Comments on: Mountain Bikers Should Have Dogs

By: Xanax.

Xanax. — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:19:50 +0000

Xanax.

Cheap xanax. Xanax. Xanax effect.

By: Wild Dingo

Wild Dingo — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:59:40 +0000

Ibiss: sorry, i missed your last point on “anti-dog owner.” ya, we’re lucky we have a lot of land, but no dog yet to replace my dingo, who we recently lost. I don’t care for the situation of the big doggies (or dogs who need major exercise) locked up in a small apartment all day either. And, btw: I had worked in a children’s hospital as well, and I see your point on human compassion. However, I’m hugly compassionate for the quadrapeds and have seen them do remarkable things for the love/companionship of a human. I’ve also seen them do wonderful things in the children’s hospital I worked in many years ago.

By: Jouni

Jouni — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:49:06 +0000

How about a greyhound or a whippet? Seriously, there are always lots available for adoption after their racing careers are finished. They are built like roadie climbers and run like the wind to boot.
I know you wanted a puppy, but rescuing a dog is a great thing to do.We have three rescues (ok, not the above two breeds); curiously, all are too goofy to take running that I dare not experiment with riding.

By: ibisss

ibisss — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:12:42 +0000

as I said–not anti-dog; just anti-dog-owner. If I had, say, five acres, I might consider a dog. I don’t and so I won’t.
mb

By: Wild Dingo

Wild Dingo — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:16:41 +0000

Ibiss (is that like the bike? cuz i have an Ibis…): I have to say this. A dog’s behavior is only as good as his owner’s behavior or owner’s ability to teach/control his behavior. The owner should be the pack leader and teach the dog civil social skills under ANY circumstances, home or in the world. No owner should ever make excuses for his/her dog’s bad behavior. Funny, its almost like raising kids, huh? The dog who knocks your kid over or the dog who bares his teeth at a cyclist=bad owner. 99% of bad dog behavior is likely not the dog’s fault.

If a dog can’t cut it on the trails with bikes or in any social situation, the owner needs to either 1. never put the dog in that situation or 2. invest a long time in obedience and training with the dog and that means himself or herself. that does not mean, send the dog to a trainer and hope he’ll obey your commands.

Too many dog owners don’t get the concept of being a pack leader and let their dogs be the pack leader, which is the main mistake made and ultimately leads to bad dog behavior.

My humble opinion.
Signed,
A owner of a wild dingo who had turned over a new leaf.

By: ibisss

ibisss — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:28:43 +0000

now that this post is a couple of days old, and there are lots of posts on top of this, I feel it is now safe to say dogs are a big pain in the ass. They are messy, expensive, tie you down (or your long-suffering friends who will be roped into looking after the thing when you go away for a week or so and can’t/won’t take the dog), and give you a 100% chance of coming home to crap, pee, and vomit, as well as a bunch of ruined shoes or other things. Not only that, but they die after only a dozen years.
Plus, getting a dog invariably makes a person think their dog is the best dog in the world (viz, the above posts), and that you and your clean pants want to be jumped upon. A wet dog is a friendly dog. I don’t know how many times I have been at the park with my little girls and some dog has run over and knocked them over, or acted agressively toward them. To which the owner says ‘oh, he’s just saying hi’ or my favourite post-snap comment ‘well, you are near the off leash area…’
I think we have all ridden with that guy who thinks we all want to ride with his wheel-attacking squirrel of a dog, who has developed a taste for human sweat, and licks it off you when you stop.
I am not anti-dog–had a couple as a kid. Just anti- dog owner.
Finally, I don’t see how dog lovers are any different, really, from reptile-lovers. You know, the guy who works at the comics shop, whose apartment smells like his pet’s feces and has pet accoutrements everywhere, brings his pet’s antics up in everyday conversation, and takes time off work when it dies, because, well, ‘grief is grief–a pet is part of the family…’ (as an on-call chaplain at a children’s hospital, I disagree). Except for the comics shop bit, the above could be said of many dog owners.
curmudgeonly,
M Burdge

By: bee money

bee money — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:21:10 +0000

just get a boxer. mine is as dumb as they get, scared of absolutely everything, and has short hair that sheds all over the place. all that aside he is the funniest dog I have ever met. Most importantly he is amazing with my 10 month old boy.

By: H

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:03:13 +0000

A beagle…they keep up with horses on foxhunts, are obediant, and have lots of energy…love to bark though.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:30:06 +0000

Definitely a German Shorthaired Pointer, this from having about 20 years with these lovely critters. Hard field-running dogs, but they stay and work close. Short, sleek coat makes’ em wash & wear/permanent press, too!

Weimaraner is another good choice, if you like the color scheme…

By: Oli

Oli — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:58:07 +0000

I will seconde (or third etc) english springer spaniels. my Springer, Whisper, is amazingly well behaved and can run very very fast for hours on end. She stays out of the way of bikes really well and she even waits for me at the top of climbs!