jakereed

What would you have done?

It’s 6:20am, twilight, 10 minutes to sunrise. I’m on the bicycle path, 2 miles into a 32 mile morning ride. It’s a beautiful morning here in Florida. The birds are singing, and there’s a slight cool breeze on my face. Then out of the corner of my right eye, from out of the woods I notice them, three large dogs running at full speed towards me! I see the lead dog is a large pit bull, the second dog looks like an Akita mix, and the third and last dog just looks big and brown, I’m more focused on the first two. I was traveling at a leisurely pace of 14 miles an hour, just warming up and enjoying the beautiful morning. My first thought of course was “OH S#!T !!!”
Then I start pedaling faster and thinking faster still, “what do I do?” I instantly recall advice I read from an experienced cyclist that wrote that he always simply stopped his bike when confronted with dogs because he says they are only interested in the chase, and stopping will confuse them and they will lose interest and leave you alone. However, he also said this always worked “except for one time”. I quickly dismissed this advice for several reasons. First there are three dogs, secondly the lead dog is a pit bull, and third his comment about it always worked except for one time. Now I can handle one dog if it doesn’t work, but three dogs would probably cause me great bodily harm. I then remembered reading that another person just yells at the dogs he’s encountered with “SIT!” So as I’m shifting gears and gaining speed I tried that. It doesn’t work, these dogs are obviously either wild or not trained. I pedal faster still, but the pit bull is so fast! He crosses the path and is gaining on my left while the Akita mix is coming up on my right, but he’s slower so I focus on the Pit to my left. I reach down and pull out my water bottle and pull up the top with my teeth and squirt him in the face, no effect he’s still coming. These two dogs are running down a rabbit, and the rabbit is me! So I do all that I could do, I pedal faster. It took nearly a quarter of a mile before the pit finally gives up and sits in the middle of the trail watching me ride off. I stop a little farther down the trail and look back to see him just sitting there watching me, my heart is racing.
I then wonder how fast I had to go to outrun these dogs and check my max speed for the trip, 26mph. I’ve never gone that fast except going down hill. I also had no idea that dogs like these could run so fast.

So, what would you have done?
Jake

Tom Stormcrowe

There's a dog on one of my regular routes that I call "The Sprint Coach". Big German Shepard. I figured out that he enjoys the chase, and is really well behaved once you stop. He stops and just looks at you like "Well, am I going to get a good run or not here?", with tail wagging.

epcolt

A can of pepper spray strapped to the bike might be a good idea. I had a dog chase me for a little while, but not at that speed. He gave up quicker than your pack did. Does give a good workout.

st0ut

Same you made a good choice with the option you had. mace would not work for 3 in a pack.

Richard_Rides

I'd pedal like a maniac, just like you did. But I'd remember this episode and bring a hammer next time.

jakereed

Yes I agree, it's the fact that they were chasing me as a pack that made me nervous about the idea of stopping. Also the fact that the first and fastest dog was a Pit Bull, but I'm also familiar with Akita's and they're also quite powerful animals.

There are also a sort of feral dogs down here that I've read about attacking people and other animals on occasion, but I think it's pretty rare. I also found it interesting for some reason that the Pit crossed over to my left while the other one stayed on my right.

jakereed

The hammer sounds like a good idea.

I'm lucky I'm in better shape now then when I first started riding, or I'd be toast.

jakereed

I also want to note that I was worried about other riders on the trail that might also encounter these dogs and that might not be fast enough. There are a lot of riders on the trail at that time of the morning now because of the Florida heat in the later part of the day, so I notified my local Police Department, but they didn't sound too concerned to me.

Spartan112

This is why I hate dogs...hate hate hate...Animals like this I'd just as soon run over with my car...sorry...I have a history with these types of animals.

idig

I've always heard that you should ride directly at a dog that is attempting to head you off. The dog is running to where you are going to be, so it confuses it. Of course on a path, you don't really have that option, and it doesn't really apply to a 3-dog scenario. It sounds like you did the right thing. Good training, but scary.

barndoor

Well.....if the cops won't help you......

I'm just sayin'....

c_m_shooter

Usually pits aren't that fast. I've yet to meet one that could top 20. There is a Doberman near the end of one of hilly loops that will chase me at 25 for a solid mile. That is my last interval for the day when I go that way.

dogbreathpnw

I once read on rec.bicycles many years ago where a fellow cyclist dealt with the problem via a .22 caliber pistol. {BLAM} no more problem. Most places have a leash law, so if the dog is in the street the most you're guilty of is illegal discharge of a firearm (if you happen to be inside the city limits).

Please, please, don't take this seriously. I think the risk from carried a firearm while riding significantly outweighs that of dealing with occasional animals. Though perhaps pepper spray might be reasonable if you have repeated encounters with a particular animal....

jakereed

I don't know how fast they are, but I was thankfully faster than him at my max of 26mph.
I must say that I was shocked at the speed of this one though.

misterE0

invest in a heavy steel frame pump, lol. Seriously, I think you did all you could. I love dogs, but really hate to meet Fido under those circumstances. The pit could be the sweetest dog on the planet, but I always imagine chasing dogs see me as something like this:



I used to ride this seldom used trail with my headphones in. At that point, I'd never encountered a single other cyclist on that particular trail. I was clipping along and in the zone, when I had the eerie feeling I was not alone. I turned back to see a large mutt on my rear wheel, easily keeping pace. He was probably a sweetheart, but I decided to hammer down and not find out first hand! I've since stopped riding with headphones .

Tom Stormcrowe

I snatched that picture so fast, the internet is STILL smoking from it.....

AndrewCO

Woah, nice sprint!

A buddy of mine always ran into a group of 2 dogs (Lab-pit mixes) on his trail. Same thing happened to him, chase for 2 miles before they stopped. He said that they chased him 3 days, on the 4th they didn't (he decided to start carrying a CO2-powered Pellet pistol).

Glad you didn't get turned into hamburger..

neilG

A water bottle filled with ammonia does the trick. Just don't drink from it by accident.

v1k1ng1001

chirojeremy

There have been 2 times now that I have been attempted to be chased by dogs on my way to school. 3 of them, looking like a pit mix. The first time they bolted towards us and right as they left the driveway, a semi blew by and they stopped dead in their tracks. The second time we had pulled over for my buddy to get some water and I just started yelling at them NO! GO AWAY! Etc. I Acted like I was moving towards them and they stopped. When I turned around, they started coming closer, but I just yelled again. I made eye contact with the leader and the stopped. I dont know about your group, but mine was a group of 3. I was already stopped, but I doubt I could out run these guys....

kellyjdrummer

Forget the police. Talk to the animal containment authorities.

AlamoCoach

It's not the dog's fault. They are doing what Mother Nature tells them to do. I raise hunting Labrador Retrievers and we can't breed enough prey-drive or desire to chase into them. So don't blame the dogs. Now their owners are another matter. I hate bad dog owners.....hate, hate, hate them. Owners like this I'd just as soon run over with my car...sorry...I have a history with these types of owners.

kellyjdrummer

I'm with AlamoCoach.

I have 4 dogs, they DO NOT leave my yard. The owners have full responsibility by law of their dogs.

mojomuskrat

I agree that the owners are the problem, not the dogs. There's a thread in commuting right now where folks are arguing about the best ways to deal with dogs.

Research has shown that "chase-proneness seems to be influenced by the dog's interest in playing with objects" and not aggressiveness.
The bottom line is that unless you're encased in steel, you're going to encounter dogs whether you're cycling or not, a minority of which will pose an actual threat (ask your mailman or the guy you see out running all the time). Since you are moving fast, you are going to attract more dogs chasing you than a slow moving person would, but that doesn't mean these dogs want to attack you, in fact research indicates the opposite. Some dogs are aggressive and will bite you, but you're only going to encourage them if you keep running. You are more likely to get chased, but you're no more likely to get bitten than anyone else who is walking/running by (those dogs are a serious problem for everyone, not just you).

tpelle

I have a Concealed Deadly Weapon license. I ride with a 9mm Makarov pistol in my handlebar bag. 'Nuff said.