DGozinya

Out of the park! Ding-ding! Winner!

CB HI

Please, please doggy, do not chase me. Let us know how well that works for you with a pitbull trained for fighting.

The "ding-ding" in your post seems to be the only portion that is accurate.

GillyTheKid

Haha. For real. That's scary.

Originally Posted by DGozinya
Out of the park! Ding-ding! Winner!

Heaven forbid I ride on the right side of the 'public' road listening to music. I should have seen those dogs running right out of their yard from the LEFT (opposite) side of the 'public' road and I should have... what?

duckbill

After reading this I had the urge to roll down my socks and inspect the scars on my ankle. I strongly disagree with stopping. Even a wagging tail is no guarantee that the beast won't bite you. Keep moving and try and put space between you and the teeth.

richardmasoner

Most dogs just want to play, but I did get bit once by an overly territorial and aggressive dog. He got a mouthful of bike pedal and I chucked my water bottle to get him away as the owner stood on the porch and watched. Animal control said they'd send somebody by in this rural area, but the dog was still there the next time I rode by. A faceful of pepper spray worked after that -- the dog barked but wouldn't get closer than about 20 yards from me.

Beware, though, shooting pepper spray from a moving bike while chased by a dog is harder than it looks.

sikabk

Ear phones are great, they block out all those nasty sounds, like cars! Do what makes you happy!

Pete In Az

Like I said...

You folks do like to argue...

Pete In Az

You can do whatever your little old heart desires, but "..with the headphones on, getting into my Zen.. " leads me to believe you were tuning out the world. A good idea in a garden. A bad idea in a bicycle.

imi

Dogs are descendants of grey wolves, one of man's ancient natural enemies. They hunt, bite, kill and spread deadly diseases to humans.

I treat them as enemies, avoid them as much as possible and am prepared to defend myself if attacked.

Did I mention that I don't like dogs?

DCB0

Fixed. You're welcome.

“God created man, but seeing how weak he was, gave him the dog.” - Alphonse Toussenel

DGozinya

What's that? You didn't hear the clinking of dog collars and the scratching of toenails of the dogs as they scramble to chase you BEFORE they start to bark? Well, I'm so sorry. Maybe you can play your music and get in your "Zen" when they give you the tetanus shots in your belly.

There are many reasons why states have outlawed riding with headphones...one of which MIGHT be safety for you.

imi

Yeah, two sides of the coin

GillyTheKid

You people need to come off your dog defending thrones. You really think no headphones would have changed the scenario? You're quite wrong if you do. Dogs chase things. Even vehicles. Will you blame the owner of the vehicles for having stereos in their vehicles too now?

Headphones or not. Those dogs were coming at me. As they will others.

But I have enough REAL tips from everyone else's posts. I'll be carrying pepper spray from now on. And I will call the county to politely ask them to enforce SAFETY while having the owners of the dogs be RESPONSIBLE citizens and keep them in their own yards and off the PUBLIC roads. Thank you.

GillyTheKid

Yeah, the zen comment was meant more for the 12 miles into it part. Feeling good about going that long. I, personally don't think being without headphones would have changed anything. I was riding on the road... the dogs were coming for me. I'm pretty aware of my surroundings when I'm riding even with the headphones on, but this event did teach me to be better prepared for random dogs running in the roads. Maybe if I heard them barking earlier, you're suggesting I could have pedaled faster to avoid the conflict- to which, I agree.

Thanks for your comments.

Pete In Az

I misinterpreted your original comment then, I apologize. And, I wasn't suggesting you do anything specific, I was just opining that you might have a bit more time to come up with something if you had heard the "little darlings" earlier, instead of "Surprise... We're Here!"
You had some excitement, but avoided disaster. That's a good thing.

gcottay

I have used the stop short technique on hundreds of dogs and have been bitten exactly zero times. By keeping moving you are presenting yourself as prey and/or play toy. You are also severely limiting your ability to defend yourself as necessary and setting yourself up for a fall should a dog get in the way of your front wheel.

The key, I think, is stopping SHORT. A gradual stop does not seem to provide enough of a shock and awe.

Best wishes for great rides.

cyclocello

Well, dogs see you as prey when you are 'fleeing', as in riding your bike. Stopping short, which displays to the dog you're standing your ground and not afraid, can work but you have two options, depending on your experience with dogs and how you assess their aggression:

1) intimidate the dog with shouting, and use a weapon as last resort.
2) be friendly to the dog, which works rarely.

A dog chasing you is simultaneously engaging its prey drive and defending its territory. You, with an unusual device, are encroaching on its territory, and never forget that, the dog initially sees you as a threat. So really you have to show the dog that you mean no harm, or are too tough to challenge, or too fast to catch.

Some dogs may seem like they're playing, but there's a fine line between hostility and play in cases like this, because once again you're trespassing, in the eyes of the dog.

sikabk

Here's a thought maybe they didn't like your choice of music! Dogs can be pretty particular.

009jim

My advice would be to let the dog bite you, then tell the owner you are going to call the sheriff. Where I live, a dog who bite someone has to be destroyed. Owner who values dog may offer a cash settlement.

Sixty Fiver

I bet the OP was listening to Justin Bieber and the dogs just did what they had to do to make that awful noise go away... their hearing is better than ours.



Have spent many wonderful hours riding in the countryside and dogs are always a concern but have never had an unpleasant encounter.

If a dog gives chase you stop, shout "NO", and tell him / her to "GET HOME" which is something just about every farm dog understands.

Have a big Pyrenees who ******* me past his quarter every time I pass and he is a monster but he never gets on the road and runs along the ditch with 3 legs and if he wanted to catch me and eat me he probably still could.

First time we met he scared the crap out of me so I slammed on the brakes and told him NO and to GET HOME... he just sat down and this was when I realized he only had three legs. He is not aggressive but will not approach me either and just has to make sure I keep riding and stay out of his territory who's border must be the road.

Would never be so foolish as to cross into his territory as Pyrenees dogs are bred to kill wolves and coyotes, can be very protective of their space, and often weigh more than I do. And they are also very intelligent and tend to be very well trained to do what they do.

I have also been known to stop, turn around, and chase the dog which really messes with them.

It all depends on the dog and how well you can read them... the 95 pound monster at my feet is intimidating by virtue of his size and would like to run beside cyclists because he does that with us. But he will not cross the street without permission and stops when he is told to (always)... many a cyclist has stopped to make friends with Rusty who is a border collie / Australian Shepard so his instinct to herd things that move is very strong but he is also an obedience champion who also does not have a mean bone in his body.

sudo bike

+1'ing the pepper spray. Cheap, works wonders (from experience). I would advise you actually try to do it once, though. As was noted, it can be more difficult grabbing and using the pepper spray while cycling than you would think. Buy a cheap-o kind and work out where to put it (I velcro mine to the handlebar stem). If you actually fire it to test it (which I highly recommend - distance/dispersement varies a lot), of course make sure you are in a secluded area where nobody will get hurt.

GillyTheKid

Lol. I'll change the tune next time.

I'm a dog lover. Allergic as all get out to them but I can never resist lovin on them animals. Wish I could have one in our home.

Thanks to all for your great tips. Handling this part of my ride is new to me but I now feel a lot more prepared should this happen again. I'll be taking the same path tomorrow.