Dog Attacks

CycleTexas

Hey there, new to the site and to the world of cycling but have fallen in love. I'm a 20 year old student that lives about 20 minutes away from campus on back country roads. Great terrain for riding (no cars) but a high risk of getting attacked by dogs. I wanted to see if anyone had advice on how to deal with potential attacks and if anyone has some good/bad stories to share.

Scotty_Dog

Performing an advanced search for keyword "dog" in the title will yield many threads: http://www.cyclingforums.com/search.php?

__________________
"There is alot of blather here that does not float the hooey barge." boudreaux 11/22/2005

Julian G.

Today some dogs really screwed me up... there was two of them tied up in someones yard... rode by, one of them barked... they were GOATS!

I'm not worried about dogs... Usualy I should be able to out run them easy and if one does catch me... grab a good chunk of skin on the dog's back with both hands and lift...

But the closest thing to an atack I had was a little ankle biter who tried to chase me... funniest thing ever... and the goats made me forget when to turn and screwed up my route.

G@ZZ@

Where I live there are no leash laws (middle of nowhere LOL)

Usually what I do is when confronted by dogs baying for my shorts I basically just shout a short command as loud as I can. Sit! or Stay! or just something with a commanding tone!

It's usually enough to stop them or at least make them pause or hesitate, and if they come closer I just do the same thing.

Gives you enough time to pedal away from them, especially with the adrenaline rushing through your veins.

Farmguy

If you have a favorite dog in the same spot every time, take a baked potato, hot, wrapped in tinfoil and carry with you, when he gets close to you toss him the tater, almost every time they will catch it and then...., have you ever bit tinfoil?, try it at 300 + temps He probaly wont chase you again.

Now for a real problem dog, I had a riding buddy that packed a .38 for the real nasty dogs. Only took once and problem was solved, sheriff even backed him as the dog was in the wrong, owner as well, for being in the road. Now, he wasnt thrilled with guns being involved, but........it worked

jhuskey

I have this one little black bastard dog,well he is not so small, but he comes out of nowhere barking and chasing and startles me.
Last week I caught him licking his butt beside the road and paying no attention.
As I passed him I screamed at him as loud as I could Scared the crap out of him and made him jump about three feet straight up. Sweet revenge!
Of course he is one of many along the way that need to be dealt with in different ways.

__________________
Whenever I can't get excited about riding I just fantasize about someone else's bike.

Animator

Dogs in the road can be quite serious. I received a bad head injury thanks to one. I carry some pepper spray and always report any dangerous dogs to the Sheriff. In most places, owners are required to keep their dogs out of the road. Around here, they can fined after multiple complaints. Most folks restrain them after one visit from a deputy.

Fishhawk

I also carry pepper spray, but I found it is to hard to unhook the bottle from the handlebar clamp in time to spray the dog. I just outrun them.
Where I ride in rural NW Indiana I am chased just about every time I ride. I've been riding on country roads since I was a kid and have never been bit (knock on wood). There are a couple easy tricks to avoid a dog. Usually they will bark when they first see you and alert you. I found that if you ride in a straight line and wait for the dog to come out into the road and swerve away just as it gets close they alway miss. Also, if the dog is in the road already, it most likely will start moving right toward you. They usually don't wait for you to overtake them. Try to stay in the middle of the road if you can while excellerating. When the dog is about 3 or 4 feet in front of you swerve one way or the other (of course this all depends on if there is traffic) and the dog will be bitting air. I ride on the same 5 or 6 roads and have come to know where all the dogs are. I'm usually moving as fast as I can at those farm houses, so by the dog see's me its to late for it to give chase.
I've also heard where some people carry dog biscuits and toss them at the dog, but I think some of the dobermans and rottweilers that come after me aren't interested in a snack.

CycleTexas

I had two run-ins yesterday with dogs. Strangely I find it fun to try different methods on them. One was in a yard and saw me, started barking and approaching the street so I thought I might yell a command to it, surprisingly it worked very well. They stopped dead in their tracks right before they hit the road. The second time the dog was in the road about 300 ft. ahead and to be safe I pulled my pepper spray out just in case. By the time I had reached it I came to find two of them but at this point they were on the side of the road and I blew past them. I know it sounds weak but in my opinion it's always good to carry spray on you JIC of a run-in. After a couple run-ins my advice would be never freeze up which is my first tendancy, b/c the dog doesn't know the difference and no one wants bite marks on their ankles.

spasticteapot

If you're not keen on firing a firearm while pedaling, try getting an airhorn - the ones powered by compressed air in a can. I hear it works wonders.

Fishhawk

Thats only because the 12 gauge autoloader has such a kick.

G@ZZ@

Anyone tried a dog whistle?

mburmei1

I highly suggest you don't follow the gun advice.

I was chased by the same three dogs a few times that all seemed like they wanted to kill me. Either pick up speed when you know your going to pass the place, or if one blindsides you, either do what a previous member said, shout a command or do what I say and give an aggressive shout in general. If your bigger and meaner then the dog, it'll probably hesitate. I had my old neighbors dog run full sprint away for a few seconds which gave me ample time. It may sound silly but if your really in danger of being knocked off or bitten then its worth it.