Originally Posted by
Newspaper_Nick
If you think you can outrun (outcycle, outride whatever) a dog, you are delusional. Most of the times you think you avoided a dog attack by pedalling harder is actually that dog "letting you be". Most dog breeds can run faster than you can ride your bike on flat ground. And you would have absolutely no chance uphill.
Did you read my full post? The dog is not racing you, he chasing you. Once you're out of his territory the chase is over.
Apart from that, a dog is not a bear. Bears do attack and eat humans. You are in the menu for a bear. But dogs do not crave human flesh. All they are trying to do is to shoo you away from their territory.
Bears attack for the same reasons dogs do. They will also protect their young. Man-eating bears are a rarity. If they hear you coming, they'll avoid human contact.
Dogs are territorial pack animals and their evolutionary history is tightly alligned with us since their geneology has diverged from the wolves thousands of years ago. When you make friends with a dog, he/she sees you as a part of his/her pack. And if you play your cards right, you might even be the alpha in that pack. Most dog breeds today are the outcome of our selective breeding. Most of them wouldn't even survive wihtout human intervention. Dogs can understand humans, they can sense how you feel. They can sense your intentions. And humans can actually understand and differentiate dog barks. You can think of it like a symbiotic relationship.
They can observe your behavior and respond in a basic similar manner.
If you become real friends with a dog, you'd understand the meaning of true love. Not even your wife/husband would love you that much. If well trained, that dog would put his/her life in line for yours. As cyclists we should all understand that dogs are not our enemies. They are real simple animals, very easy to understand. Once you figure them out, it is not that hard to avoid their attacks.
Anthropomorphism. This is classic when talking to dog owners. Dogs can imitate human behavior but they cannot experience feelings. Humans make the mistake of interpreting that behavior for emotions. But your dog has no more love for you than he does for a wooden stick or a doggie treat.