Originally Posted by aikigreg
ultrasound has been proven not to work in the slightest.
Hmmm. My wife and I were riding in Mississippi with another tandem team when a medium sized dog came running at us. The other stoker calmly took a Bic lighter sized gizmo out of her husband's jersey pocket, pointed it at the dog and made a high pitched eek. The dog acted like he ran into an invisible wall, turned around and walked off. I'll admit that's only one example, but it flies in the face of "Proven not to work in the slightest."
We haven't found the need for any dog counter measures. My theory (which I hope isn't disproven on tomorrow's ride) is that dogs sense the people who are afraid of dogs and harrass those people. My wife usually talks baby talk to them: "Hello baby. How you doing today? Do you have fun chasing bike riders?" The dogs generally run alongside of us for a while and eventually get tired and go back home.
My favorite dog story dates back about 25 or 30 years. I was riding in southern Michigan with my neighbor when a medium sized dog came running full speed down a grassy hill toward us. My neighbor saw him coming and yelled "Sit!" in his most commanding voice. The dog certainly knew what to do when he heard that. He planted all four paws but his momentum caused him to do a couple of summersaults before coming to rest in a perfect sit position.