This morning Sarah, my friend and I took my dogs for a walk over the country park.
We turned onto this big field and to the right about 100yrds away was a man pushing his bike up the hill.
Shady my huge 11month old Rottie x GSD who was off the lead and who loves everyone took off at 100 mph to greet him, but the poor man who was obviously absolutly terrified seeing this huge dog hurtling towards him spun his bike round across him to block her and the look on his face was hilarious he looked like he really believed his end had come.
Luckily Shady has a very good recall and the minute I shouted to her she skidded to a halt about 3 ft from him and come back, while I called out that it was ok she was very friendly.
The poor man was too shocked to get any words out but the look of relief he was going to live after all was a picture.

Poor man, maybe he had a genuine phobia.  One of my son's friends is terrified of my dog and she has never been near him.  If when I walk across the park the boys are playing football, you can see this one lad dart off towards the bushes to hide from my dog.  Silly of him really because that's where she spends much of her time. I do feel a little impatient with this lad sometimes because he will not approach my dog even when she is on a lead.  I have to remember then how I feel when I see a big spider and then I feel sorry for him.

I don't mean to be a party pooper and I can see how it must look funny but poor man probably was really frightened.

I can quite understand how the poor man felt, thats why I titled the topic "I shouldn't Laugh really".
Even though I have always had dogs and love them had the roles been reversed and I was alone in a remote area and this lump of a dog come hurtling like that at me that I didn't know, I would probaly have been thinking a mixture of I hope its friendly and can stop before it hits my legs at that speed.  Its just his face was so expressive and of course from my perspective I knew she just wanted to say "Hello can I be Your Friend".

After the experience I had with two rotties last night, I wouldn't be laughing.
I can see you would find it funny knowing your dog wouldn't have hurt him so thats ok, but he was probably scared out of his mind as I would have been.
Not getting at you personally :) But the couple with the two rotties probably thought they were being clever too :(

I didn't think I was being clever at all, hence why I called her back immeadiatly and she came.  She may only be 11 months old but her recall is spot on.  My other dog although only small and also super friendly does not have a good recall and suffers with selective deafness so he is walked on an extending lead.
I believe if you can't trust your dog to come when called it should not be off the lead in the first place.

Bev

I'm a bit confused. In your post you let your dog run nearly 100 yards until it was approx 3 metres from this man yet you say she came back immediately when you called her. Which is it. You weren't watching the dog or the dog didn't come back when called.
I have dogs and everyone who knows my dogs know they are friendly. However I also have friends who are very nervous of dogs. I would never let my dogs run up to anyone I didn't know or their dogs. I don't see your point of posting this. It's not funny at all which is what you are indicating at the end of the day. Some people have extreme phobias of dogs and they should be respected as anyone else that you meet on a walk.

Oh my goodness I am not very good on distances so perhaps I am a little out on my judgement of them.
My dog was with me and suddenly shot from a walk to a flat out gallop to my right, I immeadiatly looked as had just checked that way and a man appeared pushing his bike.  He had just come up a hill which is why I hadn't spotted him a few seconds earlier.  I immeadiatly called her and she responded IMMEADIATLY and returned straight to me.
I then explained to the man it was ok she was friendly and apologised.
I have worked dogs for 30 odd years in obedience and used to show and breed and I always keep my eyes open all around for anyone or any animal approaching etc.
Had it been a flat field I would have seen him earlier before he got so close and had my dog stay beside me but he suddenly appeared over a hill.
Please don't tell me I am the only person in the world who is irresposible to not know a man is coming over the hill and so my dog gets to run fairly close before I spot him and recall her.
As I said before if her recall was not spot on she would NOT have been off the lead but on it like my other dog, but I suppose this still makes me a bad person and everyone elses dogs would never have gone to say hello in the first place.
I give up, I have always trained my dogs to a high standard, tried to be aware around me, but the other stories I read on here about people whos dogs rush up to others are obviously not true because I do not see them getting slated like I am for having a well trained friendly dog off the lead that comes as soon as I call it, and being an owner that explains and apologises even though thier dog never reached them.  I am obviously in your eyes not fit to walk or own dogs, are yours so perfect.
That is my last post on it all and me the irresposible owner will crawl back under her stone.

bev no one is saying you are not fit to walk your dogs. Just like someone else said, when you live day in day out with large dogs you don't understand why any one would be afraid of your big friendly softie. Mine are big softies (leos) but people always cross the road, pick up their little dogs or hold on tight to their children when they see us approaching :rolleyes: I was just saying how scared this man could have been not knowing your dog from the next one. So in his eyes it wasn't funny. In yours and others it may have been because you know yours wouldn't have hurt him but he didn't. I'm glad your recall is spot on :) And yes mine, if off lead, would have probably done the same but their recall isn't so for that reason mine stay on lead, but that isn't the issue here :) and I don't think anybodys' dog is perfect, no matter what they say ;)

Please don't tell me I am the only person in the world who is irresposible to not know a man is coming over the hill and so my dog gets to run fairly close before I spot him and recall her.

Not at all, but I would be horrified that my dog had frightened the man and would still be apologising profusely the following week, and not be remotely laughing. :(

I'm really confused now. In your posting you said that the man was pushing the bike up the hill. So I presumed from that, that you could see him pushing the bike up the hill. Now he appeared from over the hill :rolleyes: Never Mind.
Bevb. In my posting I have not said my dogs are perfect (they're not), I have not called you irresponsible.
My problem is that you posted this thinking that people would find it funny. And it's not. If you had come on and said what had happened and how bad you felt about it, you would of yes had agreeing posts and a "Don't worry, it happens to us all".
But your post heading and content, you are looking for a cheap laugh. With 30 years of keeping dogs and being around them, you, more than me would know how phobic people can be about dogs, even ourselves in certain circumstances. It's not the fact that this happened, it's the fact you thought it funny enough to post it which annoys me and some of the other posters. As you haven't had the reaction you wanted you finish with (please feel sorry for me comments). Noone is saying you don't have great dogs, but to come back with slating mine. Don't go there. My dogs have their faults as do I but I do not make light of anyone who has any phobias however, strange I might find them.

Thought I would just let you know I have just got back from going the same route today and bumped into the man again, this time he was approaching on a flatter bit of field further up.
I called my girl straight to me and as the man got up to us he smiled, stopped and checked we were the people he had seen yesterday and then laughed and told me to let her off so he could make a fuss of her properly as he had been very impressed with the way I called her back and she responded so quickly and wished more owners were the same and dogs so friendly and well behaved, he was totally amazed to find out she was only an 11 month old pup and behaving better than most adult dogs he met. 
He explained he had reacted the way he did  as there are 2 women who always walk thier black Lab around there and they have no control over it and it rushes at everyone barking and he has been nipped twice by it now, and he thought my dog was that.  It wasn't until she came back to me so quickly and he saw she hadn't got a tail he realised it was a different dog.  (My girl although a Rottie x GSD does look like a black lab as she is jet black, no tan markings and GSD head but with rottie ears, everyone thinks she is a lab).
He said he must have looked very strange putting his bike in between him and her like that but that lab always got him on the legs, and I told him although I had been mortified that she had scared someone, when I always do my upmost to ensure she cannot, admitted to having a giggle about it when we got home.  He said he was not surprised as he had too as he must have looked hilarious and his wife had been in fits of laughter when he told her.
He also asked that we don't put her on the lead if we see him coming again as he thinks she is wonderful.  I said I wouldn't as long as he insisted she sit before fussing her.
Anyway thats all I am saying on the subject for sure this time, as I already know your views, there is no need to respond, I just thought you should know I had actually seen the man to talk to today.

so you all lived happily ever after?? it almost seems unreal?

I think thats enough now.....
:rolleyes: No need for a witch hunt sara.

Did you tell him you'd put it on a public forum for a laugh.
Ahh somewhere over the rainbow. Funny he never told you all this yesterday.
Sorry Huskygal (will go and slam fingers in DRAWERS, after I've taken my perfect dogs out :rolleyes:)
Glad the outcome was a positive one This Time ;)

;)

>you'd put it on a public forum<

no,no! thats a fair comment....I'm all for fairness.

:rolleyes: :D :D

  lol

Well you talk about my behaviour, many of you can be very very nasty in the way you go about things, but don't despair, I won't be around picking at or witchhunting you lot as you have me for making one silly mistake and for the crime of having a well behaved dog.  But then you are all so perfect, how could I find fault.  I have asked admin to delete my membership, and good luck to the next person in line to be head hunted when I have gone.

Bevb
Please show me exactly where anyone has said you haven't got a well behaved dog.
NOWHERE. People have only taken issue that they didn't share your amusement on what has happened.
After looking at another forum you have posted this on which Chloe has provided a link to, I think our replies are quite soft in comparison.
No-one has been on a witch hunt. In fact I've only seen personal comments coming from yourself.
This is a forum and if you decide to post on it, you don't always get the response you may want.
Rather than taking the attitude that hey we all make mistakes with our dogs, you took the higher ground and then got personal with posters you didn't agree with.

You've had similar responses on at least one other dog forum, with people gently pointing out that if a dog gives a person cause to fear that they're in danger is at risk of being siezed and possibly destroyed under the DDA. :(

I must admit I have for this reason taught the dogs 'steady'.  It can be difficult to turn already fast moving dogs in time to avoid such a situation of frightening someone, and in fact all that may be needed is to slow the approach so that the dog does not reach th3e object of interest much ahead of you, byut which time a quick command of 'walk on' will get them moving on by as they know your right on their heeels and can enforce the command once you reach them, so in my lots case prefer to respond to the command before I slap them on the bum

[I must admit I have for this reason taught the dogs 'steady']

I always teach my dogs that command too, and it works wonderfully when they are hurtling full pelt back to you with thier frisbee or on a recall and saves you hitting the deck with an almighty thud,or when you notice danger ahead like a rocky area of huge drop.
She was going a speed at this poor chap though and the look on his face told me steady wasn't going make him feel any braver I needed her back away from him with me, which is why I recalled her immeadiatly.
If he was as afraid of dogs, or her, as his face looked then her arriving to wash him fast or slow wasn't going to help him or his confidence.

Bev

Yes I realise in this situation, but I usually find the steady command before the recall works best with mine, as they are often playing with each other oblivious to oncoming people, and tend to range ahead not being a velcro breed.

Yes with you now, I do that at times too, when they play etc.
I always teach it when training the recall or anything on a long line, saves them hurtling to the end of the line and throttling themselves.
Also find the "look" command very useful when doing lead work and thier attention is drawn elsewhere.

Bev

I can quite understand that his reaction, if in a film, would be amusing, and it certainly raises a smile! :) Sadly in real life one has to remember that the iniquitous DDA can be broken simply by making a person fear that they're in danger.

I can see how it must have looked funny and wasn't getting at you bevb, it's just that I couldn't help seeing it from the other side.  A good few years ago a Dobe came running straight at me barking and in my fear I tried to climb up my husband.  I can see how that must have looked really funny and the Dobe's owners called over that the dog was ok.  It looked far from ok from where I was and just deepened my fear of the breed.  I am smiling as I am typing this because it really must have looked funny.  My OH thought I was embarrassing but at the time I was terrified and after I calmed down I got angry

Sorry if I sounded blunt I didn't mean too or think you were getting at me personally and she didn't bark at him even once just ran to greet him like he was a long lost friend.
I did put myself in his shoes and know if I had been alone in that remote area with an enormous dog hurtling at me, even though I have been around dogs for years, I would probaly have hoped to god it was going to be friendly or at least stop and not knock me flying, or the owner would have done what I did and manage to recall it.
It was just his face was so expressive and it was the look of relief with no words that later just tickled me.
At the time I did really feel for him and tried to reassure him she would not have hurt him, so if we ever meet again he will not feel worried by her.

Bev

I expect if he hadnt been so scared the words that came out may not have been to your liking. i fail to see the humour in this, and I certainly hope you made very sincere appoligies to this man.

Can you imagine how the conversation goes down the Local as he enjoys a pint with his friends....was walking me bike across that field, you know the one, well, this bloody awful dog got away from its owner and charged right at me, you know one of them rottie dogs (as in nasty them) big brute it was, had to put me bike between it and me to stop it attacking me! came right for me it did.....this bit of a wench with it shouted it was friendly but i tell you, it was b******y nasty only just stopped for her it did..........and she thought it was funny, never said sorry.....dog owners eh!

No I didn't think it funny at the time I felt for the man, recalled my dog immeadiatly, told him it was ok she was friendly and apologised. I didn't laugh at him and then ignore him.
It was after I got home, knowing my dog I could see a funny side myself.
At least it was my dog that ran up to him as this place is heavily frequented by dogs and thier owners and most can't get thier dogs to recall or listen at all, and wouldn't have cared less what thier dogs would have done to the poor chap or how he had felt.

Bev

i think that sometimes when we live with big dogs day in day out we can forget just how big, and possibly frightning they are, i have a bernese and she is the most friendly girl ever about a year back we were taking stuff from our car to the back garden and she was just laying on the drive, when i came back to the car i could see a woman crawling on the floor hiding behind somes cars (i thought she was a local nut case) she then saw me and asked me to help her, i thought she'd lost something but it turned out that she was hiding from my dog.
i did feel quite bad and a bit of an irresponsible owner, anyway most people in our village know my dog now, i think she's known as the local softy.

the problem is that while we know what our dogs are like, a complete stranger doesn't. and to be honest, even those of us who love and own dogs might be a tad unnerved by encountering an unknown but giant breed of dog apparently set on a collision course. and the fact that size is no indication of temperament or intention is immaterial in the heat of the moment!

My Newfie is the friendliset dog I've ever encountered. Everyone who knows her knows she is a big soft lump but I am mindful of the fact that to those who don't know her, she is a very large bundle of fur and teeth hurtling in their direction and they can't know that her intention is to throw herself on her back at their feet and demand a tummy rub before giving their ears a good wash should they bend down to oblige. For this reason, she is kept strictly on lead around people. It means I have to have eyes in the back of my head when she is off lead but I'd rather that than have her frighten someone half to death or inadvertantly knock someone over and injure them. I have been knocked over myself by a Bernese Mountain Dog tearing downhill at full pelt and I can tell you it hurt. A lot! However it was my own fault as said BMD was involved in a game of chase with one of my dogs and I stupidly took my eyes off them for a second :rolleyes: Won't make that mistake again!

PHEW!! never been to Ireland so can't possibly have been my bernese :D :D

i spend my whole time on walks trying to avoid this type of situation, as soon as i see someone on a bike/horse/ jogging i have to recall and distract my dog and hold on to her until they pass. Her recall is usually good (but as shes stubborn its in her own time) but if something is moving fast or comes up suddenly its up to me to see it before her, otherwise she cant resist chasing it. I now tend to walk only in the park where it is flat and i can see all around for potential hazards. She wouldnt hurt anyone either but does bark at people if they take her by surprise - and they dont like it!

Instant Down works for me every time, if I need it.

does diving in the hedge have the same effect? ;)

Hi, well I have to say I get very p****d off with owners and their dogs that are loose and charge at me and the girls. How would you like it on not very strong legs hanging onto 2 Newfies? My girls are sound, Storm is Frisbee obsessed so she's not a problem, Cassie is very friendly too but has a tendency to be dominant, for that reason I keep her by me or on a lead if anyone is approaching. I go to a busy park, some are responsible and some aren't, especially when their dogs are chasing me on my scooter with the girls in tow! I think you'll find most open/public parks are covered by bye-laws that say dogs should be under control, whether on a lead or off. if I had been that gentlemen I would have been very angry! Sorry, but there it is....Dawn

To OP  Its not the irresponsible dog owner thing that riles me, but your attitude to someone who, by your own words, was scared witless. From your post I thought you were someone fairly new to dog ownership, not someone of many years standing. I would feel exceptionally embarased about this had it happened to me. I certainly wouldnt have made a posting ridiculing this man, for his fear........quote ' The poor man who was obviously absolutly terrified seeing this huge dog hurtling towards him spun his bike round across him to block her and the look on his face was hilarious, he looked like he really believed his end had come...'.....and yes I agree with the heading 'I shouldnt laugh really' I certainly wouldnt. The final sentance of your post...The poor man was to shocked to get any words out but the look of relief he was going to live after all was a picture........His look of fear and then relief was funny? Its not so much the incident that I find objectional, although I feel that rather than watching this poor man you would have done better to call the dog back sooner, its the fact you so obviously find it funny. I dont find his fear funny even after the event. I would still be feeling guilty that I had caused this fear.

If any dog hurtled toward me and I wasn't sure it would stop I would seriously wallop it with a stick. The last dog who ran toward my kids on their bikes bit my son!

A while back I was walking my totally people/kid friendly GSD along our local canal path, saw a hiker colmng the other way and called him to heel, was I glad I did, as the man approached he raised his stick in greeting, my dog totally misinterpreted it, thought I was being attacked and went straight for him, luckily my command and physical contact stopped him in his tracks and no harm was done.
Did I find the look of absolute horror on the poor man's face funny, not at all, I was in a state of shock that my normally friendly dog could act in that way and apologised profusely, luckily he understood what had happened and within minutes was fussing the do, a.suring me that he would never raise his walking stick again in the presence of a dog.
We all think we know our dogs but until a situation arises then you never really know how they will react, what if the chap on the bike had taken some sort of reaction against the dog, it could have long lasting effects.

I have a Dobermann and she does not approach walkers at all, in fact she gives them a wide berth when off lead particaly if they are dogless, which is common for her breed. This can be usefull on walks as a lot of people look understandably worried when they first spot her on the path ahead of me. Yet they are relieved enough to say thankyou and make nice comments about her when we pass by "politely". A sad side effect is that so many doggy people reach out to her,  for just one touch of that shiny red coat, but she'll have none of it, and trots passed them, her regal nose in the air unless I formally introduce her to them. This can make her seem unfriendly at first. Having said that, I do see a lot of walkers swinging sticks in preperation too, so it's no bad thing really. If we see bikes wizzing along, I ask her to get "off the road" This works very well and she'll wait for them to pass too. As for the recall....it's still rubbish! 

http://ihdg.proboards91.com/index.cgi?board=non&action=display&thread=1148389001

See if you can guess which one I am.....

I've seen the same thread posted on another forum too (not the one ChloeH has linked to either)......

I must admit if i saw any dog running at me i would be very wary no matter what size or breed, and i have a dog of my own. My sister was chased by a gsd not long ago and just as the dog jumped on her back (she had her back to it) the owner appeared. Thank goodness, she was with my two young cousins and they were all in floods of tears. They had been running round a car to keep it at bay, then one of them said we need to stop and they did, two girls face to and the little boy jumped in the middle between them, then the dog jumped up on my sisters back. So i can understand anyone being frightened.

See if you can guess which one I am.

Gawd i hope it's not Amma! What a sicko :(  

LOL, so much that my mascara smudged :P

To Roz.
Yep that could work. I see someone has suggested an umbrella. Not good in this windy weather. Mind you take off like Mary Poppins and that would work. Seriously though I think the person concerned was very irresponsible, and if they have that good a recall they could have called sooner.:-(
Thinking back. I did end up in a hedge in my back garden when I was teaching sendaways. I ran with the dog to the chosen spot and he decided to stop and I continued. It made me laugh and he just sat their with a definite grin on his lovely face.:-) Sadly he is gone now, but I do have a new one to practise on.:-)