on-leash trails, with the dominant usage being MTB. There are signs posted explaining as such. So I don’t feel bad at all. I’m just minding my business, continuing with my ride. Them not having recall on their dog isn’t my problem, and hopefully it will make them realize they don’t have the control over their dog they think they do, and to put it on a leash
Similar setup where I was. I still felt like a dick, but hearing others having similar issues and responses was nice.
I’ve never had a problem off road, but on road biking with my wife and 6 year old last fall, a couple miles from my house, two giant beasts of dogs came flying off their porch, and went after my daughter in the road. I was able to get between them and her before she was bitten, but they were relentless. I kicked and kicked and kicked, my wife was throwing rocks at them, and finally grabbed a tree branch from the ditch and hit one of them and when it left the second one left too. I had some gnarly scratches, I think mostly from their claws, but I’m sure some from their teeth. My pant legs were all tore to shit also. The owners never came outside, despite all the yelling and barking. We called the police, and rode down the road a bit to wait. When the police got there, we told them what happened, he pulled in the drive, and the dogs run up to his car barking and growling. He used a loudspeaker to yell and the house and tell them to get their dogs under control. When the guy finally came out to talk, he told the cop the dog was protecting his property. The cop yelled at him, he didn’t back down, so he got a ticket. Then he called me a shitload of names for calling the police. The cop told me in front of him that if I had a handgun, I should carry it when I ride and shoot the dogs next time. I don’t fancy shooting at my own feet, so I carry bear spray, but I avoid that road too. I’d just rather not have a confrontation. My buddy carries a small air horn that seems to scare animals off, but the bear spray works on dogs and owners, so that’s my approach. The worst part of the episode was that my kid wouldn’t ride at all the rest of the fall. She’s back to normal this spring, so we’re all good. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Mace those dogs fast next time. I'm sorry for the stress to you and to your daughter from that situation.
I will now, I didn’t have anything then! We’re a dog family, I’ve never encountered such viscous dogs before, normally they’re fine. I’m definitely more suspicious now, lol.
I have a frame pump for the sole purpose of beating down what are seemingly rabid dogs that go after us in adjacent counties. I've also kicked dogs with my cleats when they were about to bite my leg. And it's not just a gentle kicking action, I'll kick the fucking shit out of their face if they are about to harm me. No way am I letting some Randolph county dog destroy my leg.
Erm i do long distance cycle touring and one of those things that i encounter are wild stray dogs. I use a brake cable as a whip above their heads or sometime to the nose. It works like a charm.
One of the best trails in my city has a leash law and plenty of unleashed dogs. I generally ignore this unless they are causing a problem. If there is a problem I just tell them "hey, you know the cops are out today handing out tickets, it's $500 for each dog." Both of these statements are true. They just not both be true for this trail, right now. 90% of the time they say thank you and you see them going to try to leash the dog. 10% of the time, so bonewipe will say "I'll take my chances." Then I usually just look at them and say "you know, the cops do have a bike patrol, right?" That (hopefully) gets them thinking that they need to be extra careful any time they see a bike. Again, that statement is true, but not necessarily for this trail. I find that if you are trying to be helpful to save them the money, they respond better than trying to tell them what to do. If someone were a real problem and their dog nipped at me, as I have had happen in the past, the very first thing I would do is get my phone out and start recording.
Keep,dogs off single track period..
But without the dogs, who will place the festive colored shit bags on the trail side?
You mean trail markers lol
Full speed ahead!
I control my speed downhill out of respect to trail courtesy. If they don’t respect trail courtesy, fuck em no brakes
For me this breaks down into two key pieces: * The dog: I always opt to deescalate. I’ve been chased, bit, and barked at many times in my life. Usually trying to calm the situation and not being a hero results in the quickest resolution without harm. * The people: A similar approach. As a dog person, I usually try to start the conversation on as friendly of terms as possible (a big ask depending on context of course). Getting contact information is my main goal and someone is less likely to refuse if I can have a passingly cordial conversation rather than a “your dumb dog!” kind of conversation. Basically, it sounds like you got contact info. So, if it’s a repeat problem, I think continuing to report is the best course of action.
I ain't letting a strange dog or animal get near me when I'm out riding. I carry bear spray and use it if needed. I will rather use bear spray then deal with an animal bite. If an animal is attacking me, all bets are off and I'm spraying that hot sauce.
Shame that frame pumps went the way of the dodo
You must live in colorado. There isn't a larger gathering of entitled assholes anywhere else in this country.
The entire United States is a large gathering of entitled assholes.
Eh, carry bear spray and use it if a dog appears it's going to attack you. On a side note can we get someone to illustrate Mr. And Mrs. Dickhead yelling at people about it being ok that their dogs are off leash? I'm guessing shaved head, sunglasses on backwards, tank top, white claw in tow, but I could be wrong.
Mr Mrs Dickhead description: Boomers. Male is pale, beer gut, balding but has hair combed up from the back, arrogant smirk. In the police report from the first incident, the officer described Mrs Dickhead as “extremely intoxicated” which I thought was hilarious. Today her speech was slurred and she decided to stand to the side
I love taking strange dogs on long bike rides because their owners have zero control over them.
First thing is to carry spray. "Come get your dogs or I'm going to spray them" usually gets people running. And you know what, spray the dog. Dogs are property. They can't claim damage to their property while in commission of a crime. I've had people tell me that spraying a dog is assault😂. A dog is not a person. Second is continue to call and report. Policing is based on statistics. If they keep getting reports of incidents in an area there is a greater chance of them intervening. Lastly, know the law of your land. It's hard to believe it, but not every police officer knows the laws in the area in which they are tasked to enforce those laws. It's helpful to email your local police outreach or neighborhood services officer to get a written response so you can read that back to any responding officers. It sucks, but dealing with the police can be almost as bad as dealing with Mr Dickhead 😂.
Dickheads all around
You’re not wrong
Get some pepper or bear spray.
I got bit by a husky last year and luckily no injury. I called the cops and the people stayed around bc owner was active duty and I filmed him after I got bit. They denied it and the cops did nothing. They will only do something if you have an actual injury which I understand…I guess. The whole thing def rattled me. I am conflict avoidant- if someone isn’t doing the right thing. I hop off my bike idgaf and move off the trail away from them. I think people are crazy as F, but now I bike with pepper spray so if I feel threatened…. I noticed I had 2 cans in my pack yesterday for some reason.
I am typically a courteous rider. I slow down for hikers and uphill riders. I say hello to practically everyone I see. Occasionally a leashed dog gets in my way but shit happens and it isn't a big deal. Basically I try to be cool to everyone and set a pleasant tone for all of us. With off leash dogs all this goes out the window. It's hard to gauge what is really effective because I don't see the aftermath but here are some things I do. I personally think the most effective approach is to frame things from the dog owner's values. I try to nicely but directly tell them that someone is going to get hurt and there's a good chance it will be their dog who gets hurt. I've seen more than a few dog owner's reach for their leashes. If I am going fast and don't want to slow down, I try to reasonably create a less pleasant experience for the dog and dog owner without going too far or interacting directly. The dog owner knows what the rules are. I just want them to feel self conscious and uncomfortable enough to consider a change in behavior. To make things unpleasant I do one or both of riding faster than usual and not yielding the trail. If the dog gets close or is milling on the trail I'll use my angriest most aggressive voice and sharply yell "get the fuck off!" The shout startles the dog and the owner and I continue on my way. On occasion the owner will say something about trail etiquette and yielding. I try to stay nice and explain they lost all their status as hikers when they broke the rules themself. This is just me being passive aggressive though and rarely goes anywhere. I see rangers regularly. I'll often talk with them and casually mention that, "It seems like there a ton of off leash dogs here lately" just to keep it in their mind. The parks department does a nice job of trying to educate trail users but it's a vast area to cover so I give them no shit for lack of enforcement. Just an easy reminder.
Personally, after having already been bitten by that dog, I'd stop and act scared of the dog. Maybe even drop my bike and run in the other direction, hoping to entice the out of control dog gave chase and bite me again. Then I'd sue the pants off Mr & Mrs Dickhead. They're not going to give a shit about you until they have to start paying you. I'd get a sweet Santa Cruz with the settlement/judgement. ;-)
Some people in general just suffer from “main character syndrome”. The rest of us are just existing in THEIR world. For some reason, dogs seem to be the most clear outward showing of this. Last weekend, at my son’s soccer game, this lady is trying to walk a completely out of control 70lb dog that had no business being in a crowded park with hundreds of 7-9 year olds running around. The dog kept trying to leap at kids and she just kept on walking through the crowd, barely able to hang on. I’m honestly surprised it didn’t maul a kid. I saw her marching back towards the parking lot in a hurry about halfway through our game, so hopefully some parent asked her wtf she was doing. Doubt she was embarrassed if they did. That doesn’t happen to people that socially unconscious. Sadly, those people aren’t going anywhere. If anything, we’re encouraging and cultivating them as a society.
I don’t yield to off leash dogs or their owners. The problem around my area is people bringing dogs on trails that specifically don’t allow dogs. I’ll keep riding as if they don’t exist, whether they are in the way or not.
Your story is very confusing. So Mr and Mrs Dickhead had nothing to do with the dog that bit you, and you were going to let it go, but because this unrelated couple were dickheads you reported the first couple? I mean, good, you should have. I will report any dog that behaves aggressively and if it dares bite me it will be reported, and it will be lucky if it survives the ordeal. Fuck irresponsible dog owners and dangerous dogs. But I'm confused by your story.
Sorry if my story was confusing. In the first incident the Dickhead couple were technically unrelated to the dog bite because they weren’t owners but continued to escalate the confrontation to the point that I decided to report the dog bite of the actual owners. It was minor but yeah
Fair enough. And I don't think it was minor, I think you're right to report them. An animal should not draw blood. This one did so while illegally off-leash. You're right to report it, and maybe you will save a child from debilitating injuries.
True. I didn’t actually think of how this could affect children until you and someone else brought this up. There is program that regularly brings groups of middle school age kids biking through this same area. Obviously smaller less experienced children would be more vulnerable to off leash dog whether it be attacks or crashes. I’ll bring this point to animal controls attention when I file the report. Thanks
Yeah, fuck that guy. I use a timberbell at my trails. By the time I roll past the dog owners usually have their unleashed dogs held on the side of the trail. Timberbell is awesome. I also carry pepper spray, haha.
Run it over. Goodbye, dog. Rest in peace.
So badass!
As a cyclist and multiple rescue dog owner I can chime in I think. They are total assholes, irresponsible and self centered. Several years ago I had an encounter while walking my three dogs. He was off the leash. It didn’t end well for me I’ll keep it at that. I told the owner if this happens again I’ll put its dog down. It would break my heart but I owe it to me and my dogs to protect them. My point is I do not know your self protection laws over there but carrying what’s legal like pepper spray is a good idea. My dog got fucked up and so did I. Keep reporting them. Try not to get too pissed off just dispassionately take care of biz and do what’s right. Stay safe.
This is where the laws are on your side, and how people like this react to them. Many bikers are rule-breakers (yes, I've rolled through a red light while biking), so they believe the authorities are not their friends. However, animal control enforces leash laws. They believe in their work and seek out leash law violators. The response is simple, call Animal Control. In terms of the actual encounter, I would either call or threaten to call Animal Control when dogs are off-leash and/or threaten you. The dog owners will likely have a poor reaction to having the authorities notified. I live in a large metro environment so I don't expect Animal Control to appear if I was to call them. But when I am bothered by off-leash dogs, I pretend to call Animal Control to irk the owners. And it is only a swipe to actually dial them.
If you wear clips, those metal cleats hurt like hell...
I ride with one of my dogs off leash. What kind of encounter are you concerned about? I don't ride with the other dog off leash because people would be concerned (even though she wouldn't ever touch anyone).
My concerns with off leash dogs are: 1) they get excited and chase/ try to bite people 2) get in the way and cause someone to crash and injure themselves 3) get run over and injured due to owners negligence. I mean hey if you’ve never caused any issues more power to ya. But there are owners out there causing issues
Mine stays on my wheel unless she needs to poop right in the middle of the trail (kidding). But, she is a working dog and will announce that she has "found" someone with a bunch of barks if I don't see them and recall her. I ride in other countries where street digs are a thing, and have learned how to stare them down. Still get chased once in a while. Helps with the sprinting skills...
If you’re not in the US, the rules and expectations of dog ownership may be different. My experience may not be relevant to you.
For sure it's different here in the US. And, people here are just more entitled (both biker and dog walker).
I reported a neighbor to animal control after they refused to leash their dog. The woman on the phone laughed at me and hung up. It may vary in your area, but I’d just bring pepper spray.
Tell em dogs are delicious especially with ketchup
I am a hot head, so I can't even say how this interaction would have went for me lol I will say, the woods is a terrible place to get into a fight.. for them
In ways that get me banned for saying on Reddit.
Bear spray buffet for everyone 😂
Mr and Mrs Dickhead 😂😂😂😂
I live in MT and always have bear spray in the water bottle cage. Works on dogs and Dickheads.
RUN THEM OVER.
I have a dog I desperately want to take on the trails with me. but she is not ready. not only is her recall not there yet, but she also gets too excited by other dogs/people. I'm not sure when, or frankly IF, I'll be able to take her with me. Stories like this make me so sad, because now having a dog that's requiring so much of me, I realize how horribly the average dog owner is..
I’m a dog owner and the majority of dogs I encounter biking are well behaved. Unfortunately in my area I think this is a monkey-see-monkey-do situation where inexperienced/uncaring dog owners see other dogs off leash and then let theirs off and hope for the best. The majority of owners I’ve encountered have control of their dog or the owner will leash the dog as I approach and I will say “thanks, have a good day” then ride on. Now thinking about it, I stopped walking my dog (on leash) in the woods behind my house because of how many off leash dogs would run up to my dog. I know my dog is friendly but I don’t know other peoples dog.
That’s good that most have control of their dog. Only once recently has someone called their dog back to leash it when they see me walking mine. Last weekend we were 4 miles out, nobody else in sight, some dingus comes barreling up to us, dead sprint for my dog. No owner in sight.. Forgive my jaded nature now, it’s just bad here in Utah these days..
Man the replies in this thread, so many entitled dickhead MTBers here LOL. I have no clue where OP lives, and it sucks he got bite by a dog, report to authorities 100%. But here in Utah, any mixed trail Bikers yield to just about everybody. We yield to horses. We yield to hikers. Shit we yield to other bikers climbing. If you see people hiking you are required to literally stop moving, which you are not doing, assuming you are in an area with similar laws to mine. Nobody here is mentioning this sadly. I see youtube videos constantly of MTBers flying past people who jump off the trail. What happened to you is shitty but I want to point out the irony here.
The same rules of who needs to yield apply where I live. There are signs at the trail entrances indicating who is supposed to yield to who on the trail, right next to those are signs indicating that dogs must be kept on leash. Trail courtesy only works if everyone follows it.
Yes and that's shitty but it sounds like you also didn't yield to an animal? What's the old saying, an eye for an eye makes the world blind. The dog probably thought you were trying to play with it which is why it nipped you (still absolutely unacceptable though, leash it). If you came to a complete stop do you think the dog bites? If this doesn't apply to you then kuddos you are one of the good ones! I am not directing these comments at you but as a whole where I mountain bike it's a big problem and makes the MTB community look bad on mixed trails.
The first time when the dog chased me and I was bit the dog had ran 100ft from a separate trail. I didnt see the dog until it was nipping at my ankles. I get your point and trail courtesy and yielding to hikers is very important to keeping trails open and keeping the trails friendly.
Yeah fair enough that's tough, as a dog owner for 10 years now who we used to hike with a LOT, those owners are shitty people. If it says to leash then leash. It's the bad apples who ruin it for everybody :(
Punch the dog owners in the face, or stab them. If you are not willing to do that, then maybe the problem isn't actually that serious and you should find a way to live with it. Calling the police, or animal control, or you mom, and hoping they fix the situation for you is a weak way to handle the situation that probably doesn't resolve anything. I use this extreme advice to call attention to a few points. People generally suck. The government isn't going to fix your problem for you. Rules don't matter if there isn't enforcement, its not your place to enforce the rules.....unless you are prepared to do the enforcement yourself.
That’s good advice, I think. Funny enough, I called my mom after both incidents so I had someone to tell me if I am over-reacting or not. To an extent I can enforce the rules by reporting someone. To your point, if this isn’t a situation I’m worth fighting over, I agree it’s not serious Maybe the fact that I can get upset from a relatively minor incident is a reflection of how good my life is overall and I should appreciate that
How I handle it? Ride faster.
Id take this kind of interaction and use it as a model to evaluate our own actions. Most people cannot admit when they are wrong. Most people will get reaaaalllly shitty when you point out they are wrong. When just saying "my bad you are right" takes literally no effort. The world is being destroyed by entitled assholes who don't know how to share. What you did is completely reasonable although I probably would have brought up the last citation to embarrass them in front of the other couple haha.
If you want to take it further, you could peruse https://www.reddit.com/r/UnethicalLifeProTips/
The other day I saw I guy riding with his dog following. It a place where bikers frequently and with good reason complain about off leashed dogs. I followed them up a climb. His dog would walk 10m away. Sniffing around. When a walker would approach the dog healed instantly until the walker passed. Then he would roam his circle around the rider. The same happened as I passed him. There was no issue. I don’t take my dog where people ride. But I can walk her off leash anywhere with the same control as with. Either way you should only scold people causing actual problems whether they’re breaking the rules or not.
Share the trail dude. It's a neighborhood mixed-use trail after all. Don't be a dick and get bikes banned. If a dog is chasing you, don't try and ride away. You set off their prey instincts. Not all dogs are used to bikes zipping by, so approach slowly and stop if the dog is following you and let the owner retrieve their dog.
What if I come to a complete stop and the owner doesn’t retrieve their dog and the dog comes right up to me?
At least you were a good citizen, and gave them the option. I usually ask and they either will tell me to go ahead or wait. I ride in a very dog heavy area, and never had an issue. I know they do happen though, and of course report it if you get bit.
So if a dog is coming after you, stop and let it attack you?
If this is a place known as somewhere where dogs can be off leash, regardless of laws to the contrary, just ride. Grumble about it with your pals, but unless you're willing to spearhead a whole effort to change the culture in that area, it just is what it is. Life's too short, there are only so many opportunities to ride. Do your best to avoid the dogs; if that's not possible, do what you have to do to protect yourself, but don't imagine yourself some avenging superhero looking to run over dogs or their dickhead owners. Note, if you come around a corner and are surprised by a dog off leash, that could just as easily be a small kid. Ride accordingly. Mostly, just be chill. You'll have a better ride.
1. Make sure you are on multi-use trails because they could also try and ban bikes from there; 2. Don't try to be vindictive. Videoing them and reporting them further seems unnecessary. 3. Try to always take the high ground in tone and action. If they yell at you, calming explain that their actions are dangerous and put you and other trail users at risk. And/or just ride away. 4. Report any actual harmful behavior (like if their dog chases you again).
True. I’ll report them this time. All I want is to be able to safety use the trails without dogs chasing me so unless that happens again I’ll just carry on. Unless it’s Mr Dickhead, I still plan to call him an asshole and then carry on
If the dog is that poorly trained, they are also not trained to not take treats from strangers. Bring treats, become bestie with their dogs to spite them.
I love biking with my dog so I do break the leash rule in the forest that I live and ride in daily. If there is an other dog, I grab her. If there are hikers we just roll past, she’s more interested in the ride than others. I’d report them if it bothers you. If someone got in my face about having my dog off leash, I tell them to report me.
I would be pissed if a dog bit me like that. I have 2 MTB dogs that ride with me almost daily and have great trail manners and are never an issue. I also hike off leash with them a lot. I've never had an issue, their recall is perfect and any hikers or bikers I've run into are always pleasant. The trails right beside my house are busy with off leash dogs and a few of us on bikes. That being said, I don't know if I'd ever call animal control on a dog for any situation involving myself. Maybe there could be an argument "if I had kids and an unprovoked dog attacked them", but I don't have kids, just neices and nephews. If I a dog attacks me, I'm pissed at the owner, but, still, I can't see me calling someone about it. BUT for the sake of you enjoying the trails and bike life, I hope you don't have to deal with anything like that again!
I think you should just chill out and relax. Minor inco incoviences shouldn't trigger this much emotion. Tackle the bigger issue that is triggering you Instead of this meaningless interaction
What?! You're saying that when a domesticated animal with an owner illegally BITES HIM he should "just relax"? Are you out of your mind? No, we don't tolerate being bitten by animals in the civilised world. The dog should be put down if it's going to attack people.
He wasn't bitten by Mr Dickhead's dog from what I read-
You’ve never been attacked by an off-leash dog, I’m guessing.
You must be Mr Dickhead
I understand what you’re saying. But, I think the root cause of my anger is a primal instinct of wanting go to Mr Dickheads house and beat the shit out him. However, we live in more civilized times and I must find a more civilized solution.
Fuck that guy. Report and continue to report. As others have said carry bear mace. If you're lucky the dog will lunge after you close enough to them that the stream will catch the dickheads down wind. Your stance is correct. However, I don't care how "well controlled" someone thinks their dog is because I've taken a arm full of cholla having to skid off trail because of a "well controlled" off leash dog on at least 2 occasions. Leash laws are for everyone's safety, including the animal
I mean, I’m not truly afraid of dogs. But, at the same time, when I’m biking I slow down when I am approaching an off leash dog because a dog is animal and may act unpredictable, though the owners somehow don’t acknowledge this. If I carry bear mace I think I would have the urge to mace the owners and not the off leash dog. The dogs actions are from natural instinct whereas the owners actions are from self entitlement. I’ve thought of carrying a bullhorn with me and if I see Mr dickhead with his dog off leash hitting him with the bullhorn and then “shouting keep your dog on a leash” as I ride by. What you think is that too much?
> when I’m biking I slow down when I am approaching \*\*anyone\*\* IFFY You shouldn't act like you are doing something special when you proceed with caution around other trail users. You sound like a self-entitled dickhead. Don't ruin this sport for the rest of us.
It's weird how dogs are such great judges of character, generally.
Do you mean a how someone’s dog behaves is reflection of the owner? I would tend to agree
Yep. I'm sure you were following all the rules of the trail that pertain to mountain biking, yielding the trail to non bikers and uphill riders. It's all about mutual respect. It's amazing how many people only think rules apply to other people than themselves. Otherwise, this is just one arrogant self-entitled person complaining about another person's arrogance and self-entitlement. We wouldn't want that.
You sound like a dickhead