dragracer

Have not been riding for a while but finally got out last night for a short ride. As soon as we(wife and I) turned the first corner, this big nasty-ass Pit Bull came charging at us out of some people's yard. An old lady was sitting in the yard and yelled at the dog a couple of times but it didn't even slow the dog down. It was about 2 inches away from my ankle and barking it's fool head off. I just knew it was gonna take a chunk out of my leg(or my wife's) but we kept riding and after a few hundred feet it finally stopped and went back. I was fairly freaked out, but my wife was even more scared. What can a person do to stop a big mean dog like that?? I was thinking about attaching a big old "billy club" or piece of pipe or somthing to my bike and just pulling it out when I saw a dog and whacking him as hard as I could. Not sure that's really the answer though. Might just piss off a dog like that even worse. Anyone got a good solution? Some sort of spray or somthing like that maybe?? I don't care if it's "inhumane" or not, as long as it keeps the SOB's from taking a bite out of my flesh.

VegasVic

Kick the dog in his/her nose. Or, if possible, avoid riding in front of that house.

WJ13US

First line of defence is a good squirt in the face with your water bottle.

Bill

joeprim

You're lucky that that wasn't a mean dog. You're unlucky it had a stupid owner. I would think that talking to the owner is the proper response. The og didn't bite you so don't bite it. If the owner thing doesn't work carry some ammonia water to spray at the dog.

Joe

VegasVic

That should work. Spray him a couple of times and he shouldn't chase you any more. Mace would also work.

dragracer

Trust me, there's no talking to these inbred morons.

This is not the only dog I have to worry about. Just one of several in the surrounding area.

I will never understand why anyone would keep a damn dog like that. Well, other than to guard their meth prodution.

Anyone ever used this stuff? https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...egory_ID=2417#

dragracer

What will ammonia do to the dog? Just irritate it or burn it's eyes or somthing like that??

phinney

1. Explain to the owner that they can't let their dog do that and that you will contact animal control if it happens again.
2. Get some "Halt!" spray or a water bottle full of lemon juice (not ammonia!!!) in case it comes at you again. Aim for the eyes.
3. If the owner doesn't take care of the problem call animal control.
4. If animal control doesn't take care of the problem and it's worth the possible hassle to you then do what you have to do.

When I was a juvenile we had a tandem and a slingshot. We put the fear of Bike into several problem dogs.

dragracer

Animal control? You must be kidding. Oh wait, you mean a shotgun?
No such thing out here in the boonies. The dumbass sherrifs will not do anything to these people. If they won't bust them for meth manufacturing, they damn sure ain't gonna come take their precious pit bull doggie away.

What will lemon juice do and what will ammonia do? I don't want to get that crap all over myself if it's gonna do something bad to my skin.

KrisPistofferson

Good quality pepper spray is good stuff, for the random canine or human antagonist.

va_cyclist

I read someplace you can kill a pit bull if you stomp on its snout hard enough. Can't remember where I read that...

Some city in Canada just passed an ordinance banning pit bulls. About damn time somebody did that.

Dead Extra #2

Get the strongest pepper spray you can find. Clip or velcro it somewhere you can easily get to it.

Practice grabbing it while riding BEFORE you need it.

Procedure:

1- Stop pedaling.

2- Sit up and grab pepper spray.

3- Spray liberally until problem is resolved. Always in the face. (note wind direction)

4- Check frequently over your shoulder for a couple of miles for pissed of owner in pick-up truck.

5- Repeat if necessary.

va_cyclist

Ammonia won't seriously hurt your skin unless you have open cuts, but you'll probably want to rinse it off if you do get some on you. You definitely don't want to get it in your eyes, nose or mouth. Ammonia burns like a sonafab1tch if it gets into sensitive areas of dogs or people.

dragracer

Would hate to grab a water bottle full of ammonia and take a big gulp of it. Better put a skull and crossbones on that bottle if I try it.

Milice 

Dragracer, We have a name for dogs like that in our area, that name is target. A dog that will chase a bike is usually stupid enought to chase trucks. and then you just do what is necessary.........

hi565

search the forums

(im so CRUEL! )

paul1149

That Halt! is only a 1.5 can. Is it multiuse or one-shot?

p.

taylor8

Sudsy Amonia in a squirt gun. The dog will come unglued when hit in the eyes. It works paperboy tested. A nice chunk of gas pipe say 3/4" size about 2 and a 1/2 ft long velcroed to the frame some place to be used as a club works too, also paperboy tested.


A swift kick to the head work too but not with out risk, damm dogs never expect to get a boot to the head.

Mace works too.

Joe

Urban Shooter

This may sound funny but a friend of mine used to carry strips of bacon, she bought it unsliced and then just carved off a couple of good sized chunks. She lived in a neighborhood that had unruly mutts up and down the street. It worked, the dogs were much more interested in the bacon than a biker. Easier to catch too.

rideabike

Something similar hapened to my brother. He and his wife went home, put on some nice clothes, and went to talk to the dog owners. They said that they didn't want to report this to the police - they didn't want the dog destroyed. They said that they also didn't want the dog hit by a car.

Result - the owner appreciated the concern, apologized for the dog running loose, and put a new fence around the yard.

I'm sure this won't always work, but maybe it's worth a try.

LA_Rider

Throwing anything at the dog - a rag... should distract him long enough to get away.

Since I like dogs - I would only want to hurt one as a last resort.

DannoXYZ 

Check what the local regulations are on this. Animal control may or may not be able to help. Talk to the police next on what you're allowed to do. I suspect that if you're on the public road and the dog's attacking you, it's open season for what you can do in self-defence.

Then try the simple stuff first, a squirt from your water bottle. Then a squirt of ammonia+lemon+whatever concoction you can make with household cleaning-products (you can actually build a bomb if you wanted to). Then try the pepper-spray, mace, Halt, etc. Then comes actual contact sports, billy-clubs, bats, golf-clubs, those giant clubs from the Fox-Sports commercials ("bringing you sports from your area").

I love animals, even pit-bulls (smartest dog I ever had). But stupid owners who don't train their pets and lets them run wild is opening up a big liability for them and their pets. I think we've let these people get away with this for way too long. Stay on the safe side of the law by knowing your rights, but do all that you can. The next rider along may be a 12-year old with a paper-route or a 5-year old on a tricycle and they may not be as lucky as you and get away cleanly...

LA_Rider

Good point.

halfspeed

Meanwhile, the dog learns that it gets rewarded for chasing bikes. Nice.

Urban Shooter

You idiot, it figures you would reply with a comment like that. All I was saying was that it worked for her, and she only had to utilize it once. So it was hardly teaching the dog to chase a bike for bacon.