Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Dealing with chasing dogs

Most of my routes are rual and many of my rides are by myself. I like dogs, but I really don't like getting surprised by dogs running after me while I am cycling. I am sure many of you live in areas where this is not a problem. But for those that it is how do you deal with them? :eek:

Get a small hand held Air Horn.
Get small Pepper Spray Dispenser.

I know some people use pepperspray, but I found that my horn usually does the trick with no guilt.
http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Airzound-Bike-Horn/dp/B000ACAMJC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1230089126&sr=8-1

I know some people use pepperspray, but I found that my horn usually does the trick with no guilt.
http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Airzound-Bike-Horn/dp/B000ACAMJC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1230089126&sr=8-1

The Air Horn won't work on All of Them.

I got a thing called Dazer II. High decibel dog frequency noise. Seems to startle them some and sometimes enough for me to bike away. I have found the pepper spray is hard to get out and aimed in time to do any good. With my feet clipped in and a surprised chase bothers me some.

I try to remember where they are and am quiet as I enter those areas. When they spot me and come running I just try to outrun them. This happens frequently with a large rotweiler on part of my route. I've always been able to sneak into his territory without notice and then discover that he can't catch up to me at 18-19 mph. I do worry that he might one day anticipate my arrival (this happens on a blind curve and I can't see him in advance) and be waiting on the shoulder. My son is home for the semester break and he quickly put a lot of distance between himself and the dog on his roadbike, but I was behind him on my much slower hybrid and there were some tense moments for Pops. Luckily there are no teeth marks in my tights:)

A little further down that same rural road we came upon a freshly roadkilled alligator. He was a small fellow, 15-18 inches long so not a threat to our ride if still alive. Here in SETexas I expect to see them when I kayak, but it was very surprising to see one as we rode our bikes.

A small squirtgun with half water/half household ammonia will do the trick if they get TOO close. Might curb them from ever chasing bikes again after one or two times.

a squirt in the face from your water bottle will stop them in their tracks 99% of the time. If you have one you want to teach a lesson to, keep 1 bottle filled with lemon juice. A squirt in his eyes will burn like fire, and may be will be cured from his bike aggression. Of course you may just piss him off so bad that he will be more determined to get you next time!

a squirt in the face from your water bottle will stop them in their tracks 99% of the time. If you have one you want to teach a lesson to, keep 1 bottle filled with lemon juice. A squirt in his eyes will burn like fire, and may be will be cured from his bike aggression. Of course you may just piss him off so bad that he will be more determined to get you next time!

It's the dog that is wearing the Oakley's and the lemon juice does not work and he gets pissed that worries me. :roflmao2:

I like the water bottle idea.

I once had the piss scared out of me when I turned into blind curve and a pit bull barked. He was chained by a logger chain. He drug the doghouse with him as he began to chase, but after about 10 feet he gave up. Not sure the water from the water bottle would have worked and I would have had only one leg left. I did sprint up to 22 mph in just 3 strokes. But I digress:lol:

There's a pit bull mix that lives at the top of the hill at the beginning / end of my winter ride route.

If he sees me and is unchained when I'm heading out it's usually too late and he just lets a few barks go and gives a half hearted chase. The fun is when I return and he is waiting for me near the road.

I have found that I can get a bit of a jump on him by heading straight at him. He freezes until I'm passed and is not sure who the "A-Dog" is until I've got a good 10 yards or so on him.

It's then a classic dog vs. bike sprint to the top of the hill -- he's toast when I engage the Clyde gravity drive at the top.:D

P.S. -- I take a different route home if I'm feeling whipped or there's a big head wind

I've never had to do anymore then yell "NO, BAD DOG GO HOME!". Thing is, chase is a game for dogs. If he really wanted to catch you odds are better than not he will. If you think the dog will catch you get off your bike and hold it between yourself and the animal while telling it to go home. Think about it, a person on a bicycle moving by is a curious unnatural looking thing and most of the time they want to investigate it. Now, 99.9% of dogs know the "No" command, deliberately harming the dog with ammonia or lemon juice only reinforces the idea that cyclists are bad and the dogs pack (family) needs protected from them. Sure, you might get by but what about when 10 year old Suzie pedals by. Will she be able to get away from the dog you taught that cyclists were a threat?

Drive by the house in your car to get it's street number then call animal control and the police if a local leash law applies to your county. You don’t need to confront the dogs owner and you certainly don’t need to harm an animal that is the victim of ret@rded owners.

On my recent "Duval Delta" trip, I think I saw more dogs than I'd ever seen before.

95% of them weren't a problem. It may help that I'm going slower than a lot of you are, and it's kind of frustrating for a dog to chase something going slower than he is. It might help that I had on shorts and tee shirt rather than a superhero outfit. Anyway, I did tell them "Go back home" or words to that effect. I was hoping that the human voice would reinforce the idea that I wasn't some sort of alien invader.

Most of the dogs I saw, including the two meanest-looking ones, seemed to be defending their territory. Since I was headed out of it, they seemed to be hastening me on my way, rather than trying to attack me, and never got closer than 8-10 feet away.

The ones that really seemed closest to being a problem were a couple of strays. I think there were three dogs together, and when I passed, one started chasing me. Then a second one got encouraged by him, and took it up as well. But they chased me for maybe a half-mile or so. Veering towards them would back them off temporarily. I finally figured they must be getting tired, so I sped up to 22 mph or so and outran them.

Here's one I had to deal with recently back home. First time I went by, I wasn't ready for him. Second time, I had the camera out, but missed. Third time, I got him.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z172/stephenhazelton/MiscBikePhotos/NiteRide4.jpg

Back this fall, I was a volunteer at the Texas Time Trials, and I/we spent several hours dog-sitting at a house with loose dog(s). The main dog I dealt with was a medium size heavy-built dog. After we'd been there a little bit, he was pretty friendly. He was a country dog, was bored out of his skull, and had these odd looking people riding by in the middle of the night on bicycles with lights. I guess it's sort of like if UFO's started coming down my street, I'd be out there at the curb hollering, too.
http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z172/stephenhazelton/MiscBikePhotos/TTDog.jpg

The Air Horn won't work on All of Them.

True. I carry pepperspray but haven't had to use it yet. :)

I've never had to do anymore then yell "NO, BAD DOG GO HOME!". Thing is, chase is a game for dogs. If he really wanted to catch you odds are better than not he will. If you think the dog will catch you get off your bike and hold it between yourself and the animal while telling it to go home. Think about it, a person on a bicycle moving by is a curious unnatural looking thing and most of the time they want to investigate it. Now, 99.9% of dogs know the "No" command, deliberately harming the dog with ammonia or lemon juice only reinforces the idea that cyclists are bad and the dogs pack (family) needs protected from them. Sure, you might get by but what about when 10 year old Suzie pedals by. Will she be able to get away from the dog you taught that cyclists were a threat?

Drive by the house in your car to get it's street number then call animal control and the police if a local leash law applies to your county. You don’t need to confront the dogs owner and you certainly don’t need to harm an animal that is the victim of ret@rded owners.

I guess whatever works for you. Maybe I am slow and cannot process all that information when I am being chased.

This product does not harm the dog:

http://www.ubackoff.com/catalog.php?item=8&ret=index.php

I guess whatever works for you. Maybe I am slow and cannot process all that information when I am being chased.

This product does not harm the dog:

http://www.ubackoff.com/catalog.php?item=8&ret=index.php

I've had time to ponder the situation myself and I'll be the first to admit that my initial reactions to such an event is to disable the aggressor or sprint away from it. If the pepper spray works for you and it's the route you choose then I wish you safe passage.

However, I will say that you need to consider the message you are sending to the dog and I would also like to remind you that typically these dogs are owned by the lowest common denominator of humanity. A responsible pet owner would not have Fluffy out on the loose. If the owner sees you harm his/her beloved (neglected) pet be prepared to be on the business end of a Buick or a firearm because in their narrow Pabst fueled world little Fluffy would never harm a fly. Just be careful, both with the dog and dog owners.

I usually slow down and talk to them. On a rare occasion have I needed to get off the bike and holler at them. Only once I was being chased by a midsized dog without realizing it and when felt him/her nip at my ankle I gave it a good kick to the face. That was an instinct and I would rather not have to resort to kicking dogs.

Riding rural is a lot of fun, but not when you get stranded or have some hick kids trying to have fun by throwing stuff at you.

Only once I was being chased by a midsized dog without realizing it and when felt him/her nip at my ankle I gave it a good kick to the face.

He was just letting you know it was his turn to pull.
You wouldn't want him to just keep wheel-sucking, would you?:lol:

I've had time to ponder the situation myself and I'll be the first to admit that my initial reactions to such an event is to disable the aggressor or sprint away from it. If the pepper spray works for you and it's the route you choose then I wish you safe passage.

However, I will say that you need to consider the message you are sending to the dog and I would also like to remind you that typically these dogs are owned by the lowest common denominator of humanity. A responsible pet owner would not have Fluffy out on the loose. If the owner sees you harm his/her beloved (neglected) pet be prepared to be on the business end of a Buick or a firearm because in their narrow Pabst fueled world little Fluffy would never harm a fly. Just be , both with the dog and dog owners.

Hey, I own 2 labs. Usually, around here the Buick is up on blocks. j/k. (Dualing Banjos in the BG) I just want to be prepared for the worse case senario. Just not a lot of urban around these parts and dogs are not required to be on leashes or fenced, though many are. The Dazer II may be the only thing I need. No harm no foul.

Another option, if you know the location of a repeat offender, is to bring along a milk bone or treat. When the dog chases after you, drop the treat.

Not many dogs will pass up the treat.

When bikeriding was new + - 100 yrs ago standard equipment for riding in the rural areas was a dogwhip.

Also during the Boer war (south africa) the British used bikes instead of horses bco the tze-tze fly. Boers released dogs, British used dogwhips on dogs.

Man wan to fight, dog takes punishment.

A small squirtgun with half water/half household ammonia will do the trick if they get TOO close. Might curb them from ever chasing bikes again after one or two times.

It can also blind them.

Most dogs that chase are just playing, or being territorial, but in most cases they are not trying to bite, so why do you want to permanently injure them?.

A squirt of water from a water bottle has never failed to stop a dog for me. I can usually get them while they are still a good ten feet away and never even have to break my stride.

3 weeks ago I encountered a large, pit bull type breed of dog, ranging in the 100# category. The dog was standing in the middle of a country road, no cars, houses or people around. The dog saw me and began running toward me. Upon seeing the dog, I removed the pepper spray from a pouch on my bike and when he got close I sprayed the dog, who in turn discontinued his pursuit of me. I am glad he stopped cause it was deffinately gonna hurt if he didnt.

I have plenty of dogs on my commute ride, and the simplest thing has work the best. If you see them before they see you, simply scream at them (No, or whatever), they usually freeze up for a couple of a seconds giving you a good headstart on the 'sprint' if they decide to chase.

If they sneak up on me instead of vice versa, I try to sprint, or unclip from the side of the dog and start squirting water.

If all else fails, stop and put the bike between you and the dog, appear big, scream and act aggressively (move towards the dog).

A responsible pet owner would not have Fluffy out on the loose. If the owner sees you harm his/her beloved (neglected) pet be prepared to be on the business end of a Buick or a firearm because in their narrow Pabst fueled world little Fluffy would never harm a fly.

Thanks for the new signature line, Bau!

As for the dog, I've only been chases by a dog once. That was on tour with Neil F.. I simply accelerated, pulled in front of him, and it became his problem. :)

If I am going reasonably fast I would use the momentum and pick up speed to out run the dog. If I'm going slow I slow right down to walking pace. The dogs don't seem to be interested in me at low speed.

Actually I'm not sure if dogs chase to attack. Once I was surprised by a dog that came bounding out of a house and I couldn't pick up speed so I got off and did the put the bike between me and the dog thing. The dog just came charging up to me, stopped and wanted to play, sniff the bike and basically asked for a bit of a pat and tickle.

It can also blind them.
Most dogs that chase are just playing, or being territorial, but in most cases they are not trying to bite, so why do you want to permanently injure them?.

A squirt of water from a water bottle has never failed to stop a dog for me. I can usually get them while they are still a good ten feet away and never even have to break my stride.

I didn't know that. I've never done it myself, and now I never will. I hope nobody took my bad advice.

Most of my routes are rual and many of my rides are by myself. I like dogs, but I really don't like getting surprised by dogs running after me while I am cycling. I am sure many of you live in areas where this is not a problem. But for those that it is how do you deal with them? :eek:

See this thread, "Problem dogs -- what cyclists should do"

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=489609


When I've been chased by dogs, I ride at a fast, but submaximal pace. When the dog is pretty close, I let out a loud yell to startle them and immediately speed up. As I can best recall, they always give up the chase.

engage the Clyde gravity drive

:speedy:

:roflmao2: :roflmao:

Just make sure you have someone slower with you. I've actually had to get off a few times and the scream, yell, and scream some more, seems I always meet up with them when I'm climbing. Water bottle works too, I did kick one once as a last resort. I would not hesitate to do it again either no matter what anyone says, it's a sad world when someone says a dog is worth more than my health. Only time I ever seen anyone go down hard was actually a cat. Cat ran out on the road, guy screamed at it, cat frooze, guy hit cat wiped out, broken collar bone, broken ribs, punctured lung. Not a good time.