my dog chases bikers all the time. of course i'm always one of the bikers she's chasing. (she gets to go on short country rides) but besides that she's locked nice and safely in the house

*knuckle bump*

Happened to me as well, only on the ankle.

I was braking to avoid hitting another mutt when the pit bull came out of nowhere and bit me.

On the road bike, I'd simply out run them... different story on a fixed gear with a low ratio.
I swear it seems as if I have more dog problems riding fixed...

Before launching into a hate-filled rant that will no doubt piss off a lot of you...
Get well soon man. May the wounds heal both mentally and physically.

Why? Females, in certain breeds, are far more aggressive than males. Most males will only fight with other males. Females, OTH, fight with anything, kind of like humans. Don't let my wife hear that.

The worst exp I had yet was while struggling up a steep hill, this Austrailian Shepard/mutt came at me. I was only able to move at about 1 or 3 mph and that bastread was just going berserk, charging at me and then backing off as I kept pedaling towards him. Since I was standing up on the pedals, I think he was a bit intimidated.

After a few seconds he figured it out and started to go at me from behind. That really sucked. I thought for sure that the POS would nail me. I felt a tug on the bike as the fool began chomping on my rear wheel. Just then, as luck would have it, a car came up from behind, and Fido headed back to his yard.

BTW: The thing was clever and kept its distance. There was no way I'd have been able to whack it with a pump or anything. A nice handgun would have worked though

I've used the Halt spray several times over the years, and it has never failed me, even with ghetto dogs.
The can is velcroed to my top tube where it is always get-atable, and I pull it out whenever I see or hear
a dog threat. My brandishing the can usually elicits a hurried response to restrain the dog by its owner

Some say that it doesn't work well on the really crazy breeds like pit bulls. but I've never had to try it out on them. As a backup I plan to purchase an expandable baton, as the brandishing or swinging any long item will usually stop an attacking dog; and in case they they do bite, they will bite the stick and not you.

I've been bitten and treated in a multi-day hospital stay because of a dog attack, so I have no patience and take no chances with dogs or their dips**t owners. The owners of the worst dogs are usually judgement proof, so you have little chance of recovering damages if you are hurt, and the light legal fines won't remove your scars.

BTW: Not to diminish the hazard of ANY dog, the worst of the group are the males who have female owners;
the thing speaks for itself.

Good advice, thx.

BTW: I never did understand the huge male dog w/ a female owner thing myself. Half the time it's some 5 ft, 90 lbs chick with a 150 lbs wild-eyed dog, and she simply can't control the beast. Hearing her squeaky voice whiile the thing goes off on a rampage would be funny were it not so dangerous.

Welcome to my world!

If true, nice...

Sounds like it wouldn't have helped the OP, dog that tagged him was running silent.

Follow through with animal control. I got bit while on foot once, and the responding officer actually set up a sting after hours on the house, who claimed that they had no dog. Well, she(the officer) saw the dog and took it to the pound. Next day she came and picked me up, brought me to the pound to identify the animal, and brought me back home. The dog's head got sent to a lab to test for pathogens.

I had another near altercation with an unleashed dog today. It was on a bike path where dogs are legally required to be on a leash. The dog was off the path, on the grass with the owners walking several feet behind. I slowed down to pass (as I always do under those circumstances, and I really wasn't going at all fast to begin with, it was fairly busy on the trail and I had to navigate my way around a lot of people), and as I passed everything seemed cool, so I continued on my merry way, but about 5 seconds later I hear a growl and look down to see the dog is right next to my wheel, so I hit the brakes to avoid a collision. By then the owners started calling to their dog to come back, but it was too little too late. It took a lot of restraint on my part not to go back and tell the dog owners off.

Not only is it the law (at least where I live), but it's just plain common sense, that if your dog is prone to chasing cyclists, you keep it on a leash when on the bike path. What is wrong with some people?

I hate people who act as if they are the only people on earth by letting their dogs run loose on the bike trail. It happens more often than not that a loose dog goes a little nutty when a bike whizzes past him. To say that this irks me when it happens is quite the understatement.

Those people are idiots.

It runs (or at a running speed, like a bike) and 90% plus of all dogs will chase. With a bikepath only an idiot would think there won't be bikes or joggers.

Just stepping in here to point out that it would nice to see less stereotyping, guys.

East Hill
Forum Moderator

Huh?

Stereotyping against irresponsible dog owners? I am not sure I follow.

No stereotyping here. I simply reported the facts as they happened, and added my own opinion at the end. Unless you feel that calling people out for rude/dangerous/illegal behavior is stereotyping?.

Perhaps against dogs? Mine know right from wrong. They are not poor stupid animals. That is not to say they don't yeild to temptation if I leave food in their reach.

Though their idea of right and wrong may be a bit different than ours. My alpha seems to think anything not dominant should be herded.

Actually I was referring to post #18 and post #28.

Don't those come off as just a bit harsh?

East Hill

Oh, but that was so long ago....I thought you meant us, the recent stuff. Sorry.

I had a similar problem this year. I carry this stuff on my bike now. See "Road Cycling" forum for more.


The Cyclist - SABRE Advanced 3-in-1 Self Defense Spray with Red Pepper Spray, Tear Gas, & Invisible UV Dye

Have never had to use it, but JUST IN CASE, there is a small 2 oz. can of cayenne pepper spray clipped to my water bottle that is used by law enforcement. Within easy reach and can be purchased at any sporting goods retail store.

Aiee scary...
I've only gone on one 70-mile ride so far and I've had a dog chase me. It was a small dog though, and I kept pedaling, but it was frightening. There's a lotta dogs out there bigger than I am (90 lbs), and I don't want to encounter them. @_@

Ok then. My apologies.

I've been told that the use of either CS (tear-gas) or OC - pepper-spray - should not be used on truly deranged humans OR dogs. It doesn't effect either one enough to stop them - just makes them both madder. For a human that would be like someone truly psychotic, for whatever reason, or on powerful drugs like PCP. For the canine, I would guess rabies is a contender. I was approached once by a rabid dog. It was barking and growling and jumping up and down in the shallows of a local river. It was utterly on another planet! I was in a motor-boat and it started towards us. I pulled a pistol and we outran it. Called 911.

I NEVER ride without my can of Halt. You usually have to spray a dog twice with it before it will leave you alone. I spray any dog that gets within the spray range; even if their owner is watching.
I had a dog-induced crash last August that caused me to have a plate put in my shoulder.
I think Halt is a humane solution to the problem of irresponsible dog owners.