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Any tips for dealing with dogs?

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    • CommentAuthorbmiller
    • CommentTimeJul 5th 2008
     
    I had two run-ins with dogs today. I was doing a nice, 36 mile ride to House Mountain and back. The first encouter was mild and easily avoided. Riding down an old country road, a pack of about 5 dogs came barking down the road at me. They were far off enough and this was not the road I wanted to be on anyway. I now know to avoid that road.

    The second encounter was far more frustrating. I was back in town about a mile or so from home... Almost there! Then a black lab came charging out of its yard and took a chomp in my rump. Broke skin too. Damn dog. I got off my bike and lifted it up. At first I thought of hurling the bike at the dog, then found it made a decent defensive weapon. Kind of like a shield you can push out at the dog. By then, the owner of the dog saw what was going on and heeled him. Day late and dollar short. I reported the dog and the city has it in lock up for 10 days. The owner will have to pay a $100 fine to get him back in 10 days.

    Anyway, I thought about keeping pepper spray on the bike. I also thought about a knife, but my wife wisely said that would be quite dangerous in a bike wreck, so I'll stay way from that. Of course, the problem with pepper spray is getting to it in time. Is it better to stop and get off the bike or try to out run them? Any tips for dealing with dogs would be much appreciated. Thanks... Brian
    • CommentAuthorpramclub
    • CommentTimeJul 6th 2008
     
    I've seen (but haven't tried) a Dog Dazer http://www.dogdazer.co.uk/ which seemed very popular some time back - I'm sure you can get similar items locally or online. Anyone tried these?
    • CommentAuthordmacmurc
    • CommentTimeJul 8th 2008
     
    It's been a long time since I've had to deal with this, but when I was a kid I was routinely harassed by the same dog on the way to school, until I finally brought with me a water pistol filled with household ammonia: it only took one "lesson" and the dog never bothered me again. I don't know how well this scales, though - I encountered a bear on a ride to Port Renfrew last week and was wishing I had something like that with me. Luckily the bear (about 20 meters away at the roadside) seemed more interested in berries than me!
    • CommentAuthorbmiller
    • CommentTimeJul 11th 2008
     
    Thanks pramclub and dmacmurc... I like the sonic noise strategy if it works. I like it because I don't have to point it successfully while riding. I can just keep it clipped to my waist, or taped to the handlebars. Dog comes, I hit button, dog goes away, I keep riding. Simple and elegant... the way I like it. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks again!
  5.  
    When I do long overnight tours, I take Halt with me. There's a handlebar clip for the product. My first line of defense, though, is to swing my Silca frame pump maniacally in the air.
    • CommentAuthorPatHat
    • CommentTimeSep 11th 2008
     
    Having similar problem on a training route .The problem is that the dog chases me at a nasty bend going down hill so its either potentially road rash or dog bite. Noxious chemicals are all very well until they leak or you crash. I am likely either pepper spray or a dog tazer gun - should be good for any crazies who lurk in the hills as well!
    • CommentAuthorjacknolan
    • CommentTimeSep 11th 2008
     
    Back in the old days, when pumps where longer, I would use the pump as a lance- went for the face, that seemed to work.

    I also use my water bottle, but without the ammonia, although that isn't a bad idea. If your water isn't too scarce, give them a squirt in the face, that tends to stump them long enough to get out of range. I was under the impression it's all about territory for dogs, so if you can keep riding, you move out of their territory and they give up. But who knows...
  8.  
    Pedal faster.......lol


    Or a swift kick usually does the trick.
  9.  
    Badly controlled farm and domestic dogs are a problem here too (central France) and some seem quite vicious. The strategy that has worked for me so far is to stop and face the dog, maybe with bike between as a barrier. They have invariably cowed away. However, one or two immediately take up the chase when I hop back on the bike and the performance is repeated until the dog is far enough away from its territory to give up. For the last category of dogs I intend to buy some pepper spray or Mace and give it a try. I have a damed great stick when I'm walking.
  10.  
    Southern Ontario, Canada.
    I once had two dogs chasing me one nipping at my back wheel and the other nipping at my handlebars. Luckily I was on a quiet country road so I could move over to the other side. The dogs were being territorial, protecting their property, but I wasn't amused.
    I went out and purchased a marine air horn from a local hardware store(Canadian Tire). It is a re-usable type that you can pressurize with a bicycle pump. I'm hoping the ear-piercing sound will scare the dogs. I haven't had the chance to use it on dogs but I feel safer knowing I can be heard by just about anyone if needed!
    • CommentAuthorsupershpv
    • CommentTimeJul 24th 2009
     
    I used to use one of those Dog Dazers and it did work but since it was a high pitch that only dogs could here, you didn't know when the battery was dead until it was too late. I think recently an updated model has a low battery indicator on it. Another item that works quite well is an air horn distributed by Delta Cycle. It is as loud as a car horn and you refill it with your bike pump. It also stops cars from cutting out in front of you, sometimes. I have been using one for a couple of years now. It fits in your bottle cage and you mount the trigger on your handlebars. Whats great about this as compared to the compressed co2 horns is that this works in the winter. The co2 ones freeze up.
  12.  
    The "Airzound" air horn mentioned above works great. Dogs respond to BIG and LOUD and if you are bigger and louder you win. Exceptions: deaf dogs and dogs in the "control" of their human. Also works great on cows, turkeys, deer, pedestrians and cyclists who seem to be asleep. Downside: it is bad form to use it when riding in a group; it will run out of air on a busy dog day.

    I now try to follow the lead of Caesar Millan, the dog whisperer. Be Calm and Assertive. Most chase response attacks can be thwarted with a calm and assertive, "Bad Dog! Go home!" Repeat as needed. Slowing down or stopping defuses the chase fun too.

    Extremely territorial / vicious dogs are not easily deterred. The worst I have encountered are ones who have been left to guard a rural construction site or house. For these emergencies I now carry "Grizzly Bear Spray" which is supposed to stop a charging grizzly at 30 feet. I have not yet had to deploy this WDD (Weapon of Dog Destruction). It sprays a cloud of high power pepper stuff so wind direction and speed will be factors. My hope is that it will also neutralize attacks by two legged animals which, while rare, do happen and can be more serious than Fido's.
    • CommentAuthorKari Post
    • CommentTimeOct 23rd 2009
     
    Yell. I'm not kidding. If you yell "Hey, git!" in a strong, confident voice it is a huge deterrent.

    I did the TransAm across America this summer and we carried Halt dog spray but never had to use it. We had several encounters with wild dogs, especially in Eastern Kentucky, and yelling worked every time.

    Dogs are smart and they can sense your fear. One of the girls I was riding with was a bit more timid than the rest of us, and the dogs went after her almost every time. I would ride up to her to get the dog coming after me instead, then turn and yell at it and it would back off. If you are confident, you'll have fewer problems.

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