Jarrett2

I took a new route in the country. I knew going in that dogs might be a factor, but I had no idea. The first 10 miles are so were fine. I saw a few loose dogs, but they weren't interested thankfully. Surprisingly I passed another cyclist and asked him if there were any dogs back the way he was coming from and he said no. Liar

So I pedal another mile or so and a big ass something came running at me. Luckily it was right before a big hill, I just hit a couple of strokes and started coasting down and hit 36.4 mph while coasting. He broke off.

I did another couple of miles and then found the brother of the hill I went down and had to climb up it. It whipped me pretty good. Just as I got to the top and started to catch my breath, here came the dogs. Four of them from different houses. A couple of Great Pyrenes, a Blue Healer and what looked to be an Australian Shepherd mix. I started pedaling as fast as I could go, but I was spent from the hill. I could only muster 10-12 MPH and that wasn't enough to get away.

They surrounded me. Two on one side, one behind, one on the left. The one on the left wanted to taste flesh. He was getting close and trying to get teeth on me. I just kept spinning my feet as fast as I could and it looked like he couldn't figure out where to latch on. At that point, I realized I had left my water bottle at home. My pump was double velcro'ed to the frame. As I started waning, the thought came to me to pull my helmet off and start swinging it at the one that was trying to bite me, but at that point they broke off.

So in that situation, what would have been nice to have and do?

Erwin8r

Hmmm. Pepper spray is probably a good start. If you are in real danger of being attacked by more than one dog at once, I'd say all bets are off and you do what you need to do to defend yourself.... I wouldn't publicly advocate a firearm or large edged weapon, but like I said, at some point, all bets are off. IMHO, 4 dogs is a pack. If they'd caught you or you fell, what sort of situation do you think you'd be facing?

tjax

MACE, and Concealed Carry. That's all I got to say.

Jarrett2

They had caught me, they just couldn't figure out what they wanted to do with me. If I would have fallen, I don't know. It might have spooked them off or given them the chance to chow down. Just glad they didn't get into my wheels.

rumrunn6

you try talking to them? something like: "hey guys, what's going on?" maybe a normal conversational tone could have diffused the situation?

Doohickie

Did you try yelling NO. GO HOME. at them? I've found it to be surprisingly effective.

bbeasley

Step 1. I thank them for doing such a great job chasing me off of their property. Doesn't really do anything.
Step 2. I yell at them. Almost always works.
Step 3. I spray them with the water bottle. This is so effective I have fun doing it and sometimes skip Step 2.
Step 4. If I have issues with the same dog at Step 3. more than once, I talk to the owner.
Step 5. If Step 4 fails, I call animal control.

In ~6,000 miles I've only gotten to #5 once. If I ran into a real bad boy, all I could do is the water bottle and try to get away as I don't carry anything else.

WonderMonkey

I think you do all this unless you feel the situation has already escalated beyond #3 . Pepper Spray, etc. can work if you have it within easy reach and won't wreck trying to get it. You also need to worry about spraying yourself and all that jazz. A monkey's fist or a baton is a physical thing you can use but you have to swing it and you are taking a chance on losing your balance. A pistol is an option but I'd only use that if you truly believe your physical being is going to be harmed. All things you have to decide very quickly.

The only times I've had dogs come at me is when they were just running along aside me amusing themselves. One likes to pretend he is protecting his property and when he succeeds I'm sure he/she struts around for a bit very proud of the accomplishment.

cvskates

Those are herding dogs (I have Aussie Shepherds); they'll chase you for a bit, but it's pretty unlikely they'd bite.

As others have said, tell them to go home, it's always worked for me.

tjax

Joking aside, ever hear "A dog's bark is worse than it's bite?" I would expect that if it were a vicious blood thirsty mangy dog, it might take a shot of pepper spray, anything more than that should be left to uninvited guests (bears, coyotes) while taking a stroll through the woods. I think pepper spray and a dog whistle is all you need.

2 wheeler

This is what I've had success with.

I've squirted a few with water; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I landed a perfect kick on a huge, vicious dog that chased me every time I road in "his area" and he didn't bother me any more after that.

I wouldn't shoot a dog unless it was a severe attack; the owner might show up and things could escalate very quickly and get really ugly.

PhotoJoe 

I carry pepper spray. I have yet to have any dog issues, but have made a conscious decision to immediately spray it in the GENERAL DIRECTION of any dog that looks like he's coming my way. Hoping he'll get just enough of a wiff to not like my aroma. If they continue the chase, it's a direct hit. Now, that's my plan. Hope to never test in in reality.

cyccommute 

I would also suggest stopping and yelling the same. Dogs want to chase things. Don't give them anything to chase and they get bored. I've ridden a bike in 43 of the 50 states and many times I've ridden in places where I have never been before. In 30+ years of riding, I've never even come close to being bitten or even chased. Most of the time, the dogs will come get a head scratch.

Short Circuit

I used to outrun them now I stop and put the bike in between me and the dog.
I have found as cyccommute that when I stop they stop. Usually a stern yell to go away or something like that works.
Once a dog kept coming towards me when I stopped and I ended up running straight at the dog with my bike in between us as it was going to be used as a weapon. The dog turned around and ran back up to the house.

Mark

Carib Can

Needs a training session with that Mexican guy, the Dog Whisperer. I am a dog lover but I do not trust any strange dog. Depending how well he is trained or not, if he was abused or not, the risk of being bitten is something I am always aware of.

I would hate to pepper spray a doggie, maybe a super soaker strapped to my bike fully pumped would be my choice.

SeanBlader

I'm not fond of the idea of using pepper spray, but it'd be better than this: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/lo...206826171.html

cyccommute 

People make light of the Dog Whisperer but he really is just someone who understands what dogs are and, more importantly, what they aren't. We humans have put incredible evolutionary pressure on dogs to not be vicious animals. We, as a species, will not tolerate dogs in our homes that could actually challenge us for leadership of the pack. Even vicious dogs have a human in their lives that they respond to. If you understand that a dog fears us more than we fear them, you can work on that.

Carib Can

Actually I am amazed at that guy and what he does, my opening statement was not meant to denounce him. I have had dogs all of my life and they are my favourite animal. I have understood them more than I do people at times.

I always said, a dog is like a human who cannot verbally respond to you, they understand a lot of what we say and do and of course some breeds have more intelligence than others

Dogs do what they are supposed to by natural instinct, protect their owners and property, it's humans who allow the dogs to get a bad name because they do not understand this and keep the animals protected and safe.

A dog let loose cannot dictate where he is supposed to protect and when he is supposed to remain at bay.

Anyways I hope we can find better ways to deal with either unleashed or stray dogs attacking cyclists.

Carib Can

That's so sad, however for the most part, most attacks could have been prevented if the dogs had responsible owners.

jazzgeek79

The dog that tried to bite you was probably just trying to warn you off or may even have been engaging in heading behavior. Herding dogs sometimes nip their livestock without breaking skin. I am not trying to fan an argument here, but most if not all erase arch on dogs debunks the idea that dogs see us as members of a pack. Unlike wolves they do not have a default fear of humans (there are exceptions just as all humans don't automatically have the same relationship or reaction to dogs). If a dog has run up to you, what ever it's demeanor it's probably not afraid. If it was it would run in the other direction.

it sounds like you did well. Pyranesse are no joke. They are bred to be independent guardians. Mostly against predators. The bike may have confused them. If you had been walking they probably wouldn't have bothered you. Unfortunately dogs do respond to other dogs with pack like behavior so if the lead dog decided to chase then all four chase. Yelling can be good. Next time you ride in an area where you expect to encounter dogs put a loud whistle around your neck. If one dog gets brave again it will starle them and give you an opportunity to redirect. Pay attention to body language. A tense dog with a tail held high over its body (wagging or not) is not a good thing. A low wagging tail is good. Try to see if the hair along the dogs back is up, another sign of a stressed or excited dog.

Dogs have evolved to read our body language and our faces. So keep that in mind if you are trying to calm rather than confront. In this vein. Lip licking, and yawning are how dogs communicate to each other that they mean no harm, and that they'd like you to calm down. They usually respond to people displaying this behavior.

Oh and the whistle thing only works once or twice FYI. Eventually they get used to it, but if they haven't heard one before it usually scares the poop out of em.

Null66

I can't believe no one has recommended the "SIT" in command voice.
It has worked as often as it hasn't.

I've used it and had the dog continue running with the front half and sit with the back half. Needless to say they didn't catch me. Was about the funniest thing I have seen, like a real life cartoon.

For a couple dogs I had to dismount (always keep bike between you and them if at all possible.)
One neighbor dog was just driven crazy by fleas and mistreatment, well I chased him with bike over head. He didn't chase me after that.

Jarrett2

Cool, thanks for the tips. I have lots of experience with dogs and I'm familiar enough with breeds and their traits to know which are a likely problem or not. I've been chased before a number of times. I don't mind a little chase from a dog doing his obligatory duty to threaten me away from his property. I know what posturing looks like. And like a few said, usually a stern look or harsh word and they will turn back. These dogs did not fit that category.

These dogs chased me well out of their territory and meant to bite me, not a herding nip. Speaking calmly to them was out of the question as they were snarling and barking. I was doing my normal stare and yell to try and get them to break off and they were not interested in that. It's the first time it did not work. I guess next time I'll try to the water if I can get it out before they are on me.

I did another 15 miles in the same approximate area today, but made an adjustment to stay away from their stretch of road. I got one soft chase today and a few barks from other dogs which is typical of this area, but no more dogs out for blood thankfully.

Black wallnut 

This nearly always works for me. When it does not I chase them home. Other times a squirt of water from a bottle has caused them to break off.

WebFootFreak

I carry pepper spray as well. So far no problems, but since I was attacked by a dog back in 82 (that incidentally broke a LOGGING CHAIN to get loose), I took that into account when I started walking/riding again.

Medic Zero

.

Luckily, I very rarely encounter dogs, the couple of times I've had them come at me though, a blast from my Airzoundz horn stopped them in their tracks instantly. It was remarkable how quickly they halted!

I'd definitely try shouting NO! STOP! and DOWN! if I didn't have an Airzoundz. If I lived in a place where there were lots of loose dogs I'd probably actually put my CCW to use more often and wouldn't have any qualms about putting a dog down that actually did put its teeth into me. But, if I lived in a place where I did encounter dogs, I'd probably be carrying mace and try that first.