Lemond1985

Dog owners can be a deluded bunch. There are a great many things they don't realize. Like what it feels like to have their loving 100 lb fuzzball charge and slam into you on your bike at 20 mph, then make a bloody meal out of your leg. As happened to me just yesterday with this dog, photographed an instant before he attacked and bit me, twice, while his self-absorbed owners looked on and did nothing but make lame excuses on behalf of the mutt, and offered me zero assistance afterwards.



I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your dog is much nicer to you than he is to strangers. I know that might be a major revelation to some, but I think that message really needs to get out there to irresponsible owners of large dogs (are there any other kind these days?) Especially the ones that are are allowed to run loose.

308jerry

Yes..... Yes there are many good owners , in many places. I've been triggered.....
Oh but leave your cats at home when you're stopping by ...

Kedosto

Looks like it's time to lawyer up.


-Kedosto
*responsible dog owner*

2manybikes

A bite from a small dog can hurt as much as a bite from a big dog. Also a little dog in front of the front wheel can cause a crash too.
Not trying to minimize your terrible experience. Most places have a leash law. It may be on line. Having a police officer visit them (even just a warning) might be a good thing. Maybe this would result in the dog not being free to run around. This would be a benefit for other cyclists too.

Cougrrcj 

Where I live, any dog bite that needs medial attention (ANY bite that breaks the skin) the medical facility is REQUIRED to file an incident report to the County, and THEY follow up with a 'bad dog' warning/citiation, in addition to a mandatory quarantine/rabies check of the animal.

That is in addition to any personal civil lawsuit you may wish to file for medical expenses and damages to your person or property.

Gresp15C

Indeed, definitely time to get law enforcement involved. And, if you were treated through your insurance, they might take care of filing the lawsuit.

Happy Feet

Loose dogs can be a problem, especially in rural areas where they are left to run free and have a gaurding instinct. After years of occasionally having to out run them I now carry bear spray with me so I have another alternative.

Oddly, I often ride and take my own dog on a many kilometers long dike system locally that is considered an off leash area. There you encounter many many dogs running free but very few that act at all aggressively. I don't know if the atmosphere is different, the people are more relaxed or somehow the users self police aggressive dogs out. Sometimes a dog runs up but is more of a friendly curiosity than aggression and I leash my dog when passing others simply because she is young and friendly and still likes to jump up when excited (with muddy paws and all).

I hope you did something at the time in this instance and did not just leave the scene. You can't stop poor behavior by the owners if it goes unreported.

downhillmaster

257 roberts

Glad you survived,you should contact the law enforcement agency in your area a file a complaint against the owner of the dog....at the very least make sure that the dog is up to date on it's shots !!!!!

rollagain

Do you carry a phone? You should have called 911 immediately and stayed at the scene of the attack until help arrived. Treat this the same as you would a motor vehicle accident.

Clem von Jones

Human behavior is highly variable but dog behavior is very predictable, so the onus is really on the human side of interactions like this. Maybe your parents never told you, "don't run from an angry barking dog" but they should have. From the dog's POV you're a trespasser and their simply doing their job.

So in conclusion: Don't attempt to outrun angry dogs.

Now legally I'm sure the dog's owner is at fault, but I'm blaming you anyway.

chicagogal

I realize that I should probably not get involved in a "dog thread," but I just feel compelled to point out that under certain circumstances the best course of action is to try to outrun the dog. If I am near the far edge of a property when a loose dog runs out and starts chasing me from behind, there is no way that I am going to slow down... and what, unclip? Put a foot down in front of the dogs mouth?


The dog will likely chase for a bit until I am away from its territory and then will get tired or bored and go home. If I slow down, or stop, it will think it caught me... a well behaved dog will jump up and down excitedly, a poorly behaved dog will put its teeth in my leg. No way am I going to put myself in that situation if I can avoid it.


Now, if a dog runs out in front of me, I slow down or stop and try to calm the dog down and make it go home. I am not going to risk hitting the dog and going over the handlebars.


I don't blame the dog in either of these situations. Like you said, the dog is just acting within its nature. I blame the owners who let an unleashed dog out on public roads, endangering the dog and endangering users of the road. I have encountered some dog owners who cannot control their dogs, even when they try. I blame the owners. You should not keep a dog, let alone a loose dog, that you cannot command and that you cannot keep from attacking people, including people who are using public property.... in fact, in most places, doing so is illegal.

Gconan

Thankfully it was not a mountain lion.

alcjphil

Dogs are not the problem. Their stupid owners are

MattTheHat 

Rajflyboy

Gyro

Those we strangle.

Nachoman

Before CO2 and mini pumps, this used to be my dog weapon of choice.

02Giant 

No doubt about it.

02Giant 

dedhed

fify

eja_ bottecchia

Teamprovicycle

How is posting on a bike forum going to do anything , go to the authorities and stop crying about it .

fietsbob

Bruce Gordon got a batch of Silca replicas made in Titanium, to still work as a pump after making a real impression

with that steel Campagnolo pump head under those little blue rubber caps..

so you got a Lawyer and County Animal Control working on that yet ? Hmmm...

AlmostTrick

Re-read the OP.

OP was attempting to out run the dog (20 mph) and got "slammed into" and chomped. Stopping usually ends the chase, and completely eliminates the risk of a crash. (where the biggest injuries can occur) It also leaves you in a better position to protect yourself.

Heal up quickly OP, and press charges.