Omiak

Yeah, this problem has never even crossed my radar. Never been bit by a dog while cycling or even chased by a dog. I've lived carfree for the past 6 years and biked in many rural and urban places on 4 different continents.

Weird.

antmeeks

Wow, the OP really got the panties all bunched up in this thread, lol.

Troll Factor: 11

BTW, for those who think it's a good idea to stop & sweet talk a vicious animal that's charging you, Darwin has a theory...

coasting 

So today I went for a ride along the mup which has gangs of wild dogs along it. Luckily they were all lazing around sleeping. They didn't take much notice of me, but one of them did make me nearly crash. I was trying to get a better look at him sleeping on his back on top of a wall and I nearly rode right into the wall. Do dogs sleep on their backs? Weird.

merlinextraligh

Sprints with Eddy.

Good motivation.

Seattle Forrest

Poodles are really vicious. But god help us if the butterflies attack.

Commodus

It's been my experience that the barking dogs are almost never intending to bite you. As has been mentioned in this thread already, it's when they stay quiet that you need to think about defending yourself...assuming you even see them coming.

banerjek

Dogs in other countries seem better adjusted than American dogs. I've spent plenty of time in other countries around feral dogs and never had an issue.

I believe it's partly because here we tend to associate safety with some kind of mechanical impediment. These have the effect of making the dog feel more confined (which causes trouble) and preventing adequate socialization. The other is that we have a culture that encourages people to be afraid of things and to be ready to do battle. Doing either of those drastically increases your odds of getting bitten.

I won't pretend for an instant that some dogs aren't hostile. But I would say that anyone who consistently has trouble with dogs is doing something wrong. Just as anyone who does a lot of descending needs to learn to read the road and the feedback they get from the bike, anyone who deals with dogs much needs to figure them out too.

antmeeks

I would say that people just need to learn how to keeps their dogs tethered in public.

Letting a dog roam free in an environment that it's not prepared for is dangerous for it and the people it encounters.

It's a pet owner's duty and responsibility to protect his animal from the world and the world from his animal.

I've been a dog owner my entire adult life and I take this responsibility very seriously - and I'm regularly stunned by all the people that don't.

banerjek

Totally agreed. But there is what people *should* do, and what they actually do. If you base your actions on what others should be doing rather than what they are doing, you'll find yourself in trouble often.

In the sticks, tethered dogs are the exception rather than the rule. Hunting and working dogs may let you know where you don't belong but they won't hurt you as they're usually well trained. From what I can tell, a lot of people here perceive even these to be hostile since many do make racket and they can get close to you. If you do something dumb around them like flail around, you can create a situation out of nothing.

You will occasionally encounter poorly socialized dogs (possibly owned by even more poorly socialized people). They shouldn't be there, but they part of the environment like holes in the road and drunk drivers. They are less predictable and more dangerous. Mismanaging these situations carries even higher risk.

One thing you can count on is that a certain percentage of dog owners (and drivers) are irresponsible morons. It's a good idea to be able to deal with them. You don't want your safety to depend on others acting responsibly/intelligently any more than is absolutely necessary.

Sixty Fiver

My Shih Tzu sleeps on her back, with her body under the covers and head on a pillow... she is like a little fuzzy human.

She loves cyclists and cycling and knows not to pursue riders and will not even step off the curb without permission... she can roam the un-fenced yard off leash.

Cougrrcj

As a mail carrier for the past 32+ years, I can tell you for certain that dogs do chase, and do attack without warning. USPS nationwide has thousands of carriers bitten every year. I've been bitten four times over the years - and in each instance I never heard it coming. They all attacked from behind. I've faced down many dogs over the years, and have never been bitten by one that I've seen first. A good adrenaline-pumped primal scream will stop most dogs in their tracks.

As for dogs whilst cycling, back in my early days of road riding, I would ride 5-60 miles/day in the afternoons when I was at Ohio State. Out west of town into the 'country'. Yes, I rode the same route enough times that I knew where the chasers lived - and I'd be in full-tilt-boogie mode past those farms... Once, while in a 10-bike double-line draft pack, one dog got ran over and killed by us. Wrecked three or four bikes, too. We were going so fast and concentrating on the wheel in front of us, and never heard the dog coming.

Even back in 1960 or so, my dad used to ride to work when we lived on the outskirts of Dayton, again in 'farm country'. Dad had a 3-speed, and carried a squirt bottle full of ammonia. They never attacked him twice!

Myosmith

It is important to learn to read dogs just as you learn to read other people, because, just like people, the vast majority are no threat, some are an unintentional or conditional threat, and a very few are genuinely out to hurt you. I'm not against carrying pepper spray for those very rare times when you are in imminent danger of being bitten or mauled, but I'm very much against blasting away at every cockapoo that barks at you or every friendly mutt that want to run along side of you. I agree that friendly, playful dogs are as big a problem as aggressive ones as they can cause accidents that result in injury to both rider and dog and damage to bikes. In these cases slowing down or stopping and walking your bike out of a dog's territory while ignoring or reprimanding it are a better option than trying to outrun the dog as outrunning it just further encourages the chase and the next cyclist to pass might be someone on a grocery laden beach cruiser, or some kid on a WalMart MTB that doesn't have a chance in heck of outrunning fido. If a dog is a significant problem talk to the owner, or contact the proper authorities.

I advise against carrying doggie treats or every using the "who's a good boy" approach to even friendly dogs because it teaches them that cyclists are playmates which isn't a healthy situation for you or the dog. I'm a dog lover and have three of my own, but I "bark" at them loudly with "stop, bad dog, go home or go away" if they approach me when I'm coming into the yard or driveway on my bike or if they try to follow me when I leave. If they don't listen immediately, I'll stop and solve the problem before riding off. They have learned to stay back until I get off the bike, remove my helmet and call them by name. I will no more let my dogs play around where cyclists are riding than I would let my child play in traffic.

Reynolds 

In more than 100,000 kms of cycling I've been chased countless times, but never bitten. One made me fall down, though, with no consequences. I carried pepper spray for a while, but I never used it, and when it expired didn't buy another.
At first I used to yell and scare dogs away, but now I try to be nice with them as the OP said. It worked so far.
As for the rabies thing, it's no joke. If a dog bites me and can't be found and kept under observation, I'd have rabies shots hands down. They are a PITA but, however rare rabies is, it's a horrible, irrevocable death.