I had a dog following my kite not causing any harm just running back and forth under it as I rode the ATB, then out of the corner of my eye I see a woman running towards me. I stopped and parked the kite at 3oclock, she proceeded to tell me how awful I was to tease her dog like that and that the dog was old and shouldn't be running that much. I smiled told her that I was very sorry and to have a nice day, and waited for her to catch the very hyper dog then went right on riding.

Gota love the "old cali people" that retire here.

This thread seems to be locked up so I am just posting to try and get'r unstuck!

That is a good one WTG. The nerve of that woman to think you were teasing her dog! Like you lured the dog over to you or something! LOL

Quote:

Originally posted by Jovver My favorite is the family who brings their dog to a kite festival. Everyone knows that kites and dogs don't mix.

Errrr... ummm... no? My friend's dogs come to festivals all the time. They are fine.... have more interest in snacks and getting their bellies rubbed. The caveat is that he used to work in a kite store (where the dogs were the greeters) so they have grown up around kites both at the shop and at home.

They are also corgis so they chances of them actually catching a kite in the event of a former life flashback is rather slim.

My dog has no interest in kites.... bolts for another room/state if I take a kite out. Granted... the electric toothbrush also scares the bejeesuz out of her.

One of the cats, on the other hand, would be doing an imitation of Errol Flynn coming down a ship's sail with a pirate sword.

All the wee ones are "special" in their own way....

Doesn't Eli fly with his dog?

ATB,
Sam

I kite on frozen ponds with skates and aways try to keep away from people but the kite keeps attracting them.

A few years ago I was out in a snow storm that left a whole inch of new snow. Lots of fun to ride through and watch the powder dance around my blades. After an hour of keeping well away from people I landed my kite to rest. I had all of the lines up near the kite so no one would skate over them and I was standing off to the side when a lady skated up to me. I didn't see her until she was around 20 feet away and immediately threw my hands up and said STOP. She looked surprised but must have thought I said, "Hi, why don't you come over and skate across my lines!" I yelled again, and waived my hands and still she came on. I got directly between my lines which were now covered in snow and her and screemed. "stop STOP STOOOOOP!!!" She tried to stop, wasn't a very good skater and rather than run into me, swooped around me and did a nice hockey stop right on my lines. I'm looking at her like she's crazy and she's looking right back. At this point I lost my ability to put more than 2 words together and am yelling at her that she's in the middle of my lines and probably has cut a few in half. She denies it. LADY YOUR STANDING ON MY LINES AND YOU'VE GOT KNIFES ON YOUR FEET. She denies it. Now granted, most of the lines she's standing on are covered by snow but she had been watching me for most of the afternoon, before it started snowing and should have known that the kite is joined to me by little bits of stuff that looks like string and therefore that might be the "lines" I'm talking about.

I'm yelling things like DON'T MOVE!! Which thank god she didn't so I pulled on my bar which lifted the lines up and sure enough you can see 2 are right under her feet. So I pretty calmly said, "please don't move and let me brace you so you can step off my lines with out cutting them." I hope that's what I said but there may have been some swear words thrown in.

She said, "all I wanted to do was see what you were doing." and skated away. I lost it and yelled and screamed that they cost money, I didn't have spares, the least she could do was help pay for a new set and the famous last words of F* You.

She kept on skating, I packed up and skated home.

What is the deal with immediately landing the kite when spectators come by? It seems to me that a kite in the air that I am watching is way more predictable than one I've just landed. Why not just park it at or near the zenith?

Good point spacemonkey, it would definitely make sense to do so. I guess when it comes down to it some of us panic when we are suddenly approached by a guest that wants to see what we are doing. When they invade your space, after being told to stop for their own best interest,we just lose our train of thought! I love when people watch, but I would prefer they stay at a safe distance till I land then approach and I will explain what it is that I am doing!

Doneski I was hoping that story was going to end with wedding bells or something, that would have been the icing on the cake! Yet another great story!

its in our best interests to be approachable and friendly when people come by to watch--who knows? maybe they'll take up power kiting, and at the very least you'll have someone that enjoys watching and respects what we do.......even the rude, inconsiderate people should be spoken to calmly with no acrimony in our tone--its hard to do sometimes, but it makes us as a power kiting community stronger and more likable all around---we NEED all the friends we can get on our side--please remember this next time you feel like killing someone,whether they are at fault or not........

Well said! I treat the land, people and animals with the same respect that I would want to be treated with. I also tell people what it is that I am doing when asked. I believe that we have a great sport here and do not want to do any damage for our cause.

I was quite surprised with my ability to keep my calm when the dog was entangled in my gear. I don't even know how I was not unpleasant to the dog's owner. But I am glad that I handled it the way I did.

good for you!! thats the way disputes should be handled.....

"Why not just park it at or near the zenith?"

I can see it now...Peter Lynn Arcs: approved by the Humane Society...

It's funny, when people come up to ask me questions I'm never trying to be rude. BUT...I'm usually so absorbed trying to set-up, launch, land, wind, unwind or untangle that I am probably too distracted to appear friendly.

o.k so i join the club... i'm at wildwood this morning, and i had just finished flying my big ole' Peel. i walk over to the kite to start to fold it up and some jack@ss has this hyper pitbull that he can't control and lets him off the leash. this dog is all over the beach while the owner just stands around screaming at the dog. the dog runs straight over my kite, gets tangled in the bridle and continues to try and run only getting tangled worse. he finally gets free and takes off, my kite is a mess. but the owner just walks by like it never happened. no acknowledgement, no apologie nothing. like i wasn't even there....:ticking::ticking::ticking:

I was there and missed that one cheese! By the way nice to meet you and look forward to getting together again!

Quote:

Originally posted by shehatesmyhobbies I was there and missed that one cheese! By the way nice to meet you and look forward to getting together again!

it happened this mornin' right before most of you got to the beach. one minute maven454 and i were standing talking the next we were watching this damn dog run away with my kite wrapped around him...
it was definitely cool to meet you all. cant wait for more...:wee:

Yeah, them standing there calling their dog's name to get it to come back was so very effective, wasn't it?

Quote:

Originally posted by Maven454 Yeah, them standing there calling their dog's name to get it to come back was so very effective, wasn't it?

gotta love it....

How long did it take you to get those lines straightened out? It looked like you guys were playing with that for awhile. I didnt actually see the dog in the lines, but I did see the people trying to catch the dog, which was rather amusing. Not good to have it running around in your lines, but at least no permanent damage was done... right?

naaah , no permanent damage. just give me another execise in untangling those cross bridles...DAMN!:dunno: still haven't bothered with it trying to get alll the sand outta my car...

Quote:

Originally posted by cheezycheese naaah , no permanent damage. just give me another execise in untangling those cross bridles...DAMN!:dunno: still haven't bothered with it trying to get alll the sand outta my car...

I missed the dog episode as well... I was still viewing the back of my eyelids Good to meet you CC. I chose to vacuum the truck out before I returned it to the rental agency


Jesse and I saw the same poodle on roids that chased Don. this thing was running the beach loose plowing into a pack of other little dogs while the owner chased it holding the leash we knew if it made eye contact with us that the chase would have been on.

Quote:

Originally posted by cheezycheese naaah , no permanent damage. just give me another execise in untangling those cross bridles...DAMN!:dunno: still haven't bothered with it trying to get alll the sand outta my car...

I figure that I'll stick my roomba in the trunk and let it run in circles for a while

I saw the whole thing from the Apollo HQ. I saw the dog when he came around the corner. Half was down the street i was thinking of this post. He was running on the beach for a few mins before the girl came around the corner. She had no idea where he was. We told her that he was on the beach.She had no clue and i dont think she was much smarter then the dog.Was dam funny from where we were standing.
I couldnt believe he got out of those lines. When he hit the kite i thought it was done for. That was luck there.

Just one point though, I didnt seem like anyone was doing anything untill he hit the kite. Thats why i had posted earlier. As soon as you see a dog running unattented like that ya have to take action. Divert him, try and catch him, do anything to keep him at a distance. I would have but i was all the way up on the third floor. Ill give him one thing though, he was big and fast, would have made a good buggy engine.

I try to avoid mucking about with dogs I don't know. It's a good way to get hurt...

Guess you dont get a check mark then.

Great stuff snobdr.

Quote:

Guess you don't get a check mark then.

Quote:

If that doesn't work bite the owner in the jugular.

I don't trust dogs. I was once bitten in the hand by a Russian wolfhound. In another incident my son was bitten in the face by a "family" dog.

Quote:

Originally posted by snobdr Guess you dont get a check mark then.

Yes, that IS funny. The check mark and the question of Hooj bolls or not idea has permeated our culture and will probably hang around for some time.

I was bit as a kid riding my bike, yet im still a dog person. Ill approach any dog.

what i found that works with dogs (most of the time) is to call them... call them to you like you have something for them... break their attention from the kite for a second and talk to them (yes, the dog)

they usually see that you are a person, and therefore okay, a lot of dogs freak because they have never seen a giant kite in the air... i have never had a kite damaged on the ground... peed on, yes, damaged, no...

even the most spastic, kite-loving dog i ever knew (full tilt sprint for hundreds of yards to get to the kite)lost interest if the kite sat on the ground lifeless... if you tease the dog with the kite, thats another story, and you cant get mad at the dog... you kinda ask for it if you do that

not to say that i havenet teased a dog with the kite... i have, its fun, but if that dog got the kite... it would have been my fault

Quote:

Originally posted by dylanj423 what i found that works with dogs (most of the time) is to call them... call them to you like you have something for them... break their attention from the kite for a second and talk to them (yes, the dog) Quote: the dog in my situation had no attention span. he was just running wild like some feral beast that had never seen the light of day... actually it was just a young, untrained Pitbull who was happy to be loose. but a little more control from the owner would have been nice. i'm not upset with the dog, hell i might have done the same thing if i was a dog. it's the owner that needs help. i'm sure after several months of not understanding how to take care of a dog like this, the owner will tire of it and send it to the pound...

Quote:

Originally posted by cheezycheese Quote: Originally posted by dylanj423 what i found that works with dogs (most of the time) is to call them... call them to you like you have something for them... break their attention from the kite for a second and talk to them (yes, the dog) the dog in my situation had no attention span. he was just running wild like some feral beast that had never seen the light of day... actually it was just a young, untrained Pitbull who was happy to be loose. but a little more control from the owner would have been nice. i'm not upset with the dog, hell i might have done the same thing if i was a dog. it's the owner that needs help. i'm sure after several months of not understanding how to take care of a dog like this, the owner will tire of it and send it to the pound...

Yeah, it didn't care about the kite, the kite just happened to be sitting on the ground when it ran across it. I don't think it even realized that the kite was there until it got tangled in it.