Originally Posted by
spectastic
don't stare down dogs. it pisses them off.
Originally Posted by
akcapbikeforums
NO EYE CONTACT, NO TALK
Eye contact is a big no-no... you are directly confronting the animal and you are excalating the terms.
Ignore the dog, be calm, raise your shoulders and your stance as you proceed, increase your silent, physcial assertiveness while on your bicycle and imagine yourself as the dog's superior, in complete control.
Do not feed the excitement.
Where do people get this stuff
You don't stare down a gorilla or a bear but stare all you want at dogs. Glare at them. Stand up great big and act like you are the big cheese in the pack. Dogs have a very long history of being submissive to some human and all you have to do is convince them that they should be submissive to you. The only way to make them submissive is to convince them that you are worthy of being submissive to. If you avoid eye contact, back down, avoid confrontation, etc.,
you become the submissive.
Stop your bike, stand your ground, be a threat, make the dog think you are the head of his pack or, at least, not something that is worth messing with. Dogs are cowards and will act as such when you remove the chase urge. About 50% of all dog encounters can be solved by yelling a very loud "NO!" at them while riding. About 99% of all dog encounters will end when you stop and yell "NO!" at them. For the 1% that don't stop, most of them are going to be taken care of by a swift smack in the nose with a bike wheel. They don't like getting that sensitive bit hit.