dwmckee

I like the rubbing alcohol idea. Maybe I could puree some habaneros in the blender and mix it in with the alcohol. What do you use as a small squirt bottle?

cbike

Isn't rubbing alcohol, habaneros, pepper spray, etc. mean if the dog would have stopped chasing you if you stopped or sprayed him with water? Does it actually teach the dog something or is it mostly "teaching" him so you feel better?

Booger1

If the dog is big enough to do me bodily harm,I'm the last thing it's ever going to chase.

mooncricket

In some other dog threads, I used write about how much I hate dogs chasing me. Now it's one of the highlights of my rides, including such things as rain, storm fronts, and steep climbs. It's all about your attitude.

B1, I use a small lotion bottle. Anything that's squeezable with a screw on cap that also has a flip open lid. Test out your bottle first.

Rubbling alcohol. You can also use vinegar. Or chili-vinegar (homemade or bought). Ammonia works too. Basically, dogs have very good sense of smell. Even a whiff of any of the above will make them slow down and think twice.

Yes, I can spray dogs with water, but I prefer to drink my water. Sometimes I run out of water too.

Stop? No, that would take the fun out of everything. Just today, a pack of 3 dogs chased me. I slowed down gave a squirt. They backed off. Somewhat disappointed of my poor marksmanship, I turned around and gave them another go, but they ran off barking

Chill man, it does them no harm, and it'll make them think twice before chasing another cyclist--maybe one that's not as prepared.

Nigeyy

I think the operative word in your reply is the big little word "if". How would you know for sure? Personally I'd rather take action that is less likely to result in me being injured than trust a dog will turn around had I used water.

I also think it could arguably teach a dog not to go after cyclists too. If every time a dog tried to chase a cyclist and got an eyeful of pepper spray, sooner or later that dog will go Pavlonian and/or think twice about doing it.

Assuming a cyclist has not provoked the dog intentionally, 100% of the time my sympathy and empathy is with the chased cyclist, not the chasing dog..... if a dog chases me on a public road, all bets are off as far as I'm concerned -it's a dog eat dog world.

Gus Riley

Today's dog report. Dog did not heed first warning after stopping bicycle, "Back dog! NO!". Dog didn't heed second warning, Zapped by dog dazer, and "NO!". Dog did however heed third line of defense with a face full of pepper spray. Poor guy. He was all bowed up, so I wasn't going to take a chance.

sandulea

Some cities have a large population of stray dogs, and construction sites and nearly all large yards like factories and hospitals usually have a resident dog pack. I live in such a city, and sometimes it's downright scary, both as a pedestrian and as a cyclist.

After a round of brainstorming with a friend, we came up with airsoft pistols/sub-machine guns or riding crops as suitable tools for scaring off the dogs (or rather beating them up) while riding, especially when faced with very aggressive ones. We started looking at such solutions after a dog bit him by the ankle and he almost crashed into the back of a stationary truck while trying to fend off the other dogs of the pack. I was trying to catch up with the dogs and give one some nice wheel burns up its butt, because no matter what I tried they were 100% focused on the other guy. I failed to catch up, unfortunately, but I gotta say a pepper spray type solution would have been more efficient idea then anything I thought of immediately after the episode (mostly violent and painful stuff ).

On the other hand, not all dogs are that bad. While on tour in the mountains, I was riding in a relatively flat area on a country road. I saw a dog a few hundred feet behind me. At first it was walking in its own pace, then it accelerated and I began to panic when it got within 20 feet of me. I kept riding faster and faster, despite the fact that the road started twisting while slowly increasing in slope angle. All the while it didn't make a sound and it was very concentrated on me, a behaviour I came to associate in my experience with the ones that intend to bite. When it got to 10 feet I really got myself going and I managed to keep the distance for a while, but the turns and the uphill riding wore me out eventually so I hit the brakes hard while turning and dismounted the bike on one side with the dog on the other. It stopped. I shouted at it, but it didn't seem impressed, nor interested in me any more. When I finally mounted the bike to continue, annoyed and befuddled by the sudden lack of response on the dog's part, it set out alongside me, and accompanied me for about 10 miles before taking a forest path and leaving me. If I stopped, it stopped. If I went faster, it went faster. So basically the dog was going about its business, on its way home or to its owner somewhere in that forest, it spotted me, caught up with me and travelled with me until our paths diverged.

After this I started considering dogs as more intelligent than I used to think. Unlike most dogs I knew, in which you could reliably trigger a wide range of behaviours, this one seemed more in control of itself. Considering how oddly human it seemed to be when we finally parted ways, I wouldn't have been all that surprised if it said "goodbye" to me ) .

hyegeek

While most of the dogs I have come across are not viscous, they also are not falling into any of the neat and clean categories that I have seen people describe. I too came across one that ran after me silently and a quick glance behind convinced me that it was a biter. Turned out to be much like your 10 mile companion. He just wanted some company and ran beside me for a bit.

Boondock

On my current tour (around the perimeter) I've used 12 cans of pepper spray so far. I just bought 2 fresh cans. On the Southern Tier in Mississippi, I was attacked by 10 dogs a day. I ran out of pepper spray and used "Wasp and Hornet Killer" with a nice 20 foot spray (get it cheap at dollar stores). I want to mount my camera on my pepper spray can for "gun camera footage"

tashi

Boondock:

12 cans? I'm not saying that it's you, maybe the south if full of roaming dog packs, but something is very very wrong here.



I would find the footage of what the dog does to provoke the pepper spray more useful than footage of it receiving the blast and writing in pain. But I don't get joy out of watching things get hurt, I'm sure the general YouTube population would love doggie pain vids.

trafficcasauras

get some bear repellent. mine shots 30 ft. stand up wind.

HK 45

I guess it depends on how the dog acts towards me, but mainly my first action is yelling it at and when I mean yelling I don't mean screaming. I mean doing a guttural sound similar to a dogs barking, it's sorta like a "eh" sound but continuous. While I'm doing this I may or may not approach the dog depending on how I see him react, but either way my arms are opened wide and I'm crouching a bit waiting to react to him.

The most massive dog I've encountered was a mastiff that looked like it was mixed with a bulldog. to draw you a picture it has a massive head and body, but you could barely see his legs. I Was running in the street when it suddenly jumped in front of me and started barking at me so I started to slowly back away yelling at him and started removing my backpack in case it lunged towards me I'd have something to put in between me and it's mouth. Luckily it's owner called him off and apologized. If the owner hadn't come out I would've either placed something in between me and the dog to keep him off me or I would've kicked him in the head and then if I thought him a further threat I would've kicked him in one of his legs.

In short some form of spray (pepper, mace, etc.) is probably the best nonlethal solution, but if all else fails kick him in the legs and he'll either fall down or whimper away. Keep in mind that you may cause the dog great injury requiring surgery at a vet ($$$$$) or at worst permanently cripple him.

twobadfish

I was driving up the highway and there was a pit wandering the shoulder.. almost acted confused. There was a concrete barrier to the left so he had no where to go but into traffic. When he saw me he started to trot towards me and I started in a sprint around him. He didn't give chase.

The other time a little ~15lb dog ran with me for a while. I thought that was fun.