CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff

Accidents with dogs

(34 posts)

12

  1. Rosie
    Member

    A couple of weeks ago a colleague emailed saying she couldn't come in as Bertie had been injured in an accident with a bike.

    I meant to ask her about the circumstances and expected to get some anecdote of careless cycling. I forgot about it and then today I did remember, and said, "How's your boyfriend after the accident with the bike?"

    "Not my boyfriend, my dog," she said. "I wouldn't have cared if it had been my boyfriend. Bertie is the light of my life."

    Gary the boyfriend was walking Bertie the dog down Dublin Street. Bertie was off his lead, Gary was encouraging him to run and he ran under the wheels of a bike and got wound up in the chain. Very bruised but no bones broken.

    "And the cyclist?" I said, returning to the real victim in this incident.

    "He was very nice about it. An older gentleman. He didn't topple over."

    So they now keep the dog on the lead and Gary has been well scolded.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  2. unhurt
    Member

    To be fair the dog - not having let himself off the lead - was also a real victim. (I congratulate your colleague on her priorities, btw!)

    Posted 7 years ago #

  3. minus six
    Member

    Hmm.. What i find is this..

    on path. human is oncoming?

    YES

    is dog in the mix ?

    YES there IS a dog the mix

    does human exercise control ?

    NAH NOT BOVVERED

    ENJOYS IMAGINING THAT YOU ARE SCARED OF DOG

    DOG'S WELFARE ENTIRELY IRRELEVANT

    offer pertinent advice surrounding canine welfare

    [censored outcome]

    Posted 7 years ago #

  4. Rosie
    Member

    I may have told this anecdote before which is part of a series of how I tried to get a boyfriend of mine into cycling.

    I had coaxed him to give it another try. We were going along the Warriston path. A dog was running towards us off his lead with a stick in its jaws. The stick got between my boyfriend's spokes, he fell off, I, just behind, fell on top of him, the dog's owner came charging up and began beating the dog with the stick, we cried out, please don't do that, it's not his fault and then tried disentangling our bikes, which were wound lovingly round each other.

    Anyway the owner apologised, and I think we walked home, my boyfriend's bike having been fairly damaged, though he may have merely been reluctant to get onto it again.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  5. unhurt
    Member

    I'm sorry that happened to you both but this also a glorious wee description. Public falling-upon, romantic bike entanglement and loud cries!

    Posted 7 years ago #

  6. Rosie
    Member

    @unhurt - It was many many years ago...

    Posted 7 years ago #

  7. unhurt
    Member

    I ran over a wee dog in the Ormeau Park in Belfast once. Less my fault (though I could have been moving a bit slower) than the fault of the owner of the off-lead husky that was trying to catch and possibly eat the wee dog. Wee dog wasn't running playfully away in jest but pelting along for its tiny life. I braked hard, still hit it, and wiped out completely. Wee dog seemed shocked but fine, husky was recalled during the kerfuffle, and a passing Polish (I think) chap stopped his bike to see if I was broken and hung about till I could stand up again. Wee dog owner was quite irate but I wasn't in much form to engage in conversation with her.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  8. Rosie
    Member

    Puir wee dug. Though you bore the brunt of it, the puir wee thing being pursued then squashed by something 50 times its size does touch the heart.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  9. unhurt
    Member

    It was definitely having a no good, very bad, dog day.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  10. sallyhinch
    Member

    I very nearly ended up in the Nith when someone let go of the collar of a springer spaniel just as I was about to cycle past it, and it bounded directly into my path. Fortunately a) I had just had the bike serviced and its brakes had just been replaced and b) friends of ours have a springer spaniel and I was already thinking 'that dog will do something stupid' as the owner let go so I came to a halt an inch away from disaster. She was very apologetic about it all but seriously, if you own a springer spaniel you must know it's going to do anything but sensibly stay put, especially if there are fun bikes to play with and a river to go and investigate.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  11. wishicouldgofaster
    Member

    I always slow down to a crawl if dogs are about. I have one myself and know how daft they can be. Only issue I had was after I stopped for a wee Westie it jumped at me and sank its teeth into my foot. Thankfully my trainers were more than a match for it so no damage done. I did offer the woman some words about keeping such a vicious wee brute on a lead though or muzzled.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  12. Rosie
    Member

    I assume all dogs are stupid and unpredictable and slow right down for any of the unleashed ones - and even the leashed ones on those expanding trip-cyclist leads.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  13. sallyhinch
    Member

    I've found that most dogs here are trained to sit down at their owners' side whenever a vehicle (including a bike) approaches them, especially on rural roads where we have no footways. Makes for very seamless and pleasant bike-dog-owner interactions. Maybe less so on the shared paths in town, but mostly dogs are under control and will often actually go up to their owners and sit down as they see the bike - before the owner has even noticed. I will slow down when I see a dog that's not under control (or a spaniel), but if everyone is nicely waiting for me to pass then I'll probably pick it up a bit so they can get on their way

    Posted 7 years ago #

  14. unhurt
    Member

    You know how most dogs understand that when people smile at them they're well-disposed towards dogs, and will often approach the smiler? I need to actually factor that in when I slow down to look happily at dogs...

    Posted 7 years ago #

  15. gembo
    Member

    @bax San, enjoying your attempt at BASIC programme for bike human dog interaction.

    Too man variables.

    I enjoy when the owner shouts the dogs name repeatedly to no effect, apparently dugs' names need to end n eeee sound for them to hear you?

    Always slow down for the mutts.

    Stopped entirely last night in the dark with the two fleet foxes running at me

    Father John misty was playing Edinburgh this week

    Posted 7 years ago #

  16. Rosie
    Member

    @unhurt - I didn't know that and I dislike dogs and scowl at them and their owners. They, the dogs that is, still get in my way.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  17. unhurt
    Member

    Hmm maybe your scowl needs work?

    Posted 7 years ago #

  18. Stickman
    Member

    @unhurt: I have the same attitude to dogs. I often slow down and stop when I see dogs on paths: not because they are out of control, but because I'm hoping they'll say hello and I can make a fuss of them.

    I've been looking after my brother's dogs this week. I make sure that I bring them into the side of the path when a bike is passing, for both the dogs' and the cyclist's safety. The dogs pretty much do it themselves now when they see a bike. Most people smile and say thank you.

    I really want a dog of my own.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  19. Rosie
    Member

    I've seen a bloke cycling with his dog in the front basket.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  20. Rob
    Member

    As most of my commute is on bike paths I have a lot of interactions with dogs. I too will slow down whenever I see one.

    I did collide with a small dog on Portobello prom when it jumped out from behind its owner and ran straight at me. I hadn't seen it and was doing ~12mph. Swerved, hit it, thought I was going over (camera shows ~45 degree lean) but managed to wrench my pedal back to upright, hurting my calf muscle in the process. I was mostly upset that the dog was hurt but it seemed ok though very shaken.

    Owners were apologetic, said the dog has a habit of doing that near bikes.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  21. Frenchy
    Member

    @Stickman, my dog gets excited when he sees cyclists. This started after I was cycling home once, and saw my wife walking the dog, so I stopped to say hello. So he gets excited when he sees cyclists because he thinks they might be me. This happens even if I'm walking him...

    Posted 7 years ago #

  22. gembo
    Member

    @frenchy, Labrador?

    Posted 7 years ago #

  23. unhurt
    Member

    @stickman me toooooo.

    @frenchy aw, dogs are such eedjits!

    Posted 7 years ago #

  24. Frenchy
    Member

    @gembo - greyhound.

    @unhurt - I prefer to focus on the thought process "Ooh, a bike, it could be Frenchy!" which is clearly a sign of great intelligence.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  25. wishicouldgofaster
    Member

    more likely to be I wonder if they have biscuits

    Posted 7 years ago #

  26. gembo
    Member

    @frenchy, but even when it is you walking the dog, I though so stupid had to be a lab. Never underestimate the learning from a single salient exemplar when an unexpected biscuit is involved

    Posted 7 years ago #

  27. jdanielp
    Member

    Despite not being much of a dog person, I would be devestated to ride into one, or any other animal or young child for that matter, since they don't know any better. It's a shame that some owners or guardians seemingly shirk all responsibility. So far I have once been run into by a dog and it seemed that neither of us suffered at all.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  28. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Despite not being much of a dog person, I would be devastated to ride into one

    I was deeply ashamed when an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances led me to drive a golf ball very hard into the ribs of a poor mongrel on Braids Hill. A topped drive, the dog jumped out of the gorse at just the wrong moment into the trajectory of the wild shot....the noise it made was sickening but the dog seemed none the worse for it.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  29. jdanielp
    Member

    One of Maximum Spaceman's two dogs (the one off the lead, unfortunately) was going beserk under Calder Road Bridge for no obvious reason this morning as I was approaching them from behind. I came to a complete stop before ringing my large ding-dong bell, at which point Maximum Spaceman moved with the dog on the lead to the canal side of the path and encouraged the beserk dog to follow. It didn't seem super-keen, but gave me space to cautiously squeeze between it and the wall. I thanked Maximum Spaceman and the dog in passing, but was mostly barked at in return.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  30. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @jdanielp

    Good to know that that the Spaceman and his dogs are still active. What random head wound was he sporting today?

    Posted 7 years ago #

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