Road Cycling - Those darn neighborhood dogs...

In response to the earlier thread about "neighborhood kids" I more have encounters with dogs than kids. Why don't people keep their dogs on a leash? How can someone let their dog chase car after car that goes by and not either put up a fence or put their dogs on a leash? There is nothing worse than going up a hill and hearing barks getting closer and closer to your heals. Well I guess it does make me spin up that hill quite a bit faster than I would otherwise. :)

Water bottle, meet dog. Squirt squirt. No more dog.

I don't have too much of a problem with neighbourhood dogs - the roads are too busy where I live. However, after about 6 miles I get out into the countryside and the farm dogs are the ones you really have to watch out for. Those suckers are fearless! I'm seriously thinking of getting some mace and using some velcro to keep it handy on the top tube.

I ride so fast, the dogs can't catch me! :D

We have an excellent leash law in this county. I rarely encounter dogs when I ride.

I maced one the other week and the owner was cussing me out until I stopped and said do you want to do something about it???

We have an excellent leash law in this county. I rarely encounter dogs when I ride.

Your location says South Carolina and as you can see by my name I'm in Tennessee. I still regularly encounter dogs on my rides. Not usually in neighborhoods but when I get out on the back roads around here it just seems people don't pay any attention to the "leash law" and just let their dogs roam free.

Had a problem with a dog tonight as a matter of fact, this dog is too friendly and wants to follow me everywhere I go. The owner just told me to tell him to go back and he wouldn't follow me. Had to stop and yell at the dog to get it to go back home, meanwhile I was clipped in with one foot and I fell over. Best way to fall over is when you are standing still.

Tennesse, I live in Beaufort County, on the coast near the Southernmost tip. We're not like much of SC, as I grew up in Darlington County. The county, and the towns, strctly enforce the pet restraint laws. Any law enforcment officer will confiscate any loose dog and take them to doggy jail. When you go there to look for the dog, and you claim it, a nice fine is levied, which is higher if the dog is unliscensed. The law has been in force long enough people are used to it, and your neighbors call you in frequently.

We also have too many damn Yankees here.

We also have too many damn Yankees here.


hehehehe

Seriously, I wish they would enforce the leash law around here like that. I guess with all the rural areas around (which is mostly where I ride) it would be hard for the police to enforce it. I guess it is hard to tell a farmer who lives on a 200+ acre farm to keep his dog on a leash. I just wish they would teach them not to chase cars, or more importantly bikes.

Ever notice dogs only give chase when you're going uphill?

Best way to handle this is remember where the dog lives and call the police and file a complaint. A visit from the police will usually remedy the dog issue. Make sure you have a copy of the leash law or "control" law that states that the dog (when in public) must be under full control of the owner. Some places have this instead of a leash law.

Besides being a cyclist I show and breed English Pointers. Dogs only chase to protect their turf. Ever notice that they usually give up just past their property? Squirting, screaming and mace only pisses them off and makes them more aggresive.

We have a problem with loose dogs where I ride and this one guy always just sat and watched as his dog chased people. We (the group) called the police twice on him and the third time we presented him with a copy of the law and four lawsuits where an owner was found liable for a dog attack and were sued for damages. The next week when we rode by he had a 10 x 10 pin in his yard with the dog in it.

Best way to fall over is when you are standing still.

Excellent advice. It is a lot easier on your skin, too!

I was going up hill in the country side of town in Oregon, and 4 poodles gave chase to me and they were so occupied with me that a car was coming downhill on the other lane and I whip out my telescopic tire pump and manage to bop one of them and as they scamper away,while the car that was coming down hill manage to mowed over 3 of the dogs and only one return home.
the owner wasn't home and the next door neihbors was cursing that the owner have a habit of losing dogs to the cars before. So I gave him my phone number and he said he would filed with police.

The solution for me is pepper spray. The full strength variety and not the weaker spray sold specifically for dogs. It trains them to avoid cyclists. My wife used hers on a Pit Bull a couple days ago.

She asked me later if I had seen the dog. I told her I had, but it just barked at a respectable distance. Apparently, he got the message.

Dogs are dangerous and one has the right not to be needlessly endangered or harassed.

Al

1. Call the police. Bound to be a law. Make sure you have an address and a description of the dog. You have to know the county or the city too, but that will only slow you down a little if you don't get it right the first time. The police want a description of the dog to make sure you have personal experience with the dog and are not just part of a phone campaign. Descriptions of the owner and the property are also useful.

2. Use pepper spray. Practice first. You have to lead the target to account for wind deflection, and you have to know your range. Hammer them in the center of the triangle formed by the eyes and the nose/mouth. Bound to get one of the three and then it is game over. I wait until they get down to 5 feet and then hammer them good. They're bound to be breathing hard so the stuff will be all the way down in their lungs before they know what hit them. Dogs have hard-wired programming that says to go for the weakest animal in the herd, so I will sit just off the back of the pack on the dog side of the road, wait until everybody else is away (protect the women) and they key on me, sprint away to the opposite side of the road to spoil their intercept solution (they usually curve to get back of leg anyway), wait until they are within 4-5 feet in a trailing position, and then shoot nearly straight back to whop them with the aerosol hot sauce, heh, heh, heh....instant stop every time so far. And they don't come back either. Never use pepper spray unless you are on the BACK of the pack. Don't want to feed it to your (ex) friends. **** whistle works well most of the time, but a few dogs just get madder. And they all come back the next time.

I have a few friends who aim for the dogs and swerve slightly away when close, and try to tag them in the nose with a clipped-in shoe or a pedal. This produces a feeling of satisfaction, but doesn't seem to change behavior. Hose them with the pepper spray, and they stay on the porch the next time.

I know a few dogs out in the country who just want to run. They just run along behind the pack, grinning like dogs. They don't bark or growl and they don't try to close, and they sure are grinning. I think they usually follow the horses. We tell THEM to get their butts in gear and pick it up. Sometimes we stop to pet them. Not all dogs are bad and you can tell the difference. If they want a piece of you or they want to block the road and act aggressively, they need some of the old atmospherically administered attitude adjustment out of the aerosol can.....

I can outsprint almost any dog in a fair race any time. But few others can. And a dog that charges into the middle of a pack presents a huge hazard to everyone. Permanent orthopedic handicaps are common, and head injuries are possible. It's actually better for the long-term health of the dog and the riders to permanently deter future attacks, than to consider not using pepper spray because it will hurt the dog. Dogs chase cyclists and not cars (the dogs that only want to run chase cars too! and they grin...) because they perceive cyclists as weak and easy victims (prey). All we are doing with pepper spray is making ourselves harder targets, more like cars (not prey). If you believe that cyclists have the right to use the road like cars, then we have the right to be free of attacks as though we were cars, so we have the right to deter dog attacks with pepper spray. We are doing the right thing. It is the dog owners who are at fault and in violation of the law, not us.

This is exactly why I carry a gun on my bike rides, well that, and drifters...

I can outsprint almost any dog in a fair race any time. But few others can. And a dog that charges into the middle of a pack presents a huge hazard to everyone. Permanent orthopedic handicaps are common, and head injuries are possible. It's actually better for the long-term health of the dog and the riders to permanently deter future attacks, than to consider not using pepper spray because it will hurt the dog. Dogs chase cyclists and not cars (the dogs that only want to run chase cars too! and they grin...) because they perceive cyclists as weak and easy victims (prey). All we are doing with pepper spray is making ourselves harder targets, more like cars (not prey). If you believe that cyclists have the right to use the road like cars, then we have the right to be free of attacks as though we were cars, so we have the right to deter dog attacks with pepper spray. We are doing the right thing. It is the dog owners who are at fault and in violation of the law, not us.

Not to be a wise ass but, FYI: some dogs can hit over 40 mph.

The Greyhound is the fastest dog in the world and can reach speeds of over 40 miles per hour.

Especially when chasing a fake rabbit (or cyclist j/k) around a track! :) Luckily most Greyhounds are dosile.

Here's a greyhound like:
http://www.iams.com/en_US/jhtmls/breed_selector/sw_BreedSelector_page.jhtml?pti=BS&li=&bc=&sc=D&lsc=&bsc=&fn=u_gn_brd_greyhoun

In town, we have a leash law that is strictly enforced, hence, no dog problem. In the country is another story. The only reason most people keep there dogs up, is to prevent them being run over. BTW, There is a law in Tennessee about domestic animals on road ways, they are the strict responsiblity of the owner! This goes for horses and cows also, my dad's farm insurance had to buy a fellas car because his one of his cows was out, got hit, and totaled his car. (thank goodness no one was hurt!)

Dogs that just run along with me don't bother me, many of them do this. The dogs greatest danger is that they will take the "angle of attack" of you, this leaves out all you hot rods, and hit you in the front wheel! :eek: I know I have almost been taken out like this before.

One dog about two miles from the city limits comes charging at your side every time! About a month ago it came into the road, full blast, dragging about 10 feet of dog chain behind it! :eek: I hit the brakes, all I could see in my mind was that dog and chain going through my wheels! :mad:
Well, a few hours on my evening ride, this same $#^$&$ dog comes blasting at me, I unclip, and try my best to kick a fifty yard field goal! Caught it in the ribs going about 17 mph, it headed to the yard yelping.

Every dog I have ever kicked in the teeth or side of the head, have never given chase again! Those stiff shoes don't just transfer power to the pedals! I just know someday some stupid a$$ dog loving auto driver is going to swerve to miss the dog that has come out to give chase, and hit me head on! :mad:

Aquire a lemon, divide it by 2, squeeze the quotient into your water bottle.

Makes for a tasty drink, and in the event that a canine feels like "racing", then aim for the *****'s (Tee, hee! An intentional Pun!) eyes.

Eh?

I dont blame the dogs and I find the the worse thing to do is to turn it into a chase with a dog. Dogs love to chase things, however many years of evolution wont be changed simply because we have bikes now.

I carry a few milk bones and find slowing down or stopping (yes I actually interrupt my rides on ocassion for the good of four legs and fur) toss em a milk bone then pedal off slowly, while they investigate the treat.

Enough cant be said for dealing with dogs in a strong authoritarian verbal manner on the one hand and kindness on the other.

Now if hostile motorists could be ..... never mind.

I dont blame the dogs and I find the the worse thing to do is to turn it into a chase with a dog. Dogs love to chase things, however many years of evolution wont be changed simply because we have bikes now.

I carry a few milk bones and find slowing down or stopping (yes I actually interrupt my rides on ocassion for the good of four legs and fur) toss em a milk bone then pedal off slowly, while they investigate the treat.

Your method works well UNLESS, as has happened to me on more than one occasion, you are riding @ speed while an unrestrained dog jumps out in front of your tire. Then, there will be no time for milkbones - you'll be to busy counting the number of actual bones you have broken. Dogs need to be restrained to their property. If that doesn't happen, you should absolutely turn the owner in to the authorities. If you don't do it for yourself, do if for the next cyclist who may be hurt/killed.