ColinL

Typical dogs can be outran at no more than 20mph. They often have a short burst then after 50-75 feet they're disinterested in pursuit, possibly because they've left their 'area' they were protecting.

I just shout "NO, BAD DOG!" and accelerate. I've never actually had to full-on sprint. Like I posted before, I've never been in a situation the OP described and since it seems to have happened to him repeatedly, I would have chosen a different road.

tagaproject6

If you have these so called hordes, there is a far worse underlying problem in the area you are cycling in that will not be solved by deterrent nor weapons. You should take matters into your own hands and eradicate the problem. Thereafter, the women, older cyclists and young children shall look upon you as their savior and protector. All hail the eradicator of the mangy hordes!

HMF

I read through page 3 of this thread and I'm skipping to the end. Carry a ******** ka-bar, dismount, and go one on one with these fleabags. From then on you'll be that-guy-who-rolls-up-the-hill-looking-for-fresh-meat and they won't mess with you.

sjvcycler

This sounds fun buts its not. I had to get off my bike and nearly stab a dog last year. The owner let it out of the yard and it came at me. It was ready to jump on me and I was ready to slash my way free. Luckily the owner had sense enough to run and get the dog before it jumped on me. As a kid I grew up in the country so having a stick or Aluminum bat to hit dogs while riding was a common thing. So was shooting them if they tried to attack you. So since I bike as an adult now I carry and practice these things.

Carry: Pepper Spary, Knife

Dogs coming at you?

Yell tell them to get back, sound very agressive.

What if they don't back off?

Pedal Faster!

What if they catch you?

Pepper Spray, Kick, Scream.

If you get off the bike you usually will not win, they are fast and can bite you in a second. I just usually outrun them, 3-4 seconds of 22 mph plus and they are usually spent.

Silly ideas I heard here:

Pellet Gun, Hand Gun, Paint Pistol??? - Think about aiming while riding while being attacked not smart.

After all this discussion I may start taking a club with me. When they get close you can usually whack them in the face and as another poster said, one good whack will stop them in their tracks. Cattle prod / whip also sounds good. Just make sure you hit them hard or you won't faze them.

Also, I could care less what the rest of you think about me or my methods. If you grew up in the city and have never been chased by dogs then you know nothing about it. I grew up with dogs and trained them well. I also grew up and learned that you keep dogs chained up or behind a fence if you don't want them run over or shot. Think I'm joking? Every time dogs were on the local farm we'd get a call and he would ask "Are your dogs home?" Every time it was "yes, they are right here." Seconds later you'd hear bang bang bang.

banerjek

That just sounds like a canine escort -- which is what I suspect many people who think they're being attacked are actually getting. Quite a few large dogs that you don't want to mess with are faster than you'd want to try to outrun. Be aware that speeding up will provoke the dog every time. If they're friendly, you're making the game of chase more fun. If they're not, you're significantly increasing your odds of trouble.

If you pedal at all when going by dogs, you want a relaxed cadence and pace -- the vibe you want to give off is that it's boring and you're cruising through.

For some reason, this thread reminds me of my favorite "animal attack" post on BF

sjvcycler

canine escort - LOL!!! I guess you have well behaved dogs where you live. Country dogs are more like guard dogs than pets. They love their owners but want to get their teeth in anything else. I saw my buddy get attacked this summer and the dog escorted him right off the bike and then tried to bite him.

bisiklet

While the eradicator being unable to hail back due to hands eradicated by the problem.

Well, my "overwhelming" a dog is usually nothing more than shooing them off, all the while imagining falsely that I'm a pitbull or something. When this won't work then I change my mind and assume that I'm a just peer, not wanting trouble. So I keep my -false again- dignity while slowly stepping back and holding the bike between me and the dog. Even if I can't overwhelm him, he can't find the courage to attack me too - as long as I don't give him signs of weakness, assume a self-confident "wouldn't mind to put up a fight" posture and always face him directly. Once I've backed 10 steps or so (got out of their immediate territory) they start to calm down. All in all unnerving experiences. One day none of these cheap little tricks will work and then... probably the "problem" will eradicate me instead.

BTW elderly, women and childen usually stick to central areas. They don't wander off to backroads, suburbs and beyond where the problem is serious here.

ColinL

huge to that link.

sjvcycler

Not out where I live. This summer I saw a granny 15 miles out of town on her bike with a basket on it.

twodownzero

This seems like it can be easily solved with a .38 in the jersey pocket.

sjvcycler

Shooting a dog is not as easy as it sounds. I would do this as a last resort, legal issues etc. Unless you are some type of law enforcement, then you always have a reason lol.

banerjek

I see all kinds and most of my riding is in rural areas. I do agree that people who haven't encountered a "guard dog" (meaning they've been "trained" to be aggressive rather than to actually be good guard dogs) probably don't realize how bad they can be.

In rural areas, not only are poorly socialized dogs pretty common, but poorly socialized people are as well. Hence the macho shtiheads who use anything as a pretext to get medieval on whatever they cross. In the sticks, I encounter mostly good working people, but there are also plenty of yahoos who think they're tough if they ride around in their jacked up trucks and wave guns around. And yes, I've been threatened with guns a couple times over the years while riding. I've also seen people racing out in the sticks (as well as a crash resulting from racing). Whatever threats dogs pose, the people are far more dangerous.

Those of you who do serious touring -- do you know anyone (self included) that needs all this weaponry and actively seeks to kill animals? I sure don't, so I find it interesting why people can't seem to ride near their own homes without a bunch of stuff people who ride thousands of miles in unknown areas find no need for. One thing I've noticed about people that ride a lot is they don't carry loads of crap like clubs since it's needless bulk and weight. Your feet tend to be better weapons anyway. Never heard much chest beating from the people who really ride much either.

sjvcycler

I agree with you for the most part. I have the smallest fizik seat bag and my jersey pockets are not packed. Just keys, wallet, and maybe some powder mix and food. I don't want to actively kill any animal except ground squirrels. I just don't want to be bitten into or have to get the rabies series. We have plenty of those diesel spewing lifted trucks that not only stink cloud us but honk and scare the poop out of us on purpose. I like to ride far from time to time and that does not correlate with staying close to home. I cross counties form time to time (which on the East Coast doesn't mean much, but in CA it does). The people in Central, CA and their dogs are different, I guess that is the best way to put it. Today I saw a guy with a giant pitbull with saddle bags. He was leashed and the guy was running him while riding a longboard. I thought the dog was a great dane is was so damn big!

pallen

I dont worry too much about dogs. Really bad dogs or dangerous packs are pretty rare. Rare enough that I'm not going to be riding around with a weapon "just to be prepared". If I came across such dangerous animals out in the country in an area I ride frequently and it bothered me enough, it might be worth a trip out there in the car to take care of the situation before the next ride. Otherwise, I would ride elsewhere. Dogs this dangerous have never been an issue yet for me and judging from the fairly sparse anecdotal stories here, I would guess that holds true for most of us.

banerjek

We have some different types in OR too. As you move east out of the valley, you start running into more of them.

Some areas I occasionally ride in appear to have passed a law that you must prominently display confederate flag at any residence. You'd be amazed how many fancy themselves to be southerners (but they act more like midwestern hicks) who apparently weren't informed that we live in the north (a strong cyclist can make it to the friggin' Canadian border in a day), the Civil War is over, and the South lost.

sjvcycler

If there is one thing I can't stand as an American its people who fly the rebel flag. I see it as a slap in the face that 620,000 soldiers and an undetermined number of civilians gave their lives for. I agree, the south lost. That is why Ol' Miss can't sing the song anymore. I hate those damn flags.

pallen

Yeah, I cant think of any country in the world where people still fly the flag of a failed rebellion.

sjvcycler

I just don't get it at all. I asked a friend once why he displayed it. He said I just like being a rebel, not that I support the south. Then I realized that he was an idiot and decided not to talk to him about it anymore or hang out with him.

banerjek

If he really wants to be a rebel, he should do it in a less conformist way. Those stupid flags are such a cliche. I live right next to some morons who don't seem to get that Larry the Cable Guy is a comedian rather than a role model.

Your friend would be seen as more rebellious if he displayed a North Korean or Iraqi flag (even though the latter is technically "free").

sjvcycler

I really do love some of the people here. You can't beat good logic.

yossarians22

I've had to use Fox 5.3 against bloodlusted pitbulls, it works. Do these dogs have an owner? Have you considered litigation?

Reynolds 

Anti freeze, D-con, ground glass... that's really cruel and disgusting. If you have to dispatch a dog, do it humanely - shot in the head (but the problem is you need to have some courage to do that).

Nachoman

urbanknight

I'm not saying that your example is not an attack, but it could still be a dog trying to play. Watching dogs in a dog park, sometimes playing chase means trying to knock the other dog over and nipping at their feel or other non-lethal body part. It's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a playing dog and an attacking dog. Of course, if you can't tell, better safe than sorry, and it's the dog owner's fault either way.

lmcq784

I'm not so sure why there aren't many advices here about working it out with the owner. Same as leash laws, if the pet/animal attacks anyone, the owners are responsible. Threaten to sue... see if the owner can control his/her/their animals.

No point trying to harm the animal - they don't know whether they're doing anything wrong. The owner(s) is/are responsible.