I really don't understand some people.

My husband took Hudson roller blading yesterday. His manners are still not great, but they've been working on it. Hudson yanked the leash and my husband lost it. He took off down our street, and my hubby flew after him. He decided it was a game and ran further, jumping on an innocent pedestrian. No aggression, but he did scratch her.

He then started to run back, and two cars stopped and waited for him to go past. By then I'd heard the commotion and ran out, barefoot, and gave chase as well. We were both in a panic.

A cyclist about a half a block away starts screaming obscenities at us for not having our dog on a leash. What the @#$@$ is wrong with us? The dog was clearly leashed and we were both hysterically running after him. What was the point of swearing at us? Could he not figure out what was going on? And Hudson was nowhere near him, so it's not like he was in any danger.

My hubby grabbed Hudson by the scruff of his neck and caught him. He let out a huge squeal. We got him back and were sitting on the step for a while, just relieved everyone was okay. The cyclist made a point of coming back and yelling at us again.

We are responsible pet owners, and no one is more horrified than we are that he was loose. We've been over twice to check on the neighbour he jumped on, and to apologize. She assures us it's okay.

We will be securing Hudson to our waists from now on, so it WON'T happen again. We are so glad nothing worse happened.

But I cannot get over the jerk on the bike. It was clear that it was an accident and we were doing all we could to catch him. Was his contribution to the situation helpful? I actually missed a chance to catch our dog as I stopped to look at him when he was shrieking. I wish he would come back so I could point out to him his lack of helmet, the stop signs we saw him run, and the fact that he had no licence on his bicycle. But no, I wouldn't go there. I'm a nice person.

Isn't the two hysterical people and the leash trailing behind enough of a clue? Hudson's NEVER been off leash before. We'd never put him at risk (and he's got no manners, still, so it could only end badly.)

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Well in my minds eye that would be a funny sight but really I'm so happy that you were able to catch Hudson before he was hurt, as for the rude cyclist try to ignore him as it sounds like he doesn't know any better

Sooo...was he wearing those super tight bicycle pants? Maybe his brain wasnt getting enough air... :roll:

ravenmoonart wrote:

Sooo...was he wearing those super tight bicycle pants? Maybe his brain wasnt getting enough air... :roll:

Hee, hee, hee!!
I wont go there.

Not worth worrying about fools! :evil:

So glad Hudson is ok.

Even though the profanity was uncalled for, maybe Hudson scared the crap out of him and his reactionary defense mechanism kicked in.

I was out speed skating one day and a dog got out of his yard and charged at me. It's really a scary feeling.

My neighbor was out on a bike ride once and a young husky-like dog jumped the fence and knocked her off of her bike. She got a concussion & did serious damage to her inner ear canal which took a very long time to heal. It ended up in a law suit.

So even though it was certainly an accident that Hudson got loose, feel fortunate that the guy didn't get knocked off of his bike, etc. Unfortunately, you would have been liable...

Although I can see your point about him having a leash on & being responsible owners etc. etc. etc. I just can not ever imagine roller blading with a dog this size. I just feel when I have a large dog on a lead outside I need to be 100% in control & if something happens to "get the dog going" I would need to be able to plant my feet & get control of the situation. I can't imagine being able to do that with roller blades on.

Ok, since the fool on the bike is obviously dense, my response would have not been completely pleasant, lol. All I can say is a finger is worth a thousand words. Yes, I know, not the best solution, but sometimes it just feels good. Sorry if the idea offends anyone, just my humble opinion.

I'm glad nobody got hurt and yeah well, some people are not dog lovers. When people act that way, I always say that their shoes are too tight (that's quite painful) but I like the idea that his bike shorts were too tight, it's funnier lol.
I'm sure by the way he reacted, he never saw the leash trailing behind and the two of you doing your best. When your angry, you don't see clearly and you only see what you want to see.
Keep on roller blading and don't fret when you see a cyclist, Hudson will sense it. (I'm jealous you can roller blade, we have gravel roads).

Thanks for the kind words. I would cut the cyclist some slack, but he was nowhere near Hudson (and Hudson was not heading his way during the initial exchange), and there's no way he was still in panic mode twenty minutes later when he returned and started up again.

Hudson has had two rounds of obedience, and now he's going to a weekly drop in class where we select the issues to work on. Maybe he'll be a good dog sometime around 2015?

He's by far our smallest sheepie and the strongest by ten times. I won't walk him alone as I can't be sure I can control him. We've been joking that, with his strong desire to pull, we should train Portage to ride in a wagon and let Hudson pull him along. Or, perhaps I should get the ride...

People like that really bug me, but I must admit to
letting loose a string of nasty words on occasion myself.

Take it with a grain of salt, and remember that this guy
didn't know if the dog was in attack mode or just romping.
It could be really scary seeing a large dog running toward
you and not knowing why. Although it may have been
uncalled for, he was probably just irritated at his wet bike
shorts. :wink:

Shellie

Someday you will remember that scene and both of you will break out into hysterical laughter.

For now, however, I think Raven's comment about his shorts being too tight should bring a smile to your face.

His response was so uncalled for and I dislike self-righteous people who clearly feel a need to interfere. It's like the overwhelmed mom with a crying baby who always gets one person commenting to shut the baby up. Making the mom even feel worse and overwhelmed. Why? Do these people feel they need to make a comment at all?

I dunno what is the best way to respond to them but if someone makes a comment, I think I'd blow them a kiss. They won't get the reaction they want and will irk them more. :twisted:

Marianne

I'm so tired of people acting self-righteous and feeling they need to police their world.
If I were your husband, I would have walked over to the weenie bicyclist, grabbed him by the throat, tell him his actions aren't helping and to F-off, and then throw him to the ground.
That would be well worth the night in jail.

Quote:

Sooo...was he wearing those super tight bicycle pants? Maybe his brain wasnt getting enough air...

So what I was thinking.... that was so funny, loved the wording Ravenmoon

i feel your psin i know the heart stopping moment when u know you can't keep up with them .. my boys have done this twice but running after a car yes i had the leash on them sometimes stuff happens glad he is ok .. so have you stopped shaking yet :lol:

What goes around comes around, I hope he fell off his bike and if he landed on his head it would of cushioned the blow lol

ChSheepdogs wrote:

I agree. I am sure it feels nice that everyone is supporting you by ripping on the cyclist but I guess I tend to think that this kind of accident is clearly anticipatable and I don't know that using the waist strap is a solution. Instead, you will find yourself or your husband getting pulled into shrubs or people or traffic and something really terrible could happen. Biking with a dog is somewhat less dangerous because of the excellent braking mechanisms on bikes but even that requires substantial skill with both bike and dog. I hate to be the grouch but I would try to find a less dangerous way to exercise your pup.

To be honest, all of us are responsible to have out dogs under control at all times. some of you are offended by the reaction of the cyclist, but, don't miss the point here. The dog was OUT OF CONTROL! These are BIG, strong dogs and while they may not intend to harm anyone, they can cause serious injuries to those not expecting to be in contact with one. Our Bailee pulled and tugged on his leash and while I am not a little guy, he was able to pull me along and in general made some of our walks slightly more than problematic, UNTIL, we signed him up for Obedience School and the instructor suggested we use a "Gentle Leader" on him. The pulling stopped immediately! You may want to consider use of a "Gentle Leader." You may acyually be able to exercise him while roller blading but you will have much better control over him.

baileesdad wrote:

You may acyually be able to exercise him while roller blading but you will have much better control over him.

Please don't try that unles syou plan on injuring your dog!! Assuming you want your dog to do some of the work in rollar blading try a harness - and perfect the act away from other people and dogs behind a fence.

I agree the cyclist may have been more spooked than you would have been, but he is not at fault here. Sounds like more obedience training is needed.

I couldn't agree more. More obedience training IS needed. That's exactly what we are working on. Every single day.

He does have a harness for when he goes roller blading. So far it's gone well. This was an isolated incident. And we're still horrified it happened.

My point with the cyclist is that he could clearly see that this was not a case of irresponsible owners who let their dogs run free off leash. This was a situation where clearly we were horrified by what had happened and were doing everything we could to correct the situation immediately.

I don't care how spooked he may have been. Hurling obscenities at two fellow human beings clearly in distress and doing the best they could was at best not helpful. And coming back twenty minutes later to share again was completely out of line.

I also mentioned in my post that he was nowhere near Hudson at the time of the incident and, in fact, he chose to ride right into the situation (not that he even got that close). He could easily have gone down any number of side streets and back lanes if he were afraid. A person in fear of that situation would not have purposely put himself into the fray. He came to us just to be a jerk. And I was raised better. I would never treat any human being that way.

Having said all that, of course we know he shouldn't have been free. It was an accident. It hasn't happened in Hudson's entire life before this, and we have no intention of it happening again. He is doing his third round of obedience, and is walked at least three times per day to practice his skills. I've never had such an "exuberant" and wild dog (of any breed before) and he's definitely a huge challenge, but we're not giving up any time soon.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to make him behave better on walks? He's always the star in the obedience classes, and he's quite good in the house. (Still likes to counter surf. I haven't had much luck with that one.) But take him outside and he's obsessed with everyone and everything that moves. He used to throw himself at the windows (indoors) and bark at everyone and everything, but we've managed to break him of that habit. Clearly he can learn.

Anyone have any foolproof tricks for getting him there? I feel like we're doing all we can, but I am more than open to suggestions. Three different obedience classes (one puppy, one traditional, and one behaviourist) have all said practice, practice, practice. And we are. I would have thought we'd be further along by now. All our other sheepies have learned quickly and been great. We've never chased any of them down the street in hysterics before. Ever.

This might be hard to do, it feels wrong; because you want to chase after them.
But I turn around and run the opposite way. Usually works

I also scream cookie! that really works; I should have just called cookies the word come and I would have looked like I had really good dogs :wink:

sounds like a Marley & ME I am sorry that happened to you... all three

ravenmoonart wrote:

Sooo...was he wearing those super tight bicycle pants? Maybe his brain wasnt getting enough air... :roll:

LMAO

Valerie wrote:

ChSheepdogs wrote:

I'm with Valerie about not tethering the dog to your waist or your hubbies...the horrors that could happen if either are dragged. We have a member here who has been injured numerous times by a dog pulling on lead. The advise to run in the opposite direction is really good. If you run after the dog they think it is a game.

Good luck with all the training and remember there is always Hope.

that must have been so scary for you, I'm so glad that you caught him and that he wasn't hurt. I love hearing Hudson stories, but this one scared me! I hate that kicked in the stomach feeling when your furbaby is in danger. You realize how much you love the silly fluffball at that moment. Sunny bolted at a rabbit last winter while off leash (in our fenced common area behind our townhouse-she found a hole we didn't know about). She got away from us, totally out of sight, so there we were, frantically canvasing the neighborhood, no idea which way she went, and me 9 months pregnant. I was crying and could barely yell her name I was so upset. It took about 25 minutes to find her, and I was practically hysterical by the end of it. I almost kissed the lady that found her! I can't imagine how upset I would have been if someone had the nerve to yell at me during that moment. I would have done something to them that I would not have been proud of. Kudos to you for keeping your cool! Again, I'm so glad that Hudson is ok!

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