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drsolly

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I got unlucky with dogs again yesterday.

 

1) I got back to my car after a long circuit on the bike, and while I was taking off my coat, a dog walker got back to the same car park. Her dogs made a beeline for me, and started barking and jumping at me. Owner called and called, with no effect whatsoever, as usual, and I just stood there, making sure that I kept the dogs in sight, until eventually the dog owner hauled them away from me.

 

No apology. Of course. The manners of the dog owner match the manners of the dog.

 

2) I was in the middle of a wood, searching for a cache, and a medium-sized dog raced up to me and did the "I'm a big aggressive dog and I'm going to intimidate you" act. So I stpped looking for the cache, and faced the dog. Dog continued to act the big bad wolf, and then the owner came up and said "He won't hurt you" which in my mind is one of the stupidest things they can say, because how do they know? And I know, from personal experience, that a dog that has never bitten anyone before, might decide to start now. So I gripped my stick, ready to use it in case the dog decided to make good on the threats that it was barking at me, and I said, "Well, that's good to hear, and let me assure you that if he doesn't attack me, then I won't use my stick to defend myself, which might end up with your dog getting hurt." Which is true - I'm not going to start a fight with a dog, but neither am I going to just stand there and be bitten. So I got given a funny look, I guess this dog owner isn't used to people being ready to defend themselves, and she dragged the dog away from me, which, of course, is even better. And is what she should have done in the first place.

 

No apology. Of course. The manners of the dog match the manners of the dog owner.

 

36 caches found, didn't fall off my bike, didn't fall over on foot, didn't get bitten. A good day out!

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Her dogs made a beeline for me, and started barking and jumping at me. Owner called and called, with no effect whatsoever, as usual

...

2) I was in the middle of a wood, searching for a cache, and a medium-sized dog raced up to me and did the "I'm a big aggressive dog and I'm going to intimidate you" act. So I stpped looking for the cache, and faced the dog. Dog continued to act the big bad wolf, and then the owner came up and said "He won't hurt you" which in my mind is one of the stupidest things they can say, because how do they know?

I hear ya, happened to me enough times as well. Apparently some dog owners don't need to leash their dogs because they're so nice and friendly and won't harm anyone anyway. :unsure:

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I got unlucky with dogs again yesterday.

 

1) I got back to my car after a long circuit on the bike, and while I was taking off my coat, a dog walker got back to the same car park. Her dogs made a beeline for me, and started barking and jumping at me. Owner called and called, with no effect whatsoever, as usual, and I just stood there, making sure that I kept the dogs in sight, until eventually the dog owner hauled them away from me.

 

No apology. Of course. The manners of the dog owner match the manners of the dog.

 

2) I was in the middle of a wood, searching for a cache, and a medium-sized dog raced up to me and did the "I'm a big aggressive dog and I'm going to intimidate you" act. So I stpped looking for the cache, and faced the dog. Dog continued to act the big bad wolf, and then the owner came up and said "He won't hurt you" which in my mind is one of the stupidest things they can say, because how do they know? And I know, from personal experience, that a dog that has never bitten anyone before, might decide to start now. So I gripped my stick, ready to use it in case the dog decided to make good on the threats that it was barking at me, and I said, "Well, that's good to hear, and let me assure you that if he doesn't attack me, then I won't use my stick to defend myself, which might end up with your dog getting hurt." Which is true - I'm not going to start a fight with a dog, but neither am I going to just stand there and be bitten. So I got given a funny look, I guess this dog owner isn't used to people being ready to defend themselves, and she dragged the dog away from me, which, of course, is even better. And is what she should have done in the first place.

 

No apology. Of course. The manners of the dog match the manners of the dog owner.

 

36 caches found, didn't fall off my bike, didn't fall over on foot, didn't get bitten. A good day out!

I seem to be another of those people whom dogs can identify as "fresh meat". This log from last week was just typical: "Came to this one from number 2 - and was jumped on by three dogs near to GZ no less! Funnily enough I wasn't reassured by the pit-bull-terrier-a-like's owner when he tried to say repeatedly that the dog was fine and only a year old and wouldn't hurt me because he was just a puppy! Yup - you believe that if you want to sir, but your adolescent 'fighting' dog was pretty scary to me when it charged me, jumped up and scratched me!"

 

But the one which has to absolutely take the dogs' biscuit was the pair of mongrels who a couple of months ago, bounded towards me, blocked my path, started barking, then changed to snarling and growling... and when the owner approached she told me that behaviour was all my fault because I was standing still in front of them. Oh and when I spluttered an opinion that that assertion might not be true, she said that I shouldn't be walking in that particular PUBLIC PARK because it was a "doggy place". Priceless!

 

I'm not sure that any hobby which involves just walking around in a public park should come with the attendant you can't walk anywhere where dogs go. Anyway, empathy rant over!! (Oh and I won't be stopping caching because of it) and honestly, some dogs can be pretty cute so let me also add that I KNOW it's not all dogs or all dog owners.

 

I DO like the

"Well, that's good to hear, and let me assure you that if he doesn't attack me, then I won't use my stick to defend myself, which might end up with your dog getting hurt."
which I shall use with GUSTO from now on, only when I'm threatened first of course! Cheers!

 

I don't think it was a 'whinging' thread at all. It was an interesting story about what happened to you while caching which, after all, is what caching and logging your adventures on-line is all about.

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Funnily enough I wasn't reassured by the pit-bull-terrier-a-like's owner when he tried to say repeatedly that the dog was fine and only a year old and wouldn't hurt me because he was just a puppy! Yup - you believe that if you want to sir, but your adolescent 'fighting' dog was pretty scary to me when it charged me, jumped up and scratched me!"

 

But the one which has to absolutely take the dogs' biscuit was the pair of mongrels who a couple of months ago, bounded towards me, blocked my path, started barking, then changed to snarling and growling... and when the owner approached she told me that behaviour was all my fault because I was standing still in front of them. Oh and when I spluttered an opinion that that assertion might not be true, she said that I shouldn't be walking in that particular PUBLIC PARK because it was a "doggy place". Priceless!

 

The manners of the dog match the manners of the dog owner.

 

I've been told it's my fault for:

 

1) Wearing a hat

2) Walking with a walking pole

3) My attitude

 

Whereas I know it's the owners fault; the manners of the dog owner match the manners of the dog.

 

I don't like the sort of person who, when I see them in the street, get right into my face and start shouting at me, pushing at me and threatening me with violence for absolutely no reason at all.

 

And I don't like dogs who do that either.

 

On the other hand, I do like people who, when I see them on the street, smile at me and say "Good morning". And I also like dogs that have good manners.

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On the other hand, I do like people who, when I see them on the street, smile at me and say "Good morning". And I also like dogs that have good manners.

I know there was a dog on "That's Life" a few years back who could "grin" and say "sausages", but I'll be interested to hear when you get one to smile at you and said "Good morning".

 

:lol:

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On the other hand, I do like people who, when I see them on the street, smile at me and say "Good morning". And I also like dogs that have good manners.

I know there was a dog on "That's Life" a few years back who could "grin" and say "sausages", but I'll be interested to hear when you get one to smile at you and said "Good morning".

 

:lol:

smiling-dog-2.jpg

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I agree with the posts about dog/owner manners.

 

For me personally, as my wife says, I "speak dog". I worked in a boarding kennel my family ran as a teenager, and I'm very comfortable with dogs. That doesn't mean I won't get caught out sometime, but so far I've only had small bites from poodles (from my kennel days).

 

Now, if I only knew how to "speak cow". Those are the animals which scare me to death when caching... and I'm sure they can smell my fear. And they are never on a lead...

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We had 2 doggy incidents this weekend:

1. Large chocolate labrador circles us growling and barking. Owner says 'I don't think he likes the walking poles' and calls him away before I can demonstrate a pole on the nose.

2. A large indeterminate dog charges towards us barking. Owner says 'its alright he just has a loud bark' .

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Oh dear, not again. At least you only came away with a story to relay this time.

These unfortunate experiences have been comparatively rare though haven't they? You are out caching far more frequently than the rest of us, so the odds of all incidents, including falling off bikes and irresponsible dog owners is increased. How many times have you been on a trip and had a neutral experience with a dog? Don't get me wrong, I'm not in any way justifying the behavior of this dog owner, just adding my penny's worth of balance.

I agree with mellers. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, you are not whinging. You are relaying a Geocaching experience to the rest of the community, which as I understand it, is one of the reasons it is here.

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The manners of the dog match the manners of the dog owner.

 

I've been told it's my fault for:

 

1) Wearing a hat

2) Walking with a walking pole

3) My attitude

 

Ditto all the above .

The lastest excuse I've had from the owner of a snarling dog was that their dog wasn't used to seeing someone stood by the bush I was stood by!

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We had 2 doggy incidents this weekend:

1. Large chocolate labrador circles us growling and barking. Owner says 'I don't think he likes the walking poles' and calls him away before I can demonstrate a pole on the nose.

2. A large indeterminate dog charges towards us barking. Owner says 'its alright he just has a loud bark' .

 

EDIT: on reflection I'm retracting my comments.

Edited by Stuey
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I don't like dogs, particularly...

 

Having been bitten by a dog as a child, I've been wary scared silly of bigger dogs.

 

It REALLY angers me when I'm out for a walk and a dog comes running up from nowhere, not on a lead, owners nowhere to be seen, and jumps all over me, trying to lick me, and won't leave me alone.... This has happened on more than one occasion, and I too, have had the "he's only being friendly, he won't hurt you!" and my immediate thought is... yeah, ok, how do you know he won't hurt me? Do you think for your dog?

 

There's never any apology for the muddy (or even worse) foot prints all over my jacket, for scaring me rigid or for germ ridden slobber all over me.

 

When will dog owners realise that as a responsible dog owner, they are the ones that have to put and keep their dog on a lead....

 

Only today in The New Forest, we were out caching and a boxer type dog came belting towards me... as usual, I froze, while Matt tried to put himself between me and the dog, knowing how scared I am of dogs. This was out in the middle of the forest, where there are wild deer, ponies, cows etc all roaming freely, and who the dog could attack, scare, maim or even kill should he decide to on a whim. Was the dog on a lead? was he heck as like.

 

Sadly, most dog owners think it's their "right" to have their dog off a lead... and say things like - Oh he needs a good run to be exercised properly... I'm sorry, but where there are members of the public, children, livestock and wild animals, dogs need to be on a lead and controlled.

 

Rant over.... :ph34r:

 

I make no apology for any of the above... if anyone would like to show me the clause in the Countryside Code that states that it's perfectly fine for your dog to run around uncontrolled, scare people, livestock and wildlife, then I'll gladly retract my comments.

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Just to add balance...

 

I agree no such thing as bad dogs only bad owners - dogs are dogs, they get spooked by odd things, they can react (badly) to defend thier 'pack'

 

Whilst out caching I have only met with lovely dogs and responsible owners, I am sure one of these days I will have a bad run in with a dog, I have had dogs greet me with muddy paws and thier owners have been overly apoligetic and embarassed, but hey it's only mud, I get worse on me crawling under bushes looking for caches :-)

 

now a couple of dog stories

 

Years ago we had a large bouncy and soft GSDxlab, we also on this walk had my Mums recently rescued, nervous and snappish Chihuahua cross jack russell with us. Both dogs were on leads and under control, my large GSDxlab was in front and desperate to 'meet' a family comming towards us, they were shrinking back away from him and picking up thier kids, no problem for me I was more concerned about getting on with our walk. My mums ChihuahuaX comming along behind, also on a lead and under control, when the parents told thier kids to pat the sweet little dog!!! We soon put them right on that one or else they would have been bitten. Honestly just becasue its a small dog and you percieve it as no threat, do not tell you kids to pat a strange dog. Just to add to this story, tho my own dog is long gone the little Chihuahua X yesterday out caching won over a family who didn't like dogs by being as sweet as could be, thats 10 years of good dog ownership which has let him trust people again after he was abused by them. But he also saw off a one year old staffie that he percieved as getting too close to my son 'his pack', that amazed the idiot with the staffie, which altho it only wanted to play wasn't on a lead, but the Chihuahua X was.

 

So sorry for the long burble, to sum up good dog owners pick up after thier dogs, get thier dog on a lead where appropriate - fields that may contain livestock, near any known triggers (ChihuahuaX hates runners and bikes and will chase and bark, if not on a lead), near any new situations for the dog (with ChihuahuaX we have recently met horses being ridden for the first time, so on goes the lead) and obviously near traffic.

 

now if only we can get the cows to poopa scoop ;-)

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So sorry for the long burble, to sum up good dog owners pick up after thier dogs, get thier dog on a lead where appropriate - fields that may contain livestock, near any known triggers (ChihuahuaX hates runners and bikes and will chase and bark, if not on a lead), near any new situations for the dog (with ChihuahuaX we have recently met horses being ridden for the first time, so on goes the lead) and obviously near traffic.

 

now if only we can get the cows to poopa scoop ;-)

 

I feel for those who have had bad experiences, dog owners infuriate me. I am one, an owner that it is, we do like the dog to be off lead when possible its nicer for them and us but we always keep an eye out for hazards.

 

We got him 10 years ago as a rescue, funny though he had been in the 'rescue home' for over two years, was about 10kg underweight, had chewed the end of his tail to the point the vet wasn't sure it would recover, and his claws were worn down to half a nail bed from being kennel crazy. We didn't know what he was when we got him and his back story was that he had been given up beacuse he lived in a housing estate and chased cats!!!!!!!! We just both fell for him independently probably because he wasn't giving us puppy dog eyes, he was too busy chasing himself.

 

Anyways, turns out he was a staffie cross collie, we honestly couldn't tell this to begin with he was in such a bad way. Once he filled out we were well aware that he looked, well a bit scary to some people, we thought he was handsome of course, he was full of energy and excitement at having a nice home and lovely walks. When we got him we learn't our lesson the hard way. We had got to the point where we trusted him off lead, he was too attached to us by then to bother with anything in case we left him behind, went to a deserted beach and let him off. Suddenly a man appears with a big striding stick, dog goes, not for him but the stick. The man tries to fight him off, with the stick. The dog doesn’t like the stick, battle ensues. This was the first sign that he had been mistreated in more ways than just neglect!! The next thing that happened was a few months later, he was a good dog, he had really settled, we had him on lead in a public bar when he decided out of the blue to take offence at a small girl walking past, just barking aggressively, not attempting to bite, this behaviour happened a couple more times. We did some digging over the years and reached the conclusion that a. he had been beaten b. a small girl in the family had also mistreated him in some way c. the most disturbing thing was it appeared the beatings were done whilst he was muzzled.

 

He is 16 now, he still doesn't particularly do other dogs, having to fight for supremacy for two years did that to him, but he doesn't really bother. He loves adults and fuss. He is great around livestock as we were lucky enough to live on a farm when we got him and he was 'trained' with an electric fenced paddock of sheep on the farmers request. He puts up with children if he has to.

 

With patience and understanding he has been an absolute pleasure to own, almost everyone loves him, yes even those who might not like dogs otherwise, we want to put him up for town mayor if he is still around next year, he will win B)

 

The only point being we always put him on lead when other people approach, whether they look wary or not. You cannot trust a dog ever. And I want people who have had bad experiences to hopefully get over it in time just like he has, not have their fears exacerbated every time they meet a dog.

 

On the other side it sends me up the wall when other people do the 'oh he’s ok', 'just being friendly' blah blah. Your dog might be ok but I hope you don't mind if mine bites him if he gets too close. You can see what I am doing why can you not take a prompt from it? And don't look all hurt and surprised when he does.

 

A friend of mine has too small terriers crosses who are really cute, but don’t do children. The other day a 4 year old ran up to one grabbed him by the ears and kissed him, he was so shocked he didn’t do a thing but his sister had snapped before he could reach her, no damage done apart from to the owner, they were traumatised, it happened so quickly and they are aware and responsible owners, the parent were like ‘oh he does that sort of thing all the time’?!?!

 

There are so many sides to every situation I despair sometimes.

 

There that’s a burble.

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I quite agree. Most people are polite and well mannered, it's only a few that are surly and nasty, and when I meet such a person, I usually document it in the log for the cache, and often on this forum.

 

It's the same with dogs. I'm perfectly happy with a dog trotting up to me and sniffing my boots, and I'm perfectly happy with a human calling out a cheery "good morning" as we pass. But I'm angered when a human shouts "Oi, what are you doing here?" when I'm walking along a public footpath (last time that happened it was another geocacher, winding me up).

 

The theory I'm putting forward here, is that the dog's manners match the human's. If the dog starts jumping and barking at me, off-lead, then the human is likely going to blame me for the dog's ill-manners (it's your hat, it's your stick, it's because you're walking on this footpath).

 

Well mannered humans teach their dogs that it's not acceptable to behave badly; if they can't teach their dog that, then the dog stays on a lead. Yes, I can see that this is not perfect for the dog, but I believe that my freedom to walk unthreatened along a public footpath, trumps the dog's wish to chase rabbits and birds. Ill-mannered humans take the view that it isn't their fault if other people are inconvenienced, threatened or even bitten (which has happened to me) by their dog.

 

Anyway, that's my feeling - it's to do with good manners and consideration for other people.

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My manners far surpass those of my dog.

 

He is prone to jumping up at people in an overly friendly manner and refuses to come back when called. Thus, I keep him on a long line and reel him in when people approach, warning them that he may jump up but that he is over friendly, not aggressive.

 

Once, someone took the time to thank me for doing so.

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My manners far surpass those of my dog.

 

He is prone to jumping up at people in an overly friendly manner and refuses to come back when called. Thus, I keep him on a long line and reel him in when people approach, warning them that he may jump up but that he is over friendly, not aggressive.

 

Once, someone took the time to thank me for doing so.

 

Let me take the time to thank you now, even thought I don't think I've ever met your well-controlled dog. I do think that the long lines that many people use, are a very good idea.

 

Here's another reason why:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf8d47mxHns

Edited by drsolly
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My manners far surpass those of my dog.

 

He is prone to jumping up at people in an overly friendly manner and refuses to come back when called. Thus, I keep him on a long line and reel him in when people approach, warning them that he may jump up but that he is over friendly, not aggressive.

 

Once, someone took the time to thank me for doing so.

 

Let me take the time to thank you now, even thought I don't think I've ever met your well-controlled dog. I do think that the long lines that many people use, are a very good idea.

 

Here's another reason why:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf8d47mxHns

 

I watched that recently - that dog could so easily be Dill and I have been that owner running along behind a dog hell bent on running somewhere (back when I still had high hopes for his recall ability). There are wild deer and pheasants in the woods where I walk him and he has hared off after them.... to be checked by the long line.

 

A long line isn't an ideal scenario to walk a dog but until he learns some manners, control and obedience its as good as it gets for Dill.

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When I first saw that clip I thought it was quite humorous, now, I don't.

Two potentially dreadful outcomes....

1) Should the Gamekeeper have been around, I think I am right in saying he would've been within his rights to shoot Benton/Fenton for worrying the deer. I know this rule applies with farmers & livestock but I'm not 100% about this instance.

2) Benton/Fenton was not only chasing the deer, he was heading toward (what looked to be) fast moving traffic.

 

After the initial laugh, I listened more carefully to the sheer panic in the mans voice as he attempted to get his dog back and thereafter, looked on this clip with very different eyes.

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My manners far surpass those of my dog.

 

He is prone to jumping up at people in an overly friendly manner and refuses to come back when called. Thus, I keep him on a long line and reel him in when people approach, warning them that he may jump up but that he is over friendly, not aggressive.

 

Once, someone took the time to thank me for doing so.

 

Like the good doctor I have no problem with dogs that walk up and sniff at my feet. I have no problem with dogs when they are under control. If a dog jumps up at me I'm liable to either push it away or thump it, depending on the size of the dog and whether I perceive it as an annoyance or a threat.

 

As I see it a dog needs to be trained, and if it isn't trained it's the fault of the owner rather than the dog. It always seems a shame that when a dog does something horribly out of line it gets destroyed - sometimes it would seem more appropriate to have the dog rehomed and retrained and the owner put down.

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There is a big difference between an uncontrolled dog and a dog off the lead.

 

The responsibility lies with the dog owner 100% but that does not mean that dogs must be on a lead. Being on a lead is restrictive for the exercise of the dog.

 

The times my mutt used to jump at people were when she was a puppy and strangers encouraged her, making it very difficult to break the bad habit. However with training the only time she jumped later in her short life was when other dog owners had treats in her pocket.

 

Owners do most of the time know if their mutt is going to be friendly. It's fairly obvious to a decent owner. Growling should not be tolerated in the slightest though. A responsible owner will muzzle their mutt if there is a chance of aggresive behaviour and this then leaves the bounding of mutts even when friendly. Big dogs are intimidating even if friendly. And for that and on behalf of all responsible mutt owners I apologise - training is difficult. Just a shame that the mutt owners didn't apologise at the time, that probably would ease a lot of situations but then if you have someone that doesn't even say sorry then you probably won't have a responsible owner training their owner properly. But that's no different to bad drivers, cachers or ... well the list is long.

 

P.S. Swift knee to the their solar plexus normally works. No I don't mean the owner.

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As I see it a dog needs to be trained, and if it isn't trained it's the fault of the owner rather than the dog. It always seems a shame that when a dog does something horribly out of line it gets destroyed - sometimes it would seem more appropriate to have the dog rehomed and retrained and the owner put down.

 

Couldn't agree more. It's not the mutt it's the owner.

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Have to agree with "Ir's not the mutt, it's the owner"

Both of our dogs were trained to the point that they could be off the lead and would return immediately when called. They were both trained nver to jump up or attack people.

I took the time to train our dogs and they obeyed my every command instantly. Leads were for the roadways only.

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When I first saw that clip I thought it was quite humorous, now, I don't.

Two potentially dreadful outcomes....

1) Should the Gamekeeper have been around, I think I am right in saying he would've been within his rights to shoot Benton/Fenton for worrying the deer. I know this rule applies with farmers & livestock but I'm not 100% about this instance.

2) Benton/Fenton was not only chasing the deer, he was heading toward (what looked to be) fast moving traffic.

 

After the initial laugh, I listened more carefully to the sheer panic in the mans voice as he attempted to get his dog back and thereafter, looked on this clip with very different eyes.

 

I always walk my dog on one of those long leads when there are cattle, sheep etc around. Because I know Broxi will always take chase.

 

Last year my Son 'Blue' was adamnt that he wanted to teach Broxi to walk at his heel (which she does quite well when on the street)

So off we went for a walk (with a normal lead) along the river in St Asath.

 

We climbed a stile and were confronted with a field of sheep and their young, 'Hold tight' I said to 'Blue'

Then all of a sudden she yanked at the lead, the lead flew out his hand, and Broxi was off...

 

She managed to catch up with one young lamb (oh my God ... was I screaming!) and tossed the poor thing up in the air.

 

Thank God the lamb was ok, thank God Blue ran so fast to catch her before she could do any damage.

 

I was crying like a baby (and I don't cry often) and so angry at my son.

The retractable lead has a handle, this stops any chance of Broxi pulling away from me and it works!

 

But even more scarey (For me) was; the farmer was working in the field on his tractor at the time.

Lucky for Broxi he had his back to the incident and couldn't hear my scream over the noise of his tractor.

We are all lucky the farmer didn't shoot her ... but if he had? ... we had only ourselves to blame.

 

She is not so bad now that she has passed the terrible two's, but there is still NO WAY I would ever let her off her lead unless we are on the deserted beach at the end of our road.

 

We should all know our dog's limitations.... and breed is a great factor.

We have a breed that is harder to train (Shar Pei) and although in most respects she is a good dog and has great recall, when animals are around she becomes deaf and only see's the chase.

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When I first saw that clip I thought it was quite humorous, now, I don't.

Two potentially dreadful outcomes....

1) Should the Gamekeeper have been around, I think I am right in saying he would've been within his rights to shoot Benton/Fenton for worrying the deer. I know this rule applies with farmers & livestock but I'm not 100% about this instance.

2) Benton/Fenton was not only chasing the deer, he was heading toward (what looked to be) fast moving traffic.

 

After the initial laugh, I listened more carefully to the sheer panic in the mans voice as he attempted to get his dog back and thereafter, looked on this clip with very different eyes.

 

I always walk my dog on one of those long leads when there are cattle, sheep etc around. Because I know Broxi will always take chase.

 

Last year my Son 'Blue' was adamnt that he wanted to teach Broxi to walk at his heel (which she does quite well when on the street)

So off we went for a walk (with a normal lead) along the river in St Asath.

 

We climbed a stile and were confronted with a field of sheep and their young, 'Hold tight' I said to 'Blue'

Then all of a sudden she yanked at the lead, the lead flew out his hand, and Broxi was off...

 

She managed to catch up with one young lamb (oh my God ... was I screaming!) and tossed the poor thing up in the air.

 

Thank God the lamb was ok, thank God Blue ran so fast to catch her before she could do any damage.

 

I was crying like a baby (and I don't cry often) and so angry at my son.

The retractable lead has a handle, this stops any chance of Broxi pulling away from me and it works!

 

But even more scarey (For me) was; the farmer was working in the field on his tractor at the time.

Lucky for Broxi he had his back to the incident and couldn't hear my scream over the noise of his tractor.

We are all lucky the farmer didn't shoot her ... but if he had? ... we had only ourselves to blame.

 

She is not so bad now that she has passed the terrible two's, but there is still NO WAY I would ever let her off her lead unless we are on the deserted beach at the end of our road.

 

We should all know our dog's limitations.... and breed is a great factor.

We have a breed that is harder to train (Shar Pei) and although in most respects she is a good dog and has great recall, when animals are around she becomes deaf and only see's the chase.

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I`ve had a couple of close calls with dogs myself. The first was way before I discovered cacheing, me and 2 friends were out on our bikes alongside the canal, we headed into the nearest town for a drink and stopped outside a Co-op at the same time as a chap with a Jack russel who tied his pooch up to the wheely bin outside. Obviously the pooch took offense to the bin and set off at a run dragging the bin behind him. The owner quickly caught him up and , in my haste to try to calm down the dog that was obviously still freaked out by the whole thing I ended up with a scar down my index finger on my right hand, in my mind this was my own fault for approaching the dog since it was obviously distressed. The second time I got bitten was while riding home from work along a Sustrans route. 2 women in front of me who heard the gearchanges I used as a warning of my approach and got hold of 3 of the dogs they had with them, unfortunately the 4th dog was the one that sunk his teeth into my calf leaving me with blood running down my leg. The response of the women???? "Oh he`s never done that before!" I got the name of the owner after a lot of fuss but she wouldn`t give me any more than that so I couldn`t really take the matter any further even though I probably wouldn`t have done anyway.

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I`ve had a couple of close calls with dogs myself. The first was way before I discovered cacheing, me and 2 friends were out on our bikes alongside the canal, we headed into the nearest town for a drink and stopped outside a Co-op at the same time as a chap with a Jack russel who tied his pooch up to the wheely bin outside. Obviously the pooch took offense to the bin and set off at a run dragging the bin behind him. The owner quickly caught him up and , in my haste to try to calm down the dog that was obviously still freaked out by the whole thing I ended up with a scar down my index finger on my right hand, in my mind this was my own fault for approaching the dog since it was obviously distressed. The second time I got bitten was while riding home from work along a Sustrans route. 2 women in front of me who heard the gearchanges I used as a warning of my approach and got hold of 3 of the dogs they had with them, unfortunately the 4th dog was the one that sunk his teeth into my calf leaving me with blood running down my leg. The response of the women???? "Oh he`s never done that before!" I got the name of the owner after a lot of fuss but she wouldn`t give me any more than that so I couldn`t really take the matter any further even though I probably wouldn`t have done anyway.

 

That's not a "close call", that's a dog bite.

 

You should have reported it to the police, even if all you had was her name. Her "Oh he`s never done that before!" will be repeated when her dog bites a toddler. A dog who has bitten for no obvious reason should, I think, be muzzled when taken out in public at the very least. I reported my dog bite to the police (the woman [after telling me "Oh he`s never done that before!] denied that it had happened, but she knows that her card has been marked, and if it happens again ...).

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... while riding home from work along a Sustrans route. 2 women in front of me who heard the gearchanges I used as a warning of my approach ...

Can I respectfully suggest you fit a bell? I'm not being facetious or cross or anything but not all pedestrians have such acute hearing that they can hear gear changes.

 

Consideration (and safety) to other path users goes both ways, and as a fellow cyclist, I find pedestrians much more appreciative when I ding my bell from some way away to warn them of my presence when using a shared route. Just a thought.

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When I first saw that clip I thought it was quite humorous, now, I don't.

Two potentially dreadful outcomes....

1) Should the Gamekeeper have been around, I think I am right in saying he would've been within his rights to shoot Benton/Fenton for worrying the deer. I know this rule applies with farmers & livestock but I'm not 100% about this instance.

2) Benton/Fenton was not only chasing the deer, he was heading toward (what looked to be) fast moving traffic.

 

After the initial laugh, I listened more carefully to the sheer panic in the mans voice as he attempted to get his dog back and thereafter, looked on this clip with very different eyes.

 

I'm with you there although I think I am erring on the its still funny side. On the basis that I hope no real harm came to any parties. It the sheer panic/embarrasment that I find funny and slightly reminiscent (although it could have turned out very badly and I must repent my evil streak inside). Our boy is so deaf now he seems to hear sounds from the wrong direction, he also seems slightly senile. We are seriously having to consider getting a retractable lead as its not safe to let him off for our own sanity anymore. He has habits of deciding we aren't there anymore but he can find us by trotting off in the wrong direction, because of the weird hearing thing the louder we yell the more he trots off in the wrong direction. If he stops for a pee and turns himself round in the process that adds to his confusion. It turns a nice peaceful walk into a trauma but I just hate the bulky handles on those things.

 

I agree with the bell thing, not many cyclists seem to have them anymore, around us there are lots of narrow paths and cyclists do tend to creep up behind you and then get impatient if you don't hear them in time and they have to have a wobble.

 

I had been wondering about the bold, my husband works on a local estate which runs a shoot. His boss the farmer has always maintained his unequivical right to shoot a dog on sight if its worrying his livestock. Recently I asked about dogs that chase game birds and what the gamekeepers rights were, hubby said the same as far as he knew.

 

So I just looked it up, penned animals, such as rearing birds are considered livestock, as soon as they are released they are considered wild game otherwise the guns would not be allowed to shoot them. Are the deer in parks like that wild or farmed? I think they are probably considered game as they are routinely culled. In which case a gamekeeper has no legal right to shoot a dog (or cat) but there is potential for the owner to be prosecuted(of a dog only, apparently owners are not responsible for their cats actions). They are within their rights to ask that the dog be kept on a lead though.

 

When the animals are considered livestock the right to shoot applies to a landowner, occupier or his servant (potentially in my husbands situation servant could be him :o or the game keeper) when an animal is worrying his livestock and there is no other way to reasonably end the worrying. Bit open ended really, the good old 'reasonable'.

 

The Protection of Livestock act is actually intended to provide for the punishment of owners not dogs.

 

So even the law seems to agree 'its not the mutt its the owner' :D Getting a farmer or gamekeeper to appreciate this before the deed is done though might be a different matter :(

Edited by The Real Boudica.
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1) Should the Gamekeeper have been around, I think I am right in saying he would've been within his rights to shoot Benton/Fenton for worrying the deer.

 

I had been wondering about the bold,

 

That video was filmed in Richmond Park, where there are far too many people about for anyone to go shooting at anything (apart from the loacal hoodies), so I reckon he was safe from the keepers, he was probably at more risk from a stag than anything.

 

I believe they close the park when they do the cull.

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1) Should the Gamekeeper have been around, I think I am right in saying he would've been within his rights to shoot Benton/Fenton for worrying the deer.

 

I had been wondering about the bold,

 

That video was filmed in Richmond Park, where there are far too many people about for anyone to go shooting at anything (apart from the loacal hoodies), so I reckon he was safe from the keepers, he was probably at more risk from a stag than anything.

 

I believe they close the park when they do the cull.

 

Yes, Richmond Park is completely closed during the cull. Normally at night it's open to pedestrians and cyclists but during the cull it's closed to everyone. IIRC the hours of total closure are 8pm to dawn.

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... while riding home from work along a Sustrans route. 2 women in front of me who heard the gearchanges I used as a warning of my approach ...

Can I respectfully suggest you fit a bell? I'm not being facetious or cross or anything but not all pedestrians have such acute hearing that they can hear gear changes.

 

Consideration (and safety) to other path users goes both ways, and as a fellow cyclist, I find pedestrians much more appreciative when I ding my bell from some way away to warn them of my presence when using a shared route. Just a thought.

 

As a fellow cyclist and walker, often on shared use paths, I find that having a lock that clanks in my handlebars alerts most walkers as I approach, at reasonble, not breakneck speed, from behind. As I get close, I say "excuse me", as I find that causes far less confusion, particularly when there are more than one human and / or dog, as they all tend to go in opposite directions, which sometimes means a long near-invisible dog lead is across the path or people are on both sides of a narrow alleyway - if they both / all went to the same side, it would be much easier to pass and leave them in peace. Even in a city with lots of foreign tourists and people from parts of UK where bikes are less common, "excuse me" is widely understood and easier for ears to locate than a shrill bell.

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1) Should the Gamekeeper have been around, I think I am right in saying he would've been within his rights to shoot Benton/Fenton for worrying the deer.

 

I had been wondering about the bold,

 

That video was filmed in Richmond Park, where there are far too many people about for anyone to go shooting at anything (apart from the loacal hoodies), so I reckon he was safe from the keepers, he was probably at more risk from a stag than anything.

 

I believe they close the park when they do the cull.

 

Yes, Richmond Park is completely closed during the cull. Normally at night it's open to pedestrians and cyclists but during the cull it's closed to everyone. IIRC the hours of total closure are 8pm to dawn.

I hadn't thought of that and I'm sure you are absolutely right. Thanks both :) .

Fenton's owner has been spotted with his dog on Wimbledon common and apparently, does not want any part of the media coverage because he fears being fined for having an out of control dog. Therein lies the rub of this thread.

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Six dogs.

 

I was biking round a country park, and I stopped near a cache. I laid the bike (which does have a bell) on its side, and started to think where the cache might be. Suddenly, from around a hedge, a dog appeared, and started barking at me and jumping at me. Then another one. Then another one. Pretty soon, I was surrounded by six dogs, all acting aggressively. Well, they are pack animals, so it's not too surprising.

 

Then the owner appeared, a little way off. "Get off the path", she yelled at me. Huh? I'm surrounded by her pack of dogs, and she thinks I need to move? So I yelled back "Get your dogs under control. I will defend myself if I'm attacked. Put your dogs on leads!"

 

She yelled and yelled at the dogs. Of course, they took no notice; with that sort of owner, dogs never do take any notice. "Its your bicycle, one of them is afraid of bicycles." And I suppose the other five were supporting their pack-mate. "If your dogs attack me, I will defend myself" I yelled back. I think this time it penetrated that I wasn't going to just stand there and allow myself to be attacked, and that one or more of her dogs would get hurt if she didn't control them. So she started to put her dogs on leads. Eventually, she got three of them on leads, and the others calmed down a lot. I was able to get out of the way of her and her pack, and she carried on along the track.

 

And then I found the cache.

 

It's my fault for riding a bicycle. Or wearing a hat. Or walking with a stick (these are the things that dog owners tell me sets their dogs off). It's never the owner's fault for not anticipating that she might meet someone with whatever sets her dogs off, and taking suitable actions. But I'm glad I didn't need to defend myself; I didn't have my walking pole with me, and I'd have had to rely on my boots.

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I quite like dogs, and I'm not really scared of them - but I certainly don't like being jumped on by them - muddy paws, slobber and worst of all the wet dog smell!! So, I get quite annoyed when a dog owner says 'Don't worry, he won't hurt you' as their dog bounds up to me - I never thought he was going to hurt me - I just don't want to stink of your dog all day...arrrgh! :anibad:

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We have a pair of Border Terriers. One very elderly rescued dog (now 15 years old) who does not see, or hear or walk very well (but co-incidently can hear the unwrapping of a dog treat at 50 yards!!)The other is a completely untrainable 5 year old. He is still entire as we show him occasionally. They both stay on the lead as elderly dog would wander off and not realise it and young dog would mis-behave. He looks very sweet and is very "waggy" and very friendly (only two thoughts on his mind - if he can't S***g it he will try to eat it!) I also think he may be Glaswegian. Because he looks and acts friendly and is small, and always on a lead,lots of people come up to us to pet him - he "wiggles" up to them and, as they bend down to pet him he jumps up an "nuts" them. Giving them a "Glasgow kiss" as it is known. We keep telling people, and they keep on doing it and getting "nutted"! Seriously though I agree with most of the sentiments that there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. We have a couple of really nasty staffies round our area and the owners send them out with the kids. A staffie is a powerful dog and really cannot be handled by a ten year old boy. One morning the kid could not control the dog and he pulled away from him and he attacked our younger dog (luckily not the older one) Flashy can at least defend himself. My wife had help from other dog walkers luckily and they managed to pull the staffie away.

Needless to say no apology from the owners. He has since attacked several other dogs and the Police are now dealing with it. Because we are dog owners and always have them with us we obviously smell a bit "doggie" and when caching we are often approached by loose dogs no bad tales so far as we always stand still until the dog proves friendly and always carry a big stick (for caching down holes !) in case the dog does not !

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As an avid dog lover it makes me sick when I hear things like this...

My Dogs are virtually never on the lead at our local park, mind you that really is the other side of the road... But I do always have the long lead with me.

What makes it worse is when you do have bad owners, stating things like, it's your fault, dont like the hat, dont like the stick...

Please.

 

Now I have two dogs both are rescue's. Bronx is a three year ols Irish Staffordshire Bull terrier, Sam is a three yearold english springer.

What gets me is people who dont actualy know dogs, my springer walks up to them and they let the children play with him, my staff does the same thing and they get really cross????

 

Why does this bug me! Well the staff is done, and the nick name for these dogs is 'The Nanny Dog'! the springer is still intact (Soon to be fixed) and has been used for hunting??? They always look really shocked when I tell them they are more likely to be hurt by the springer than the staff... Oh Well.

 

When I go caching with the dogs, the springer needs to be on the lead, if he gets a scent he's off I might see him half hour later, .

 

However if dogs are growling and barking at you, it's not your fault it is the owners responsibilty, (God's even writing this makes me cross).

 

I have had dogs all of my life, one piece of advise that I can give you all...

If a dog does jump at you knee it in the chest as it jumps it won't do it again.

 

I have no respect for people who do not know or understand their dogs, I have even seen a staff on a flexy lead, for F***sake the dog will just break that and be off.

 

arghhh! rant off

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I have even seen a staff on a flexy lead, for F***sake the dog will just break that and be off.

 

arghhh! rant off

 

Those flexy leads come in all diferent strengths, depending on the weight of your dog.

Our Broxi is a strong well built Shar pei and there is no way she will ever break her flexy lead .... she might pull your arm out of the socket but she aint gonna break that lead! :rolleyes:

 

Now I have two dogs both are rescue's. Bronx is a three year ols Irish Staffordshire Bull terrier, Sam is a three yearold english springer.

What gets me is people who dont actualy know dogs, my springer walks up to them and they let the children play with him, my staff does the same thing and they get really cross????

 

Why does this bug me! Well the staff is done, and the nick name for these dogs is 'The Nanny Dog'! the springer is still intact (Soon to be fixed) and has been used for hunting??? They always look really shocked when I tell them they are more likely to be hurt by the springer than the staff... Oh Well.

 

You can't really blame peoples reaction to certain breeds, it's all obout the media.

 

I didn't realise this about Springers untill I Googled it:

"Springer Rage Syndrome"

Springers appear to be much more likely to suddenly bite than the average breed. Some people feel that this is just an extreme example of dominance aggression that occurs in a few breeds including springers.

 

But I have read countless stuff about Staff's ..... media hype?

 

The thing is: All dogs need to be under control, no matter what the breed!

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The thing is: All dogs need to be under control, no matter what the breed!

 

I agree.

 

And I'll tell you something - I'm not an expert on dog breeds, and although I can recognise "alsatian" by the shape and "poodle" by the haircut, I'm a bit vague about most others. So for me, dogs come in four kinds.

 

1) Well behaved. Ignores me, or maybe a quick sniff.

2) Rude. Runs up to me and starts barking threats.

3) Aggressive. Runs up to me and starts jumping on me and barking.

4) Biting.

 

And when a dog is jumping up at me and the owner tells me "He's only being friendly", it makes me want to jump on that owner and tell them "And so am I", but I merely say "Control your dog or I WILL defend myself."

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