DOGS! Glorius dogs!
 

*glorious

I have been having trouble with dogs chasing and trying to attack me whenever I am on my road bike, and due to a recent event that SCARED me very badly, I have been so afraid to ride my bike for the last month. I rode once in that time frame, but I felt paranoid that a dog might come out at me.

I am writing to ask for HELP in finding the right helmet camera. I would feel safer with it. I am NOT good with technology and am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I know a camera will not protect me against a dog, but due to the fact that I almost just got in trouble because a dog nearly attacked me while I was on the road scares me. I want a helmet camera so I will ALWAYS have evidence.

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Please- can someone help me find a camera that is less than $500, that is sturdy, waterproof, and records SOUND as well? And hopefully it is not too bulky???
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And for anyone curious, the following passage explains WHY I almost got in trouble for an aggressive dog chasing me down:




I love dogs and have three of my own- but lately I have had many close run ins with other peoples dogs. I carry a dog repellent that is commonly used by mail men (& women). I will now be upgrading to mace.

The most recent near attack was horrible. I was riding my bike down the road. An aggressive dog came at me. I did not find it comforting that the dogs owner was just as aggressive and blamed ME for the whole ordeal. The first words out to the owners mouth were " ARE THE YOU ONE WHO CALLED THE [CURSE WORD] DOG WARDEN ON ME EARLIER?!"

And so it went. He would not grab his dog, and every time I tried to bike away, his dog would chase once more. So as I walked the road in front of his house, the man kept following telling me to "get the [curse word] out of there!" He called me fat ugly, and he also called me one of the worst names a man can call a woman, but I dare not type it here.

The man had been having troubles with his dog chasing people (he admitted that when he asked if I had been the one who called the dog warden on him), and was taking it out on me. At one point I even asked him "wny are you yelling at me, I did nothing wrong, your dog is trying to attack me!"

When I got down to the next intersection I phoned the sherriff. The man apparently had a wife. She came down the road to where I stood and yelled at me herself- the officer on the phone heard me saying to her "I don't care if you say until the police come, but you need to move away from me, please go park over there." I was crying and very scared. The police never came. I had to call my dad to come pick me up- my Fuji haphazzardly sticking out of his trunk. Thank goodness it didn't fall out.

And, in Paulding ****y, Ohio--- They are not doing anything about this incident. Nothing at all.

Why? Because after the man said "Are you the one who called the.... dog warden on me earlier?" I yelled a WARNING back. I yelled "Get your dog or I'm going to spray him!"

Well according to Paulding county, I should not have hollared out a warning! Since I let the man know that I was prepared to defend myself, that meant I was guilty of disorderly conduct. The man also said I was yelling, so since I admitted to yelling out a warning for him ot control his dog- they were going to take HIS word for it (that I was yelling back).... Even though the man has something to hide and has no witnesses--- even though the man admitted to his dog being loose, to yelling at me, the fact that his wife followed me down the roade and harassed me further (and I remained civil then too) etc.....

I could choose to push for failure ot control (the dog) and disorderly conduct charges agains the men and his wife- BUT! If I did so then the prosecutor would press charges against me too.

When the officer gave me this news over the phone I asked "well what should I have done? whispered a warning? He wouldn't have heard me?" He didn't answer.

And that leads me to my next question- what if the dog BIT me, and I yelled "get your dog off of me!" Is that disorderly conduct?

Basically, the county didn't want to do anything, so they threatened me to just shut up--> even though it is KNOWN that this man is not keeping his dog in control.

I must add that I saw two young kids riding their bike with their mom on that same road earlier, by about an hour or so.

What will it take the county to do to protect people?

Such a shame.

THIS IS WHY I WANT A HELMET CAMERA that records SOUND and VIDEO- to use as evidence the next time it happens.

I really hope someone will help me.

I miss riding my bikes.

Thanks so much.

Thank GOD we have a STATE WIDE leash law here in Tennessee! The dog owner is ALWAYS responsible for what the dog does, yes even WAY out in the country!

BTW, Your yelling should be dirrected at the dog, not the owner, (you are trying to stop a threat). Laws should be there to "keep the peace". In order for that to happen they have to be used and sometimes the police just don't want to be bothered with that whole "protect and serve" thing!:mad:

I would tell you how we handle that kind of dog here, but there are too many folks that think all dogs should be cuddled.:twitchy:

All cameras record sound, getting one that does it well is more of a problem. Mainly it's a problem with recording while inside a waterproof case, where the sound is very muffled. Many cameras include a "skeleton door" - a back door with holes in it which allows better sound to be recorded.

I personally like my SVC200

Techmoan - Techmoan - SVC200 is the best £100 action camera I've found (So*far).

That's what I currently use. However I don't think there is a skeleton door for it. The assumption is if you don't need waterproof, you'll just mount the camera directly. That's a valid option.

It would be nice to get someone to ride along with you with a camera. Having both video and a witness might help.

However, it sounds like it may not matter if you have the Pope providing evidence - they're just not interested in helping you. The guy may be the cousin of the sheriff or something.

If that's the case, you may be forced to build up a large body of evidence including what the police said on each occasion (write down time/date and what is said on EVERY occasion) - then go to the press.

However, that's a lot of emotional strain. And in the end it may not matter if the paper is owned by someone who doesn't care either or is also related to the guy.

There is a leash law in my county, too.

But when it comes to, how to react to an approaching dog, or even passing a dog that is on a leash. They don't scare me at all. Because, A dog is a dog. They are not the enemy.

Do I own a dog, no. But am I wary of dogs, no. When I encounter a dog, I do my best to befriend the dog. Why do I do that. Because of the countless lessons I learned on how to react to a seemingly vicious dog.

The yelling or so-called threatening to mace his dog is a nonsense offense. In most states a loose dog is considered a wild animal, and fair game for any defense up to death if posing a threat.

However, since the police seem uninterested, you have a few choices. You can persist with the animal control people and demand that they either cite him for failure to keep his dog on the property, or even take it away. You can also get the prior incident on record, so any future incident is a repeat offense.

Or you can file a complaint with the police dept, which HAS to take it for the record, even if they choose to ignore it, or bypass them and file with the local district attorney. IME- I've found that DAs (or their office) take people who go to them directly fairly seriously, and will step in to resolve issues (sometimes through threat) when others won't. Lastly contact your representative on the city or town council, if others choose not to act.

It is critical that you get your complaint on the record for the simple reason that officials know that if a complaint of a hazard is lodged and not acted on, they (the town) can be held liable if there's a repeat offense. This financial exposure usually motivates them to make at least a Pro Forma effort at ending threats.

You can go cheaper, but these are the more common and respected high quality units that have more mounting options:

GoPro but not very low profile on a helmet, but popular for just about everything else
Contour
Sony
Shimano

Everybody is missing something here. Not only can you try criminal prosecution -- and you should keep at it -- but you can also sue. Deliver a legal notice for a suit in small claims court, suing for the statutory maximum. Every single attack can be considered a new incident and a valid reason to sue again. And if you bring some friends along, each one can sue the guy separately.

As far as personal self-defense goes, you should read up on your own state's weapon laws. Even if you're not prepared for a fight, I bet you know at least one person who will go along with you; someone who has a hand weapon and knows how to use it (or a cordite-based projectile weapon, depending on your state laws).

Thank you for the replies! It was really helpful and I have learned a lot. I considered writing a letter to the editor of the paper, but now I know to make sure it is on record and to look into the matter further.


Unfortunately I do not have biking buddies to come along with me- and yes, this did happen out in the country.

I will check out the links tomorrow- excited to find something!!!

As for being waterproof, I guess I could always bring a plastic baggy and some rubber bands in case it started raining.

Lastly, I have considered getting my permit to carry- or at the very least a strong stun *** and mace to go along from my camera.

I have had pit bulls, english mastiffs, german shepherds, and mutts come after me.

One dog IS on camera, he kept trying to circle me. I was REALLY scared. That was before I bought my "dog repellent." I thought I was going to have to use my bike as a weapon. I had to slowly inch away as the owers werent home--- so no one came to get the dog.

I love dogs and was raised around dogs. But I also know how fast they can attack, or at least wreck a bike, injuring an owner. I have stitches under my nose from a dog attack when I was about 5 years old, and two of my nieces were visciously attacked by dogs- both of them mauled- attacked for just standing there.

This is not to say I am not a dog lover, I truly am. But dogs do need to be controlled.

Again, thanks you guys!

I would never let a dog or owner scare me from riding. If I was in that situation, I would ride by and ignore the dog until it actually does attack (most never do, they just chase) and when the dog does bite, or make me crash, then it's game on! If the dog bites you and you call the police, they have no choice but to report.

Of course, nobody wants to be bitten by a dog, so be careful.

I got bit once while riding years ago. I now have a small tube of pepper spray velcroed to the tube for dogs in town and a 9mm Glock zip-tied just below the handle bars for the dogs (whatever else) outside of town. Both are better than a camera, and I used the pepper spray once in front of the dog’s owner. Worked like a charm. I had expected the cops to stop me but I never heard anything and that dog has never come after me again. But I didn't say anything outloud. It's only an issue if you make it an issue. Go about your way and just quietly do what you have to do, and keep rolling.
Fix the issue before you record it. Just my .02.

See if there is a local riding/advocacy group that can help you. They should have advice and may know the local laws. They may even have some 'cycle friendly' lawyers you can ask questions of.

Don't mess about with plastic bags etc - just get a water proof camera.

Make sure your camera is easy to use in a panic (if you are not running it the whole time).

Research mounting options for any defensive products (sprays?) so that they are easy and quick to reach. I've seen a few folks here velcro or rubber band them to drop bars etc.

Don't anger the two-legged problems. They are much more unpredictable and dangerous. Keep your cool, know the laws, speak clearly and to purpose (i.e. don't swear or threaten).

Good Luck.

I'm glad I don't have to deal with dogs and idiot owners (just idiot cab and bus drivers...)

Adding to what ItsJustMe has said, Techmoan - Techmoan is a very good place to start looking.

In amongst the usual dross, I've picked up some excellent cameras, the Mobius, SJ1000, Mini 0801 and I now can add the TCL SVC200 to that prestigious list.

I'm pretty sure your budget covers all of the above, and the SVC200 might well be the best. I own the Mobius and the SJ1000 and they are pretty great, with noticeably different features. Have a quick glance through and see if you have any personal preferences.

FWIW, the GoPro is a good camera but is bad for cycling IMO because it's very blocky and hard to mount well. I owned one, sold it. Also I had trouble with the loop recording - sometimes it would decide it didn't want to do that and just shut off every time I turned it on. Their support was very arrogant and rude, they basically told me it was my fault for buying cheap memory cards - I had bought the SanDisk Ultras that they recommend.

Contour I also owned, sold because it's almost impossible to do anything with it (change settings, clear memory, etc) without hooking it up to a computer.

The Sony I had was a good form factor but the picture quality was mediocre. I had the very first generation sport cam they made. I think they're better now.

I've played with others as well.

The SVC200 I like because it's easy to mount up against the helmet (PM me if you want a very low profile mount for it - I designed and 3D printed it myself). Also it takes standard Nokia phone batteries, so I can get both batteries and chargers off eBay for very cheap and will even if the company goes out of business.

As others have stated here, there is no need to engage the owners verbally when you are the one who is engaged in a legal activity.

Do not get mace, get pepper spray. You can buy the stuff used outdoors at a Bass Pro Shop or Cabelas. Works on bears, which are very similar in physiology to dogs as far as how they react to pepper spray.

If you know dogs are in the area, then slow down. If you peddle by them at a slower pace, the dogs tend to ignore you.

I was just on my 17.5 mile ride out in the country yesterday and a mile away from home, when I looked ahead and saw a pitbull ahead of me in the road...I applied the brakes and shifted up into a higher a gear, and peddled by at a snails' pace...never heard a peep from the dog and never looked directly at the dog either...

If you buy pepper spray, try it out first under controlled conditions. You do NOT want to spray it upwind and have it blow back in your face. Not only will it sting, anyone sensitive would have a very hard time breathing if they got a lung full of that stuff.

Little dogs,no problem,I just try not to run them over.

You want to let your big dog run loose,fine,it's a serious threat to me and I'll treat it as such.

Totally unrelated but my grandfather was born in Paulding County Ohio. Still tons of distant relations there. Hope this guy wasn't one of them. :(

I had an encounter with two dogs when I first started riding. They came at me from an angle and I ended up wiping out a little on the gravel shoulder. I was angry because it was a new bike. The owner was present and witnessed what was happening and he did nothing as his dogs continued to menace me. I was actually across the street from his house. I yelled something like, "Hey. What the hell?", and he responded "Get off my street and don't ride past here again. I know who you are". Well of course, I continued to ride past because I was right and he was so totally wrong. I got to know the dogs and their patterns. I would almost always outrun them, but I would occasionally allow them to sniff me. One day, unexpectedly, one of the dogs bit me on the calf. I waited in front of the guys house and called the police. They said they would have the dog warden confirm that the dog's were vaccinated, and they would send a deputy to my house after an investigation. So the deputy comes over. He says he sympathizes with me because he rides a bike too, but there's nothing he can do because the town has no leash law. We got into an argument when I told him that the lack of a leash law does not absolve the owner from having COMPLETE control of the dogs on public property. I asked him what he would do if he took his dogs over to the local elementary school and let his dogs run around un-restrained? The deputy just didn't want to deal with it. I informed him that I would document our encounter and i would pursue all my legal options including holding the Sheriff's department liable for failure to enforce the law resulting in injury to a citizen. The dogs were on chains the next time I went by and he eventually got an invisible fence.

Good fences make good neighbours, especially when it comes to DOGS!


I will continue to encourage riders to get law enforcement involved with loose and espically agresive dogs.:notamused:

I'm sure I'll get flak for saying this, but given your unnerving description about the owners, perhaps think about getting a *** and learning how to use it, and not just against dogs.

It may not be practical, depending on the law where the OP lives. Also, that dog owner is probably armed and will return fire without hesitating. Not that you'd be wrong to shoot an attacking dog, but it may get a lot more ugly, fast.

I have two dogs. Both are little friendly guys. They are always on a leash or in a fenced-in yard.

When walking them, every once in a while an off-leash monster comes up to us causing trouble. Usually an owner is nearby apologizing profusely. I like reminding them that we have a leash law.

I long ago quit riding our country roads due to dogs. So many of them came barreling out of their yards to chase me, I was tempted to start carrying a ***. One trick I developed that worked was looking away when a dog charged. This worked about 80% of the time. But, when it didn't, the dog either bit my leg or the heel of my shoe...that or my tire got attacked. So, now I ride bike trails. Never get harrassed by dogs there. Even stray ones pay me no mind.

Next time you have to stop just keep the bike between you and the dog. I've found that talking to the dog will usually calm it down. I start with a friendly tone (ex. hi puppy!) And if that doesn't work an authoritative NO! Usually works. Dogs are very perceptive of body language so be as tall as possible and confident. I dont carry dog spray.

When I was just a little younger I would have been tempted to come back with the puppies. The one thing that would keep me from really considering it is they would get blamed and perhaps put down once the guy and his dog were toast.

What he did is assault.

Oh wait I see you did call the police. Considering their actions I see only 2 routes to take. ride elsewhere or start calling local news stations.