What's with dogs?

I have not noticed an upswing in the number of dogs that chase me recently. But I might attribute it to lack of excersize with the dogs (it's endemic with the owners, probably with the dogs also) and they are looking for an outlet. Breed of dog can make a big difference. Herders (like Border Collies, Austrailian Sheps, German Shepherds etc...) just like to keep everything in control, retrievers (labs et al) of course, want to bring you back to their owners. Guarders (Mastiffs, German Sheps, Dobermans etc) just want to chase you out of their territory and if they can, maybe take a chunk from your leg as a trophy (they mount them on the walls of their dog houses). There are the doorstop dogs. I call them that because they are so mellow and blase that you could use them as such. For instance, Basset Hounds. I've rarely met a Basset Hound that would rise for a chase other than maybe after a rabbit. But I would blame it again mostly on lack of excercise. Oh, I did leave out the little dogs, they all have that big dog complex (have to prove themselves) and will chase you until you turn on them, unless they really have the big dog complex... actually the one that nipped me as a kid was a little dog... look out for those little guys...

age is a factor, too. When a pup, our border collie mix loved to chase all manner of things, even low flying birds. When it came to bikes, the herd instinct in her meant she would nip the tires and attempt to control the direction of the bike, but never ever went for the rider (usually me). AS she got older, she learned that she was supposed to run with me, but not try and herd the bike. Now she's 9 and couldn't give a [censored] about passing bikes at all. Still goes for squirrells though.

I think experience as a puppy also shapes how a dog tends to react. If you live in Oz, you'll know about wheelie bins - giant, black statues that rumble along menacingly when they're empty and the only possible place to attack if you're scared is the wheel - at least, viewed if you're 6 week old German Shepherd puppy. One of my dogs started off life scared by these bins, so as she grew older she'd continuously chew the wheels whenever the bin started moving. Same treatment for bikes - tricyles, mountain bikes, and (unfortunately for me, the dog walker) once a motorbike! :eek: I think it's all just about the wheel to her. My other dogs (same breed) that I watched since they were little never had the same wheelie bin scare when they were younger, and maybe it's wrong to make the connection, but they had any bike charging fixations either. I'm going back to Oz this weekend, and my dog is now 2 years old. We plan to go for a run once I'm over the jet lag, and I really hope she's at least grown out of the motorbike charging part. 🙂

As a former dog trainer I can tell you that all types of working/herding dogs chase as it is pure instinct. Most of these will not bite you even if they look like they intend too.

On the other hand dogs such as German Shepherds, Dobermann's and Rottweilers need to be correct early on with this problem. They tend to start chasing out of interest and a instinct called prey drive. As they become older they become more assertive and may show a little aggression which is where the problem begins. They show aggression and we continue to ride away regardless of aggression or no aggression. In doing so we reinforce to the dog its dominance as it feels it has scared us away. 9 out of 10 dogs would run the other way if you stopped and confronted it, but the 1 that doesnt is likely to inflict serious harm to you. This is why people who purchase such dogs should be more aware of these behaviours and deal with them at an early age.

Some minor insight to what cause dogs to chase.

Simple thing is dogs are territorial. If you come near "their" hunting grounds, their instinct is to chase you off. And as the other said, herding and hunting breeds have a natural proclivity to chase.

As others have said, if the dog/[censored] was not exposed to people/bicycles/cars/situations when it was a puppy, it will not feel comfortable around those types of situations.

Socialization is a big deal for dog training.

Daremo said:

Simple thing is dogs are territorial. If you come near "their" hunting grounds, their instinct is to chase you off. And as the other said, herding and hunting breeds have a natural proclivity to chase.

As others have said, if the dog/[censored] was not exposed to people/bicycles/cars/situations when it was a puppy, it will not feel comfortable around those types of situations.

Socialization is a big deal for dog training.

I agree with the territorial theory. I was once a Meter Reader in younger days and became somewhat of a expert on dog behavior through contact.The Alpha Male of a pack will always set the mood. If you are dealing with another member of a pack (a pack being 2 or more) he or she may be a lot less agressive about the territory being invaded. There is a large Sheperd mix dog that just runs along side me. He can do about 23 mph or so for a half mile.He rarely ever barks just runs.
I do believe they can sense fear in a person and will take advantage of that knowledge.

I always thought it was a "prey runs" sort of hard wiring.

Thanks for the info! I appreciate y'all taking time to fill me in. I have an old coon hound at home and the last thing he'd ever do is even notice a bicycle, let alone get up and chase one. I wish they were all like that. 🙄

A couple of times I've noticed that if I'm pedalling and the bike is quiet, they'll just look and sit there, but when I stop pedalling and the freewheel starts clicking, then they run out and bark. Maybe that information is interesting or useful to someone.🙄

You know, I've noticed that, too! Whenever I pass a house I know has a dog(s), I try to keep the spinning quiet and slowly pedal to keep the racket down. Is there a bike that doesn't make a noise when you're not pedalling?

Hmmm... dog-proof "Stealth Bike". Popular with postmen and paperboys perhaps?

ckrech said:

You know, I've noticed that, too! Whenever I pass a house I know has a dog(s), I try to keep the spinning quiet and slowly pedal to keep the racket down. Is there a bike that doesn't make a noise when you're not pedalling?

Sure all of them as long as they are sitting in the garage or hanging on the wall. It's the pedalling that make the noise. Sorry I couldn't resist.

Considering a dog's hearing is about 15 times better than a humans, and their sense of smell can be up to 300 times better ....... I don't think you can get away with just "pedaling quietly" ............ :P

ckrech said:

Anyone who knows dogs: why do some chase, some chase aggressively, and some don't? Some don't even notice you or actually seem scared, some look at you and seem to enjoy the entertainment of your passing by, and some feel like they have to chase you, and some even have to scare you - Roof, Roof, Grrrr, but more and more people seem to have grouchy dogs, not just happily running with you. And the breed... I've always thought highly of labs and retrievers, but the last seven or eight dogs that have gotten scarily aggressive have been these two (and a Doberman), and they're big dogs! Has anyone else noticed more of the "family dogs" being aggressive"?

I have two labs and they are NOT family dogs, they are bred hunters and like to chase things because of that. they actually have a squrrel's guts outside in the back yard, they killed it and ate it... so most labs (mine are chocolate) are not family dogs at all, so if you get one you have to make sure how you get them bred... I don't know about retrievers but labs around here are quickley getting badly inbred, so remain a "true" whatever it is they are. and that is why they are becoming so mean, way back when nobody cared if they had a mut or not it was just a dog

Then you shopped the breader wrong if you got Labs that are not family oriented ......... especially considering the breed is bred to be companions and to listen to the hunter. Labs are NOT like Fox hounds or Beagles. Those two are bred to hunt in packs off lead. Labs are supposed to sweep and flush on command, NOT free rome and kill.

We have a Weimaraner, and my wife's cousin also breeds them, and they are a similar high energy hunting dog. Sounds like you have irresponsible breeders out there ............

ckrech said:

Anyone who knows dogs: why do some chase, some chase aggressively, and some don't? Some don't even notice you or actually seem scared, some look at you and seem to enjoy the entertainment of your passing by, and some feel like they have to chase you, and some even have to scare you - Roof, Roof, Grrrr, but more and more people seem to have grouchy dogs, not just happily running with you. And the breed... I've always thought highly of labs and retrievers, but the last seven or eight dogs that have gotten scarily aggressive have been these two (and a Doberman), and they're big dogs! Has anyone else noticed more of the "family dogs" being aggressive"?

Anyone who knows people: why do some cut you off, some honk aggressively, some curse you, and some don't? Some don't even notice you or actually seem scared, some look at you and smile and wave you through an intersection, and some feel like they have to scare you - beeeeep, hoonk, "get a car a$$hole!", but more and more people seem to have grouchy SUVs, not just happily running with you (but rather over you). And the breed... I've always thought highly of soccer moms and senior citizens, but lately I've had some close calls with both of these breeds being scarily aggressive. 😉

Sorry, but I couldn't help but have some fun with this. Dogs are a lot more like people than many people give them credit (or discredit) for. Each dog, like each person, develops a set of responses to accompany stimuli it encounters, based upon its past experiences, training (education), and other factors.

Daremo said:

Then you shopped the breader wrong if you got Labs that are not family oriented ......... especially considering the breed is bred to be companions and to listen to the hunter. Labs are NOT like Fox hounds or Beagles. Those two are bred to hunt in packs off lead. Labs are supposed to sweep and flush on command, NOT free rome and kill.

We have a Weimaraner, and my wife's cousin also breeds them, and they are a similar high energy hunting dog. Sounds like you have irresponsible breeders out there ............

you meen my uncle and aunt, those are the breaders, they are from a special line, kellog's pointing, they are born to point only thing is is they are horribly inbred becuase of that, they are lab dogs to me but beware if they don't know you, by the way we use them bird hunting, the birds they retrieve they just eat: mice,moles, voloes, rabbits, squarrels, chipmunks, and have killed a few racoons but don't eat those, these dogs could go for a $1000 and by the way they do point... at birds lol they eat everything else

my first one, her name is dakota, we took her hunting with her mom after two birds she was beating her mother to the birds and returning them, that's instinct, no commands needed for you they just go where the gun is pointed

p.s. they chase after deer to lol

I'd still put it on the fault of the breeder, regardless if they are family ......

Line breeding to get specific traits is hurting just about every breed. It is actually one of the reasons we DIDN'T get our dog from my wife's cousin ........

We went out and found a breeder in Canada (for the female) that had a completely separate line than we are used to bred to one that we knew from looking for a dog before. And that one (the stud dog) had half of his line as European.

The breeder we bought ours from was making a conscious effort to keep the line varied and from the original Euro. stock, which has produced a female that in my inexperienced eyes is almost dead on for the breed standard.

But that is neither here nor there ........ bottom line, dogs like to chase moving things because of their hunting instinct, and their territoriality. :P

Shreklookalike said:

Anyone who knows people: why do some cut you off, some honk aggressively, some curse you, and some don't? Some don't even notice you or actually seem scared, some look at you and smile and wave you through an intersection, and some feel like they have to scare you - beeeeep, hoonk, "get a car a$$hole!", but more and more people seem to have grouchy SUVs, not just happily running with you (but rather over you). And the breed... I've always thought highly of soccer moms and senior citizens, but lately I've had some close calls with both of these breeds being scarily aggressive. 😉

Sorry, but I couldn't help but have some fun with this. Dogs are a lot more like people than many people give them credit (or discredit) for. Each dog, like each person, develops a set of responses to accompany stimuli it encounters, based upon its past experiences, training (education), and other factors.

LOL!!! Thanks for that... you're right. I love dogs and cars - my own (hound dog and Ford Aspire) - but have doubts and fears about others sometimes. Quite clever in your paraphrasing, too. Thanks.