One thing I have noticed about less then lethal defense methods in nature, skunk spray and porcipine (sp?) quills is that some dogs will take this as a declaration of war and will kill the above mentioned at every opportunity no matter the physical pain. So if the week after you nailed the offending dog with your nonlethal deterrent and he gives chase again be prepared for a more determined attack. This time though you might not get a warning because it is no longer about the chase, just the kill and your first indication of trouble is a tearing sensation in your leg as you pass into the ambush site. Even after this observation I would vote for bear grade pepper spray in those areas that it isn't lumped in with 1911s, ARs and other more lethal defensive tools. As it will at least make the offending predator unable to press an attack.
Justin

It depends...
 

Hi,

Had my share of dog experiences, and I'd like to share a few observations.

First, natural selection unfortunately has a way of weeding out the aggressive chasers. On two of my favorite local rides, dogs used to vex me. Both were uphill segments. On one, an English springer spaniel -- beautiful little guy -- would give chase very determindly. The dog disappeared after several months, and since this is a heavily traveled road, I'd guess his road wars ended the way we all might have predicted. The other is a small farmhouse at the bottom of a very steep hill. Two shepherds that lived there would nap in the culvert at the bottom of the hill, the better to set themselves upon any unwary cyclist. They quickly disappeared, too, and the farmer installed a gate across his drive to contain his (next) pack of dogs.

I find that speaking "dog" really helps. If a dog gives chase but has its ears forward and tail up, I'll generally engage it in conversation, a la "what a pretty fellow!" If it is manifesting more aggression, then I use my best angryman voice to say "bad dog!," or "Off!" both are likely to be familiar, whereas commands like "Go home!" are probably not. It's amazing how often an aggressive dog will break off given a VERY forceful command. I usually swerve toward the dog as I shout out.

The dogs that are cause for concern are the ones one doesn't hear. Last week, as I rode down a road at the edge of town, I heard an all-too-familiar clicking on the tarmac. I looked back, and a pit bull terrier was giving chase, but about to break off because I was too far ahead. It's the dogs that don't bark who are usually pursuing prey -- you. In that case, outrace the dog or dismount to do battle.

Speaking of battle, on Saturday, we were on farm roads when three Jack Russell terriers and a large shepherd ran to the edge of their unfenced property as we approached. We are the dedicated companions to a JRT, and we have every reason to believe they are very aggressive about defending their property. The question is, where does the dog define the property limit? We stopped, and began talking to the pack in high, "nice doggie" voices. Understanding that shepherds want to herd and terriers tend to be scrappy certainly helped. The result was wagging tails and a free pass. Riding back on the way home, all dogs gave us a nod and a wag.

I've never carried pepper spray, but I've been considering it for areas away from my home patch, where I know most of the dogs. But really, in most cases, it's a matter of understanding their behavior. Dogs are hard wired to give chase to fleeing prey. Where I live, coyotes are common, but they've never regarded me as food. They'll watch, even follow as I ride, but it's clear they're trying to process what I am. In contrast, when out with our terrier, they've yipped and followed, trying to lure him off for an easy lunch. Dogs have a complicated social structure, but in its essence, it's rooted in hierarchy (alpha dog) competition and territoriality. Understand and deal with that and you're on better footing with aggressive dogs, at least in my experience.

agreed,, however i think your oversimplifying the situation. obviously there are a lot of dogs out
on the streets that should absolutely NOT be off the leash and the owners are deffinately the ones responsable for this.. however,, there are also people like me who are responsable dog owners that live in places where it is acceptable to have a dog off of the leash in and around town. i would find it offensive to have me or my dog treated with the same blanketed hostility and agression just because i own a dog and walk him around my neighborhood without a leash from time to time.
i have personally been chased by several dogs and even attacked once to the point where i had to recieve stitches. does this exprience give me entitlement of some kind? i dont think so... perspective, yes,, but not entitlement.

its just not a black and white issue.

so this attack, given there is little to no time to reach for something, etc... (even if you had that "something")

the strategy i had mentioned earlier would be to "open the line of attack" by veering, in this case, hard left
when the dog gets near, you have 2 choices.

1. hit brakes and let dog skid past and give chase
2. veer hard right, with the very strong intention of making it eat the spokes of the rear wheel, a la CuisinArt method, then veer left again, and attempt to pull away.

when the dog yelps, you know its nose got into the spokes.

now there is a fine line in "Control" here
bike skills are paramount

as for myself, I've been on a bike since i was a kid, i mountain bike, etc...
i'm comfortable bunny hopping a log, a pallet in the road, bumping shoulders, leaning into each other, madison moves, all that kind of stuff.

if a person had to run over a dog, albeit a large dog, poses a large problem, but most of the time, if you can manage to get the front wheel over the back of the dog, the chainring, et al will follow (classic MTB move)

very much a kin to having to bunny hop someone who falls infront of you. i.e. crit, mtb race, etc...

if you absolutely had to do some funky drills to practice, we would partially fill empty soda bottles, etc.. with water, so that they roll, but still have a funky change in rhythm, due to the "sloshing", ride your bike, and hop over the bottle.
of course you can start with small bottles (plastic)

i know it should chaotic and dangerous, but as young men we used to do all those silly things.

optimally a person should be able to handle a dropped water bottle in a group. i.e. when your buddy drops his water bottle on a group ride, in a peloton. a person (theoretically) should be able to not panic, and simply loft over the bottle, or just run it over, and pop the the lid off of it. using your back wheel is the easiest.


I live here on the Monterey Peninsula, i used to clock out from work at 11pm, and there are a lot of Raccoons in Pacific Grove, where i used to live. On many occasions, i've rounded a corner at stupid speed (albeit my decision) and suddenly find a group of raccoons skittering all across the street as i startle them from their trash can diving. its very much like having an undetermined # of bowling balls rolling across your path at various angles, speeds, and god only knows what else. heck sometimes they just stop and stand up.

I've had the same thing happen with deer.

none of this stuff, gives you time to think, all you can do is react, and hopefully your brain & body has had some history to similar situations, and maybe a person has even practiced something to the likes.

i think this thread should be closed too.
typically nothing good comes from violence.

last rant: always file a report!
d-

I haven't read all of the replies....
My dad commuted to work on his bike for 20+years, and he swore by 'lysol'.
(It's a household cleaner)

I had three dogs come out at me today causing me to forget where I was until on oncoming car reminded me. When I stopped the dogs attacked again and I got bit. It was not a bad bite, so I continued the ride. When I go home I called our animal control officer who was very willing to go to the residence and have them put the dog up for 12 days. He said this was federal law. These owners will also need to prove the dogs are vaccinated.

A fellow rider uses ammonia and has had good results. He said the he just puts a barrier between him and the animal but has also sprayed the dog.

The officer said that if it were him, he would carry mace.

I think it is good the report these violations of leash laws so that others, perhaps children, are not put at risk.

chuck

I;m glad it seems to have worked for you. My only reservation would be that isn;t feeding them a way of reinforcing bad behaviour in the dog? I'm no dog psychologist, so I could very well be wrong, but surely in a Pavlovian sense (how often can you get that into a sentence?) feeding them after they are aggressive only encourages them to be aggressive to the next bicycle shaped object?

dogs
 

Pepper or bear spray still seems the best. It would presumably be easy to mount on a clip on the bars or frame for when needed? Also it could be used on any other aggressive threatening types. Infact in the US many carry guns so why can't you just shoot the dog(s) if it was trying to bite you? People seem fair game so why not out of control dogs?

Controversial!

As the OP for this thread, I have found many answers very informative. The "shoot the dogs" comments were a bit harsh I would say, although some dogs are pretty agressive.

My plan is to start carrying some type of spray and only use it in dire emergencies, such as if I must stop to defend myself. I have squirted a few dogs with water from my water bottle, but then along comes an agressive dog that appears to be drinking the water as I squirt it and then come at my bike even stronger. He finally took more interest in someone behind me.

The main answer was that there is not a single answer. Dogs are just as different as people.

I wasn't actually advocating shooting the hungry muts but asked the question more out of curiosity as I beleive that in the US guns are widely available and gun ownership in the general population is high which results in a lot of people being shot. So if a lot of people get shot would a vicious dog that comes for you, bites or attempts to bite you run the risk of being shot as well? If you had a gun, could you legitimately shoot it? Not suggesting that cyclists should arm themselves although it does seem tempting from time to time. In UK guns are not widely available well they shouldn't be. Only gangsters and drug dealers carry them. All hand guns are banned. We currently have an epidemic of knife attacks at the moment. It was a hyptothetical that's all. I have when been chased by a salivating mut stopped and put my bike between it and me. It doesn't happen often but when it does I find it very scary. Generally happens cycling through lo-cost housing areas.

Are you a Daily Mail reader by any chance?

Ya gotta really want to shoot something to be carrying a gun while riding your bike. That's just silly, and I'm being polite.

Speed is my first defense with an aggressive dog (the silent ones), mace/pepper spray (if I've got it—I generally don't) would be second, bike blocking third. I've been fortunate so far.

One small quibble--don't hide behind language: if you purposefully maneuver your bike to run over a dog, it's no longer "evasive action". I wasn't there so I can't say that it wasn't necessary, but be honest--at that moment you were on the offense.

I was commenting on the tone of the thread, and some of the language not the content of the thread
at all.

ok,, well then i completely agree with you... hah!

To the OP, I know of a great Walmart product that I have used it the past on my neighborhood dogs. They kept chasing and getting closer with every ride. I hit them once each with the stuff and its been two years and they will only come out to the edge of the yard and not on the street. I am happy with that. The last time I put it in a post I was slammed by a lot of people so PM me and I will tell you.
I have only had one dog (Pit) that has made me nervous about being attacked. It never barked and I managed to get unclipped just in time to kick it. It was enough that it let me be. The owner of my LBS was attacked last week by a Pit. The owner has around 20 dogs on the edge of town and they run loose. On a group ride she went ahead on a sprint and we found her with a bloody leg. The owner wanted to shoot the dog then. The law says it has to be at a vet for 10 days to prove it is not rabbid or she gets a series of shots that cost a lot. Its still not resolved.
Those are the only bad experiences I have had with dogs in the last 4 years. I ride a couple of times a year from central AR to southwest AR (115 miles) in very rural areas and not had any trouble.

When I have not been the victim of a sudden sneak bite from a marauding dog, I have usually been able to get off the bike and use it as a kind of shield. You can usually push the dog away by moving the bike towards him broadside when you are behind it. Works a treat. The last time I was bitten by a dog, it was a peaceful looking labrador that just flipped as I rode past him. He grabbed my calf and punctured the skin. The most annoying thing was the reaction of the owner who tried to say it was my fault for surprising the beast by daring to ride a bike on the road.... I let her know my side of it, obviously.

I have a dog myself, and I owned a German Shepherd once upon a time. Owning a dog brings some responsibilities, especially if it is a breed that could do damage or cause unwanted surprise or intimidation to other people, or their pets. Too many dog owners, just like car drivers, think they can go about in a casual fashion without taking note of how their activities might impact on other people.

What I've been doing in much of rural Alabama and Mississippi is yelling at dogs as soon as they get close. Most of them tuck tail and back off. Scares the **** out of them.

I've also found that the most aggressive dogs are the smallest and least harmful...haha

I think dogs have strong memory. I have seen dogs in neighbourhoods I have passed through infrequently before, recognise me and in even wag their tails and generally show a pretty amiable disposition. But then street dogs are a lot more amiable than home based spoilt dogs.

Aggressive dogs
 

I know this is an old thread but I thought I would add my experience. My son and I were traveling through North Carolina and came across a couple of aggressive dogs. They came charging us from across their yard into the street. Unfortunately for the dog it ran right into a Mack truck! I hate seeing that happen to these dogs due to the negligence of their owners. It really put a damper on the rest of our trip and it was nerve racking riding past houses with even more dogs charging at us. Just ridiculous! We were more concerned for the dumb dogs getting hit. I just don't know what would be the right thing to do because I'm sure the local police could care less if a dog chases a cyclist down.

Luckily, I've only had to deal with this a couple of times. Each time my Airzoundz horn has effectively stopped them in their tracks, even though it is facing forward and they are coming at me from behind. It's LOUD! IMO, a air horn is a must anyway, but I was happily surprised to have it be effective for this. I have no idea if it'd work on every dog, but it certainly worked for me. They seemed very surprised at the strange loud noise and immediately came to a halt.

I've mounted my Airzoundz vessel in an extra cage strapped to the bottom of my downtube, so it isn't taking up any real estate I'd otherwise usually use. Since the vessel is an empty plastic bottle, it essentially weighs nothing, so any of the different types of add-on bottle mounting systems work just fine. I wasn't a big fan of the Zefal, but it worked (with a little help from some model glue). I was skeptical of the the little flexible metal bands, but they actually work quite well too. I haven't used the Minoura in this location, but be aware it has some stand-off so might take up too much space in some instances. Recently Airzoundz has started advising 85 PSI as the upper limit for the horns, but this is just because in some jurisdictions that is all that is allowed. They haven't changed the design any, I've still been pumping my new ones up to 120 PSI with no ill effects, and I've been using one of them for about three years now. The more it is pumped up, not only is it much louder (120 PSI = ~ 120 decibels), but you get more blasts out of it before you have to refill it.

I outrun the dog if I can, but I don't try that unless I'm confident. It's much worse to run if you're ultimately going to be caught. If I'm not sure I can outrun the dog I move well out into the road if possible so there's more buffer space. I consider the dog to be behaving just as they should until it becomes obvious they have left their owner's property or are bounding in that direction - now they have no business being aggressive with me.

When I first see a dog running out and barking I say "YOU STAY BOY" in a commanding voice as though the dog is my own. Many many dogs react well to this. And even if they don't quite a lot of dogs will at least hesitate for a moment when you do that. I then immediately capitalize on their hesitation as an indication that they have obeyed me and I say "GOOD BOY! THAT'S A GOOD DOG" and more praises like that. You'd be amazed at how many dogs react well to this. Even if they weren't truly obeying me, now they go from being aggressive to wagging their tails and quite proud of how "good" they can be.

Dogs are very sensitive to your emotions and any indication of fear or aggression that YOU have. It helps to be aware of that and remain calm and treat the whole situation as rather matter-of-fact. Try your best to be projecting a friendly attitude and a persona where you're not just unafraid, you haven't even considered being afraid.

I've never been bit by a dog and I've been an avid cyclist for at least 40 years. I'm not saying it couldn't happen - it just has not.

Completely wild dogs are the biggest problem. I've been riding in the mountains where people have just let dogs loose in the woods and deserted them and then they had baby dogs with no human training. Those are extremely rare in my part of the country though.

Get a friend with a car to drive you to about half a mile from the nuisance mutt. Get on your bike with your friend a block or so behind you in his/her car. Be sure to pick a cold-blooded dog-hating friend as this will be helpful from this point forward. If the dog chases you, entice him/her to the opposite side of the road from the house it comes from, even if this means cycling on the left fog line (obviously without oncoming traffic). You may have to make a couple passes to get just the right setup. It would help if you were cycling downhill though.

When the mutt shows the first sign of getting tired or giving up have your friend accelerate to roughly 100 feet behind it. At 50 mph the car is moving about 73 feet per second. At 75 feet (about the length of a moderate house for reference) your friend should lay on the horn hard. The dog will freak and veer back toward home (and across the street). Whamo! Problem solved. Have your friend pick you up a mile down the road.

A nice touch is to have an ice chest with at least 2 cold bottles of Martinell's Sparking Apple Juice to clink together in celebration of your success and quite possibly saving some less experienced cyclist from harm later on.

http://www.fw190.org/123081_martinel...le-500x500.jpg

Of course I would NEVER actually do this and neither should you...:innocent:

One more thing. No matter how tempting it may be, do not use a dash cam during the hit. That'll get you 3 years if anyone sees that (remember Michael Vick?)

I do like your style.