Man, hearing about anybody's misfortunes on a tour always bums me out, but hearing that it involved ugly dogs is even worse..

I'm a dog lover. I don't know why, but I've never met a dog I didn't understand instantly, and the feeling has been almost totally mutual. I've been lucky apparently, but the only dog that didn't take to me was this grumpy poodle (appropriately named Caesar) that my best friend Mike had when we were kids. Mike was the only kid I ever knew who didn't cry when his dog died.

If any dog ever starts chasing me on the road, I dismount, and--far from pulling out my Zefal or some pepper spray--make myself as friendly and truly affable as I can be, let him get my scent, talk calmly and encouragingly, and the crisis turns into a lark: instant understanding. One way in which animals are infinitely more intuitive than humans (for all of our posturing as the supreme Earth species), is their understanding of intent and body language. Mutts are simple, generally friendly despite their bark, and overfeared in the cycling world. Or maybe I just have some weird PT Barnum/Kenobi trick that even I don't understand. I'm like Spock with the Horta or something.[/mindmeld]

BTW, jamawani's advice to yell at them is 100% correct too. Dogs will respond to threats from authority most easily, if the authority is solid. I have actually done this a few times, when I didn't feel much like stopping. A very stern "NO" will solve most dogs.