dog psychology question

(Bob) from url='http://groups.google.com/'http://groups.google.com//url said:

Several years ago I was riding my bike up a 10% grade and two dogs started bothering me. One dog
actually jumped up and bit my handle bars - nearly throwing me off balance. I just kept biking and
nothing worse happened.

A month ago a little dog with super endurance ran along nudging my front wheel like he was trying
to herd me or knock me over.

Then a few days ago a little cocker spaniel dove at my front wheel and I accidentally ran over
his head.

Anyway, I've been wondering what is going on in those dog brains. Are they attacking me or my
bicycle? It seems like they could easily bite my legs, but they don't.

Good question. I asked my three dogs, and here is what they said:

Sammy (a golden retreiver mix): Roooor-roof! Rowr!

Dutch (a german shepherd mix): Rarf! Rarf!

Taffy (a rat terrier): yip! yip!

So, there you have it, straight from the source. I hope you follow their advice.

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11:57:13 PM 22 June 2003

(Bob) said:

Anyway, I've been wondering what is going on in those dog brains.

Quoted message said:

Are they attacking me or my bicycle?

A bit of both I reckon: the high-pitched whistling of the spokes, and the inevitable fun of the
chase, plus the fact that you are not behaving how a "normal" human behaves.

I do find that basic "pack psychology" works with most dogs of a reasonable level of training: they
are conditioned to human = top dog, and stopping, converting into Normal Human mode and telling them
who's boss, seems to be quite effective.

The ones that worry me are mangy looking terriers and the really big [censored]. Collies have a
certain behaviour pattern (they want to round you up) and are usually easy to deal with but require
some care because they can be very exciteable. Retrievers are usually just friendly, spaniels ditto
IME, and most types of generic mutt seem to be pretty reasonable as well.

But anything attached to a skinhead by a length of chain is to be treated with Grate Caushion :-D

Sixty three people will now tell me I'm completely wrong.

Guy
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Quoted message said:

Anyway, I've been wondering what is going on in those dog brains. Are they attacking me or my
bicycle? It seems like they could easily bite my legs, but they don't.

Here's something I learned while taking Motorcycle Safety Course, and it's helped me out on my
bicycle too:

When chased by a dog while riding - you should quickly slow down and let the dog ALMOST catch up
with you. As the dog gets close - accelerate as fast as possible. This will leave the dog really
frustrated and he shouldn't chase any more. It worked for me.

Good luck!

P.S. Is the spaniel OK?

On 22 Jun 2003, Bob opined:

Quoted message said:

Anyway, I've been wondering what is going on in those dog brains. Are they attacking me or my
bicycle? It seems like they could easily bite my legs, but they don't.

This is a really interesting question, actually. Maybe you could post it in rec.pets.dogs.behavior.
I'd be interested to read their responses.

(I won't crosspost there, though, because we've a loony troll there that might start infecting these
groups too...)

Chad

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Quoted message said:

(Bob) said:

Anyway, I've been wondering what is going on in those dog brains.

One of the funniest print cartoons I ever saw showed a happy content dog sitting in the foreground
with a smile on his face wagging his tail. In the background two people were watching this and one
said to the other "They always seem so content, I wonder what are a dog's hopes and dreams in life?"

In the bubble over the smiling dog's content head it shows his thoughts as "Tomorrow I get to
[censored] again."

"Bob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Several years ago I was riding my bike up a 10% grade and two dogs started bothering me. One dog
actually jumped up and bit my handle bars - nearly throwing me off balance. I just kept biking and
nothing worse happened.

This is a description of a seriously dangerous attack. This animal was, most liklely, intent on
bringing you down. What he would have done at that point is debatable, though I do believe you were
at risk of damage here, especially since there were two dogs involved. A dog that is simply chasing
will not attempt to attack high (this is behavior consistant with how canines bring down large
animals - grab the neck and hold on while the pack does the rest). Fortunately, on a bike (perhaps a
reason not to ride recumbents?), your head is beyond reach.

Quoted message said:

A month ago a little dog with super endurance ran along nudging my front wheel like he was trying
to herd me or knock me over.

My guess is that this was a border collie who would only hurt you if you lost control of the bike.
I've been "herded" by such beasties for miles, though they seemed to be more intent on running
alongside than directing me toward a specific direction. In any case, this is inbred behavior and
the dog was simply treating you as it would an errant sheep. If you stop, the dog will completely
lose interest in you. If not, no harm, no foul.

Quoted message said:

Then a few days ago a little cocker spaniel dove at my front wheel and I accidentally ran over
his head.

Cocker spaniel is a Latin phrase meaning mentally deficient (grin). Lacking the ability to bring
down big game, the critter was doing its best to emulate an alpha male. It would have simply run
away had you stopped (most likely) and was probably not a serious threat.

...stuff deleted

Rick