Rajflyboy

aclinjury

I once had to beat a dog with a baseball bat at a community park where I was running home from a pickup game. The dog charged me due to its owner letting off the leash, didn't see the dog until it charged me. At first I kept running thinking that I could out run it and that it would give up, but it didn't and kept chasing. At some point I said I wasn't going to outrun it so I stopped and took up defensive position with bat ready. The dog came at me but stopped a couple meters in front of me, then it lunged and that was when I just struck it with my bat 3 times on the head.. The dog went into a short spasm and legs kicking before it just collapsed and stop moving all together. The owner ran over and by then he must have realized that I had killed his dog, and so he really physically confronted me and wanted to kick my ass. I said i'm sorry but your dog chased me down. I seriously thought the owner would charge me because the situation was tense. Thoughts were running thru my mind that if he charged me, I would use the bat to whack him out of self defense. But luckily he calmed down and called the cops. Cops came and I gave them my story, which was backed up by several witnesses at the park. About a week later I got the report from the police and gave it to my family lawyer friend. It was around that time that the owner decided to apologize to me. I accepted his apology and didn't sue him or anything. But yes, some dog owners are stupid and dumber than their dogs.

avole

A question: How many humans are injured by dogs, compared with the number of humans injured by humans?
Perhaps it isn't the dogs we should be concerned about, but ourselves.

KraneXL

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Dogs attack people on bike. This is a bike forum. See the connection?



In any event, I don't know about rural area but dog that are unrestrained are illegal in the city. Call animal control and show them the photo (time stamps can be additionally helpful), and they will cite the owner. If there is contact, or an incident, then you need to call the cops. Dogs are responsible for more attacks and hospital incidents than all other animals combined.

avole

That's absolute bull**** as you well know. That is, assuming you accept your own species as being animals. If it helps, can I also respectfully point out that hospitals exist in most countries on this planet.

avole

By the way, I have been attacked by dogs twice, once while doing no more than crossing an airport car park, and once while looking through a fence at a wreckers to see if they had my model of a car.

In the first instance, the dog was a security German Shepherd in training, and the handler clearly hadn't secured the rear doors of his van, because it burst through them. Not life threatening, since I'd stopped and faced the dog, which attached itself to my arm, and there we stayed, not moving until the handler arrived and called the dog off. My employers took me to hospital as a precaution, but skin barely broken, plus the dog had had all the shots, even rabies, though that in theory doesn't exist in the UK.

In the second, I leaned against the fence on tiptoe to see if the car was behind others, and got bitten. The dog had been barking ferociously, but I judged it didn't have sufficient space to get its jaws through the fence. Hospital again, same result. Went back to see the site, and, as expected, saw signs everywhere about security dogs, own risk etc.

Very different from being attacked when biking, I know, which is why, outside the UK and Oz, those rabies shots are a good idea since there is a high risk in places where dogs may not necessarily have even been to a vet.

scott967

Like 99.9% of cyclists, I've had my share of dog encounters. Only once I was riding on Cañada Larga Rd outside of Ventura CA -- pretty rural area and one the meanest dogs I've seen in a while came out to the edge of a property the road runs through. I stopped and after a while decided no way I was going to be able to get past that thing. I was pretty sure I would have to make a return on the same road and wasn't interested in running the gauntlet twice.

Another time (this time hiking) above Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura, and there was a pack of coyotes just across a small ravine. I got the eff out of there once again.

Here, in some neighborhoods just about every house has some sort of guard dog in the yard. As I ride by I just hope the fence / chains are in good shape. I've come across a pua'a (pig) now and then. They have always run from me and I've never seen a sow with piglets (as far as I know). Hawai'i is rabies-free so that's one less worry.

scott s.
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Paul Barnard

Do bicycle helmets protect against dog bite?

avole

What?? Perhaps the most asinine question I've seen on any forum in a long time and you a Safety Specalist! Why would it not? If you have antagonised the dog to such an extent it's going to give you a warning to lay off, then of course. Heavy duty plastic as a minimum, if course.

FlMTNdude

Koyote

I always find it interesting when people make these empirical arguments but cite no data. In my world (academia), you don't get to make such claims without evidence.

Lemond1985

I did not start this thread, looks like the mods copied my post, and added their own words to the title. So now I have a thread I didn't start, with a title I did not write, and a bunch of questions I'm supposed to answer. Great. I wish my post had just been deleted if it was deemed too controversial for a bicycle message board.

I'm not saying anything else about the incident here, or answering any questions. I have the whole incident on video, as well as the faces of the owners, and their various admissions of guilt. If anything I would urge everyone to run a video camera in case of incidents like this one. Sadly, people can no longer be trusted to "do the right thing" in these types of situations.

indyfabz

****/d

Koyote

This is an honest question...From the initial post, with the photo, I have been wondering: how were you able to make photos (or video) of the incident? Weren't you busy trying to protect yourself? I was once knocked off my bike by a large dog, and I subsequently needed both hands to use the bike as a shield of sorts -- I tried to keep the bike between me and the dog.

indyfabz

From the angle, it looks like a helmet cam. You can make a still from the video.

308jerry

​​ Saw this picture of the dog and your comments under the Best Dog I Never Had topic. Wondered how you got it moved to its own headline. Apparently the mods are doing some screening and not passing that info on. I've been chastised for hiding the "F " word with asterisks and then see other members doing the same and it's OK. Had some comments deleted also without any notice although I know why they did.
Anyway back on topic the Shepherd dogs have a huge prey instinct, they love to chase and catch But it needs controlled by good handlers If you own one and don't know this, trouble like you encountered is going to happen. There are various degrees of prey instinct,, some just love to chase and never know what to do once they catch their prey, others as in your case knew exactly what to do. The movement really gets them excited, watch them watch your feet.

indyfabz

A. The mods/admins cannot review every BF post. If you got nabbed for trying to avoid the censor it almost certainly was because someone reported you or a mod, for whatever reason (e.g., controversial topic, like dogs), was monitoring the particular thread.

B. I have had comments deleted over the years and got notice maybe once. I don't believe it's typical to get notice unless and mod/admin something specific to say to you.

chicagogal

I read the OP. I didn't say that one should always try to outrun a dog. I just said that the previous statement that one should never try to outrun a dog was an overstatement that could get someone hurt, in certain situations, should they follow that advice.

AlmostTrick

Ok, that makes sense. I've outran a few dogs, but ONLY if I'm 100% certain I will be successful. Fast dogs/ uphills, or any other conditions that make escape less likely means I'm preparing to stop. Yelling the dog back has always worked well for me, but ONLY if I'm stopped, or almost stopped. A dog on the chase will not stop until you get far enough away, or he gets you. And as always in these situations, the risk of crashing, especially at speed, is the greatest danger.

Koyote

That would make sense. I guess that is a good reason for wearing a helmet cam - evidence.

bakerjw

My only advice is to carry dog spray and always call the police if bitten or get taken down by a loose dog. If the owner is a jerk, find the scummiest attorney that you can and go after them. If you escape, call and report it to animal control.

A handful of years ago, a local woman was taken down, run into and not bitten, by a large dog. The owner of the dog came out, gathered up the dog and went inside even though the woman was unconscious on the road from the impact and resulting wreck. Other cyclists were along to file reports when the police and ambulance showed up. The local authorities started taking loose dog calls much more seriously after that.

308jerry

Oh I agree, there's a lot to watch out for on these forums...

canklecat

Take legal action and pursue it as far as possible. Dogs like that do not change, nor do their negligent owners. Been there, many times in my former rural home.

KraneXL

Scope of the problem

There are no global estimates of dog bite incidence, however studies suggest that dog bites account for tens of millions of injuries annually. In the United States of America for example, approximately 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs every year. Of these, nearly 885 000 seek medical care; 30 000 have reconstructive procedures; 3–18% develop infections and between 10 and 20 fatalities occur. Other high-income countries such as Australia, Canada and France have comparable incidence and fatality rates.

Wild animals usually avoid people. They might attack, however, if they feel threatened, are sick, or are protecting their young or territory. Attacks by pets are more common. Animal bites rarely are life-threatening, but if they become infected, you can develop serious medical problems.


Dog bites account for 1% of injury-related emergency department visits in the United States and an estimated $53.9 million in inpatient costs per year.1 Of the approximately 4.5 million persons who are bitten by dogs each year, approximately 316,000 are treated in the emergency department, and 9,500 are hospitalized.1 There are 10 to 20 animal bite–related deaths, mostly from dogs, annually.1–4

Dog bites account for 85% to 90% of animal bites in the United States at a rate of 103 to 118 per 100,000 population1,5; no one dog breed is most often responsible.6 Pit bull and Rottweiler breeds account for most of the human fatalities related to dog bites over the past two decades.6,7 Most dog bite victims are children, and these bites usually involve the head and neck. Adolescents and adults tend to have more bite wounds to the extremities.2,3,7 More than 70% of bites are from a dog that is known to the victim, and about 50% are self-reported as unprovoked.2

tagaproject6

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