I don't get it.

Most dogs are ambivalent when a cyclist passes but a small number go insane and almost strangle themselves try to get to the cyclist as they pass. It seems mostly medium and small dogs are the worst.

There one woman with a medium dog that I pass a few times a week and I know to all out at least 100 years before to her so she can hold on to the leash. I'm afraid if she is unaware the dog with drag her to the ground.

I'm half tempted to carry bear spray.
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/coun...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Last chase I had was from two small Terriers.
Terriers are old world dogs with strong hunting/chase instincts.
I got off my bike faced them and scolded them (2) to go home.
They barked a bit more in protest but relented satisfied they got their chase for the day.

It's the bigger dogs like a Rottweiler once that I had to dismount, place the bike between me and the lunging dog, and walk backwards about a 1/4 mile.
I had help from a driver that pulled in front of the dog and beeped her horn.
That could have been ugly. I carried pepper spray for awhile after that close call.

Most dogs that chase and bark that I've stopped to confront them seem to get very timid and don't know what to do next. They sometimes go back home or just run along side barking when I continue.

It's been awhile since I've dealt with them that way though. There is one big hound I passed today that was oncoming to me and barking, jumping and straining at the harness the owner that only looked to be about 90 lbs was struggling to hold back as a runner and then me on my bicycle slowly went by.

I had a certain big dog chase me on EVERY ride for years. The first few times he scared me. Then I realized he couldn’t catch me if I was going fast enough I even started whistling for him so he’d give chase. It was fun

I worry as much about a dog causing me to wreck as I do getting bit by one. Fortunately dog encounters have been rare for me. I did have a kamikaze cat come after me once though but I was able to swerve before it came in contact with my front wheel.

I grew up with dogs and learned from a very early age, delivering newspapers from my Stingray, that stopping my bike and confronting the dog and not backing down was better than trying to outrun the dog. Outrunning a dog on my Stingray wasn't an easy thing to do with 15 lbs of newspapers slung in my newspaper carriers bag. Plus it didn't stop them from giving chase.

After a few curb chases and confrontations, one day, he heard me coming from the sound of the previous house's tossed newspaper, "trotted" out and stopped at the curb. I stopped my bike and he just looked at me. I was thinking, "Ok buddy, I'm not backin' down". After that he would just sit up on the porch and watch me pass.

What's really funny is when I gave up that paper route, a friend from school got that same route and asked me in class one day (yep, you guessed it), "Did you have a big dog chase you from a house on Arlington Street?" Hahaha.....

Reading that third paragraph made my head hurt.

I try to discourage them with command voice orders to stop, stay, etc. My bike is not likely to hurt them, but a car could, so I try not to encourage bad habits.

If it's always the same dog at the same place I'd prefer to make friends with him. Usually not very difficult.

Most of the time, dog chases occur in parks where they are supposed to be leashed. I called the city once on a dog and owner I had encountered three times. But I realize I can't call them all the time since these occurrences are random and impossible to enforce.

I ride slowly enough so I won't run over the dogs. If I ride too fast, it may trigger their chase response. So I ride slowly enough for them to keep up with me and fast enough so that I can lead them pretty far and make the owner panic.

I did carry pepper spray with me for a while. If calling out at the dog " Bad dog! Go home!" works I'm wondering if I should carry a rolled up newspaper.

Old school, a frame fitting pump was the weapon of choice.

Barry

I don't think you realize just how desperately my muppet, er dog, wants to be your friend. Unfortunately he is dumb as a post and doesn't realize he weighs 90lbs and thus the effects of Newton's First Law of Motion in relation to his body.
So, he stays fenced in, or on a short leash no matter how badly he wants make friends with you.

A squirt in the face from my water bottle stopped a nasty cur that was coming after me a couple weeks ago. It was the second time that technique has worked for me.

Muppet dogs aren't the issue
Muppet owners are !

Yep. Let them know you’re the top dog. I put my loud voice to good use.

If that doesn’t work, a good squirt of water to the face often will.

Silca, with Campy head. 👍

It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.

Otto

I had a Jack Russel Terrier that went nuts about bicycles and motorcycles. Just did not like them for some reason. He was never off leash on walks unless it was at the dog park.

Holy word salad.

Beware the Muppet!

I guess the dogs here are different. They're almost all inside fenced property, but they always run with me whenever I ride by. I've had a few chase me. Last week I had a GS chase me, didn't make a sound at first. Didn't even know he was there until I heard a snarl and saw him not two feet from my back tire. I immediately stood up on the pedals and looked at him. The tall presence made him back off. But it scared me that he got that close before I even knew he was there.

I've only used this once, but carried it on tours for years. Usually the owner deserves it more than the dog.

The penultimate paragraph looks like a random word salad. Did you use text-to-speech-after-Halt!-inhalation?

I have Golden retrievers. They think of this as a reward (but then they don't chase bicyclists).

Depending on how much lead time I have when I see a chasing dog, I'll yell "BAD DOG! GO HOME!" (Believe it or not, I tried "SIT!" once, and the dog stopped and sat with a puzzled look on its face.)
If that doesn't work, I go right to my can of HALT! spray. I've yet to see a dog continue the chase once they get some of that in the face, but it doesn't cause any permanent harm. Bear spray is too bulky, and goes everywhere in a cloud, which can make you very unpopular if anyone is riding behind you.
There was a three legged Chow on one of our regular routes that evidently didn't know it was handicapped. Man, that dog was fast! It never bit anyone, but it would run out in front of the group and on several occasions almost caused a huge pileup. After a couple of times getting zapped with HALT, it would just sit in the yard and bark.

Some dogs simply love to run. I got chased by one at the height of my racing going down a decent hill. We saw each other simultaneously. I stepped on it. The dog started on the front door step of a large house set back a full suburban lot as I was crossing the walkway. Dog was two steps behind when I hit the lot corner! Beside me immediately, then just proceeded to pace me down the hill. No bark, no growl, no teeth. Just an easy run while I went as fast as I could go. Hill leveled out and he pulled up and trotted home. Work done. The whole time, we both knew who'd cross any finish line first. Humbling.

Years later my neighbor picked up one of those dogs. A whippet. Edit: A body hard as nails. And also loved to run.

Man we haven't had one of these threads in a while. What kind of chain lube did you have when you passed the dog? Dogs love certain dry lubes but hate wet lube unless it is a Muc-Off.