Me, too. That seems like an awesome idea--unless the dogs get used to the treats and chase you wanting food.

"Peddle quicker," said the stoker to the captain, "I hear banjo music."

HEY!!! That's my line about the place! (Aside: I married into the state in 1972 and in that time I have heard neither a banjo nor a jew's harp in WV. Drank a little white whisky out of a Mason jar, though.)

My least favorite dog owners are those who own Border Collies.

Border Collies are extremely intelligent herding dogs. They are bred to herd ... and so when a cyclist comes by, they will try to herd the cyclist. But being intelligent, Border Collies are also trainable ..... and that's where their owners fall short. Instead of training their dogs, they just let them run out into the road, where they almost get killed (and some probably do get killed). I just can't imagine being that careless.

Now that's what pepper spray is for!!

I've been extremely tempted to ride up to the farmhouse where the dog in question came from, ring the bell, spray the person who answers, and then ride off.

That made me laugh out loud.

Despite the fact that the dog owners finally got a dedicated dog park last year, there's still an impressive number of them that just take their mutts off-leash in a corner of the park nearest my house.

The corner of the park where the trails I like to ride are.

Awesome.

--saint

+1 on the air zound.

Had a dog the other day... owner yells 'Watch out! She's going to try to bite your tires!' me: 'Not MY tires!' ... The dog sees me and darts towards me, I fire off the air zounds....

The dog very nearly somersaulted trying to do an about face mid leap.

Works for cars, too!


As far as taking treats along... I'd NEVER, EVER do that. Do you really want to train the dogs that when they run out and chase a cyclist they'll get rewarded???

Good point on the treats idea.

I bought an Air Zound really cheap but don't want to bother with it. I got enough crap to carry on the commute already. I bet it works great though.

There are no bad dogs; only irresponsible owners who won't bother to discipline and control them properly.

Oh, I don't know...there's a dog on my old commuting route that's just a nasty-tempered P.O.S. Obviously the owners don't care to keep it in check, but the thing used to come after me with NO provocation, even after a hard shoe heel to the mouth.

That dog was that was because he hadn't been properly trained. He was either neglected or abused as a puppy and not properly socialized.

Pit bulls. No doubt. I've been chased by lots of different breeds---and the pit bull is the most aggressive and tenacious of them all. I hate those damn dogs. They chase for longer than others, and they're CRAZY.

Some people deliberately breed to produce human-aggressive dogs, whatever breed it is. Responsibility still lies with the breeder/owner. There is no "bad" breed.

I hate to feed into the negativity toward Pit Bulls, but I was chased by one a few days ago. It gave up quickly and honestly I think it was chasing me to play, but I didn't want to find out. Looked like a pup.

Any dog can be trained and bred to be malicious. Pit Bulls get a bad reputation. They can be just as fun loving and sweet as a Paris Hilton lap dog. It all lies with the owner.

As starla said, there is no bad breed.

Definitely. I rarely have trouble from large dogs. Usually if a large breed is chasing me, it's obvious the dog is just having fun and I don't have to worry about accidentally killing the thing. But it seems like nearly every small dog wants me dead, and doesn't understand how a larger moving object works. Plus I hate their shrill, piercing barks. To be brutally honest, I've never figured out why anyone would want a small dog like that. Many people I know have owned or currently own small dogs, and I have yet to see one that doesn't bark as loudly as possible at EVERYTHING. I couldn't stand to have an animal in my house that was that loud all the time. I'm sure there are some that don't do this, but so far I haven't come across one yet.

My least favorite kinds of dog? The kind with teeth and are willing to use them. I have two dogs that just love children, but they will get territorial to defend anything they feel strongly about.
Ernest

Small, yappy, noisy, looks-like-a-dog-only-smaller type dogs.

Treats are a bad idea unless you're going to get off the bike, wait for the dog to calm down, and then socialize. Rewarding bad behavior just leads to more trouble.

Plus, a dog in attack mode wouldn't even notice if you tossed steak at it. True attacks are rare -- most dogs are just chasing or having fun even if they do make a show of it. When it does happen, though, you'll need a better defense.

The problem is that with breeds like pit bulls, rottweillers, etc... when they go bad they go REALLY bad... those jaws can do a HUGE amount of damage...

I used to have a rottie... sweetest, gentlest dog you've ever seen... but I'd have never wanted to see what he'd do to someone that came after me or my wife.

There is nothing different about Pit Bull jaws as opposed to any other breed with a similar sized mouth. Dogs rarely "go bad" but it does happen. For example, there are some lines of Cocker Spaniels that have a genetic predisposition for a rage disorder. This, of course, is something responsible breeders breed away from.

But the vast majority of canine human-aggression is derived from poor breeding practices and poor socialization/training. Sometimes this is intentional, other times it's out of ignorance or laziness. Not that any of that makes a human-aggressive dog any more acceptable.

And there is a huge difference between the protective instinct and genuine human-aggression. Breeds bred for protection are a far cry from breeds bred intentionally for aggression.