Originally Posted by
mnaines
The other big advantage to a four-D-cell maglite flashlight is in an emergency, the flashlight can be used as a baton to aid in self defense. My cousin is a veterinarian and she says if you're riding a bike and a dog starts chasing you, hitting the dog with a shot of pepper spray is only going to make the dog more aggressive. She says in such situations, your best line of defense is something to distract the dog or at least hit it in the nose or jaw to get it to release its grip on you, and a MagLite Flashlight with four D-Cell batteries has enough weight behind it to cause death by blunt-force trauma, and the MagLite casing is so durable it can withstand being run over by a tank.
I have no problem with mag lights, and while I have no experience with using one as a club, I DO have experience with the use of pepper spray, specifically bear spray for use against dogs.
Thinking back, over the last twelve years or so I have had occasion to use bear spray on dogs on at least six occasions (out of probably hundreds of times having been confronted by loose dogs). All these occasions not when cycling but when walking my own dogs through my urban neighborhood.
The criterial being when a charging dog ignored my shouting and posturing: Two rottweilers, two pit bulls, one boxer and one big yellow mutt. Worked every time, turning them on a dime. I got the impression that it was the thirty-foot blast that startled the dog more than the pepper spray. In fact all but one time I unintentionally was aiming low and missed the face of the dog entirely (on an inbound dog, aim above the tail and you'll prob'ly hit the eyes).
The one time I did hit a close in rott full in the face it broke off and started wiping its head in the grass.
Bear spray ain't cheap tho', about fifty bucks a can (at Cabela's or Bass Pro.). But... cheaper than stitches at the vet or the emergency room.
Birdwatcher