I often thought is it the weird half man half machine silhouette that causes dogs to bark or just the noise of them? Well today I've just realised it's most probably the latter as a guy was having real trouble holding onto a bull dog who was already insanely barking before I rounded the corner and was in his eyeline. It does seem to happen a lot more with the Darmah and I had to laugh at the labradoodle or some such that didn't know whether to flatten itself to the pavement, shit itself, jump into mummies arms or bark hysterically and ended up doing all four at the same time. So what is it about, I'm assuming, the exhaust noise that sends them crazy?
I’m not a dog psychologist but it’s surely going to be associated with their territory or pack (dog owner) protection reflex. I’m surrounded by dog owners who leave their dogs at home alone all day whilst they are at work and without exception, all 11 of the dogs will bark at every perceived threat, even a breath of wind let alone the postman, amazon/dpd/evri/xd delivery driver, pedestrian and dog walkers. Andy
It’s something to do with the pulses generated by the exhaust, i find that if I ride my single or twin cylinder bikes then dogs and horses really don’t like them no matter how steady I go past. My triple and four cylinder bikes don’t seem to bother them nearly as much. Just my observations anyway.
Not sure if it's the noise as my 765 is standard and sowing machine quite as is my scooter especially compared to shitbox cars with the back box drilled. Maybe it's the wheels spinning around ? Some dogs go a bit barmy when I ride by and others don't wag a tail. Our two dogs bark if they hear a bike ride into our road as I assume they think it's me/mate etc turning up , but take no notice at all if they see a bike when we are out walking .
Dogs can hear sounds that humans can't so perhaps an exhaust / engine note might keep them up at nights.
My Sons SX50 would drive small dogs nuts, larger dogs not so much. He once caused a Golden Retriever to drop his ball as he watched my Son ride by.
There are a few dogs in my street and the only one that continually barks at any noise postman etc is the spaniel across the road with anxiety Its only walked around the block to have a sh*t and that's it When it's outside all it does is bark. I'm thinking the owners get anxiety at noises or angry and it's picked up by the dog to protect its owner
an interesting one, i guess it could be torture with hearing possible amplified/much clearer on a dog for one (as said), but the man/woman on a strange mechanical object is relevant also as any cyclist will know. I got bitten on the leg around 6 years ago by a "large dog" which i think was mainly protecting it's owner yet i was some distance away and cycling slowly. Had several incidents that could have gone the same way but now routinely get off the bike and place it between me and the teeth.
Apparently my two springers go mental when they hear me coming back on any of my bikes. I do get a very enthusiastic welcome especially if I don’t take my helmet off before seeing them.
It's likely a fear response to something fairly unfamiliar and (usually) loud. I've noticed some dogs go batshit and others don't blink. Also, I'm always 'clutch in' and the widest berth possible when going past horses as I don't fancy a tangle with a ton+ of upset gee-gee. Riders do seem to appreciate it.
I used to do the same. Pass as quietly as possible. But I’d hold the clutch in, in gear- ready to do one if it went all rodeo… Back to the dogs, my girlie staff is terrified of anything big. Like trucks and modern, massive tractors and trailers…. And gunshots, oh ffs. If the local gun club start blowing pheasant out the air I literally have to carry her home. Poor thing… And it’s as if she can hear a shotgun from 2 miles away…
Probably a two fold thing; the object closing in is making seemingly no desernable actions animals or people make. It is looming closer & larger and the sound frquencies are creating a larger doppler effect. Something akin too an attack vector imho
They can definitely recognise different engine sounds as my cocker almost always appears at the window when I pull up nearby (if he's loose in the house), but he doesn't do that for any other vehicles. He's not in the slightest bit scared of loud noises or bangs. In fact I have actually taken him to fireworks displays and he's been out in the garden when my sons and I were letting off bangers and rockets. I imagine it's probably because gun dogs which are frightened by gunfire aren't really much use and so that trait will have been bred out of them.
Definitely a difference between twin cylinder and four cylinder stuff for some local to me. Never got a response on the ZZR1100 but the Multistrada drives a couple of them nuts. The 750ss is even worse but it is a lot louder.
Interesting... so perhaps the 'crobba, crobba, crobba' beat of a twin is closer to the rhythm of a dog's 'bark, bark, bark'. Both my bikes are V twins so I never get to see the difference although there is similar increase in reactions with the much louder Darmah.
An old wise man once said to me that reason is that motorcyclists come back re-incarnated as dogs... ...which does then beg the question who on the forum is coming back as a Great Dane?...and who is coming back as a Poodle?
That could well be it - the unfamiliarity along with the visceral impact of a motorcycle. Same here - I often used to pass a couple of horses when commuting and always slowed down in plenty of time, quietly crept past and didn't accelerate until was well past. After a few times I got on nodding and 'Good Morning' terms with the lady riders who would often pull over to let me pass. It don't take much.
When we owned German Shepherds we often used to go to shows and one of the criteria for breeding given by the SV i.e. the German breeders association, (and not the Kennel Club) was the passing of a quite detailed character assessment test at 9 to 12 months part of which contained a sound reaction element. This involved an engine running passing the dog (leaf blower/chain saw etc), a chain dropped on a metal plate & the twice firing of a starter pistol at 15 paces.
