a good start...
... said:
Cut that out. It's petty and pointless..
sorry mom...
I was bored at the end of the day and just like to poke the bear a little bit. Chide me if you will but please be even handed when dolling out the reprimands. How is it that pointing out that someone may want to pay more attention to their spelling warrants a response but references to the use firearms and abusing animals does not?
I appreciate your attempts to answer my questions but they still do not address the underlying issue....why the overt aggression?
... said:
That most dog owners on the trail (in my experience, YMMV) fail to control their animals or pack out. The good owners, while greatly appreciated, are unfortunately outnumbered.
How does this truth explain why people resort to ranting and threatened violence when dogs and the trail come up? We all have to deal with things we do not like on a daily basis but I rarely see this kind of ranting when applied to other issues. I also understand that people like to beat their chest and post big on the msg board but it gets a bit out of hand.
For example...
wildman said:
the other day we were hiking rampart res and one came flying up and i grabbed its collar and tried to contain it, then it wiggled out of its collar and proceeded to slobber all over me. so when i got to the owner, i wiped my hands on his shirt, and said "dont mind do you?"
I have a difficult time believing that this actually happened, not that the dog did what is stated but that wildman did what he stated. For someone concerned about his person space it seems a bit off to violate someone else's personal space...talk about potential lawsuit. Why not deal with it like an adult and try and educate/engage the individual? I know it can be trying since there are pet owners that do not manage their charges well but you can not deal/judge everyone buy past experience. I would equate this to interfacing with people that are not mtb friendly as I am sure their is a msg board for hikers that is having this same discussion ( insert mtb biker here ) right now. By the way, why did you grab the dog in the first place? Just wondering, since as a dog owner I would never attempt to grab a dog I did not know.
... said:
* Those who are not controlling their animal / packing out feces become incredibly defensive when asked, even politely, to do so. The general attitude (in Boulder) is that dog owners have carte blanche to do whatever they please and to request that they follow the laws is somehow infringing on their rights.
I do not know about Boulder and the general attitudes in that area but I can draw laser-sharp parallels between the dog issue and mtb issue here in Colorado Springs.
Dogs off lead are to _______ as mountain bikers are to hikers...fill in the blank. Give it all the lip service you can but the prevailing winds indicate that hikers are non-pulssed with mountain bikers. I am always astounded when a hiker attempts to get out of the trail to let a biker pass and I actively encourage the hikers to exercise their right to the correct ROW. I see more defensive or flat out offensive behavior from mountain bikers then dog owners so I would think we, as a group, might be a bit more sensitive to other users and their transgressions.
leeman said:
But if the dog gets in my way, I try to teach them a lessen by bumping into them. Either that, or I come "real close". (;o) I then usually say to the dog owner (this just happened yesterday) "That's a good way to get your dog injured, as well as me."
This is how we have taught our dogs to keep out of the way but I would be very leery of doing it to dog I did not know. I am
glad to see that someone has actually suggested talking to the owner of the dog because unless the owner is educated the dog will not be.
Remember that unless the dog has been trained to move out of the trail, and most non-bikers do not do this, then why would you expect the dog to move? In general, if there is a dog in the trail I can assume that people will not be far behind and, as the rules of the trail dictate, I should be slowing and stopping to yield the ROW (acronym so I used caps
) to the hikers. A friend of mine was *****ing about the possibility of coming around a corner and hitting a dog and I pointed out that the dog could very easily be a small child or hiker. What then? If it is a big concern then I would assert that maybe you are going too fast for the conditions.
Thanks LeeMan, ... and the few others for you non-aggressive/combative contributions. I have actually taken the time to respond thread to this because, as a dog owner and biker, I have a strong desire to minimize trail use conflict and I have never understood the ire that this topic raises.