Put your dog on a leash in the park if you don?t want it to get injured.

[LD929]

I was biking in Dulwich Park today with my six year old daughter. Two dogs we rough playing,running across the path very quickly and suddenly one jumped up and flew into my daughter. My daughter was fine, but I am sure the dog is injured. Had it been me the dog flew into, it probably would have been run over and crushed.

I don?t want to start a full chat on here between dog lovers and dog haters nor do I want to have a discussion about the merits of dog walking versus cycling in the park. If you care about your dog and don?t want it to get injured or killed, either take it off the path or put it on a leash. It will be your fault if it gets hurt.

[singalto]

I get fed up with the number of dogs off the lead in the park. They can be off the lead on the dog walk bit but should be on short leads in the rest of the park. Very few are..

[DulwichGlobetrotter]

Arrogant man has bad experience involving a dog.

Arrogant man assumes his bad experience is a universal truth - the world is wrong and he has the answer.

Arrogant man issues edict that all dogs must be on leads or kept out of his and his family?s way.

Arrogant man is trolled on the internet for being so arrogant.

[ollieloudon]

Actually if your cycling it's your responsibility not to hit things animals included. Get over yourself

[rendelharris]

ollieloudon Wrote:

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> Actually if your cycling it's your responsibility

> not to hit things animals included. Get over

> yourself

If it was him/her who'd run into a dog you might have a point. As it was his/her six year old daughter was hit by (note, didn't run into, was knocked over by) a dog. In that case surely it's the owner's responsibility to keep the dog under control.

[rendelharris]

DulwichGlobetrotter Wrote:

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> Arrogant man issues edict that all dogs must be on

> leads or kept out of his and his family?s way.

There's already an edict in Dulwich Park that dogs should only be off the lead in the dog exercise area, which does not include the road. Can't believe the flack being given to a perfectly reasonable post by someone who probably was somewhat shaken up by seeing his/her six year old daughter knocked off her bike by a dog that clearly wasn't under control and shouldn't have been off the lead in that area.

N.B. I am a keen cyclist but also a devoted dog lover, the two can easily coexist in parks if both sides behave responsibly. But this thread will doubtless, as can be seen from the comments already, degenerate into an "all dogs/all cyclists should be banned from parks" nonsense.

[Blah Blah]

Just sounds like an unavoidable accident in a shared space to me. And yes, the responsibility is always with the cyclist to anticipate sudden obstacles, which is why, when I cycle through a park, I slow down to walking pace when passing or near to dogs and small children, and just any person in fact.

[rendelharris]

Blah Blah Wrote:

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> Just sounds like an unavoidable accident in a

> shared space to me. And yes, the responsibility is

> always with the cyclist to anticipate sudden

> obstacles, which is why, when I cycle through a

> park, I slow down to walking pace when passing or

> near to dogs and small children, and just any

> person in fact.

I agree it's for a cyclist to watch out for sudden obstacles and avoid them, whether you can anticipate and avoid an uncontrolled dog jumping up and into you, as seems to be the case here, is somewhat moot.

[first mate]

Yes, but the slower the bike speed the gentler the impact and therefore injury all round less likely. Not ideal for dogs to be chasing around off lead on that bit of the park but I see way too many cyclists pelting at top speed through both DP and PR.

Anyhow, in this case, hoping dog is not imjured and glad child was ok.

[Loz]

DulwichGlobetrotter Wrote:

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> Arrogant man has bad experience involving a dog.

>

> Arrogant man assumes his bad experience is a

> universal truth - the world is wrong and he has

> the answer.

>

> Arrogant man issues edict that all dogs must be on

> leads or kept out of his and his family?s way.

>

> Arrogant man is trolled on the internet for being

> so arrogant.

Wow, you seem a pretty unpleasant sort of person.

And not a little sexist for assuming the OP was male.

[rendelharris]

first mate Wrote:

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> Yes, but the slower the bike speed the gentler the

> impact and therefore injury all round less likely.

> Not ideal for dogs to be chasing around off lead

> on that bit of the park but I see way too many

> cyclists pelting at top speed through both DP and

> PR.

It was a six year old child, rather doubt she was going at Tour de France speed! Do like the way you've quickly skated over irresponsible dog ownership ("not ideal") to move onto complaining about speeding cyclists, which clearly is not relevant to this incident.

[first mate]

Okay, well the OP said that had it been him the dog had run into "it would probably have been run over and crushed" that doesn't fit with a cyclist going very slowly does it? Perhaps he meant he would have fallen onto the dog and crushed it but he did say "run over".

[ollieloudon]

I guess all children should also be on a leash to stop them running in front of your bike

[first mate]

Think Blah Blah had most sensible approach, it was an accident, more care required by dog owners, glad no people/children hurt, and it sounded like the OP was concerned the dog was injured and did not want the same happening again.

[rendelharris]

ollieloudon Wrote:

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> I guess all children should also be on a leash to

> stop them running in front of your bike

What a stupid comment. And do try to read - the dog jumped at his/her daughter and knocked her off.

[Jules-and-Boo]

Children should be able to cycle in the park . They're hardly going to be expert, are they - and besides, should not have to avoid dogs off their lead in an area where there are notices saying 'Keep your dog on a lead'.

I hope the dog owner apologised. I would have been mortified if I'd caused a child to be hurt.

[rendelharris]

Blah Blah Wrote:

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> Just sounds like an unavoidable accident in a

> shared space to me.

As the dog was off the lead and not under control in an area where it should have been both, "entirely avoidable" would seem a more apposite expression.

[Blah Blah]

rendelharris Wrote:

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> Blah Blah Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Just sounds like an unavoidable accident in a

> > shared space to me.

>

> As the dog was off the lead and not under control

> in an area where it should have been both,

> "entirely avoidable" would seem a more apposite

> expression.

I was in a supermarket today and a small child ran into me. Do I ask the parent keep it on a lead? No, I use common sense and accept that children aren't always aware of who is around them. As for dogs, toddlers get knocked over by the family pet on regular occasions. Clumsy accidents are always avoidable, but they are also part of life.

I agree with the person above who pointed out that f you are going fast enough to crush a dog that strays into your path, then you might be going fast enough to crush a child as well. Worth thinking about. I see the OP as a reasonable expression of annoyance over unresonable outrage though. People will always ignore the rules (or may not even be aware of them). It's better to be civil about these things in the long run.

[rendelharris]

Strongcoffee Wrote:

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> Typical control freaks,

> Cycle somewhere else,

> I?ll wrap my dog in cotton wool and my kids.

> What a pathetic era we live in.

Indeed it is when people can talk such utter rubbish. Suggesting people should take some responsibility for their dogs is being a control freak, but telling people their small children should quit cycling in a park isn't? Do you have the slightest comprehension of how utterly foolish your comment makes you look?

[rendelharris]

Blah Blah Wrote:

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> I was in a supermarket today and a small child ran

> into me. Do I ask the parent keep it on a lead?

> No, I use common sense and accept that children

> aren't always aware of who is around them.

That's an entirely faulty syllogism, Blah - a supermarket doesn't have regulations about where children are allowed to run and where not, the park does, regarding dogs. I wonder if the OP's child had run into, knocked down and injured a pensioner because s/he wasn't paying attention to/didn't have control over what their child was doing people would just be saying "that's life, unavoidable accident"?

As I said above, I adore dogs and my family have always had them; we've always made sure that they're well enough trained that we can control them, and we don't let them off the leash in areas where it's not permitted, especially if there's a chance that they might interfere with or injure others (as it might be, just as an example, a small child riding a bicycle).

[Blah Blah]

But I think if a child did accidentally knock over a pensioner Rendel, it would be seen for the unintentional accident that it was. I get the issue around the park rules, and that's fair enough, but there are other areas where dogs are allowed off the leash, other parks with no rules and even common off road routes where pedestrians, dogs and cyclists mix. I cycle along several paths like this (the old canal route being one) and I just slow right down. Because if I see a dog, even one on a lead walking near me, I know it can suddenly move towards me in an instant (just like a small child). Dogs on leads don't walk in straight lines either.

[uncleglen]

I regularly walk in Dulwich Park and Ruskin Park. I have never had a problem with a loose dog in Dulwich Park but in Ruskin Park- where there is a very large field for dogs to run free and clear signs and fences cordonning it off from the pond and gardens area- there is always one selfish idiot who lets their dog off the lead to harass the wildlife and damage the plants....

[rendelharris]

Strongcoffee Wrote:

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> Nope.. but I do know that you sound angry..

> In fact you sound like a control freak!??

> Not your fault,

> Probably a spoilt brat,

> I forgive you.

> Lots of love : Me

Oh dear, how pathetic. I don't know why, having been inoffensively advertising your window cleaning business on this forum for a year (you've certainly lost one potential customer), you've suddenly been inspired to a bout of low quality tiresome trolling on multiple threads, but do be a good chap and pack it in. You may wish to consider what your stupid posts make you look like to the people to whom you've been touting for business?

[Earl Aelfheah]

Jules-and-Boo Wrote:

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> Children should be able to cycle in the park .

> They're hardly going to be expert, are they - and

> besides, should not have to avoid dogs off their

> lead in an area where there are notices saying

> 'Keep your dog on a lead'.

>

> I hope the dog owner apologised. I would have been

> mortified if I'd caused a child to be hurt.

^this.

[Quia Differt]

singalto Wrote:

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> I get fed up with the number of dogs off the lead

> in the park. They can be off the lead on the dog

> walk bit but should be on short leads in the rest

> of the park. Very few are..

To say I am a Dog Lover is the understatement of the year and I have not contributed to this thread before as it is obvious there are places in this park, which I am no longer familiar with , where dogs are not allowed off the leash.

However when you say they should be on the lead " in the rest of the park " what, roughly, is the proportion of that shared park space are you referring to ? How sizeable is the " dog walk bit" ??