Originally Posted by cyccommute

A far better way of dealing with the vast majority of dogs is to stop and yell, in a lowered but loud voice, "No!" If they keep coming (99% will stop when you do), use the bike to smack them in the nose...a very sensitive organ in a dog. If that doesn't work, a well placed hard kick to the side (they have bones that can break) will take care of the rest. There might be 3 dogs in the US that don't respond to any of this but your likelihood of running across them is next to zero

I've found, in the vast number of cases, that when I stop, the dogs will run up for a pet. Most of them are just good dogs that like to run...and we provide a slower opportunity then cars.

The rational behind this is that dogs like to chase things. It's part of their predatory background but if you stop running, the chase becomes a battle which they want to avoid. Dogs are also cowards by selection and breeding. We humans don't tolerate a dog that shows enough aggression to attack us. If they do, we destroy them. The true killer instinct...the kind that you'd find in wolves...thus doesn't survive to be passed on to other generations.

I've run across one dog in 30 years of touring urban and rural areas that didn't respond to the "No!" command. The front wheel across his nose sent him packing!