What do YOU do abt dogs?

Quoted message said:

Do you carry heavy duty pepper spray? If yes....what
brand?

What other strategies to deal with dogs on country
roads when touring alone?

If I'm being chased, my standard response is to get off the bike fast
and stand with the bike between me and the dog. I try to look and sound
assertive/aggressive/dominant and shout "NO!", "GO AWAY", "BAD DOG" and
other phrases intended to intimidate the dog. So far it's been 100%
effective. Usually this confuses the dog, who thought he was chasing his
prey and found himself confronted by an irate human who sounds like his
owner sounds when the dog has just done something wrong.

I've learned to distinguish between a dog that's just defending its turf
(loud barking, head and tail up, more erect posture) and a dog that
really does intend to attack me (snarling, staying low to the ground,
sprinting straight at me really fast, ears back and tail close to the body).

A few years back when I was cycle touring in France I went for an after
dinner walk near the hostel I was staying in. A ways down the road, a
big dog (German Shepherd size) came charging out from behind a house
barking loudly and aggressively. The dog jumped at me, still barking
loudly, and I put my arm up in front of my face just as the dog reached
me. When his jaws hit my forearm I pushed my arm back hard enough to
send him over backwards. I moved fast enough that the dog never got a
chance to clamp down with his jaws, so I think the encounter scared him
about as much as it did me. No damage to me or my clothing, so I think
the dog was trying to scare me away and ended up "biting" me by accident
when I didn't turn and run as expected. The dog's owner came out and
apologized profusely and I had a tough time explaining in my lousy
French that I wasn't really hurt.

After some kids in a Lincoln Navigator through an egg at me one night, I
bought a can of Mace (full strength). Sometimes I carry it, sometimes I
don't, depending on whether or not I expect to get hassled. I've never
felt the need for pepper spray for dogs, though.

mark

Once, when I was riding a motorcycle, a barking dog came after me. I was
wearing boots, so I felt that a dog bite was not going to be a problem, and
I stopped. The dog got really confused. His "prey" was not running away,
so HE stopped. Then he approached slowly, alternately wagging his tail and
growling. Then I rode off, and left him standing there. I'm not suggesting
this for bicyclists--just an interesting observation on dog psychology.

Leo Lichtman said:

Once, when I was riding a motorcycle, a barking dog came after me. I was
wearing boots, so I felt that a dog bite was not going to be a problem, and
I stopped. The dog got really confused. His "prey" was not running away,
so HE stopped. Then he approached slowly, alternately wagging his tail and
growling. Then I rode off, and left him standing there. I'm not suggesting
this for bicyclists--just an interesting observation on dog psychology.

I've done stuff similar on a bike -- just stopped for a moment and
then the dog stopped running. And I've also yelled loudly and sharply
at dogs, which often gets them to hesitate for a moment.
--
JT
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"CHOPPER SIC BALLS !!!"
-tom

Quoted message said:

Do you carry heavy duty pepper spray? If yes....what
brand?

What other strategies to deal with dogs on country
roads when touring alone?

I just want to chime in and agree with the other respondants. If you
see something that looks like it's planning on chasing, first slow,
and than just stop if he doesn't hesitate, making eye contact. If
he's still coming, start yelling, both at him and his owner and the
neighbors. Raise [censored], in a nice way. Often very nice people
or children come out and are excessively friendly and apologetic.

Don't start carrying weapons, (except your bike itself, and a
waterbottle spray) otherwise the negligent dog owners who flaunt your
rights to the road have won a substantial victory by forcing you to
lug unnecesary things with you. This only gets tricky on roads that
eventually dead-end or the pavement runs out into dirt or trail that
get very little traffic. On those the dogs and even the owners
develop a squatters rights attitude, and it's hard to make a case that
I want to ride my bike another 1/2 mile past the vicious dog to the
end of the road on my "circuit", to explore, or just because it's a
fun dirt road not washboarded by excessive/high speed car traffic, or
excessively graded.

me said:

Do you carry heavy duty pepper spray? If yes....what
brand?

What other strategies to deal with dogs on country
roads when touring alone?

You don't have to outsprint the dog, just the other riders in the group.

:-)

Matt O.

On Apr 26, 11:50 am, mark <[email hidden]> wrote:
<deleted>

Quoted message said:

If I'm being chased, my standard response is to get off the bike fast
and stand with the bike between me and the dog. I try to look and sound
assertive/aggressive/dominant and shout "NO!", "GO AWAY", "BAD DOG" and
other phrases intended to intimidate the dog. So far it's been 100%
effective. Usually this confuses the dog, who thought he was chasing his
prey and found himself confronted by an irate human who sounds like his
owner sounds when the dog has just done something wrong.

<deleted>

Quoted message said:

mark

Someone I know like to use the phrase 'GET OFF THE COUCH', probably
the phrase they hear most of the time. And since they are not on the
couch, a bit confusing.

Quoted message said:

What other strategies to deal with dogs on country
roads when touring alone?

I carry a small $3 compressed air horn, the kind that many
universities have banned from stadiums and arenas. You can find them
in the marine/sporting goods department of big box stores.

One blast usually stops charging dogs cold!

I carry one of these

http://www.dazer.com/dog-deterrent.jsp

It emits a very loud high pitch sound - too high for pople to here but
it is supposed to be very loud and uncomfortable for dogs.

I have used it only once when a dog came out of a house I was passing
barking and as far as I could tell behaving aggressively. When it got
within about 1m I pressed the button and the dog immediately stopped
pursuing me and turned away from my bike. The effect was
instantaneous - I was impressed.

Peter Damm

I carry one of these

http://www.dazer.com/dog-deterrent.jsp

It emits a very loud high pitch sound - too high for pople to here but
it is supposed to be very loud and uncomfortable for dogs.

I have used it only once when a dog came out of a house I was passing
barking and as far as I could tell behaving aggressively. When it got
within about 1m I pressed the button and the dog immediately stopped
pursuing me and turned away from my bike. The effect was
instantaneous - I was impressed.

Peter Damm

On Apr 26, 11:50 am, mark <[email hidden]> wrote:
<deleted>

Quoted message said:

If I'm being chased, my standard response is to get off the bike fast
and stand with the bike between me and the dog. I try to look and sound
assertive/aggressive/dominant and shout "NO!", "GO AWAY", "BAD DOG" and
other phrases intended to intimidate the dog. So far it's been 100%
effective. Usually this confuses the dog, who thought he was chasing his
prey and found himself confronted by an irate human who sounds like his
owner sounds when the dog has just done something wrong.

<deleted>

Quoted message said:

mark

Someone I know like to use the phrase 'GET OFF THE COUCH', probably
the "BAD DOG" phrase they hear most of the time. And since they are
not on the couch, a bit confusing.

Quoted message said:

Do you carry heavy duty pepper spray?

Yes. sometimes.

Quoted message said:

If yes....what brand?

http://www.selfdefenseproducts.com/pepper.htm

Quoted message said:

What other strategies to deal with dogs on country roads when touring alone?

Outsprinting them has worked for me thus far, but that won't help
should the dog cross the road and cause an oncoming car to swerve in
the direction of the cyclist.

I have not yet used pepper spray on a canine, but I think that in
general the more dogs that get sprayed, the fewer that will be out
there that will chase bikes.

Far better for them to get an eyeful of mace once than to get taken
out by a vehicle.

The other (backup) strategy is a knife in the seatbag.
See the above site for folding knives.
At 4.8 oz its a little heavy, so I don't take it for local stuff, just
long country rides.
http://www.selfdefenseproducts.com/new_knives/sw/tactical_folders.htm

-bdbafh

me said:

What other strategies to deal with dogs on country roads when touring
alone?

sprint? I have also sprayed a water bottle at them. In many areas police
must be tasared or pepper spayed before they can use these devices I
would favour that before folks can use the on dogs too.

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

Quoted message said:

me said:

What other strategies to deal with dogs on country roads when touring
alone?

sprint? I have also sprayed a water bottle at them. In many areas police
must be tasared or pepper spayed before they can use these devices I
would favour that before folks can use the on dogs too.

I was on a MTB tour in the Dominican Republic, and the local curs were often
very agressive when riding thru villages. You could spend all day getting
off your bike just in case. Two guides with the trip had several water
bottle each, and they used them liberally if the dogs got too close. This
was the humane treatment, as we were told most locals would just put the
boots to them, assuming they had boots on at the time.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do you carry heavy duty pepper spray?

bdbafh said:

Yes. sometimes.

Quoted message said:

If yes....what brand?

http://www.selfdefenseproducts.com/pepper.htm

Quoted message said:

What other strategies to deal with dogs on country roads when touring alone?

Outsprinting them has worked for me thus far, but that won't help
should the dog cross the road and cause an oncoming car to swerve in
the direction of the cyclist.
I have not yet used pepper spray on a canine, but I think that in
general the more dogs that get sprayed, the fewer that will be out
there that will chase bikes.
Far better for them to get an eyeful of mace once than to get taken
out by a vehicle.

The other (backup) strategy is a knife in the seatbag.
See the above site for folding knives.
At 4.8 oz its a little heavy, so I don't take it for local stuff, just
long country rides.
http://www.selfdefenseproducts.com/new_knives/sw/tactical_folders.htm

I would prefer not to be close enough to a vicious dog to use a knife.
Bicycles make excellent weapons and give one a bit of 'reach'(I have
swung a bike successfully against a human).

A forceful "STAY" while pointing at the dog seems to work well for me.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

bdbafh said:

Outsprinting them has worked for me thus far,

Nobody can out sprint a dog. A dog is faster even than the horse.

Quoted message said:

Do you carry heavy duty pepper spray? If yes....what
brand?

What other strategies to deal with dogs on country
roads when touring alone?

Kick them.

Quoted message said:

Do you carry heavy duty pepper spray? If yes....what
brand?

What other strategies to deal with dogs on country
roads when touring alone?

I just finished a leisurely 3 mile after work ride alone in the
country and had two encounters with canines. What strategies?

First you've got to identify IF there's a problem, and if so, what
kind.

A few possibilities:

1) no problem;

2) a [mere] chaser;

3) a biter;

4) a get-in-your way.

Know your doggie language and know your breeds. Too many people panic
needlessly when they encounter a barking dog. Virtually any dog
with a wagging tail, even if accompanied by loud barking, is not a
threat to attack you. The herding and many of the sporting breeds may
chase (that is their thing), but they aren't likely to bite. Most
just chase - that happened in encounter one tonight with a border
collie - he stayed on the side of the road opposite me and ran his
fool head off at about 20 mph until he must have reached the end of
his territory.

But some -and by far the most potentially dangerous type of encounter,
chase and cross in front of you. Trust me: better to slow or even
stop and pet the wagging tailed doggie than hit it, especially head
on.

Encounter two tonight was two black labs barking up a storm in their
yard, both with rapidly wagging tails, while I was doing a steep climb
at about 6 mph. Wonder of wonders - the master emerged from the house
to scold them. I said "Hey. no problem. They're wagging their tails
and are no threat to me." I didn't say, but was thinking: "those two
look way too out of shape to get up enough speed to catch a cyclist -
even if he's climbing." But that was a fact and even if there was no
master I didn't even have to change my cadence.

What is truly rare, but always a possibility, is a growling, teeth
bared, hair raised on the butt, tail down dog that may attack. If
that dog is a rottweiler (sp?), a pit bull, a Doberman, etc. then
you've got to get away. Other posters have suggested strategies. I've
been riding in here in cow and corn country for many years and have
never had one of these show up.

I was fooled once by a German Shepherd who bit me on the leg while I
was mountain biking. He wasn't wagging his tail, but he wasn't
growling with teeth bared either. He was with a hiking master, and
just lunged as I passed them. But no broken skin, so I figured no
harm, no foul. Those Shepherds are very loyal and very protective.

On Apr 26, 6:42 pm, Paul Cassel <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

bdbafh said:

Outsprinting them has worked for me thus far,

Nobody can out sprint a dog. A dog is faster even than the horse.

Dear Paul,

Absolutely!

http://www.families-first.com/pets/images/bassetbigears.jpg

Woof!

Carl Fogel