What do you do about dogs?

[Caliente]

I ride alot in the country and it seems about once every couple of weeks i've got to do the BIG sprint to get away from a chasing dog. For the most part these dogs are probably territorial and just chase along there property line but, i don't want to take any more chances.
Either they're going to get hit by a car or cause me to wreck or worse!

What do you do for dogs? spray,ballbat,small handgun:( :rolleyes:

[powerhouse]

I often ride in the country and have also been chased by dogs occaisionally. I have been chased by dogs and came close to being attacked by them. Today, my bicycle is equipped with a small air horn which can be bought at various boat supply or marine stores. Its blasts are loud enough to discourage Fido from wanting to chase or attack me. If the air horn not work, I blow a whistle that I keep clipped to my jersey or jacket. These have reduced my problems with dogs by at least 90%.

However, I think I'd be in trouble if I were chased by a pit bull.

[gcl8a]

A squirt from the water bottle right in the face has never failed me.

If they're particularly aggressive, call Animal Control, not that the owner of an aggressive dog is probably going to listen...

[Sledbikes]

slide 90 and use the back wheel as a weapon

[DogBoy]

I ask them...are you going to bite me? and if they say yes...I shoot them ;)

[Speedo]

Trying to outrun a chasing dog is asking for trouble. It just excites the dog more.

I have tried, with varying degrees of success:

1) In the days of full sized frame pumps, using the pump like a cavalry sabre while riding. The good? Very effective when you make contact. The bad? Swinging the pump into my rear wheel. OBE because I use only mini-pumps now.

2) Squirt from a water bottle.

3) Yelling "Go Home!" as loud as I can.

4) Stopping the bike and saying "Good doggie!" in a high pitched voice until the dog calms down.

2 and 3 usually go together, and they often, but not always, work.

I'm finding 4 to be my favorite these days. If the owner is in view it is the most likely to elicit a positive (and helpful) response from them. In my most recent dog encounter I did the "good doggie" thing. The owner came on the scene and was very apologetic and took control of the dog. It may have taken me a few extra minutes, but incidents which end with a "Hey, see ya. Have a nice ride!" always leave me with a better feeling about the whole thing.

Speedo

[Az B]

Trying to outrun a chasing dog is asking for trouble. It just excites the dog more.

I have tried, with varying degrees of success:

1) In the days of full sized frame pumps, using the pump like a cavalry sabre while riding. The good? Very effective when you make contact. The bad? Swinging the pump into my rear wheel. OBE because I use only mini-pumps now.

2) Squirt from a water bottle.

3) Yelling "Go Home!" as loud as I can.

4) Stopping the bike and saying "Good doggie!" in a high pitched voice until the dog calms down.

2 and 3 usually go together, and they often, but not always, work.

I'm finding 4 to be my favorite these days. If the owner is in view it is the most likely to elicit a positive (and helpful) response from them. In my most recent dog encounter I did the "good doggie" thing. The owner came on the scene and was very apologetic and took control of the dog. It may have taken me a few extra minutes, but incidents which end with a "Hey, see ya. Have a nice ride!" always leave me with a better feeling about the whole thing.

Speedo

+1.

Dogs are smart, and completely trainable. By sprinting away, you are simply teaching the dog that the game is a fun one. By using any of the above methods, or any other positive or negative reinforcement approaches, you can train the dog to stop it's conduct. This benefits you on future rides on that area, and it also benefits other riders who may ride through the area later.

I would add one thing to #4. When you stop, always place the bike between you and the dog until you can determine it's friendliness. If the dog still appears to be aggresive. Call 911.

Also, be very careful around groups of dogs... they can be a little more unpredictable.

Az

[nova]

Know what i find with most every chaseing dog? They have one of a few things on their mind the biggest 2 are Play time!! and the other is pure curiosity. Take a good look at your self on a bike i mean a really good look. We do not look like a person at all. Thanks to out helmet our heads are huge and misshapen our body is to big in out lower portion from waste down front to back. Thats how dogs see us. We send very confusing signals to dogs. We smell like a human but look nothing like a human. We move with out moving our shape is wrong. Thats how dogs see us. I was chased by a rotty i know very very well he acted very agressive towards me. Knowing the dog i stepped of my bike took off my helmet and set my bike down. The instant i did so his tail stub went to wagging his entire posture changed and he came up full lick me till soaked mode. Some doggy attitude is breed based. Scent hounds like blood hounds and the like will tend to not react much different to us while site hounds like the retreiver lines will react very differently from their meet and greet a new person norm.

This is not to say some dogs are not dangerous fact is some will be. Even my best budy a 5 month old dingo nearly caused me to crash trying to jump in to my arms while still in motion on the bike heh. Some may want to tare you a new one and others may simply get clummsy and stupid around bikes and knock you flat or cut you off.

In my entire time riding bikes i have never had to do a dog harm or even come close to needing to. Yelling or simply telling the dog to go home has always worked.

Its funny and sort of sad but so many cyclists treat dogs the same way so many drivers treat us.

[buzzman]

I have a neighbor on the lonely country road where I have house out in the woods. He lives on a steep uphill section about 1/2 mile from my house. We call this guy's place "The Clampetts". His house is surrounded by cars in various states of disrepair, has Christmas decorations up year round and we once woke up to helicopters and state trooper SWAT teams descending on his house when he'd locked himself in his bathroom with a rifle. He has two dogs usually chained but with some kind of makeshift chain/rope that invariably breaks once or twice a season. Needless to say (call me a wuss) I have chosen to not talk to him about his dogs.

The dogs are hunting dogs and when I come up the hill they start howling and yanking hard on the "chains" that bind them. I always "talk" to the dogs as I go by, I tell them what good dogs they are, how nice it is to see them chained up like that. But every once in a while SNAP and the hunt is on!

My reaction is to call them in my nicest owner voice, "C'mon, atta boy, c'mon! Yeah, good dog, c'mon, come chase me you stupid stinkin' rottin' piece of dog flesh. You miserable cur!"

Then just as the dog gets to me I point right at him, look him straight in the eye and say sharply, "NO!" and sometimes, "SIT!" or "STAY!"

If that doesn't work. I have my water bottle at the ready (because it's the end of the ride sometimes I've barely got any water left in it but I tend to save some for the dogs) and I give him a good spray in the face.

If that doesn't work (only once) I keep riding at a moderate pace (pretty slow because it's a big hill) and give him a good slap across the nose if he lunges for my leg.

Actually, my biggest concern is on the downhill portion of my rides. I can hit over 40mph on this downhill and if I hit one of these dogs at that speed it won't be pretty for either of us.

[banerjek]

Know what i find with most every chaseing dog? They have one of a few things on their mind the biggest 2 are Play time!! and the other is pure curiosity....

This is very true, though many dogs are guarding their territory. Whatever the case, in any dog encounter, you want to keep emotions as under control as possible. You want to avoid triggering a flight or fight mechanism. Getting excited drastically increases your chances of getting bitten unless you're dealing with small dogs that can't do much damage anyway.

[Speedo]

I have a neighbor on the lonely country road where I have house out in the woods. He lives on a steep uphill section about 1/2 mile from my house. We call this guy's place "The Clampetts". His house is surrounded by cars in various states of disrepair, has Christmas decorations up year round and we once woke up to helicopters and state trooper SWAT teams descending on his house when he'd locked himself in his bathroom with a rifle and he has two dogs usually chained but with some kind of makeshift chain/rope that invariably breaks once or twice a season. Needless to say (call me a wuss) I have chosen to not talk to him about his dogs.

Hey, is that on Hoosac Street between Adams and Savoy?

[noisebeam]

Dogs in rural AZ (particularly NE) are often ferral, hungry and run in packs. I haven't encoutered such while on bike.
http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17040

Al

[nova]

This is very true, though many dogs are guarding their territory. Whatever the case, in any dog encounter, you want to keep emotions as under control as possible. You want to avoid triggering a flight or fight mechanism. Getting excited drastically increases your chances of getting bitten unless you're dealing with small dogs that can't do much damage anyway.
Hell the little ones worry me more than he big ones to be hounest. Na seriously ive had dogs all my life and been around every kind of canine imagineable pretty much. Was pettign a wolf last sunday had a dingo for a couple weeks at my sisters til neoghbor lady gave him away after she called the dog catcher on him for killing a cat. Some one shot the cat and he carried it back. Been around rottys pit boulls golden retrievers mastis etc. Seen coyotes on the towpath where i ride as part of a 15 mile loop. So really it takes alot to make me worry about a dog. Im more worried about killing a dog from hitting it than it biting me.

Small dogs do worry me more as they tend to run in and out when biting or snapping or chasing. That makes them more dangerous as they could get in to your spokes and cause you to crash.

[Recycle]

I often ride in the country and have also been chased by dogs occaisionally. I have been chased by dogs and came close to being attacked by them. Today, my bicycle is equipped with a small air horn which can be bought at various boat supply or marine stores. Its blasts are loud enough to discourage Fido from wanting to chase or attack me. If the air horn not work, I blow a whistle that I keep clipped to my jersey or jacket. These have reduced my problems with dogs by at least 90%.

However, I think I'd be in trouble if I were chased by a pit bull.

+1 on the small air horn and whistle.

I prefer the air horns with velcro straps and the single button on top. (Like the Falcon AquaBlast (http://www.falconsignalhorns.com/default.aspx?pageid=304) on this page) They strap to the bars, are fast to get at, and very easy to operate.

And I carry a 2oz can of duty grade pepper spray (http://www.selfdefenseproducts.com/pepper/DPS/dps_duty.htm)attached to the handle bars for the real nasty ones.

[Bikepacker67]

I ask them...are you going to bite me? and if they say yes...I shoot them ;)

Ya sure... but what if it's a lying dog?

http://static.flickr.com/53/135959066_ae2cebd13f.jpg

[ChipSeal]

I have witnessed a coach's whistle stop a trio of dogs running full tilt toward us. I was so impressed, I immediately went out and purchased both the Storm and Windstorm whistles. (The Storm is a little bit louder, the Windstorm is is smaller and higher pitched)

www.storm-whistles.com/?gclid=CM2liKTswowCFSY6SgodKS_RYQ (http://www.storm-whistles.com/?gclid=CM2liKTswowCFSY6SgodKS_RYQ)

Get a "badge reel" at Wal-mart. It keeps the whistle handy and out of the way when not in use. With a small whistle I would clip it to my glove, but with the larger whistles I clip it to the collar of my jersey.

www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=344344&x=34&Ntt=badge%20reel&y=13&uniqueSearchFlag=true&An=text (http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=344344&x=34&Ntt=badge%20reel&y=13&uniqueSearchFlag=true&An=text)

My primary defense is to maneuver and sprint. First, accelerate and move across the lane to the furthest point away from the dog as safety allows. I will even cross into oncoming lanes if there is no traffic. Then wait till the dog gets close. (I will wait till his nose is forward of the trailing edge of my wheel.) Then cut sharply into him. Most of the time this will cause him to falter, and the moment they break stride the chase is over.
If they veer away, but continue to chase, now you can have some real fun! I keep pushing them to the side, forcing them into the curb, trash cans, bushes, parked cars or any other obstacle that's handy. They will break stride!

For the scenario you described, you should have turned toward the dog and forced him to the edge of the road: It is hard to bite when you have to run on broken ground, maneuver up and down on a curb or avoid running into obstacles.

While that is effective and fun, it is not a good defense for when you are being chased by multiple dogs. Also, They hate to be called "kitty cat".

Tailwinds.

[Machka]

One of the things which has been quite effective for me is to stop and get off the bicycle. When the dog identifies me as a human, and not some sort of strange, fast-moving animal, it usually loses interest in chasing me anymore.

[alloutdoors]

One addition that works for me is to stop pedaling and coast. It throws the dog off a little bit and they tend to slow down. Or just push all out and make them look slow. (Got chased by a yorkie last week)

[sggoodri]

I ride alot in the country and it seems about once every couple of weeks i've got to do the BIG sprint to get away from a chasing dog.

If any part of sprinting away from a dog is fun for you, rent the movie American Flyers.

[dobber]

I worry more about the becoming tangled up in my drivetrain versus being bitten. I've got one of those low slung models (Basset Hound) that come torpedoing out at me every time I run down a particular rode. It's almost comical to watch him, little legs a flying, belly scraping the ground, as he makes a beeline towards me. And he always seems destined to pass right under my cranks.

I can usually fake him out by slowing down and then picking up the pace. If it looks like an interception, I'll nail him with a spray of water.

Dogs further up the road have been "taught" their lesson, if they make a play for me, I just need to reach for the bottle and they'll break off.

I've got one massive Mastiff that just loves to play (or so I hope). The owner will keep him on the leash but he's broken away occasionally and will come charging around the house, appearing as if out of no where on my heel. Nothing short of actually bouncing the water bottle off his noggin has stopped his charge.

[noisebeam]

I found this advice on the net, from the perspective of a pedestrian (so the sprint away option is not available). I don't know if its good advice or not, but it doesn't seem wrong:

http://www.digihitch.com/article1075.html

"No matter where you go, you’re likely to run into dogs, either feral or just loose. Hitchhikers, runaways and anyone who lives on the streets should know how to handle them.

In feral dog cases you will most likely find them in groups. Treat them like you would nuisance coyotes. Feral dogs are often used to human beings and are not afraid of us like wolves, foxes and truly wild coyotes are. Feral dogs often scavenge from humans and are used to being yelled at. They also may see a human as prey.

If there is enough distance from you and the dog(s), avoid eye contact, watch them cautiously while going about your direction and give them a wide birth. NEVER run from dogs. Dogs are pack animals and hunters. Any sudden movement will catch their attention and running will trigger their hunting instinct.

If the dog(s) are close to you, are showing avid interest in you, but not acting aggressive, watch their behavior. Are they skinny? Are their tails high in the air, or stiff behind them? Are their heads up or down? If dogs approach you while sucking their teeth, stick their tongues out slightly, wag their tails and have their ears low, they are usually not a threat and are either looking to you for hand outs or kindness. Give them neither and they will leave you be.

If, however, the dog(s) are following you, heads low, watching your every movement with their tails low or stiff, watch them carefully. Walk diagonally away from them to a place where you can get rid of them, such as into a store. If you cannot get away from them, such as walking a highway with no shelter, start speaking in a clear voice. Sing. Talk about the weather, whatever it takes. Let them know that you are a human, and not an easy meal. Walk with your head high, your hands visible, but above your waist, like gripping your pack straps. Swinging arms make dogs nervous, so do hands in pockets, and you always want to be ready if you need to be.

If you have the misfortune to be attacked by a vicious dog, or group of dogs, remember, don’t run. Just about any dog can outrun a human being. If a dog attacks you, stop walking, pull your hands up to your throat in fists. This protects both your throat and your hands. Stand with your legs slightly parted and keep your balance. Don’t let them knock you down. Often this behavior will detour a slightly aggressive dog as you are giving them no reason to attack you. This works best with growling, snapping dogs.

If, however, the dog(s) are actively biting you, either aggressively or out of hunger, if you have any food, drop it. Again, do NOT let them get you to the ground. Put whatever you can between yourself and the dog(s). Speak loudly in a confident voice, scream, kick, whatever you have to do. Dogs are vulnerable around the nose and eyes. If you have to, give a dog your left arm (if you’re right handed), and defend yourself with the right. Grab the dog’s nostrils with two fingers and pull up toward its face. The canine windpipe is located below the arch of the neck, just above the clavicle where a collar would rest. Pressing two fingers on either side and twisting will cut off a dog’s breath. If you can kick, aim for the lower torso, behind the ribs. If it is a group of dogs, it’s normally easy to tell which dog is the leader. Concentrate your assault on the lead dog. Once the alpha is discouraged, all of them will most likely leave you be. If you are a smaller person, your dog limit is two. If more than two dogs attack you, you’re better off standing in the middle of the road, hoping someone will stop. If you are close to a residence or building or somewhere you can climb out of reach try to get to it. The running rule doesn’t apply with dogs already trying to eat you. If you’re a bigger male, your dog limit is three."

[Keith99]

^^

Most of it seems OK. With my pair over 90% of people would guess wrong on which was the Alpha dog. Mine are really quite sweet, but they gt loud and scarry when 'defending their turf'. Dogs are territorial and how a dog is can change like night and day depending on where they are.

[ivegotabike]

i find that my riding partner can normaly keep the dogs at bay, bears too.

http://www.blackfive.net/photos/uncategorized/chuck_will_kick_your_ass.jpg

[zeytoun]

Pull a U-turn and chase the dog, growling.

[Trek Al]

http://www.selfdefenseproducts.com/spray_holders.htm

[buzzman]

Hey, is that on Hoosac Street between Adams and Savoy?
no it's out in Becket. But it's a familiar site out there in the Berks. (sorry for the delayed response- I've been out riding and not on line much for days!)

[RahTx]

One of the first times I commuted to work, on my way home I passed a park that people often bring their kids and dogs to. All of the sudden I see this rott hauling ass in full sprint towards me from the side. I didn't see a frisbee or other toy so I assumed I was his intended target, kinda panicked for a second, but just pedaled as fast as I could and hoped he would give up...which he did. Thankfully I was in the only significant downhill of my ride and was already going pretty fast (20+ mph). Next time I encounter a dog, if I'm going slower and can safely stop, I'll try one of the various positive or negative reinforcement methods described earlier.

[evblazer]

A squirt from the water bottle right in the face has never failed me.

If they're particularly aggressive, call Animal Control, not that the owner of an aggressive dog is probably going to listen...

One thing to keep in mind is unless Animal Control actually sees the actions you are accusing the dog/owner of, and they are actually illegal, then they usually can't do much especially if you tip them off without revealing your name/info. If you do provide your information and perhaps offer to sign the ticket as a witness to the crime/danger you can get a ticket to go through, you have have to show up in court if they fight it though.
I usually just wave at the dog and say hiya puppies. There are a few now that no longer even bark at me they just look up and go back to laying down when I pass. Slowing down a little and then picking up the pace can help in certain situations as it throws off their line of attack. I'd carry halt but I figure some idiot at work would get to it and try it out and since such things are banned at work I'd get fired for it.

[crtreedude]

One of the things which has been quite effective for me is to stop and get off the bicycle. When the dog identifies me as a human, and not some sort of strange, fast-moving animal, it usually loses interest in chasing me anymore.

+10 or whatever you want to give it.

I stop - aggressively. I stoop down and pick up a stone. At the least sign of not backing down and fleeing - the stone leaves my hand straight at the dog - 2 points for a direct hit.

I have problems with a dog once - no more. This sounds mean but in reality it is a kindness. Most dogs get killed on the road because they are chasing you (or something) and another vehicle which they don't notice is right behind them. They stop and get ran over.

If you want to get bit - act like prey. If you want them to go away, act like a predator - a big one. Most of the animal kingdom fears humans - rightly so. Prey animals flee - predators don't.

[jibi]

In south america there is no chain law and cyclists often meet single dogs or packs.

Get off the bike, have it between you and the dog and pick up the "magic button", if you can't find a stone sometimes the simple act of looking like you are getting one off the ground will stop them.

Carry stones. ready, I still have several, beautifully polished from time spent in my pockets, from all over south america.

Assertive commands sometimes work. Or any load noise or whistle.

One german guy carried a sharpened stick..

Try to keep fingers away from them.
If going downhill, go as fast as you can away from them.

Try to stay calm , they can smell the adrenalin you give off when scared or excited.

But even knowing all this I have still been bitten, once a German shepherd ( Alsation) had my wedding tackle in its mouth.
I stood stock still , hands by my side, and calmly waited as it ran toward me, for it to have a bark at me, but instead it went straight for my groin, not much a guy can do then but wait.
The owner wasn't too far away and so got the dog off before too much damage, I don't sing falsetto thankfully.

another time, staying in a hostel, the dog was by the door, I went to open the door for her and she bit my hand, drawing blood. Next day all my knuckles were bruised.

dogs= totally unpredictable


george

[tlc]

Never had a problem with a dog in my life - they all seem to love me. Anything bovine though, will charge me on sight, I have no idea why. I used to cycle round rural Ireland a lot, where cows seemed to wander the roads with impunity, and I've lost count of the number of times I've had to abandon ship, jump over a hedge, find a stout stick and club the buggers or throw rocks at them until they went away.

The Scottish Highlands are even worse - roving giant horned Angus-beasts capable of 20mph. I wish handguns were legal over here, I'd shoot the shaggy horrors on sight.

I hate cows, but love steak. :D

[Nickds7]

I use dog repellent. A couple bursts behind me leaves behind a smoke screen of it for the dog. One can usually gives 10-one second bursts. Enough to deter a couple dogs. Clip it onto your pack or somewhere easy to grab and your ready to go.

Picking your bike up over your head and doing a deep growl works very well too. You quickly establish yourself as the pack leader and the dog backs off. I've growled at a few dogs in the past and they all just wemper off.

[genec]

I yell NO very loudly. Since most dogs have been domesticated in some way and the "no" command is common, this seems to work quite well in the rare encounters I have had with loose dogs.

[crtreedude]

Never had a problem with a dog in my life - they all seem to love me. Anything bovine though, will charge me on sight, I have no idea why. I used to cycle round rural Ireland a lot, where cows seemed to wander the roads with impunity, and I've lost count of the number of times I've had to abandon ship, jump over a hedge, find a stout stick and club the buggers or throw rocks at them until they went away.

The Scottish Highlands are even worse - roving giant horned Angus-beasts capable of 20mph. I wish handguns were legal over here, I'd shoot the shaggy horrors on sight.

I hate cows, but love steak. :D

They can probably smell the steak on your breathe... :rolleyes:

[banerjek]

Try to keep fingers away from them....
Being calm and assertive is probably the single most useful method I've discovered. You definitely don't want them getting your fingers. Holding hands in fists can be effective.

If there are multiple dogs, you really want to keep emotions ratcheted down as much as possible. Once dogs go into attack mode, anything goes. Even if they don't really mean it, a couple dogs can do an impressive amount of damage in just a few seconds.

[Niles H.]

It is possible to learn to use a very portable, at-hand, ready-to-use, and loud noise-making device:

http://www.natwilson.com/stuff/whistle.html

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&q=learning+to+whistle%2C+loud+whistle%2C+techniques

***
Some opera singers can really blast out some surprising levels of loudness with their voices. There are probably ways of learning to increase the loudness and commandingness of the voice.

[Niles H.]

Brandishing a ski pole while advancing aggressively will make most dogs tuck tail dramatically, often whimpering as they retreat.

Many dogs have received a good whipping from some human, usually a disciplinarian owner. One can take advantage of their experiences and memories and aversions.

Not just a ski pole, but a trekking pole, golf club (with or without head), broom handle, strong bamboo walking stick, etc., etc. -- just holding it high over your head and brandishing it while aggressively moving forward, as if you are about to punish them.

***
Slicing it through the air rapidly, and making ripping sounds in the air with it, while advancing unhesitatingly and saying (in a smiling, eager and fearless way), "Aren't we about to have fun!," and meaning it, really freaks them out.

They're not totally stupid. They can see what's coming.

(I've only tried this after getting off the bike. Most on-bike efforts endanger the rider to some extent. It's better to be off the bike for these things.)

***
Practicing some moves also helps self-confidence -- practicing as if shadow boxing, or practicing on some dry weeds or old pillows, or an old sweatshirt stuffed with rags, or whatever appropriate materials are available.

[cyclebutt77]

I've never had a problem with dogs while riding. Over the past 30 years I've owned quite a few. I've never met a canine that didn't love a treat ie. milkbone... Maybe those of you who encounter these chasers on a regular basis can just carry a few milkbones on the ride and when the offender comes a callin' throw the bone at him. Now some will say this is positive re-enforcement and maybe it is but at least you'll know they're just chasing you cause the're happy to see you and awaiting that B-1 Bone missle! All I know is my dog gets real happy when I pull into the bank drive through(the teller gives out milkbones).

[manual_overide]

If any part of sprinting away from a dog is fun for you, rent the movie American Flyers.

"Hey, Eddie!! You comin' ?!"
"Here we go David...!"
"That's Eddie?!"
"Yep! Hahaha!"
"Marcus, you son of a ..."

[trackhub]

I seem to be one of the few people riding that has never had a serious dog problem. But, most cities and towns in MA have strict leash laws. On occasion, you'll hear a news report of a pit bull attacking someone though. Owners of pit bulls always say the same thing, "he's such a good dog".

[22R]

I have a 250,000 Volt stun gun with a belt clip that my wife used to carry. I ride with it and if dogs chase me all I have to do is hit the button with it still on my belt loop. That usually turns them around. If one ever doesn't back off I'll touch him on the nose with it when he gets close enough. Paid about 40.00 bucks for it 5 years ago.
22R

[slacker00]

I've been bitten twice this year by dogs. Both times I just yelled at at the dog(s) and tried to continue on my way. This used to work for me. With my increased mileage this year, I must've found some dogs with less quit in them.

Now I downshift-unclip-coast/brake fully prepared to get off my bike and use it as a barrier. Dogs like to chase, and if you can remove the chase aspect, that helps. Also, if you "flee" it might be seen as weakness by a dog, whereas if you stop and stand off a dog, the dog backs down 99.9% of the time in my experience.

Sometimes you can get away with outsprinting a dog, but you've gotta be extremely careful. Dogs can be fast, you'll have to be able to maintain 30 mph AND have the angle on the dog. Plus, it does you no good to outsprint a dog only to pull up to a stop sign to find the dog still chasing! This happened to me once. Most of the time when I realize a dog is getting into the road, he's basically got the angle on me, so it's safest to just stop and deal with it.

Multiple dog situations really scare me. That was my first biting incident this year. There were 3 dogs which kept circling me. I tried to sprint because I didn't want to get off my bike with these dogs, but they completely went into predator mode with one dog dodging into my front wheel while the other two tried to bite my legs. After some leg flailing by me and some aborted sprint starts, I got off the front of them and sprinted for all I was worth. Luckily none of the bites broke the skin because I was wearing full winter gear but I don't want to know what would have happened if they got me off the bike. I called the police as soon as I got home. The dogs are still there, but tied up in the yard. They bark & jump like crazy when I go past that house now. I just give an uneasy laugh to myself. One vicious dog can be a pain, but multiple dogs against a solo rider is a very delicate and potentially scary situation.

[bragi]

I ride alot in the country and it seems about once every couple of weeks i've got to do the BIG sprint to get away from a chasing dog. For the most part these dogs are probably territorial and just chase along there property line but, i don't want to take any more chances.
Either they're going to get hit by a car or cause me to wreck or worse!

What do you do for dogs? spray,ballbat,small handgun:( :rolleyes:

I find that stopping and petting them works best. Unless it's a rottweiler, in which case your only choice is to stop, hop off the bike and beat it to death with your u-lock. You have to beat it to death, otherwise it will develop a grudge, and come after you and your family.

[banerjek]

Brandishing a ski pole while advancing aggressively will make most dogs tuck tail dramatically, often whimpering as they retreat.
...

Not just a ski pole, but a trekking pole, golf club (with or without head), broom handle, strong bamboo walking stick, etc., etc....
I just throw my entire golf bag at them as I ride by -- the balls in the bottom fall out and the dogs usually chase them. If that doesn't work, I throw a cinder block or two. I find that the noise startles them and they stop chasing...

[Tom Stormcrowe]

I have never had a problem with dogs. I HAVE however recently had a wolf encounter and Bear Spray did a great job! (UP of Michigan, in the Superior Natl Forest, 3 wolves invaded my campsite with intent to have me for dinner!)

[tcs]

Try calling out, "Saint Lazurus, peace to you! Go home." (Luke 16:20-21)

This works well on Catholic dogs (St. Bernards, Italian Greyhounds, Irish wolfhounds, poodles, etc.), Anglican dogs (Jack Russel terriers, English bulldogs, etc.) and Lutheran dogs (German shepards, Norwegian elkhounds, etc.) Does not work with atikas (Shinto), Tibetan mastifs (Budist), salukis (Islamic) or blue tick coonhounds (Southern Baptist).

TCS

[tcs]

BTW, dog owners just don't get this and, surprisingly, a lot of cyclists don't either: a dog doesn't have to be large and/or agressive to be dangerous! Even a small, playful dog can hit your front wheel and send you to the hospital.

Best,
TCS

[trackhub]

no it's out in Becket. But it's a familiar site out there in the Berks. (sorry for the delayed response- I've been out riding and not on line much for days!)

There was a house in Natick that fit that description. It was on the border, almost into Framingham. Some old coot, with a yard full of oddball junk that he had collected over the decades. I was told he owned his property outright, and that he paid his property taxes every year in cash, including rolled up coins. Apparently, he did this to drive the people in the assessor's office crazy.

Most people don't realize it, but the far western part of the state of MA is very rural. Totally different than the eastern chunk of the state.

[Nickds7]

Try calling out, "Saint Lazurus, peace to you! Go home." (Luke 16:20-21)

This works well on Catholic dogs (St. Bernards, Italian Greyhounds, Irish wolfhounds, poodles, etc.), Anglican dogs (Jack Russel terriers, English bulldogs, etc.) and Lutheran dogs (German shepards, Norwegian elkhounds, etc.) Does not work with atikas (Shinto), Tibetan mastifs (Budist), salukis (Islamic) or blue tick coonhounds (Southern Baptist).

TCS

Your screwed then if its a saluki. If its a southern baptist dog chasing you, well you shouldn't of been wearing that hood anyways.

[Speedo]

Most people don't realize it, but the far western part of the state of MA is very rural. Totally different than the eastern chunk of the state.

Ssshhhhhh! Don't tell. Biking in Western Massachusetts is the best kept secret in the biking world!

Speedo