anon06

Unfortunately--and dog trainers have confirmed this--it's not always possible to predict whether a dog will bite or not, especially if someone doesn't own the dog and, therefore, doesn't know how to was raised or whether or not it's owner allowed it to continue to do bad, behavioral habits toward humans (i.e. playing a game with their dog, allowing them to play-bite them, their hands, fingers, etc.) There are several reasons a dog might bite: rabies, aggression, feeling physically unwell, play biting, fear, confusion, etc.

Even dog owners who've said that their dog never showed any aggression, have suddenly been bitten without warning, while attempting to pet them, give them food, play around with them, etc.

I've been barked at and chased by dozens of dogs, for years, since I was a kid, mostly while walking (not jogging or running), in suburbs and rural areas. You're lucky; where I live, dogs never wag their tails when coming up to others: they're always barking, thinking they have to protect their owner from other humans.

But, ironically, I was bitten last year, by a loose German Shepherd who wasn't even barking or growling at me, just quietly staring at me, while moving in front of my way, on the road; then, after I just stood there, it decided to come up to me and quickly bite my wrist (perhaps, considered to be a "nip," but it still hurt a lot and numbed my arm for a few weeks, apparently affecting the nerves in my arm, hand (which, I learned, online, can sometimes cause permanent nerve damage). So, while the dog's owner apparently didn't think his dog actually bit me, I was worried that I wouldn't have a functioning arm and hand, anymore. The dog owner claimed that he's always let his dog loose, to let it play with a neighbors' kids; that his dog wouldn't bite anyone, etc.

I usually just shout harshly at dogs, attempting to be an "alpha," and trying to get them to stop barking and coming up to me; it kind of seems to be working. But, quieter dogs are a bit trickier, because they don't let on how they're feeling, easily.

I kind of worry about trying to use physical things against dogs, fearing that that might only anger or scare them further or provoke them into feeling justified in biting me (because it's possible that they might view it as me attempting to attack them, when I'd only be trying to defend myself and getting them to stay away from me), as, I think I've heard of others saying that attempting to throw things like rocks, sticks, and using pepper spray caused a dog(s) to bite them.

I've tried throwing small sticks, a couple of times, but I don't think it really worked that much.

The other thing that comes from shouting is that, sometimes, it might cause the dog's owner to come out or look at what their dog is doing, and perhaps, cause them to not allow their dog to be loose, anymore, or try to help train their dog to not chase people who are passing by; one dog that used to come up to me and another cyclist, barking, suddenly, only stays barking by their owner's house, now, a few times after the dog's owner had witnessed me shouting at their dog when it'd come up in the street, barking.