Moonie colony farm dogs. Always big, fast, black dogs that would run you down for 1/2 mile.

Interval training, aren't you lucky!

Spitz: A White puffball with teeth! My cousin had a pack of them and they rather bite you as to look at you. They made pitbulls look docile.

I personally think Chows are hideous.

Our neighbor's dog, Sam. He's a rott/lab(?) mix and is huge. He is aggressive to all men he doesn't know, less so to women. He hates, hates my husband and a neighbor down the street for no reason any of us, including our neighbor, can figure out. He gets out fairly frequently and is aggressive to other dogs/cats/people. The neighbor has been approached many times about this problem. Just yesterday I was walking down the sidewalk to our house, and Sam was positioned about 100 feet away from me, blocking the sidwalk, tail not wagging, staring me down. I stopped and told him to "Go home" several times to no avail (oh, he's not trained well either). I then slowly turned around, walked back the way I came and took an alternate route. Husband and I will call animal control next time he gets out. Just plain scary.

I did encounter fairly frequently on my route to work a certain Pug named Rosemary who HATED my bike. Even when I was just standing next to it, she'd bark and growl and try to bite it. She had a good owner though so eventually Rosemary just growled as she went by. She was too cute to dislike though.

Chihuahuas. I nearly run over them on the way home because they suddenly run into the street. UGH. Ugly little rats, they are.

The worst dog encounter I had was a with poodle mix. She was on the sidewalk and barking in a frightened way so I dismounted from the bike and tried approach her and calm her down enough so I could grab her leash and find her owner. I was about to catch her when she suddenly ran into the street. I ran after her (the street was clear on one side) but she got to the other side and got run over right before my eyes before I could catch her. Dammit, it almost made me hurl. The driver of the car didn't stop, and I was left standing on the island in the middle of the street, watching the poor dog scream but unable to get to her because of the traffic. After a while, I just gave up and turned back.

That'll get you shot in the guts in West Virginia, ISYN. I've seen those boys so angry and charged up the spray never "got through" to them. (Adrenaline overide is a dirty little secret they don't tell you about in the package insert.) WV is a good state in which to stay off the roads and on the trails.

Anyway little dogs are the worst. The worst breed is Dalmation.

I've yet to meet a dog that's a match for an air zound.

From my experience as a paper boy when I was a kid... the small ones are the worst.

I havent encountered any dogs during my commute as it is mostly commercial areas, but the country route I ride on the weekends has a doberman that makes me extremely nervous. His house is a few hundred yards from some train tracks, uphill, and out where nobody will ever hear you scream.

I am waiting for the time that I outsprint him and then have to stop at a train. I imagine I would be toast.

Suprisingly I have more trouble with goats than dogs though. I have been chased at minimum ten times by some country goats, its all in good fun though, they are quite friendly.

Oh! You had to go and mention goats. They are just kids, after all. They can definitely beat you in the climb and on the technical courses. Dale Jr is my favorite Youtube goat at present.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfUqVa-Y3go

Least favorite dog...the light, wiry, gorgeous little husky mix who came running at me at full tilt after his owner let him out of the truck. The owner wasn't quick enough with the leash. I dismounted and explained, "Hi, dog. I am a cyclist. I am not a food item. I am going to walk very slowly up this hill, and you are going to go back to your owner."

I walked up the hill, very slowly and without making eye contact. The dog ran circles around me, snapping at my tires and my feet, not listening to the owner at all. I walked all the way to the owner's truck so he could grab the dog and leash it. The owner was laughing at me for being a "scaredy cat."

Many of the dogs that chase I feel sorry for. They just want some exercise and attention which far too few dog owners bother with.

So what do you think about throwing treats at the dogs that chase you? Anyone had any luck making friends this way? I'm thinking about it with this lab...maybe daredevil is right and he is just lacking in exercise and attention. I'd rather carry biscuits than bear spray.

That was a joke.

I've often thought I should bring some treats along but never remember. I'd be interested to hear if anybody has had luck with that as well.

Least favorite: Anything under 20lbs. I like dogs, I hate to realize if I hit a little one it likely won't survive.

The big ones will probably hurt me more than them. And they're usually too lazy to jump out anyway.

Yeah, that!

I passed a Rottweiler on the way through the park today. She looked at me and gave me a big, gruff, almost bored-sounding "BAWRK." and then turned her attention back to the path.

The fluffy little toy dog that the little old lady was walking on the other side of the park tried to eat me.

I beg to differ. I live in Charleston, and most people--aside from a few jerks--are very nice to cyclists.

Dalmations were bred to run behind stagecoaches, after all. Now that we don't have stagecoaches, they have to work all that energy off somehow.

There are no bad dogs; only bad owners. I agree that little dogs aren't properly disciplined. I long to say to the owners, "Would you tolerate that behavior in a German Shepherd or a Doberman? Of course you wouldn't! And you shouldn't any more in a little dog."

(German Shepherds, Tuvereins, and Mallanois are generally nice. They may run and chase, but generally they just want to play. Same with Labs and Goldens.)

I would be interested to see if the treat idea works. My dog adores the mailman because he gives her treats sometimes. (Somehow the treats out of his pocket seem to taste better than the treats from my kitchen.) She runs to the mail slot and whimpers when she hears him.

Yapping little ankle biters are the worst. Chihuahua and variants annoy me the most.

The most interesting dog encounter was with a german shepherd. It came out of a plant nursery entrance and ran behind and next to me for a long time. It had the most intense yellow eyes. One moment its on the left and vanishes. Then, I hear its nails clicking the pavement behind me and then its on the right.

It finally became obvious that it wasn't vicious and could keep up with me, I just ignored it.

I don't run across any dogs regularly in the morning...when I get my MTB back next week and can go back on my normal route which takes me past that Lab's yard, I will take treats and see how they work.

I think the pup that ran with me one morning was either a GSD or a GSD mix. Maybe it's a breed thing?

One thing that works very often is a very loud and stern "NO!" at the dog. I don't know why I never tried this until recently, as I have been a dog owner for many years and am certainly accustomed to saying it at home. I have always just tried to get away quickly or am concentrating on not running the thing over, hoping an owner will materialize and call the dog back.

Most dogs have some sort of training, even if it is minimal, and you'd be surprised at how many of them understand and obey "NO!" It has worked for me many times. Like the Dog Whisperer would say, your energy needs to be calm and assertive.

Not practical for most people, but DH carries a very short leather whip with him (he does cowboy re-enacting) and is able to get it out and crack it easily, and believe me, anything with a brain stem recognizes and turns away from the sound of a whip crack, lol.

Perhaps. Dealing with almost any breed, the important thing to considere is, "For what job or purpose was this breed developed? German Shepherds and Border Collies were both developed for herding sheep, but on very different sorts of terrain and conditions; GSDs were also bred to guard the sheep from predators, something that was not so important for Border Collies, as wolves had been eliminated from the British Isles by the time the BC emerged.

Dude, I know. Shucks, I've turned the same idea around in my own head MANY times. That was mostly a comment about WV, which by the way contains the best folks I ever knew in addition to a few rough necks.