Omnibus Dog Thread (2007)

On Mar 20, 5:32 pm, Kristian M Zoerhoff <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In the spirit of .max's omnibus close-call thread:

<http://tinyurl.com/343g73>

I propose the Omnibus Dog Thread (TM), 2007 Edition.

When/where: Today, 15:39 CDT, Powers Rd, Rutland Township, IL.
(N42.11575,W88.40607)

What: I was crusing back from the bank, lollygagging along around
12 mph or so. There was a headwind, and Powers is a lovely, winding
country lane over rolling terrain, so what's the rush?

As I cruise along, I hear a bark off to my left. No biggie, lots of
dogs out on a warm day like today. Then I hear the crackle of under-
brush, and the dog (a lab mix?) explodes onto the pavement with a
bark and the telltale sound of nails on pavement.

A quick glance at the mirror says he's maybe 30 yeards behind me,
closing at full speed. I decide I don't feel like stopping to try
and block him with the bike while reaching for pepper spray or my
frame pump, as he's behind me, so I hit the drops and spin. As I
pull away, I turn back and give a loud, deep "[censored] off!", which
appears to spook him, as he stops dead in his tracks.

When I got home, I pulled up my GPS track, zoomed in on that spot,
and noted that my unit claimed I jumped to 27 mph. Amazing stuff,
that adrenaline.

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_ [email hidden]
(_)/ (_)

Congrats on the sprint.
Are you still in long slow distance mode or are you starting to add
intervals to your training mix? 😉

What kind of pepper spray? I've lost one that was holster-mounted as
the quick release snaps are not immune to corrosive sweat. So no more
holster for me, its in my jersey.

I found that yelling "STOP" at a german shepard was effective when
being dropped by it after it broke free from the invisible fence at a
friend's place. I don't think that buying carbon fiber running shoes
was going to help. If they've had any training at all, its pretty easy
to access that part of their brain before they realize that they don't
have to obey you - provided that you're not wearing a tasty padded
suit:

http://www.workingdogs.com/shop/BiteSuit1.htm

I get to pay a visit to the rotweiller on 602 for the first time later
this week, about 0.8 miles west of the Opie bridge on River Road.
Hopefully he'll be too busy licking himself to bother with me (as
usual) and the black and brown labs across the road from him don't see
me until I'm already past. The good thing about wind is that it
shortens the range in which they hear your approach if its coming from
the favorable direction.

If that black and white hellhound gives chase on an climb on PA St Rt
232, he's just plain getting the pepper spray without a second
thought.

I do tend to crank up the speed prior to the known dog locations but
reduce cadence to decrease noise output (soft pedal) right where I
would expect them to acquire me as a target, them jump up and hammer
if they decide to bolt.

I do not trust invisible fences.
Some dogs know how to cross them.
Some are placed close enough to the road that you have no real way of
knowing whether or not they are going to deter the animal or simply
provide it with a momentary pause.

Quoted message said:

From the way you described his pursuit, it sounds as if the dog did

not look both ways before crossing the street. One time that dog will
not be quite so lucky and will be roadkill. Hopefully the motorist
doesn't go off the road or take out the cyclist or pedestrian that was
his intended target.

-bdbafh

Kristian M Zoerhoff wrote:
{snip dog tale}

Quoted message said:

When I got home, I pulled up my GPS track, zoomed in on that spot,
and noted that my unit claimed I jumped to 27 mph.

How fast did the rest of you say it went?

Bill "slow afternoon" S.

bdbafh said:

Congrats on the sprint.
Are you still in long slow distance mode or are you starting to add
intervals to your training mix? 😉

Looks like the latter now :-D I spent my winter forcing myself to
ride exclusively in 42-18 (recently 42-16), to make sure I got a good
workout on those short rides. It's helped, and not just today. I'm
noticeably stronger than I was even 3 months ago.

Quoted message said:

What kind of pepper spray? I've lost one that was holster-mounted as
the quick release snaps are not immune to corrosive sweat. So no more
holster for me, its in my jersey.

Some really old stuff my father-in-law gave me that even he thinks
doesn't work anymore. I keep it in a side mesh pocket on my handlebar
bag, with my keys, so I can reach it quickly.

Quoted message said:

I do not trust invisible fences.
Some dogs know how to cross them.

My West Highland Terrier figured it out right off; first squirrel was
enough to unleash his inner hunter. I quickly went to a 4' cedar fence
after that.

Quoted message said:

From the way you described his pursuit, it sounds as if the dog did
not look both ways before crossing the street. One time that dog will
not be quite so lucky and will be roadkill. Hopefully the motorist
doesn't go off the road or take out the cyclist or pedestrian that was
his intended target.

He didn't, and I encountered 4 cars within 1/4 mile, travelling in both
directions. I don't think he bought it (and I wouldn't wish that upon
him), but it's possible that today was his day.

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_ [email hidden]
(_)/ (_)

Bill Sornson said:

Kristian M Zoerhoff wrote:
{snip dog tale}

Quoted message said:

When I got home, I pulled up my GPS track, zoomed in on that spot,
and noted that my unit claimed I jumped to 27 mph.

How fast did the rest of you say it went?

Not that fast; my knees don't hurt, and my quads aren't tight.

Of course, it /was/ only a 15 mile ride...

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_ [email hidden]
(_)/ (_)

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

Quoted message said:

On Mar 20, 5:32 pm, Kristian M Zoerhoff <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In the spirit of .max's omnibus close-call thread:

<http://tinyurl.com/343g73>

I propose the Omnibus Dog Thread (TM), 2007 Edition.

When/where: Today, 15:39 CDT, Powers Rd, Rutland Township, IL.
(N42.11575,W88.40607)

What: I was crusing back from the bank, lollygagging along around
12 mph or so. There was a headwind, and Powers is a lovely, winding
country lane over rolling terrain, so what's the rush?

As I cruise along, I hear a bark off to my left. No biggie, lots of
dogs out on a warm day like today. Then I hear the crackle of under-
brush, and the dog (a lab mix?) explodes onto the pavement with a
bark and the telltale sound of nails on pavement.

A quick glance at the mirror says he's maybe 30 yeards behind me,
closing at full speed. I decide I don't feel like stopping to try
and block him with the bike while reaching for pepper spray or my
frame pump, as he's behind me, so I hit the drops and spin. As I
pull away, I turn back and give a loud, deep "[censored] off!", which
appears to spook him, as he stops dead in his tracks.

When I got home, I pulled up my GPS track, zoomed in on that spot,
and noted that my unit claimed I jumped to 27 mph. Amazing stuff,
that adrenaline.

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_ [email hidden]
(_)/ (_)

Congrats on the sprint.
Are you still in long slow distance mode or are you starting to add
intervals to your training mix? 😉

What kind of pepper spray? I've lost one that was holster-mounted as
the quick release snaps are not immune to corrosive sweat. So no more
holster for me, its in my jersey.

I found that yelling "STOP" at a german shepard was effective when
being dropped by it after it broke free from the invisible fence at a
friend's place. I don't think that buying carbon fiber running shoes
was going to help. If they've had any training at all, its pretty easy
to access that part of their brain before they realize that they don't
have to obey you - provided that you're not wearing a tasty padded
suit:

http://www.workingdogs.com/shop/BiteSuit1.htm

I get to pay a visit to the rotweiller on 602 for the first time later
this week, about 0.8 miles west of the Opie bridge on River Road.
Hopefully he'll be too busy licking himself to bother with me (as
usual) and the black and brown labs across the road from him don't see
me until I'm already past. The good thing about wind is that it
shortens the range in which they hear your approach if its coming from
the favorable direction.

If that black and white hellhound gives chase on an climb on PA St Rt
232, he's just plain getting the pepper spray without a second
thought.

I do tend to crank up the speed prior to the known dog locations but
reduce cadence to decrease noise output (soft pedal) right where I
would expect them to acquire me as a target, them jump up and hammer
if they decide to bolt.

I do not trust invisible fences.
Some dogs know how to cross them.
Some are placed close enough to the road that you have no real way of
knowing whether or not they are going to deter the animal or simply
provide it with a momentary pause.

Quoted message said:

From the way you described his pursuit, it sounds as if the dog did

not look both ways before crossing the street. One time that dog will
not be quite so lucky and will be roadkill. Hopefully the motorist
doesn't go off the road or take out the cyclist or pedestrian that was
his intended target.

-bdbafh

I am on the dog's side. He did you a favor actually. Pepper spray is not
legal in Canada. So all I have ever done is say Go Home, like I would my
own dog. In fact you should always treat people's dogs like they are yours
or special. Mostly, though he surprised you. one for him. next time you
will be awake as opposed to loollygagging.
I have an AirZound now. Wonder if shooting that back at him would freeze
the little critter.

Quoted message said:

bdbafh said:

I do not trust invisible fences.
Some dogs know how to cross them.
Some are placed close enough to the road that you have no real way of
knowing whether or not they are going to deter the animal or simply
provide it with a momentary pause.

And in some parts of the country they are coyote feeders. If they
work, they keep your dog in and keep absolutely nothing out (unless
Wildlife is suddenly putting collars on coyotes and wild dogs). Put a
small dog without really large teeth (IOW, a Scottie might have a
chance) inside an invisible fence on the outskirts of, say, Dallas and
leave them there for awhile. Then come home and play 'find the dog'.
The final step is where you go out and buy a new dog.

Do it with a toy poodle in Maryland and you may feed a fox or two...

On second thought, forget the Scottie. They're just stubborn enough to
cross the fence.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

Curtis L Russell said:

bdbafh said:

I do not trust invisible fences.
Some dogs know how to cross them.

...

On second thought, forget the Scottie. They're just stubborn enough to
cross the fence.

They are. Firsthand experience there as well.

I have a Scottie, a Westie, and a Westie/Jack Russell mix. Stubborn does
not even begin to describe it...

--

__o Kristian Zoerhoff
_'\(,_ [email hidden]
(_)/ (_)

Kristian M Zoerhoff said:

They are. Firsthand experience there as well.

I have a Scottie, a Westie, and a Westie/Jack Russell mix. Stubborn does
not even begin to describe it...

Two Scotties. Together, a coyote might just go looking for something
easier. Their frapping makes the next door Lab a bit nervous, even if
they appear to be having fun doing it...