Retractable dog leads

[Josie]

It is not just talking on the phone. Those that are permanently plugged in listening to (I assume) music. Cyclists and runners seem to be the worst offenders. How can they be alert to other road and pavement users.

I listen to music when i run and just because I have headphones in doesn’t mean I have the music blasting so loud I can’t hear what else is going on around me.

Phone users and music listeners seem to be getting quite a bashing on this thread

 

[Nanny71]

So

I listen to music when i run and just because I have headphones in doesn’t mean I have the music blasting so loud I can’t hear what else is going on around me

Sorry I am doing what I hate others doing, making assumptions.
It just seems dangerous when runners seem totally unaware of what is going on around them. Round here they tend to run on the cycle paths so can't hear cyclists behind them leading to some heated confrontations

 

[Josie]

I guess it’s like most things @Nanny71 - you have people who are considerate of others and then you have people who just aren’t!

The ones that aren’t considerate are most likely like that in others areas of life to!

 

[Mad Murphy]

So

Sorry I am doing what I hate others doing, making assumptions.

I dont think its really assumptions (in the negative ) but we all make statements based on our experiences.
We also have terrible troubles with joggers in winter months who come trotting along out of the darkness and startle the dog. As Ive explained to one who shouted at me, the dog does not know if you are jogging past or running up to attack us he makes a snap judgement. I know not all joggers do it but round here they do and they are a darn nuisence. They have the whole town to run in but chose the off lead dog park and then moan about dogs!
Cyclists are another group I have problems with even though I own and use a cycle myself. They ride on pavements use mobiles while cycling and often wear headphones so that I as a driver dont know if they are aware of me or not. But if you toot to make sure they are aware you get abuse. If you dont and you are involved in an accident the car driver is assumed to be at fault until proven otherwise!!!

So if I were to moan about cyclists, although Im really only moaning about the ones I see here in my town the ones who act as if the road is thiers and theirs alone it might come across as if I hate all cyclists.. Maybe we should put a IME ( in my experience) before any statement.

 

[JudyN]

The real problem, of course, is inconsiderate/ignorant people in any category. I have a friend who jogs and has a severe dog phobia and she would be quite justified in complaining about 'dog owners' - because the cutest puppy ever could come running up to her, all she can see is their teeth, and when she asks the owner to call the dog back she just gets 'Don't worry, he's friendly' which is the equivalent of expecting me to be find if you dropped a friendly tarantula down the back of my shirt

I meet some very inconsiderate cyclists but I also meet great ones who slow down when going past, and thank me when I move Jasper to the side, so I'm not going to complain about cyclists as a whole.

I mentioned a while back meeting a man who was picking up bagfuls of dog poo on a local heath and he wouldn't let me have a moan to him about owners who don't pick up after their dog. He said that the ones who don't aren't going to do it regardless but most dog owners do pick up after their dogs so we should just focus on being positive about them.

Now, BMW drivers....

Maybe we just need more education. Every flexi-lead should come with clear info about the dos and don'ts, cyclists should be made aware of etiquette when passing dogs and their unpredictability, BMW drivers should be shown where the indicators are...

 

[JoanneF]

Now, BMW drivers....

Erm ...

 

[Whippylove]

Most off the people in my area that use retractable leads haven't a clue, they're on the pavement while the dog is trying to cross the road. They let them run at your dog's (which mine hate) and there's also a lady that uses one and nearly everytime i meet her ,her dog is wrapped around someone else's.
I've never liked them but that's me i prefer a normal lead on my dogs i like to keep them close.
I think I've seen one person using it correctly in the park and she actually changes leads when she leaves.

 

[JudyN]

Erm ...

It doesn't help that our last car was written off by a BMW (4.15am, practically empty motorway) en route to the airport to fly to Greece... I made a jokey comment to a friend who has a top-of-the-range BMW about indicators being an optional extra and she said, 'Well I do try to remember to indicate'

But yes, of course, there are great BMW drivers as well as lousy ones, same as for any make of car.

Sorry... going a bit off topic But then again it boils down to 'Blame the tool walking the dog/driving the car etc. and not the tool they're using.'

 

[Mad Murphy]

But yes, of course, there are great BMW drivers as well as lousy ones, same as for any make of car.
'

We had a BMW once and honestly once was enough. In a volvo you get laughed at, in a mini you get smiles and waves, in a peugoet everyone ignores you but in a BMW you either get two fingers or idiots wanting to race it was awful. We sold it to some Russian guys who wanted a flash motor.

 

[Flobo]

Not a big fan of retractable leads, personally.. for no other reasons than I find a 4metre long line easier to use.. and a few years ago I had a bad/funny experience using a retractable lead with a hefty young lab, she saw a dog a mere milli-second before me and in a blink she and lead had gone full length, and a bit, and dragged me face first into a large muddy puddle, top to toe I was covered!!
My thing with people on phones or plugged into music while walking their dogs is, IME, that they generally aren't keeping much of an eye on their dog plus some of the dogs I walk are a bit 'special' and it's kinda helpful if I can get someones attention to call their dog back if they are making a beeline for us, I can only do so much avoiding. With all my dogs I walk, on or off lead, I am aware of them and our surroundings all the time, especially as it's active adder time around our way at the mo, have been a step away from 2 in 2weeks!

 

[leashedForLife]

QUOTE, Flobo:

...
My thing with people on phones or plugged into music while walking their dogs is, IME, they generally aren't keeping much of an eye on their dog -- plus some of the dogs I walk are a bit 'special', and it's kinda helpful if I can get someone's attention to call their dog back; if they make a beeline for us, I can only do so much avoiding.

With all the dogs I walk, on or off lead, I'm aware of them and our surroundings all the time, especially as it's active adder time around our way, at the mo', I've been a step away from 2 in 2-weeks!
_______________________________
.

yes, the folks who walk / bike / jog / drive / skateboard / __________ with earplugs piping sound into both ears are IME pretty oblivious, it's hard to get them to pay attn to anything around them. They're in a world of their own, & the collision of their auditory hermitage with the hard edges of shared reality can be very painful.

"Snake season" is definitely a time to keep wits & eyes on the environs. :thumbs-up:

- terry

.

 

[Jack-Russell-Lover]

Maybe that's the advantage of living in a village with no signal! (Seriously, none)....I never see people on their phones while out walking! If I have music on I usually just have it playing low through the speaker, i can still hear traffic coming.

 

[Caro Perry]

We had a BMW once and honestly once was enough. In a volvo you get laughed at, in a mini you get smiles and waves, in a peugoet everyone ignores you but in a BMW you either get two fingers or idiots wanting to race it was awful. We sold it to some Russian guys who wanted a flash motor.

Try being a Porsche owner in the 1990s. It was a company car but I only kept it 3 months. You do get sick of the idiots determined to cut you up or race you off the lights.

Everyone is lovely to me in my MX-5 though. They'll even pull over to let me past and I get let out at junctions all the time.