Dogs and Old Men!

[mayalld]

Of course, you could try saying, politely, "Would you mind removing your dog?"

 

In which case I would.

 

'Hoofing dogs into the canal' would probably earn you a severely lacerated foot.

 

Tone

 

I've tried asking people to remove their dog. I've tried telling people to remove their dog (actually, I'm still wondering why I have to ask politely for you to remove the dog). The vast majority fail to do so, and assure me that "oh, he's OK" "He's only being friendly" "He's only playing"

 

The plain fact is that I do not want your dog invading my space, or being friendly. You never asked if it was OK to allow him to do so, and I'm damned if I'm going to jump through any hoops that you see fit to put there before you graciously deign to give me the freedom from your dog that should be mine by right.

 

So, if your dog invades my space, you will be told to remove it. If you do so, immediately, then the dog won't get hoofed anywhere. I, however won't be waiting to see whether you call the dog off, or how quickly he responds, and will take whatever action seems appropriate to remove the problem.

[soldthehouse]

http://www.iprow.co.uk/index.php?page=page&catId=11#32

[carlt]

 

The other is generally mischievous but will always obey my commands. He loves to run far and fast but he will always come back to me when called, he will walk at my fingertip as long as I hold my hand down beside my leg, he will not harass any other dog, and he will never ever approach another human (or any other form of animal) without my permission. If you see me out with him, he will not be on a lead.

 

It is not possible to apply any form of universal rule.

My dog also walks to heel, does not acknowledge other dogs or people, could walk through a field, full of sheep, seemingly oblivious to them and is always on a lead, in a field with livestock or in a confined space, such as a tow path.

 

Why? Because only I know how well behaved my dog is and I do not expect people who don't know him, to have to make a judgement about a strange dog.

 

I am also able to get him out of the way, when another dog decides to harass him.

 

He's a bit old to defend himself, now, but he was, after all, trained to kill small furry creatures so, after being attacked, he always assumed the worst of any dog that bothered him.

[Natalie Graham]

Nobody has suggested kicking dogs at random.

 

 

The post to which the comment you quoted referred to a jogger who kicked any dogs which ran towards him. That seems fairly random to me, especially as said jogger was also presumably running towards the dog.

 

 

What has been suggested is that if you have a dog, and you fail to keep it under control, and it makes an unwelcome approach to another towpath user, don't complain if it gets hoofed into the canal

 

If I still had a dog I would say don't complain if you follow it.

 

 

I don't see any excuse for kicking any dog. People have complained about dogs acting aggressively towards people. Well if they experience strangers kicking them they are going to react accordingly next time someone comes towards them.

 

 

If the dog comes into your living room maybe it is invading your space but if it merely comes near you on a narrow towpath then it is no more invading your space than you are invading mine if you walk past me on the towpath.

 

 

This is not the first time you have referred to dogs "sniffing arses". Do you really find a problem with this as I can't ever say I have experienced it from dogs? Maybe you should ask Soldthehouse if you can borrow his carbolic soap.

 

 

The plain fact is that I do not want your dog invading my space, or being friendly.

Of course not, you might have to be friendly in return and that would spoil your image.

[sociable_hermit]

As a non dog owner I don't think the dog owners who have posted in favour of letting their dogs run free on the towpath have really understood what the problem might be. The stock response is always "my dog is very well behaved, so i don't have to do this". The rules one might wish to see adopted voluntarily through sheer common sense should obviously apply to everyone else but never to ourselves.

 

Oh really?

 

The problem as a walker, runner or cyclist is that owners often have a very different concept of "very well behaved" to that which I have. Basically a very well behaved dog is one which will leave me alone unless invited to interact. I appreciate that this isn't natural behaviour for a dog, and that's why they need to be on a lead. It's no good saying "oh but my dog is well behaved" because quite frankly by the time I get to assess whether this is true or not, it's already too late if if turns out that the owner is mistaken.

 

Yes, there are some very well behaved dogs around, with very responsible owners. But there are lots more badly controlled dogs which are either over-friendly (jumping up, or barrelling into me) or aggressive. Why should I have to gamble all the time? And why can't some dog owners accept that it is their duty to keep their dogs under control to an extent whereby other towpath users do not feel threatened, whether or not their dog is actually a threat?

[Ange]

A very recent anecdote to throw into the conversation.

 

We were cruising on our boat and became aware of shouts and screams on the towpath. As we drew nearer (there were moored boats there so we were chugging very slowly ) we realised the commotion was coming from a woman stood on the towpath with her leashed dog. An unleashed dog was approaching them, it's intentions / nature obviously unknown to her and no owners were in sight, so she feared the worst - she was an hysterical mess. As we passed a point, probably about 50 yards in front of her a couple climbed over a stile, from a public footpath, to join their dog on the towpath. I'd love to have heard the conversation that ensued but unfortunately we were out of earshot by then (but we could hear she was still shouting).

 

I used to walk dogs to earn pocket money as a kid and can remember the fear when an unleashed dog approached us and refused to go away - I'm a huge dog lover with only a rational healthy fear of what they can do if you happen upon a badly trained one (instilled in me by my parents when I kept approaching strange dogs with no fear at all!)

 

Sorry, just one last thing that happened recently. We went on an escorted walk across Morcambe Bay a week or so ago. There were a few dogs present, but two stood out as they were quite large dogs. During the initial part of the walk they were both off the lead and had a lot of fun playing "top dog" with each other - play fighting, running at each other, all very good natured. Towards the end of the walk one of the dogs was put on a lead and the other wasn't. The one off the lead decided to play with the other again to be met with a ferocious response. A puzzled conversation followed - "but they were playing fine earlier". Yeah but the parameters had changed for the dog on the lead hadn't it?

 

Said me piece now

Edited October 3, 2010 by Ange

[Tiny]

I saw one lady who had released her dogs which had 'gone rabbiting'. All the time we were mooring we could hear her - above the next lock blowing her whistle a yelling. This continued as it began to pelt very cold rain and it got ever darker with a howling wind. From inside the boat we listened as she whistled and yelled - she must have been soaked. One assumes the dogs finally came back...

[Guest]

A very recent anecdote to throw into the conversation.

 

Towards the end of the walk one of the dogs was put on a lead and the other wasn't. The one off the lead decided to play with the other again to be met with a ferocious response. A puzzled conversation followed - "but they were playing fine earlier". Yeah but the parameters had changed for the dog on the lead hadn't it?

 

Said me piece now

 

Dennis when tethered on the boat (moving or not) will often get very aggressive noise wise to any potential intruders who approach including swans and other dogs. Untethered he his fine.

 

Last weekend I was out walking with him as I often am with him off a lead and we met umpty dozen other dogs as usual also off leads and he was fine - a stern word to 'leave it' if he looked interested in any way in the other dog(s) was enough to persuade him to carry on...

 

Its a delicate balance sometimes between having your dog under control on or off a lead...

Edited October 5, 2010 by MJG

[canaldrifter]

Is this thread still running?? Blimee!

 

Where I am now moored I look out of the boat window and I see a notice that says 'Sanitary Station. Mooring for disposal only. Please keep dogs aboard'. Beyond is fenced parkland. Every gate has 'Dogs must be kept on leads' notices. Sophie runs free around the whole area, which has now become her territory. She barks at other dogs who are walked through here, and plays with those who are not on leads. She has become known by name by the local dog walkers, who are aware that her bark is far worse than her lick (she won't bite).

 

Irresponsible dog ownership? Not according to the staff here, who a) have given me permission to moor where I am until the flood subsides, and don't mind Sophie 'running wild'as long as i pick up dogs' mess, any dogs' mess that I find, because she is doing no harm, and possibly keeping the rat populations' heads down.

 

I consider her to be under control because if I tell her to stay, she will lay down and wait for her lead to be attached.

 

But, she is happy, and so am I amongst dog friendly people.

 

Tone

[Inestine]

Walking the towpath with my whippet is usually pleasant, until old men and aggressive terriers appear... today said loose aggressive terrier dashed up to my dog who is on his lead...my dog is frightened of such dogs having been mauled to within an inch of losing his life when he was a puppy ......so I always put him on the lead because when a loose dog dashes up to him he barks out of fear, old man laughs and allows his terrier to keep snipping at Jack who by now is having to be throttled by me to stop him lunging and barking ferociously at nasty little dog, I asked old man, albeit in a testy fashion, to tether his dog, why should I have to choke my dog! Old man erupts in abusive language and shouting that my dog is dangerous and hasn't been brought up correctly! and other thoroughly unpleasant statements.

 

Grr...stupid, stupid old man! I really hope he is a boater and a member of this forum because if he is and reading this then Be Warned you stupid man! if it keeps happening I will be carrying a very big stick and I will not hesitate to thwack your dog into the canal!

 

So There!

 

(Thank you, the thrumming in my ears has settled, blood pressure dropped, all is calm once more )

 

It isn't the dog that needs thwacking, it's the ignorant git who ought to be fined for having his dog off a lead.

Poor whippet. I hope he has recovered now.

[canaldrifter]

Tell you what. Let's turn this thread into a dogshit one. It seems the same same antagonists who post to those post here too.

 

Should we ban dogs from the planet, or acknowledge that in the right relationship with us mere mortals, they can run free without causing serious problems to other towpath users?

 

Tone

(who does pick up after Sophie, much to her amusement)

[carlt]

 

Should we ban dogs from the planet, or acknowledge that in the right relationship with us mere mortals, they can run free without causing serious problems to other towpath users?

 

Neither extreme.

 

We could just be responsible dog owners who keep our dogs on leads, in confined areas, so that we don't impose them on people who don't appreciate being bothered by them.

[mayalld]

Neither extreme.

 

We could just be responsible dog owners who keep our dogs on leads, in confined areas, so that we don't impose them on people who don't appreciate being bothered by them.

 

Some of us can.

 

Others are too full of their own self-importance to behave properly,

[mayalld]

Tell you what. Let's turn this thread into a dogshit one. It seems the same same antagonists who post to those post here too.

 

Tell you what, lets run away to urw, and start a thread there, slagging this "overpopulated" forum off.

 

Do we take it that you will hawk your opinions around every forum you can until you find one that agrees with you, and then sit on your laurels, reflecting that you were right all the time, and that it was just a matter of finding a forum that doesn't allow people to join who hold the wrong opinion.

[soldthehouse]

urw?

[mayalld]

urw?

 

uk.rec.waterways

 

a newsgroup (accessible via google groups), which was the first widely used online waterways discussion group, in the days before web based forums were common.

 

In its heyday, urw was THE place to discuss waterways issues (much as CWDF is these days), but the general decline of usenet, and the rise of web forums has resulted in many people not bothering any more. A few familiar names from here still persist, and once Tony got short shrift for his views here, he went there in search of an opinion that matched his own, and didn't find it.

 

Perhaps he might find people to agree with him at NarrowMindedWorld

[Mac of Cygnet]

 

 

Perhaps he might find people to agree with him at NarrowMindedWorld

 

A bit out of date, aren't you? He's already been disowned by NBW. That's when he appeared here. I have no opinion on this, and was quite surprised when the editorial appeared expunging him from their site. They must be sensitive souls.

 

Mac

[mayalld]

A bit out of date, aren't you? He's already been disowned by NBW.

 

Yes, I was aware of that little falling out.

 

Pity really, because it was the one place where he might have found agreement.

[canaldrifter]

Yes, I was aware of that little falling out.

 

Pity really, because it was the one place where he might have found agreement.

 

To put the history into true perspective, I walked before I was pushed by the editor who turned against me because I spoke the truth about him.

 

And you will note that after a short gap to let the heat settle, I have contributed to this thread whilst at the same time contributing to URW.

 

Dave, I see your snidy posts are exactly the same abusive rubbish they were back in the days when I challenged you to put your views directly to Nabo council by being on it, instead of criticising it from the sidelines in cowardly fashion. I was Vice Chair then. You were just a PITA.

 

Now, you can slang me off all you like, it is just water off a duck's back and exposes you for how your head works. Just bear in mind that one day we are going to meet and from what I've been told, face-to-face you are not nearly as bravely outspoken.

 

Tell you what, settle for giving me a good quote to add to my signature.

 

Bless you.

 

Tone

[fuzzyduck]

Tell you what, settle for giving me a good quote to add to my signature.

 

Can I be in your sig too?

 

pretty please, with sugar on top

[Barry]

Seems you have to earn the right fuzzy

[fuzzyduck]

I'm fleshing out a few ideas for one liners now.

 

I'm thinking of starting with "The thought of Tony Haynes in blue Y fronts, made me do a bit of sick in my mouth"

 

 

Think I might be in with a chance?

 

and an anecdote.

 

History. A few years back, my mum fractured her hip in a freak kitchen accident, also she's always been nervous of dogs.

 

A friend of mine has a dog that is almost always off the lead, and I've never seen a better trained, or more well behaved dog. The dog's owner was / is proud of his dog training skills

 

However.... A month or so after my mother been released from hospital, after having several pounds of finest Titanium bolted to her bones, she attended a BBQ. For some unknown reason, the normally wonderfully behaved dog decided to jump up barking into the face of the funny human with 4 legs, nearly knocking my mother off her feet.

 

If my father hadn't taken the spare walking stick to the dog concerned, I would have.

Edited October 19, 2010 by fuzzyduck

[Barry]

I'm fleshing out a few ideas for one liners now.

 

I'm thinking of starting with "The thought of Tony Haynes in blue Y fronts, made me do a bit of sick in my mouth"

 

 

Think I might be in with a chance?

 

 

 

Naaah

 

I think Phylis might be in with a chance with this from the Trent Falls thread though

 

"i hope that you dont drag someone else down with your stupidity"

Edited October 20, 2010 by Bazza2

[canaldrifter]

Can I be in your sig too?

 

pretty please, with sugar on top

 

You haven't posted anything personally inane or insulting yet, to my knowledge.

 

Tone

[carlt]

You haven't posted anything personally inane or insulting yet, to my knowledge.

 

Tone

Inanity is, of course, a matter of personal opinion but my comment, which you have in your signature, was certainly not meant to be insulting.

 

I'm surprised you didn't take it as a compliment.

 

I would have thought that, by now, your skin would have grown thick enough to deal with a bit of criticism and you should certainly have learnt to expect some, as you are quick enough to dole it out.

 

Edited to say, I see you have changed my comment, in your signature and you should know that the "all mouth and no trousers" comment was merely to provide a lead in to the joke about Neil's y-fronts.

 

I am aware of your extensive boating experience (you have told everyone about it, incessantly, for years) so my comment was most definitely tongue in cheek (perhaps not the best thing to say, considering the subject matter).

Edited October 20, 2010 by carlt