I don't live in a rural area. I was riding along the path next to a local park and two unleashed dogs started chasing me on my trike, one growling. The owners were sitting right there!!!! Fortunately I have a throttle as well as pedal assist on my motor so I was able to blast ahead and the dogs let up. But the stupid entitled owners (and I am a hard core dog lover) acted like it was my fault and were so surprised when I yelled at them to leash their dogs. So I was reading this interested in terms of whether I should carry something to deter dogs. But I"m not sure it wouldn't blow back in my face or just miss them entirely. I've never felt so vulnerable, having recently switched from a DF to a trike, and never had an issue with my 2 wheelers. I do think the trike gets more attention from dogs in general, maybe motion more at their level?