Dave Cutter

I can understand your feelings. Unfortunately.... acting on feelings is something I've never known to be an affordable luxury... albeit a very dubious luxury.

I am from the country myself... and so we both know the escalations in tempers and actions that often accompany such trivial and emotionally charged disputes.... are both notorious and common. Since you've already committed yourself to something that can have NO imaginable favorable ending. I wish you the best of luck.

Maybe you should invite your lawyer and your spiritual counselor to join you on your rides.

Maelochs

You are reacting to an invented and irrelevant situation and ignoring reality. You Really missed the point.

If a person is about to be attacked by a vicious dog Nothing matters more than surviving the attack. The fact that the owner might be mad if you mace his dog is irrelevant ... I am sure my wife would be mad if a dog killed me .... maybe not yours, I don't know.

If the dog goes home reeking of pepper spray, or with a few bloody welts or whatever .... I am alive and down the road. If the dog goes home and angers its owner by getting My blood on the carpet, while I bleed out on the pavement outside ... yeah. Starting to catch on?

His unaffordable "luxury" of a feeling is the feeling that he would not like to die in the jaws of a dog. Are you saying the urge to survival is too "luxurious" an urge to indulge?

jimmie65

Most dogs have responded to a firm "no" but I have had to use pepper spray on a few occasions.

The only one I felt bad about was a young lab who obviously wanted to play, but I was afraid he would either knock me off my bike or run into traffic. But I just had to spray in his direction, not in his face.

I did have one verbal run-in with a chihuahua's owner over my use of pepper spray; I simply explained the owner's choices - I could pepper spray his demon-rat or I could let the little SOB follow me into a high traffic road. Never saw that dog again.

There was another incident where I wanted a verbal interaction with the dog owner but never got it. On my way to work, I almost got knocked off my bike by a vicious cocker spaniel (yeah, who knew they could be mean?) when I didn't have my spray on me. Found out later that day that the same dog went after my wife on her morning run. I called in a report to animal control and, that evening, I made sure I had fresh pepper spray. Little bastard came out from behind a car and I just barely got him, sadly not directly in the face. Circled back around a few times but never did see him again. And that dog never was seen loose again.

Here's the thing - these owners KNOW their dogs are aggressive and chase people, and have chosen to ignore (or even encourage) that behavior. The owner will never do anything about the dog, so I will. The cocker spaniel could have gone after a kid or an older person.

Amazing to me that someone would be concerned with smelling up a dog-owner's carpet and furniture. I am a dog owner - if my dog attacks you, feel free to spray him. (But he won't, because I am a responsible dog owner.)

Chuck Naill

Well said.


The last things I am concerned about is the owners carpet. Here, the law is on the said of the cyclist since we have a lease law.


My problem is when I needed it the mace nozzle was clogged. I've sprayed water. I've done a lot of things, but now I avoid the roads where I know there are dogs. I also just dismount and put the bike between me and the dogs. If I can I video the dogs to use as evidence so that animal control officers will have not excuse as to why their hands are tied.


I mentioned this once and the thread was locked, but a co2 bb pistol would not be out of the question if I dismounted and the dog attacks.


By dismounting I am not longer is danger of the dog causing me to take a hard crash. It prevents damaging a good bicycle. If I am standing in front of the house of the owner, it draws the attention I need.

Motolegs

Making sure I have pepper spray on rides is much the same as putting seat belts on in the car. It is a (sadly) necessary safety measure in an unpredictable world (and has actually saved my bacon on more than one occasion)

Maelochs

I no longer bring bacon with me when I ride.

f4rrest

I may stuff some long athletic socks and tape them to my calves as sacrificial decoys.

Bacon optional.

jack pot 

chihuahua attacks muy mal pendejo ... vicious cocker spaniels ... what next a BB for a miniature doberman >>> you need to reassess your anti canine strategies ... with tinies and toys all you need do is PEDAL >they aint chasin more than ten yards ... if you're that afraid of pooch world reroute yourself ... canine anger management groups may be of some help for your condition >>> 2 ROTT owner

jimmie65

I can tell by your comments, grammar, and spelling that you are an intelligent individual....

Maelochs

And of course, theh advice "Just sprint away" has never been debunked ... it cannot be, because it Always works.

The words "Black Plague" wouldn't even be in our vocabulary if there had been bicycles in the 14th century---people would have just sprinted away.

It Always Works.

It especially works with jimmie65's two Rotts ..... One of which will never attack because jimmie65 is a responsible

Not quite sure how to translate "" in this context without risking a ban.

jimmie65

Hey, not my rotts. I like rotts and all, but my boy is an American bulldog.
Sadly, many (most?) rott owners are as irresponsible as pit bull owners. I guess I'd be risking a ban as well if I pointed out a recent example.

Rollfast

'Canned air' is a refrigerant based spray. I don't see what good that really does and if you spray too long the can becomes really cold and you might drop it. A can doesn't last long either.


You really can talk to and stand down most dogs. Your problem remains that you are not asserting your authority over the dog and they will take advantage. They are territorial, your bike makes annoying noises and you are moving, which triggers them. Dogs that chase outside the boundaries of their home property or are stray should also be reported. You aren't helping others that may encounter the dog. I had one dog that was growling at kids and I stood it down and reported it. Dogs are good in nature but occasionally they need to be addressed. But bikes (and cars) can confuse them. They can seem like a challenge or fun to them.


Anyhow, if you don't use the straw in the nozzle the spray is highly dispersed and other than noisy? is just wasting gases quickly. Electronic devices also make repelling noises and are far cheaper over time.


It's also pretty expensive...those of us who work on electronics know this.

Brooke1687

We have a few dogs that hang around the trail I ride the most often, which goes through residential areas. I mostly just chat with them. One of them snuck up on me early in the dark one morning. I said “whoa there buddy, you scared me...ok have a good day now” and we went our separate ways.

Rollfast

You are done reading it.

Rollfast

See, I told ya!

Dave Cutter

You should have read the posts before you commented on them.

The poster (NOT YOU) has a neighbor with unrestrained and poorly behaving dogs. That does NOT give the poster (or anyone else) the right to repeatedly mistreat any property, or animal. The poster can either (1) violate the law (as YOU seem to recommend) or (2) report the neighbor to the proper authorities or (3) make peace with the neighbor and end the problem, or (4) just not ride past the dogs in question.

Grown-up problems with neighbors are never easy to resolve. But NEVER have I ever heard of one resolved by pepper spraying the neighbors dog, over and over again.

TimothyH

Spraying a dog with OC pepper spray is not mistreatment.

On the contrary, OC spray is a very humane way to deal with a dog. It has no permanent effects and wears off completely in a few hours. It teaches the dog not to run in front of cyclists or motor vehicles where it poses a hazard to motorists and to itself.

OC pepper spray is legal to use against dogs in most places and was recommended to me by animal control officers in three Georgia counties and incorporated city police officers.


-Tim-

Maelochs

I don't know why I bother. When it comes to certain topics---this is one of them---there is no discussion. People just repeat their views, and if anyone dares point out where those views might be contrafactual or illogical, they just shout louder.

Motolegs

Right. Attracts dogs like nothing else.

Troul 

Have you tried stowing some beggin' strips? They attract four legged friends as the commercial advertises?

TimothyH

It is frustrating. Conversation is impossible.

The only reason I post on topics like this is to correct misinformation - people who say that pepper spray is mistreatment or that it is illegal.

No one really cares about my opinion but I've always been a fan of the truth. All one can do is state facts. Sometimes facts bear repeating.


-Tim-

Coasterbrakefan

I've never encountered dangerous, unleashed dogs on my rides. Yet. But to those who have I say this.

Do whatever is necessary to keep from being torn to bits by these mutts.

As for those who disagree, your like the bicyclist who doesn't lock up their bike.

Brunomoruno

I did not know that! That's so cool!

jimmie65

Just to add, though: sometimes, the actions needed are to protect the dog as well. A dog chasing a bike is sometimes more of a danger to itself than to the biker; pepper spray may save that dog's life.

prj71

Ride a fat bike and run over the dog. Give him a little whiff of 4.8" knobby tires.