On my recent tour of the Mississippi rive (From Venice, LA to Lake Itasca, MN) I got chased by dogs many times but Mississippi seemed to be the worst - not only dogs but packs of dogs. The odd thing was Mississippi had the friendliest people but the meanest dogs. I didn't actually get bit but one dog ripped my sock. So where do people think the dogs are the worst?

Here is a picture from the tour taken in Tennessee of me and a dog:

There is a Boston Terrior on my route that I ride frequently. This little dog waits for me to roll down the road and promptly gets into attack mode as I approach. Grinning from ear to ear he barks and chases me for a hundred yards or so. I kinda enjoy it.

The worst place for dogs is on the road in front of my bike. The idea of being bitten doesn't bother me nearly as much as the idea of hitting the dog and then the pavement.

Geez, there's no way I'm going to jump into this one with specific names of places. I may have to go back to some of them in the future. I will echo BluesDawg's feelings about hitting the pavement. First hand experience a bit over a year ago just about cost be the sight in one eye. I will say, however, that I've only ever seen packs of chasing dogs in rural areas. That doesn't mean they don't exist, only that it's the only place I've seen them. BTW, Akohekohe, in the photo you posted I don't think the dog is chasing you. I think he wants whatever it is you're packing in that rather large bag hanging off the rear of your bike.

Depends on the size of the dog. Worst case is going down and then getting bitten badly to boot.

I would think the worst place for dogs is in the middle of a steep climb where you have absolutely no chance of getting out of the pickle by sprinting.

Craziest dog attack I ever saw was when one tracked us from up on a bank about 10 ft. above and took a dive off the bank at the lead rider. Just missed his rear wheel. I love dogs but I unclipped and as the dog tried to recover from his attack I wacked him in the head with the bottom of my shoe. He was unhurt but totally stunned and left the rest of the group alone.

A pit bull escaped its owner and ran in front of me last month. A short blast from my Airzound stopped it in its tracks. (By the time it figured out what was happening, I was long gone.) As a backup, I keep a can of "HALT" clipped to the bottom of my bag within easy reach. I still have visible puncture scars in my leg from 40 years ago, and don't want any more!

Most people on the trans am agree that eastern Kentucky is one of the worst. It's the first that comes to my mind also because it's so prevalent and many are encouraged by the owners.

I had a ride with dogs, I'm tootling along, maybe 17km/h, so far I'm about 10km into the ride, and it's about 90% uphill averages a 2% grade, that bike has about a 34 gear inch low end and I am in it, so I don't push it, I see a big dog, and then another one, so the old brain rings up the engine room I NEED FULL SPEED NOW!!!!. So I'm going uphill, and I need power so I can get out of there, the RPM is climbing, I'm shifting, and hit 37km/h and the one stupid dog is almost keeping up, I'm wondering who's going to run out of gas first, me or dog, and his buddy is loafing along a ways back, ready to join in, once the first one gets dinner ready.... You know those idiots chased me for 5km, then comes the great advantage to that route, you hit the high point, and it changes from trending uphill to trending downhill, shift into the big ring, and leave the dogs in the dust....

That was a while ago, I need to do that route again, if I see those dogs again, I'm going to call the local constabulary and report that there is loose dogs along there....

Wrong. All those places are bad places for cyclists but GOOD places for dogs! Of course a dog is just a dog. It's the people that fail to properly train and control it that are the issue. Don't get mad at the dogs.

There won't be problem dogs on any routes that I travel regularly.

I understand the point you are trying to make. But, I get mad at anything that bites me.

A dog on an uphill; Way back, when I was in High School, my scout troop went on a 50 mile bike ride, this was just the begining of the bike boom of the 70's, so there where all type of bikes. At the time I had a 3 speed, one guy had a two speed that you changed gears by pedaling backwards, all types. We where on a short steep hill, in two groups. I was in the forward group. A large german shepard came out of a driveway between the groups. With a big blast of teenage adrenaline I jumped on the pedals, just platforms, to try to out run it. I was pounding like a mad man, but not going too fast. And I heard screams behind me. It turns out they weren't screaming, they where laughing, at me. It seems I was pounding so hard, and leaning so far forward, that the rear wheel broke loose and was spinning, with little puffs of smoke. Only two or three, but it was enough to get my buddies going. The dog it turns out, was very friendly.

Here in Maine there is a dog I pass on one of my rides. Sleeps in the driveway. Does not look up. Just another lovable, unexcitable Maine lab. Will have to take a picture next time. When I first came to Maine 50 years ago I was amazed to see a dog sound asleep in the middle of a street in Bath, Maine.

I've found that speaking to the dog often helps. Start as soon as you see (or hear) the dog so your appearance won't be a surprise. Remember that dogs that are out wandering the neighborhood are out of their home territory, and may be more nervous and easily threatened than dogs that are hanging out in their front yards.

When approaching any dog, while a long distance off, I start with, "Hi, Fella! Beautiful day, isn't it? Amazing the folks that come by your place!" etc. I keep the tone upbeat, friendly and calm.

I learned this trick when I adopted a very challenging rescue dog. She was a chow-spaniel mix who inherited the aggressiveness of one parent and the nervousness of the other.

She would lunge aggressively at almost everything, including bikes. We had to walk her on a short leash with either a prong collar or a halter, One day we were walking a foot trail in the Michaux State Forest in PA. We arrived at an intersection with a bike trail, and there, leaning against a tree, we found a cyclist who had dismounted to eat his lunch. We chatted for a few minutes, the guy patted our dog on the head and then got on his bike and rode away. You could almost see the light bulb light up over our dog's head!

"Oh.....that fast moving thing with shiny rotating parts, that seems to be half animal and half machine....it's a human on top of one of those contraptions that we have in our garage!"

We don't ride at home, so she had never made the connection.

+1

Yep, Mississippi has lots of dogs, I remember a training ride back in the 80's near Jackson, MS that had a detour up "Doberman Hill" with a loose fully grown (and athletic) doberman at the top. But nothing beats Polk County, Georgia. It's legendary.

Actually the worst place for a dog is in front of my bicycle.