Relative to bears the best first step is something like the old backpackers trick of tying bells to their pack. Most bears prefer to be left alone. It is the bear you surprise that is dangerous. You can get seriously injured simply becasue a bear retreats right over you.
I've rarely had issues with dogs, never with 'no good humans' and I made several trips along the Balogna Creek bike path that goes right behind the projects including a couple of solo cleanup missions. Never with bears, one incident with a deer, at least a 3 point buck, having such troting towards you when you both are pinned between the curb and the cars is not a fun thought. Lucky for me the buck liked the cars far less than I and found an alternate to the road well before he was dangerously close to me.