dogs nipping at your feet

[HillyJill99]

Hi I am new to riding and was on a mountain ride last week out in the country and had a dog come out of now where at me.. what is the best thing for protection.... I am not a fast rider so speed will not work for me.

Thanks
Jill

 

[gobuck]

I ride at the dog if I am going slow and yell a command at it. They usually stop. If they don't I get off my bike and put the bike between me and the dog.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

just yell it'll normally just stop
If it doesn't and starts biting just kick it

 

[DirtyWorks]

Hi I am new to riding and was on a mountain ride last week out in the country and had a dog come out of now where at me.. what is the best thing for protection.... I am not a fast rider so speed will not work for me.

Thanks
Jill

Once upon a time I squirted the dog with water if it got too close. More than one dog stopped completely shocked. Others were more determined. Mostly, as long as you are moving along, nothing will come of their barking. Be ready to kick a really crazy dog. I've never had to do it, but you can't think twice about it.

 

[Oldman]

I ride at the dog if I am going slow and yell a command at it. They usually stop. If they don't I get off my bike and put the bike between me and the dog.

Perfect. Yelling a loud NO! and pointing at the dog usually gets them to stop. I don't count on them standing still so sprinting is the next phase...

 

[TheNJDevil]

First it's a water squirt. Then, if needed, I believe that is what the frame mounted steel pump is for. Sorry people, if your dog is nucking futs...I'm gonna whack it upside the head if I feel endangered.

 

[Oldman]

First it's a water squirt. Then, if needed, I believe that is what the frame mounted steel pump is for. Sorry people, if your dog is nucking futs...I'm gonna whack it upside the head if I feel endangered.

I favor the pump-extended polo swing. Dogs recover surprisingly quick so, like before Phase II is the sprint...

 

[Archibald]

water squirt and/or yelling
a massive "go home!" has worked for me before
then again, one mad mutt came flying out across a main road at me one night. I yelled, but it skidded to a stop too late and wore my down stroke (pedal, you pervert) across it's snout. never even got barked at after that.

 

[brianf7]

Stray dogs are a menace but you will always have them so its a good sprint training session ounce you have them behind you. I had one chase me out to the freeway last week . dont know why but havnt seen it since

 

[la.margna]

I ride myself my road and mountain bike and also have a dog. I am sometimes disgusted at some guys who don't control their dog. A dog's master knows exactly how his dog is reacting towards cyclists. It is the master's duty to always watch out for cyclists if his dog has a problematic attitude towards them. Sometimes this is done very exemplary; when they see me on a bike, the have the dog sit down and wait, sometimes it's catastrophic and outrageous.

Usually I just continue as if there was nothing and when he gets close to me, I look at him and yell a lound "NAAAIII!" (NOOOO! in english) and show my hand open towards them (like a stop sign). So far this has always worked successfully...

 

[Astana1]

No real hard and fast rules. The best thing you can do is to not make the situation worse than it is. Keep your wits about you.


I used to get chased regularly by two loose dobermans. One time they cut me off and I had no recourse but to slow down and yell at them. They immediately lost interest. Those were the two scariest dogs I could imagine because of their sheer speed and aggressiveness. It's counterintuitive but you need to stop being the chased at some point and give the animal a change of perspective.

First off, most dogs understand the word "No!" or even "Go home". Yelling and showing that you are the dominant party usually sets them straight. Dogs are domesticated and they are naturally subordinate to humans.

Squirting water can work too.

Sometimes the worst thing you can do is speed up. One of the worst things that could happen is that you get your self at a high rate of speed and the dog somehow makes contact with you and you crash. I was in a group ride that was utterly demolished by a chasing dog one time.


If you are climbing and you get chased sometimes a good tactic is to get off the bike and use it as a shield. I did that once and started advancing towards the animal, I became the aggressor and it got confused.

Nothing wrong with carrying pepper spray. But make sure you practice with it and understand how to use it. Otherwise you can do more harm to yourself.

 

[HillyJill99]

Thanks for all the advice it is very helpful. I just need to be careful were I ride and try not to ride were I know there are lose dogs running around also.

 

[Gsmitty2000]

Hi I have been chased many times while I am riding on the road and even had problems on my mountain bike in the trails.. I tried water bottles and bike pumps but it seems to make the animals even more mad at me and they never learn there lesson not to chase me. I did find this pepperspray product that a friend told me about called Cyclesaver and it works really good. It mounts right on my handle bar. This will help you if you still have problems while riding.

http://www.personalsavers.com is the website check it out very cool product.

 

[al_pacino]

Luckily where I am the dog is likely to just be coming to say hello rather than have a go at my ankles.

 

[rickshaw]

good doggie

I carry two water bottles, the second has a good dose of ammonia in it. I have yet to encounter a dog which likes ammonia in the eyes... I also sometimes carry a little box of chocolate covered raisens to feed the worst ones. Both chocolate and raisens are toxic to dogs but I really don't know if any have died from the treats or not. My hope is that the owners wise up and don't let fido sun loose.

 

[Gsmitty2000]

Maybe we should give the Dog the treat and spray the owner with pepper spray..LOL the dogs are just really doing what they love to do chase things.

 

[Boeing]

I yell one big loud whatever sound comes out but back in the day when I rode with a frame pump I used to take it out and prepare for a beat down. I have seen guys throw water bottles at the mutt...

 

[HillyJill99]

I checked out http://www.Personalsavers.com Cyclesaver pepperspray and it looks like it is what I need for the dogs that are giving me trouble. THX

 

[danjo007]

they are not coming to attack you, even if they are nipping at your feet... its just what some dogs do - they like to chase things, its in their nature.

so squirting water at them and a strong yell will stop the dog "most" of the time.

pepperspray is overkill for a dog

 

[Gsmitty2000]

Sometime Dogs are not wanting to attack but you never know. Pepperspray will not hurt a dog and believe me if a pitbull comes after you lets say... I really don't think water and yelling at it will stop it if its intention is to attack you. I would use pepperspray in a second to stop it from coming at me. Don't get me wrong I love dogs as I have one myself but you never know what they are going to do they are animals!!!

 

[Astana1]

My experience with the pepper spray is that you can spray it as a warning even and not even direct only animal and it works as a deterrent.

In order to hurt an animal with pepper spray I think you would have to spray it directly in it's open eyes for a few solid seconds. That's not likely.

 

[Boeing]

If you carry pepper spray and can plan ahead enough time and anticipate what a dog is going to do and pull it out and open the nozzle and point and spray then you are riding way too slow.

really?

 

[Trevor FCR]

No one wants to inconvenience themselves by getting their water bottle out ready for "squirting," or unpacking their pepper spray. Who knows? Just, if there are people with the dog, which a lot of people do let their dogs run wild on bike paths, make sure you yell at the people "Control your beeping dog!"

 

[danjo007]

If you carry pepper spray and can plan ahead enough time and anticipate what a dog is going to do and pull it out and open the nozzle and point and spray then you are riding way too slow.

really?

agreed. i have outrun a few dogs in the past.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

agreed. i have outrun a few dogs in the past.

It depends on the breed, of course.

There is no way you (anyone) can outrun a Doberman on a flat road.