Hit a dog when cycling today -- advice?

[Chickpea]

Happy to hear that you are both ok. I know being a dog owner myself sometimes it is a reflex to call the dog to come to you if you know a bike is approaching. Our dog will often come with us on rides & has learnt to stay behind the bike but we've also found that if we hear other riders or pedestrians & sometimes horses approaching & she has happened to run in front of us if we don't call her she is less unpredictable & will make her own decision to get out of the way. But of course the safest way for all involved is to keep the dog on the leash if there's other traffic around.

[Mr. Bloom]

liza +1, but don't beat yourself up too much...you cannot prepare for all forms of irresponsibility from others

[alpinerabbit]

uh. I hit a tourist once. Stop worrying about it, it's the dog owners' fault.

[Selkie]

Liza, great advice. You really have to stay alert. On a daily basis, I have rabbits dart out in front of me---on the MUT and on the road.

Is there a leash law in your jurisdiction? But to be honest, even leashed dogs are unpredictable (my dogs are always on the leash when not in the house or fenced backyard).

[beancounterbeth]

I almost hit a labrador on the trail last weekend. It made me so mad. I hate it when people take their dog out without a leash. It's just plain irresponsible. Plus I LOVE dogs and I would hate to hurt a dog in any way.

It also makes me mad when I take my dog on a walk in our own neighborhood and I have to worry about a fight because the other people don't have their dog on a leash. Several times I have had large dogs run at me and my dog barking and it totally freaks me out. My dog is all of 7 pounds and is no match for any dog that wants to attack it. Even if the other dog is friendly it is very unpleasant to have a large dog run at me and my dog and have to wonder in that split second what that dogs intentions are.

[maillotpois]

I started a whole thread once ranting about people who don't keep their dogs on leashes... http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...ighlight=leash

Definitely not your fault. Shake it off.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You learned something. The dog owner learned something. This is good.
The dog probably didn't learn anything, but oh well.

And dogs should NOT be off-leash on a public multi-use trail.