I knew there was a dog at the location that had chased me before and I heard him barking behind the bushes as I approached (but I couldn't see him). I could have stopped, turned around, gotten a big stick, etc. Once I decided to outrun him, my fate was sealed.

I went by his house to avoid an even more aggressive dog on a parallel road.

#4: Good, but hard to do.

#5: I once had a pack of 5 dogs around me. They were out in the road as I arrived, I had little choice but to stop. It took about 15 minutes, but I successfully defended myself. Only two of the dogs were real aggressive, the others were just a distraction. I was like a whirling dervish slinging my bike around for a while as the dogs were circling looking for an opening.

These were the dogs and road I was avoiding when I had the wreck mentioned upthread.

One additional option that usually works for rural dogs is to pick a rock and make a throwing motion. They usually understand this. I encountered the most aggressive dog of the pack above (alone this time) on a later ride and he beat a hasty retreat when I picked up an imaginary rock, though I would have preferred a real and large one.

I found that if you yell at them really hard they'll stop chasing you "GET OFF THE COUCH" seems to work really well. No joke.

Speaking of dogs....picking up my dog this morning after ACL surgery. Sucks. There's a 3-4 mo. recovery period which means he is now my primary job for awhile.

So, summing up: Ride faster, stop, yell, talk softly, give them treats, hit them with something, analyze them.

Dog eyes are more sensitive than human eyes so the stronger pepper sprays really are brutal on the dogs. A weaker spray like Halt might be a better choice for when you are in jam and the other tips don't do the job.

I recently took a spill when three dogs chased me and I got tangled with the lead.

I really should carry some tasty treats to toss out to the dogs. I did that in my home base area and now the dogs don't chase, but wag their tails and hope for a goody, which I dispense on a irregular basis.

LOL. Yeh. Easy peasy!

Except... don't EVER give them treats. Such a bad, bad idea. It encourages bad behavior.

- Usually saying NO very loud a few times causies them to slow down their chase.
- While still riding, I've squirted my water bottle to the face on the few occasions where a few that got that close; that also worked.
- Last resort if I cannot outsprint one: Dismount and put the bike between the 2 of us, then prepare to fight.
- Very last resort, for something like a Pit Bull, for which an attack is imminent: Dismount, sacrifice my weeker arm while stabbing/slashing away w/ my Pit Bull blade.

Over the years and my miles on the road, I have had any number of dog incidents. I can usually form a good impression of whether a dog seems serious or not. I have suffered bites twice and both of those dogs were bite and run. Both bites barely broke the skin. In both of the bite situations, I really did not have a clear shot to out run the dog.

I have seen 2 riders hit dogs broadside at high speed. In both cases, the dog ran out into the road and there was not enough warning to evade them. Both guys ended up going over their handlebars and hitting the road head first. It is a scary sort of thing to see.

Usually, outrunning a dog is the first option. Dogs tend to be territorial. They are generally defending "their" yard. Many of these dogs will not even enter the street. They will often just run on the grass next to the road. A few will come out into the road. I usually have a warning about the dogs approach. I also usually have the "angle" on the dog. It is a rare dog that can run down a cyclist who is going over 20 mph.

When I run into one of those rare "fast" dogs, I will squirt in their general direction with my water bottle. The response I get from that is an evasion and a slowing by the dog. Usually the dog will break off the pursuit. At any rate, by the time they collect themselves, I am way out of their range. I used to use my good old reliable HP frame pump. If I waved it at a dog, the dog would almost always flee. I used it as a sort of dog polo. Oddly enough, I only managed to hit dogs twice and both times they were cocker spaniels. The sample size is small but it makes me wonder about cockers.

I have noticed something else that is curious. I have often seen dogs chase cyclists who are up in front of me. I have noticed that it seems to be against the doggy rule book to chase one cyclist and then chase another cyclist. It seems that the rules require the dog to go back into their yard and "tag up" before they are "allowed" to chase a new cyclist.

If you stop, an option to get the dog to back away is this ploy. You bend down and pick up an invisible "rock". You throw your invisible rock at the dog. The dog will almost always evade the invisible missle and will usually retreat. Isn't that the strangest thing?

Spray them with Halt.

Now you've done it. Here's my favorite dog story:

I was riding in southern Michigan with my neighbor when a medium sized dog came running down a hill at us. My neighbor shouted "Sit!" Well, that dog certainly knew that command. He planted all four paws but his momentum caused him to do a couple of somersaults before coming to rest in a perfect "sit" position. A well trained dog.

I know this subject has been beat to death before, but my experience is giving them treats is a very good idea and does not encourage bad behavior. Sometimes dogs get so jagged up and into the chase that making friends and giving treats to the dog substantially lowers their general arousal level when you see them. I did this back home on my general route and dogs that use to be chasers are now expectant tail waggers. Plus, now they welcome you into their territory rather than trying to chase you out.

I think it works best for dogs that have the chasing habit but are not aggressive. Aggressive dogs, all bets are off.

We report them to animal control here and the owners get a visit and a warnings. Two of our club members have new bicycles courtesy of the dog owners who's dogs caused them to crash. When you pay out several thousand dollars to replace a Madone you figure a way to keep fido penned up

Our dog got out of the yard once. Once.

Now when no one is home, he is left inside. Thankfully he doesn't get destructive.

I live in a very populated county here , very few strays (four legged) , however I do carry a firearm (.380 )
, that with 7 rounds plus holster weighs 15ozs. , (two legged is more of an issue) , not to mention those pesky
cagers :d

I was shopping for homeowners insurance quotes recently and one of the questions that came up was whether I own any dogs above a certain size. I don't but a brief discussion with the agent followed. Turns out that claims due to dog bites are very close to the top of the list in frequency and that the average claim amount is $30,000.

Google "dog bite florida" and the first 30-40 pages of hits are attorneys. There's gold in them there canines! Big problem being the average vicious pit bull owner around here is a meth head and owns nothing more valuable than a clapped out 1994 Camaro.

In Florida I believe there is criminal in addition to civil culpability if a dog that has been shown to be dangerous is not restrained and injures someone later.

Interesting ride home tonight. I took my usually dog-free route. I was chased by a smallish poodle mix. Only noteworthy because he chased me for so long. I thought I would easily outrun him, and pretty much did, but he was persistent, so I finally got out the water bottle and laid down a line behind me and he broke off.

About a mile later, on a larger road (not just a neighborhood street), out of nowhere a rather large lab mix came at me. I was pedaling as fast as I could but he was gaining so I turned and yelled NO! at him with all I had. He looked at me but kept coming so I yelled it again and he finally broke off the chase.

So yeah.... these things work.

I'm going with pepper spray.

The problem with pepper spray is that sometimes you don't see a dog until it is almost upon you and you wouldn't have time to get pepper spray out before it could strike. I have pretty good dog radar but for whatever reason I let my guard down last night and both the dogs surprised me. The big one in particular would have gotten me if I depended on pepper spray. I pedaled faster to buy a little bit of time, but it still wouldn't have been enough to get pepper spray out. The very loud "NO!" is what got him to back off.

I've had a lot of experience with untethered dogs since I lived in a rural area for years. They are territorial, they see you as a threat and want to protect their territory. Keep going, once you pass their boundaries (usually the edge of their yard) they consider it a success and quit. There are exceptions,but that has worked reliably for 40 years. The only dog ever able to catch me (tore my pants) was a dachshound, I was going 20 mph when he caught me. Don't assume you can out run a small dog, just keep going,you're safer on the bike than getting off in their perceived territory.

Marc

Agreed, but I'm not always fast enough to outrace the dog, so in addition to sprinting, other tactics may need to be employed. The first dog chased me for 7 or 8 houses, well past what most dogs would consider their territory. The second dog came out of a neighborhood street to my left and crossed four traffic lanes to get at me. You would think the other side of a major thoroughfare would be considered not part of his territory but he disagreed. Of course, he may have been just out for a run and meant no harm, but riding alone after 11 pm I'm in no mood to play. I think I've seen that dog once before.

Yes, exactly. This, of course, only applies to actual cycling as opposed to forum postings.

Pepper spray will stay with me. We dont have many unattended dogs in the areas I ride, in fact only one came to the edge of the road last year but wasnt the chasing or biting type.

The water-squirt thing only works if it surprises the dog. After getting sprayed a few times, the dog learns that it doesn't hurt and keeps right on a-coming.