caloso

A squirt of water right in the nose and a loud, deep "No!!!! " Dogs hate water in the face.

jatkins679

I dunno, bud, I'm not doin' that. If a dog is aggressive enough to be have made me stop and is menacing me, he's gonna get a piece of my pump if he's going to get anything. If he's that close and barking, whatever I do had better have as much stopping power as I can muster, not just something with deterent value and a 'hopefully-this-will-work' prayer.

caloso

In my experience, this always has worked. I've never had to stop for a dog. I guess that'd be a much different scenario than the one I'm thinking of: keep riding, if he gets close enough to threaten you, squirt him in the nose, and light the afterburners.

I guess if I was forced to stop, I'd probably take out my pump or U-lock too, but that seems like a worst-case scenario for both rider and dog.

NZLcyclist

We had a golden retreiver chase us on a group ride one night, i think it just wanted to run along but it was still a danger because it was in the middle of the bunch.....thankfully it was on a flat bit of straight empty country road, so the guy being chased sprinted, the rest of us got on one side of the dog and let loose with our bottles.... it was a danger to us.

We've also had a dog run out and bite my mates rear wheel at about 30km/h.....it ran off faster than it ran up to us...musta hurt him...neva seen him since.

Brendon

dazco

Man, we must have the world's nastiest dogs around here, cuz if you tried 1/2 the stuff you guys are suggesting you'd be dog food ! I know......i'ts happened to me more than a few times.

SteveE

My method varies depending on conditions:

- If I'm riding alone, I'll get the frame pump ready and keep a close watch on the dog.

- If I'm riding in a group, I'll sprint like hell and let the guy in the back figure out how to handle it!

SteveE

jatkins679

If it's large enough a dog chasing me, I just stop. I'd rather take my chances with the dog up-close-and-personal than crash because he runs into me... and then possibly have to deal with the dog at close quarters again anyway.

hillyman

I've had pretty good luck with a Dog Dazer that I bought from a outdoors catalog. It doesn't work with all dogs,but most. This model with a 9 volt has a pretty good range too. I use to have a job where I had to go to peoples houses and many had loose mean dogs. After a few trips with the Dazer,they headed for their dog houses as soon as I pulled up in the truck. I didn't even have to use the Dazer anymore

trmcgeehan

Very few dogs I've encountered are good for more than 50 yards, before they poop out. If a dog gets too close, I raise my hand and pretend to throw something at the dog. A firm NO! is also helpful. I used to ride past a farm house that was within 25 feet of the road. There was always a fat little terrior sleeping at the front door. I would try to be as quiet as possible, but as soon as I got even with him, he would jump up and with his short legs spinning in mid-air, he could go from 0 to 15 mph in a split secord. But he was only good for about 10 yards. Haven't seen him lately. I think he died of a heart attack.

Chris L

With friends like you, eh?

SteveE

Well, sometimes it's just me and the dog!

Sailguy

I like the big rotweiler mix on McClellan rd, up the hill between you, SteveE and foothill blvd. I always ride by it and call it "Daisy" hoping it will start chase. (Thank god for the fence its locked behind.) It has only ran along side me once.

But SteveE, I'll be sure to only ride with you on the club rides

psycholist

another helpful thing to remember is that many dogs just want you out of their territory. The sooner you do this the better the chances of them dropping off your butt are. After that, if they persist I say they are calling down the thunder.

95 % of the dogs I ever had initial trouble with now start whining and crying and can't wait to be petted, but this is something that took lots of time and cycling stops to acheive. Not everyone is that patient or is interested in stopping a good spin to pet someone else's dog, and not every dog can be "won over" to become your friend.
I got caught short of daylight once and had to take a shortcut through town to get back home. The nastiest , mangy-est , scarred-up looking chow I have ever seen came out from around an old mobile home and totally got me by surprise. I didn't hear a collar jingle or the claws on the road or anything. I tried to outrun him and couldn't, I yelled at him and it did not work. I managed to boot him hard in the nose as he went for my calf and he backed off just a bit before coming back in and grabbing my foot. There are still grooves in the leather from his fangs. He followed me for about a block and at that point I should have dismounted and gotten the bike between us but he finally quit chasing me. I rode about a mile and then stopped to calm my nerves and do a once-over for blood. I had no idea whose dog it was or I would definitely have called animal control. In the end I found out about a week later that someone must have either seen what happened or had something similar happen because I found this same dog lying dead in a ditch outside town...he had been shot in the head, and NO, I had no part in it.
On the other hand, no love lost either.
some dogs are all bluff, some are all business...you gotta figure each one out.

Any

Im scared of dogs after getting bitten a few times when i was younger.
Any dog that comes near me when(cycling or not) that looks like it wants to do me harm and i cant outrun will get a hard hit to the head with anything i can find. Rocks, sticks, chain, a boot, a bike or try and get a car to hit it. And if it gets up i will hit it twice as hard. Im terrified of vicious dogs loose on the street and they are one of the very few things that get me angry.
I dont care how much i hurt the animal, its him or me.

Luckily ive never had to actually hurt a dog, the owners are always about somewhere, but ive come close.

I wouldnt normally hurt any animals, im really laid back, but as i say im terrified of dogs.

Any

Bentimes2

All the replies have been fairly helpful in deciding what options I may take against these dogs. The other day when I was returning home from my ride both dogs gave more chase than when I had passed by earlier. Really what surprised me was the little pudgy Jack Russell keeping up with me as I attempted to sprint by. When I passed by the home where these dogs reside on my way out to ride I was moving along at a walking pace, making no noise and they made a b-line right for me. They really didn't give much chase then but I was not trying to get away at that point. I yelled at them on a previous ride and it seemed like it may have helped but really what I want is for them to leave me alone without having to say or do something. I was thinking seriously about carrying a low powered bb gun, something that wouldn't cause injury just some serious pain but I wouldn't want the local fuzz to get me nor the dogs owner. I'll just have to try a few things and whatever gets the best result will be the one I go with. Thanks guys.

trmcgeehan

The worst kind are the "stealth" dogs, who are totally quiet until their fangs plunge into your leg. This is where a good rear view mirror comes in handy. Also a 50 caliber machine gun, mounted on the rear rack.

psycholist

I have had the urge to make a holster for my paintball pistol and have it loaded and ready when I go past Hank's house (yes I know his name and I know he knows I know) I realize a shot at the close ranges he likes so well would be too dangerous, but I think his owners might get the picture when he comes back to the house with a neon fuschia splatter mark on his butt.

1oldRoadie

I will first aplogise to all for the following flame!!!

But, come on girls and boys....are you that much of a bunch of baby wussy's to be so scared of man's best friend**********???

BB guns, paint ball guns, sticks, rocks, pepper gas, electrical shock devices...why don't you run over the poor dumb animal with a truck and get it over with.

WHY ARE YOU SO SCARED OF A DOG!!

Maybe you should stay in the yard where your mother can watch after you, so the "mean ol' digs" won't eat you.

One out of a thousand chances you out weight the dog by at least 5 to1, and your scared of him.]

[SIZE=4]WUSS...WUSS...WUSS[/SIZE

hillyman

If you are talking about my post on the Dazer it is not a shock device. It puts out a high pitched sound (can't be heard by humans) that most dogs with aggressive behaviors can't stand to be around. You point it at a nice dog and they just cock their heads towards the ground. Stops dogs from barking too. Doesn't hurt them a bit. The sell them as repelling and training aids for dogs. I love dogs but I can't explain that to the dog thats trying to tear my leg off.

jatkins679

plonk....

psycholist

What scares me more than any moody pooch is the possibility that someone might swerve to miss a dog coming after me and hit me instead.
I guess then I'd die and come back as a bike wraith ... riding endlessly around Hank's owner's yard until the barking and snarling got to be too much and they got rid of him. But knowing how these people are they would probably just trade him in on a freaked-out pitbull...or worse...like a DACHSHUND!!!!!

Inkwolf

Do keep in mind, though, that even the smallest dogs have serious fangs, designed to catch fleeing prey, and an instinct to chase and grab whatever runs away. Having your ankle ripped open doesn't sound like much fun....you probably outweigh a hornet by a few hundred THOUSAND times, but I bet you don't like being stung.

I think I once read that a German Shepherd can exert something like 1200 pounds per square inch of pressure with its jaws. Big dogs can crack decent-sized bones with one chomp, and I don't blame people too badly for being afraid a pooch has set its sights on theirs. And dogs killing people isn't unheard of, either.

I'm lucky, I've known enough dogs to be nearly fearless and understand which ones are dangerous, and what to do in most situations. Some people don't have that advantage.

SamDaBikinMan

If you see a pooch.....

Merckxrider

Man, so many considerate people on this forum for all of the poor, defenseless doggies out there. I was savagely attacked in Central Park by a pitbull, as the a__hole owner just stood there and watched. The f__king thing was not on a leash as required by New York City law. From that day, I now carry pepper spray, a ten inch metal pipe and a 4 inch buck knife. I'd carry a gun too, but, my record's not clean enough, as my identity was once stolen and I now have a permanent criminal record attached to my name. Hence, no gun-carrying permit capability. In any case, another (unleashed) dog tried to attack me a few months ago (also in Central Park), but, my knife was at the ready immediately. His mouth hung wide open as he snarled, but, would not try to get past the knife blade. I guess dogs aren't so stupid afterall. The owner eventually caught up to him and beat the crap out of him. Actually, the owner should have hit himself for not using a leash. I won't leave my apt. without my dog-defense weapons after these experiences.

Steve

Any

Same as people can be scared of snakes, spiders, heights etc. Is there nothing at all that you are even a little scared of?