Neighbors and their crazy irresponsibility

[Rebekah H]

My neighbors down the street have a new puppy. It's adorable. I love, love, love dogs. What I don't love is the fact that five times today, the puppy charged at my bike, right at the place where I have to turn around, so I'm going slow. I yelled no at the dog each time, and each time, I asked for them to get the dog. The sixth time, I got off the bike, yelled NO at the dog, and said "you really have to put the dog on a leash or take him inside. One or both of us are going to get hurt."

Two grown, humongous men proceed to start yelling at me that it's my fault, that I should call the cops, and that they're not going to put the dog on a leash. They said they would beat the dog's a$#. (Horrible people. It's not the puppy's fault.) At some point I was called "princess."

Um, WTH?!?!?

We have a leash law in our neighborhood that is very loosely enforced and I don't have a bit of problem with this. There are a couple of pups that run alongside me on a pretty regular basis. They don't charge the bike so there is very little danger of either of us getting hurt. My neighborhood is very small with only one street and only about 20 houses. If I lap the street twice, it's one mile. It's perfect because I'm in the country where riding on the road is a bit of a hazard. I ride every day. It's no secret that I'm going to be out between 5:30 and 8. Every day. Please put your dog up and don't scream at me like it's my fault. I have never been yelled at like that before, especially by two men. How did they think it was okay? How did they, even in the most warped of brains, come to the conclusion that it was okay to blame me for them not being responsible pet owners?

I'm shaken and my feelings are super hurt.

[zoom-zoom]

You should definitely take them up on their recommendation to call the cops.

[Rebekah H]

I asked him if he was (expletive) kidding me and told him that he was a grown man and should be able to handle his own problems without the cops.

[Rebekah H]

On a MUCH happier note, I'm up to 26 miles in one ride, I'm using clipless without falling once, and I'm signed up to ride a 35 mile CF charity ride next month!

[Bethany1]

Call the cops. Be nice and explain the situtation about the puppy and that you don't want to get bitten, crash, or accidentally hit the dog. Tell them that you've talked with the neighbors and that they wouldn't help.

You have every right to be safe and happily ride w/o fear of the puppy.

The other problem is that your neighbors probably think it's funny watching the puppy chase you and have no desire to stop.

In the meantime, don't ride so far down that way so you'll spoil their "fun".

[goldfinch]

It would be nice to not have this escalate further. Any chance of trying to train the pup to not charge? Stop and give it some really good treats? (Too bad it is even harder to train the neighbors. You could consider telling them that you are sorry things got off on the wrong foot and ask if is there a way for the two of you to work together so that the pup does't charge you? It might deflate him a bit.)

I understand the option of calling the police but it may be better as a last resort as it could escalate neighbor problems further.

Good luck! Nothing worse than neighbor problems.

[indysteel]

I hate loose dogs. Hate.....

Out of curiosity though, what makes your "country roads" hazardous? In my part of the world (Indiana), country roads are the preferred place to ride for most of us. Granted, not all country roads are created equal, but the vast majority of them around here are pleasant and relatively safe (minus the loose dogs), assuming they're not heavily traveled.

[Catrin]

I am curious as well, country roads are my preferred place for country riding. Loose dogs are my only real concern, and there aren't that many of them where I ride. My rear-view mirror on my bar-end helps me to keep an eye out for big farm machinery and rednecks, much easier to deal with than urban traffic.

I would prefer to be in the woods these days, but I have to actually TAKE my bike to trails, so on weekday evenings I am limited to country or park roads.

I don't understand pet owners like that, if they don't care about you, why aren't they concerned about their pet getting hurt?

[Trek420]

It would be nice to not have this escalate further. Any chance of trying to train the pup to not charge? Stop and give it some really good treats?

Excellent. Sometimes on my commute I carry treats. There aren't any threatening dogs but a couple of them come to the fence just to see. With the owners permission I like to thank them for their curiosity and good behavior.

Off leash dogs get dognapped, they get hit, they get into food/substances/stuff they should not eat and get sick or even die, fall in with the "wrong pack" and get into trouble ... If the pup learns it's fun to chase bikes, then cars and that might not end so well for the dog.

Maybe the two grown men have not thought that far out or at all.

[NaeNae]

Would giving dogs treats reinforce or encourage the behavior in the future? Maybe they wouldn't be as mean, but still may pose problems. Just wondering.

[Biciclista]

A friend of mine complained a lot about her neighbor's dog being loose. When the dog got hit by a car and died, she went off on the neighbor (instead of giving him sympathy) because she was so furious that the dog had been killed because of his irresponsibility.
Call the cops.

[Trek420]

Would giving dogs treats reinforce or encourage the behavior in the future? Maybe they wouldn't be as mean, but still may pose problems. Just wondering.

If done properly, no. Puppy comes up to bike, does a sit or just a sniff, or just is calm ... treat gets popped in the puppy mouth along with praise "good dog".

But we should not have to train other peoples dogs. It's all I can do to train mine My dog is not perfect but she's remarkably calm around cyclists and any person on wheels; skateboards, rollerblades ... she says "whatevah"

[TsPoet]

How is your animal control? I would call them rather than the cops - if they are good. I'm worried about that puppy's welfare and would love to save it!

[Rebekah H]

Thank you guys so much for all of your excellent suggestions. I think I will definitely try the treat route because he's just a little guy who is curious about the bike and doesn't understand yet. I'm still baffled about the two adult men's behavior. My husband is out of town right now for work and when I told him about what happened, I was really, really glad he wasn't home. It amazes me that in such a tiny neighborhood that people would want to be that way. It's a little enclave of a community and there are so few of us that it would seem that we would all go out of our way to be nice to one another.

I'm ashamed to say that at a certain point in the conversation I snapped and yelled back. It wasn't my proudest moment and I really didn't know how to handle being verbally attacked by two middle aged men. It was disconcerting and hurtful. Maybe I'm a wuss?

I'm not sure how the animal control out here operates. I would hate to have to find out. Poor little puppy. I really feel for it. I actually heard the dog yelping when I pulled away. I'm assuming they made good on their "I will whip the dog's a$%" nonsense. It made me a little sick.

The reason I try to stay off the country roads here is because I live in Louisiana. The people in my area look at bicycles like people look at the bearded lady at the carnival. LOL I have seen one bike in the last three years that I have lived here.

[Biciclista]

Rebekah, where do you live?
You might call Animal control and ASK them what they do, they will happily tell you.

oops I see you told us where you live, sorry