I adopted a 2 1/2 year old Cocker Spaniel last August. He is a great dog. I have to be careful when people come up to him too quickly, he can be a bit skittish at times. He has snapped at people a couple of times. I have a question regarding another problem he has. Our dog is aggressive towards bicycles and motorcycles. He doesn’t seem to like anyone riding a bike or motorcycle. He barks and growls. One day as I was getting out of my car with him before I could get his leash on he was running down the road after a motorcycle. I was shocked. So since then I’m very careful not to ever let him out without his leash just in case something comes along that he doesn’t like. I’m wondering why he reacts like this and if you think there is any possibility of changing this behaviour.
Thanks M.D.
Dear M.D.
I’m always a little worried when someone glosses over as serious an issue as snapping at people. Dogs that snap at people aren’t “great” dogs, at least not if the people that are getting snapped at get a vote.
I think both of the issues you outline need to be addressed but I’d be reversing the order. However, I don’t ride a motorcycle and somebody stole my bicycle.
At almost a full year with this dog you’re well past what I would consider a reasonable probationary period where a temporary allowance for minor skittishness/snappiness might be considered and only if other’s safety could be guaranteed. Even with precautions you can only ignore a dog that is truly “snappy” so long. Too often the “snap” turns into a nip, which turns into a bite, which turns into the needle.
I’m not dismissing the seriousness of his chasing the two wheelers. I was asked a while back to provide a bicycling club with strategies to cope with all the “great” dogs that cross their paths. Ironically, one couldn’t make it as he’d been upended by a dog earlier in the day and broken a bone.
It’s important to make a dog familiar with a variety of wheeled things before 12 weeks of age. Not just bicycles, cars and motorcycle but skateboards and roller blades, wheel chairs as well. Even properly socialized, dogs with high prey drive or herding instincts can see these things as rabbits with a death wish or very large quick sheep.
Training and desensitization combine to address this sort of problem. A border collie that won’t stop herding sheep or a police dog that doesn’t respond to some variation of “Cool Your Jets” is going to end up in the unemployment line. Getting an obedience foundation where, stay, come and heel are taught at a level where they’re a job and not a trick is the first step towards a solution. Let’s face it, if we can’t get our dogs to stay on a mat in our kitchens, they’re not going to stay when Lance Armstrong goes whizzing by.
The desensitization part is applied later with proximity training. The same obedience is requested but from a distance to the hot zone and over time gradually getting closer. You may find it hard to get bicyclists to volunteer as training decoys.
Whether due to herding, prey or fear, most of the dogs I see can be taught to exert better self-control. However, having kids that ride bikes, I don’t confuse “better” with – enough. A professional trainer will be able to guide you.
Pawsitively yours,
John Wade
2 thoughts on “Dog is Aggressive Towards Bicycles and Motorcycles”
Re: dog is aggressive towards bikes and motorcycles
John ,
I think you are very negative answering this post. You don’t know anything about this dog or what kind of past it had. Reactivity is caused by changes in the brain. The way your dogs brain and nervous system process information. The survival brain takes over. The thinking brain shuts down. It’s a reflex not a choice. This does not make them a bad dog.
There are training courses
to help with this. Lifestyle adjustments you might have to make …taking your dog out early in the morning and late night when there are less distractions. Leash and muzzle at all times for the safety of you your dog and other people that may be around
Distraction methods favorite treats or a squeaky . Make sure you always have a good hold on his leash and try to avoid the encounter if possible . Lots of love patience and positive reinforcement. Nite that training courses will help you and your dog but the reactivity doesn’t go away but it can help to manage your dog better.
Dear Amber,
Your comment illustrates a common problem in modern dog training discussions. Your conclusions are presented before the underlying assumptions have been established. I talked about one thing. You chose to talk about something else.
My response was about behavior and risk. Your comment shifts the discussion toward the dog’s emotional state, brain function, and whether the dog should be considered “bad.” That shift is common in dog behavior discussions, but it is not helpful unless it brings us closer to understanding what should actually be done.
You may not aggree but I believe a dog that snaps at people presents a serious behavioral problem. A dog that chases motorcycles presents a serious behavioral problem. Those statements are not moral judgments about the dog. They are practical observations about behavior and risk.
It should be obvious that a dog can be:
• loved
• affectionate
• enjoyable to live with
• frightened or overwhelmed
• reacting for reasons that are understandable
and still present a serious behavioral concern.
Those things are not mutually exclusive.
This is where many dog behavior discussions drift away from behavioral analysis and into ideology. Instead of asking, “What is the dog doing, why might it be doing it, and what should be done about it?” the discussion becomes, “Does calling the behavior serious mean we are calling the dog bad?”
No, it does not.
Whether a dog is lovable, worthy, cherished, or deserving of compassion has no bearing on whether its behavior presents a risk to other people, cyclists, motorcyclists, or itself. Behavioral problems do not disappear because we are uncomfortable describing them plainly.
You wrote that reactivity is caused by changes in the brain and nervous system, and that the survival brain takes over while the thinking brain shuts down. Perhaps. But that explanation does not tell us much unless we can connect it to this specific dog. It’s one thing to say it, but more often than not I’ve found that those saying it are parroting something they were told, and lack a true understanding that would qualify them to correctly diagnose (especially based on the 8 or 9 sentences the dog owner provided.)
Useful questions would include:
• What evidence tells us this dog is reacting from fear rather than prey drive, frustration, territoriality, poor socialization, learned behavior, genetics, habit, or some combination of these?
• What information from the owner’s description allows us to determine the cause?
• What observations would support that explanation?
• What observations would contradict it?
• How does that explanation tell us what training should be done?
• How does it tell us what outcome is realistic?
Without those answers, your explanation may sound scientific, but it does not actually explain much.
The same problem applies your recommendations. Training courses are mentioned, but which courses? Based on what assessment? Using what methods? For what goal? With what expectation of improvement?
Management recommendations are also offered:
• walk at quieter times
• avoid triggers
• use a leash
• use a muzzle
• redirect with treats or a squeaky toy
• maintain distance
• prevent encounters where possible
Some of those may be perfectly reasonable safety measures. I use management myself. But management and behavior change are not the same thing.
If a dog must always be walked when nobody is around, must always be kept away from bicycles and motorcycles, must always be redirected, and must always be carefully managed to prevent incidents, has the behavior improved or has it simply been contained?
That distinction matters.
The purpose of training should not be merely to arrange the dog’s life so the unwanted behavior is less likely to occur. In many cases, the goal should be to improve the dog’s ability to function successfully in situations that currently cause problems.
That does not mean every dog can be made perfectly reliable. It does not mean management is unnecessary. It does not mean safety precautions should be ignored. It means we should not confuse avoiding the problem with changing the problem.
The broader issue is this: behavioral science begins with questions. Ideology often begins with answers.
Before accepting any explanation or recommendation, we should ask:
• How was that conclusion reached?
• What evidence supports it?
• What alternative explanations were considered?
• What would prove the explanation wrong?
• What practical outcome should we expect if the explanation is correct?
• How will we know whether the dog is actually improving?
Those questions matter more than slogans, labels, or comforting explanations.
Calling attention to a serious behavioral problem is not negativity. It is risk assessment. Minimizing serious behavior because the dog is otherwise loved, frightened, misunderstood, or “reactive” does not make the dog safer, the owner better informed, or the public better protected.
– John “Ask The Dog Guy” Wade – Embracing Science and Common Sense
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