bhchdh 

do they want to eat us, herd us ,or join our pack ?

kenny!

Ride your leg.

DrPete 

Totally depends on the dog and the cyclist.

urbanknight

Depends on the breed and/or its upbringing. Some want to herd you, some want to race, some want to wrestle, some just like anything with excitement, and the mistreated ones want to chew your leg off.

banerjek

True, but almost all dogs like things that stink. You may have noticed that despite having an outstanding sense of smell, dogs like to investigate piles left behind by other dogs by a distance of about 2mm. Same dynamic applies when a sweaty cyclist comes by.....

EventServices

A well-oiled chain gets chased less.

BladeGeek

When a dog is on a public road he becomes a target.

waterrockets 

I always thought they were looking for kickball practice.

I've floored a german shepherd with a look cleat to the forehead. Not sure if he ever got up.

Stupid dog.

I have to reach down pretty far to get the smaller breeds, but I usually snag them pretty good too.

/I keed, I keed (not the German Shepherd though -- that happened)

Al1943

I ride with a small pepper spray squirter clipped to my jersey just below my neck. Works on dogs owners too.

Keith99

Mine (who rarely get out) might want you to join their pack, but what they would want, no make that demand, is to be petted. Of course on a bike that can still be a problem when they jump at your hand!

GaryA

I have no idea what they want, but since I ride out in the country Im going to have to find something to persuade them Im not it.

jackrobot

I was riding along this country road looking at the scenery and cruising at a very comfortable 10 mph when I passed a junk yard...and for some reason this fact didnt register until I heard the quickly approaching footsteps of this dog who was just so angry that I entered his world. I accelerated to 25 mph in about 5 seconds but he actually started gaining on me. For a second I thought he was really going to take a nice chunk out of my leg, heh. I dont know, I'm considering some mild pepper spray too.

TXCiclista

A little gatorade to the face usually works. If that doesn't, I've clipped out more than once and scored a nice little love tap to the snout

John Wilke

My record is having the dog run a full mile next to us, plenty happy to be out getting some exercise, and having no problem keeping up. Every hundred yards or so he'd look back to see where he was.



jw

waterrockets 

The only better persuasion than a Look cleat... would be a Time cleat...

simplify

This is the sort of thing that SO many dog owners say. "Oh, he just wants to be petted! He wasn't trying to hurt you!!" Bullsh*t! How can you read the mind of your dog? You can't! They are a predator, not prey animal. They've been programmed by eons of evolution to be aggressive, and no matter how tame and sweet you think your dog is, that programming is still in there somewhere. You never know what will set it off. Dogs should NEVER run loose on or around a public road. NEVER. If they do, they deserve what they get. And so do the owners. Pepper spray or a swift kick with a hard cleat, or worse.

pathdoc

About a month ago I had a near serious run in with a mid sized dog (I'd guess about 40lbs). He hid in a ditch and lunged at me just as I passed. He was no more the 3-4 feet away when I first saw him. He tried to bite my right leg. I leaned hard left and shouted the loudest "Oh ****" I've ever yelled. The whole thing happened in less than 1.5 seconds. I never had time to think about grabbing a water bottle or doing anything else.

Keith99

If you had bothered to actually read my whole post you would have seen mine rarely get out. Any owner who says never is most likely a liar.

Perhaps any dog who is out deserves what it gets, but any cyclist whose first action is agression also deserves what he gets. I came across 3 very large dogs out on a ride a few years ago. If I had gone your route the odds are I would have been seriously hurt, at least if they were at all like mine. Hurt one and the other will not take it well. No way I could have kicked or pepper sprayed all 3 on the first try. But I kept my eyes, ears and mind open and before they got to me I noticed two things, no barking or growling and tails wagging. Suddenly my only real worry was getting jumped on. In the end my only real problem was getting them to go back home. (Very much unlike one other dog only a mile away on that route would jump out from hiding to attack).

AJC

my dog just wants to lick my face and drink my coffee

thats him up there......ain't he cute?

pathdoc

<------ My dog is huge and goofy. She's a standard poodle named Ginger. She's got a wild crazy side and she might bite a cyclist. Needless to say we keep a close eye on her.

slowandsteady

Just got chased again last night on a very dark ride. I had a lousy LED headlight and could only see the dark outline of a medium sized shepard headed towards me. It was around 9:30pm. I have been chased by this dog several times in the past.

As he accelerated towards me I made a split second decision that I couldn't see him very well to use pepper spray as he might be upon me before I could make a move. I decided to sprint like a maniac until my legs died and not look back. Fortunately he never caught me. I hate freakin dog intervals in the middle of a tempo ride.

MKahrl

I used to ride past a Spanish Army Base and on the other side of a tall brick wall was a dog that would chase us as we rode past on bicycles. As we passed the iron gates along the way we could see it was a huge German Shepherd. One afternoon as we approached the base we mingled with a lot of army vehicles moving around on the road. All of the sudden there was the dog in the middle of the road. He barked and ran along side us and when he got to the first open gate he ducked inside and continued to chase and bark at us only on the other side of the wall. I guess there's only one way to do that job properly.

simplify

I DID actually read your whole post, and I stand by what I said.

Chucklehead

my dog would never hurt anyone. except people like you who turn and run like a p***y at the very sight of a harmless dog. because if you're running away you must have done something wrong anyway

joking, joking... leash your damned dogs.

slim_77

...mine wouldn't even blink (see avatar).
Nevertheless, the pooch-punters have the right idea--never can tell, they can't talk and I don't speak dog.