dogs nipping at your feet

[riobonito92]

For years I was regularly chased by dogs. I have been in clinics in Belize and Nepal begging for rabies shots. I have also been bitten by them in England, Italy and Colombia. Most of the bites were on the ankles or lower calves and only one was actually painful. That was in Colombia when I road past an army checkpoint without stopping . . .

Although I still ride, dogs now ignore me. What I realised is that I had become so aware of dogs, as I approached them I would look them in eye to try to guess what they would do. Now, I deliberately look the other way and pretty much all dogs ignore me.

I do think the best tactic for a determined chaser, though, is to get off the bike so it is between you and the dog and then swing the back wheel hard into its face - preferably with it spinning. Then you just have to hope the owner isn't carrying a gun.

 

[pedaling squares]

Many dogs have a high prey drive - they love to chase moving objects. This does not mean they love to bite moving objects. Rarely will a dog actually bite you, but sometimes getting in the way and causing a crash can be worse than a bite anyway. Most crashes that I've seen though have been because a rider reacted badly (panicked) when the dog came near. Yelling and squirting water are great tools. Yelling being something even a beginner can do quickly and without taking a hand off the bar while in a nervous state.

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

I hope you ride alone! Anyone behind or beside you may not appreciate its effects. Even small canisters create some conical shape that a novice may not control perfectly. And many dogs are not affected by pepper spray as others have said.

From the website:

Cycle Saver’s easy-twist lock top and snap in mounting bracket allow for easy accessibility and the ballistic stream can spray attackers from up to ten feet away

Another marketer promoting useless products by creating fear? It sounds like you have to twist the top before you deploy the spray, which is probably a two hand operation. Be careful, you might just end up on the ground with your eyes burning and a dog looking at you wondering what all the screaming is about.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Many dogs have a high prey drive - they love to chase moving objects. This does not mean they love to bite moving objects. Rarely will a dog actually bite you, but sometimes getting in the way and causing a crash can be worse than a bite anyway. Most crashes that I've seen though have been because a rider reacted badly (panicked) when the dog came near. Yelling and squirting water are great tools. Yelling being something even a beginner can do quickly and without taking a hand off the bar while in a nervous state.

Reverse psychology seems to work for me. FTH of it, once I tried "nice doggie" talk in a calm voice as the dog approached and proceeded to romp along side. It almost seems to confuse them. I've had enough luck with it that I've done it ever since.

 

[veganrob]

Reverse psychology seems to work for me. FTH of it, once I tried "nice doggie" talk in a calm voice as the dog approached and proceeded to romp along side. It almost seems to confuse them. I've had enough luck with it that I've done it ever since.

This is actually what I do also. I don't try to out run them, just firm but friendly talk seems to work.

 

[Rip:30]

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.

this is hilarious.

where do you carry your anti dog chocolates? in the back of your rickshaw?

personally I've had good luck outsprinting dogs on the skinny tires or scaring them off by riding at them on the mtn bike.

close calls in mexico on the tour with a 60+lb BOB trailer though...

 

[Rip:30]

how fast can a Doberman really go BTW? never had to race one.

i think the worst situation is if the dog is out in the road ahead of you, so you don't have a head start. might be time to pull a 180. if they are running at you from a tangent (yard), as you pass by, it shouldn't be too hard to escape.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

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.

I'd be afraid I'd take a drink from the wrong bottle. Have you ever had to use it? I once thought of a similar thing, but using a pocket-size baseball glove oil bottle. The ones I'm thinking of are shaped like flask of whiskey... flatish to fit in the back jersey pocket, about 2" wide and 3" tall, with a ball-valve type spout which would be perfect to create a jet stream. Never tried it though cuz I worried about it leaking.

 

[Astana1]

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?

Must be pretty flat where you ride. Or maybe you're a downhill mountain biker.

If the doberman is already on the road then there is no way you will outpace him. Not even Cavendish could. Fortunately those dogs responded well to yelling.

 

[Gsmitty2000]

I would never carry a water bottle with something in it that could harm you.. what if you had your bike at home and your child grabed it and took a drink...NOT GOOD!!!

 

[marathon marke]

how fast can a Doberman really go BTW? never had to race one.

I'm a greyhound owner. From a standing start, those guys can get up to 40-45 mph in 4 strides. Dobermans are part greyhound.

 

[Estonia77]

They have the angle ...

Unfortunately in most of my encounters the dogs they have the angle in their favour when approaching (much like a slower opponent tackling the much faster running back in football), so it is not often that they are merely running you down from behind. Furthermore their legs are fresh, where we tend to be quite a few miles/kilometres into a ride. In short, they will be at your pedals before you can react. Dogs like the chase period. Thus instead of trying to flee and continuing the stimulus, it is simply best to put on the brakes and stop riding until the situation subsides. Remember ... they are not wild animals, just man's best friend jumping at the chance for a little excitement.

 

[Finbouy]

I ride through an area where a lot of dog walkers let their dogs off leads, I've no problem with that except the owners lack of control. I've been chased quite a few times by mad mutts and have found shouting at them loudly makes them stop, except one mad mutt who I had to kick severly in the head. The owners (most of) apreciate a loud shout and it brings attention to the owner the mad mutt in question, embarasing being shouted at isn't it? and invariably they (both owner and dog) cower off.
However I have had to retort to throwing house bricks at one nasty bulldog thing. I ride past a trail off a steep hill into a bridleway where a run down house is and thats exactly where the bridleway turns right, the dog thinks it's his place and chases you down the bridleway biting both heals and tyres. The only option is to get off first and throw house bricks at it, the owner doesn't give a shi* so I've had to resort to more offensive behaviour. I've reported the dog to the local police on more than one occasion, but nothings changed.

 

[Mishrak]

The ones that are the worst for me are the ones I don't notice right away. I've literally had one hiding in the ditch as I approach and I didn't know it was there until it was chasing me down and snarling. This is a particularly mean one from what I can tell and usually it's tied up, but that day it was loose and startled me. I didn't know I could sprint that fast in such a low gear (I was just spinning). In the future, I will be expectant when I approach that part of my ride that he may or may not be loose so it won't startle me.

One ride I was out on, there was a pack of about 4 or 5 dogs, and I saw them about 40 yards away as I came up to a stop sign. Needless to say I did a 180 and went the other direction as they sprinted in a tangent line across a field to give chase. I was long gone by the time they hit the border of their "territory".

Generally though, if I see them and I know they're there, I can avoid them. It's really the ones that surprise me and are at my feet before I can do anything about it that I'm most leery about. It really doesn't happen that often though fortunately.

 

[Boeing]

Must be pretty flat where you ride. Or maybe you're a downhill mountain biker.

If the doberman is already on the road then there is no way you will outpace him. Not even Cavendish could. Fortunately those dogs responded well to yelling.

did you even read my post? why do you want to make this about me anyway. no likey? ahhhh

 

[Granville57]

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.

Although months old, only two days ago this very quote came rushing back to my mind (so thanks!).

On my regular running route, I go by a house on a very affluent street that during decent weather always has two Weimaraners out front with nothing but an "invisible fence" to keep them in place. For five years now, every time I go by they bark aggressively and become agitated. The house sits across the street from the paved walkway that I run on. There are no other sidewalks on the surrounding streets so this has always been the safest route (in terms of traffic) to end my runs and get back home. Sometimes I would talk to them hoping that they would get used to me, sometimes when I was short on patience I would actually stare them down (unwise, I realize, but I get that way sometimes) but mostly I just ignored them.

A couple of days ago something changed. Just as I went beyond the property, the more aggressive of the two dogs decided that he had enough of my insubordination and charged across the street directly at me, electronic collar and all.

I love dogs, I'm used to dogs, and through friends who have owned Weimaraners I'm somewhat familiar with the breed. I'd say this creature was big by Weimaraner standards, and he was pretty upset with me at that moment. Without thinking about it at all, I turned on the dog, pointed and yelled, "No! Stop! Go back home!" This pretty much stopped him in his tracks but he was still growling at me, and I was surprised by how big his head was up close.
I remember thinking, Damn, this is gonna hurt if this SOB bites me. My main concern was that if he did attack me his sidekick would also rush over to join in the fun.

Hoping to diffuse the situation further, I slowly turned to continue on my way. This only emboldened the grey beast and he started barking and growling again and baring his teeth. At this point I was more angry than scared so I confronted him head-on and once again pointed and yelled, "Go back home!"
Which he did!

With his (big) head hung low, he turned away and sauntered back towards his yard. Luckily the impenetrable "invisible fence" was so invisible that it somehow allowed for his return.

I called animal control and filed a complaint as soon as I got home. I guess I'll take my chances with traffic in the future and avoid that road altogether.

 

[oldborn]

I just shoot him straight in a head and asking questions later.
Damn animals!