Kedosto

Depending on the neighborhood around here, a loose dog could kill you. Dog fighting is a real thing in Oakland and on rare occasions vicious dogs have escaped and caused real harm. Not that long ago a man was killed in a park by two escaped fighting dogs. A number of beloved pets have been killed.

As a long time commuter through Oakland, nothing gave me chills and an adrenaline rush like the sight of a loose dog. A trained fighting dog is unstoppable by anything less than a bullet.

Camilo

Darn. I thought this was going to be a thread about dog chasing cyclists (or, for more clarity: dog-chasing cyclists). I'd never heard of nor seen dog chasing cyclists. It thought it might be a speed motivator in the velodrome, kind of like the rabbit they use to get greyhounds to run on the track.

Oh well, just another thread about dog chasing cyclists, and the well-known remedies.

One that I take always, if there's a dog off their property harassing cyclists - I try to figure out the address and report it to animal control.

Troul 

If the person is predictable as you describe them for when & where you encounter them, maybe alert authorities to be around when it occurs?

Not to deliberately make this thread go tangent; I wonder what is the lesser "evil" in handling these encounters?
Carry a defense spray to address an animal?
Do not carry a defense mechanism, & rely on instinct [fight or flight response]?

I do not see a way to handle it in realistic manner to avoid conflict.
The victim should not just "let it go" nor take it on the chin.

Bald Paul

Although not on a bicycle, this recent report will give you something to think about. (WARNING - details of this attack are brutal)

SC mom has both arms amputated after mauled by 3 pit bulls (nypost.com)

indyfabz

Pfft. Try facing a real challenge.

livedarklions

Have you thought of pitching that typo to the Syfy channel as a series? "Control your future-dog!"

livedarklions

I think the reason these threads always degenerate into an argument (and this one will) is because this is absolutely an instance where your situational awareness should determine your response under the immediate circumstances. Dogs come in many shapes and sizes, some of them are bred to grab on and make big animals stop, some of them are just looking for a race, some of them want to be pet, some of them are hilariously small and pose no threat other than getting under or into your wheels. Sometimes you can see them coming from far away, sometimes they come at you from a right angle immediately adjacent to your route (from behind a bush, say). Some dogs are feral, some are just goofy clowns.

It's the classic "you had to be there" scenario. Anyone who wants to say "always do x, if you don't you're wrong" is going to get argued with, it will get personal with accusations of dog-hating and abuse, and this process can be repeated ad infinitum until a mod shuts it down. Pretty sure it already has in a bunch of threads.

livedarklions

I think that thread is right next to the mythical "Man Bites Dog" newspaper story.

Reynolds 

So these are the methods against dogs described so far
Unarmed:
Make friends
Ignore
Outrun
Yell
Squirt water
Kick
Stop and yell
Stop and pretend to grab/throw a pebble
Armed response:
Throw pebbles
Hit with frame pump
Squirt pepper spray
Shoot

indyfabz

Toss a ribeye?

Troul 

Obtain a career in animal control, become one with all animals, sell off all wheeled transportation & only shave if it's the 3rd Wednesday of the month, but the month cannot have a solar eclipse.

hellopizza

My solution is generally to scream and pedal faster. A friend of mine was chased and bit by a little dog on her first real bike ride as an adult. I find that smaller dogs tend to be the more frequent offenders. Their owners think they're so small they can't do much damage so they're not as "on the ball" with training. Cute and slightly dangerous.

livedarklions

I want to know how people are dealing with beagles strafing them from flying doghouses.

qwaalodge

I encounter dogs frequently even in new routes but I seem virtually invisible to dogs. I've come across dogs chasing other riders but the same dogs just ignore me.

I only know that dogs can be triggered by smells or unusual motions but have no idea what particular smell triggers them.

Polaris OBark

Fear.

qwaalodge

True but sometimes I think it's more than that.

Sometimes I think the bike setup has an effect on dogs. Like if the saddle is too high or too low, seems to infuriate dogs because it looks unusual or forces rider to make weird movements on the bike.

Polaris OBark

But presumably that doesn't change the way the rider smells.

I've sometimes wondered if some bikes emit a noise > 20 kHz, so that we can't hear it, but they can.

qwaalodge

I don't notice any dog getting out of my way in a hurry so I doubt my bike is making loud ultrasonic noise.

Sometimes I even have to sound the bell or horn to get them to look at me so they won't try to jump into my path and risk a collision. I faced more danger among house cats that loves to randomly cross your path without warning.

livedarklions

Paraffin chain lubes.

Reynolds 

So dogs might be the saddle height police? Reminds me of another thread here...

pdlamb

That works except for the most dangerous encounter -- the one where you (the cyclist) doesn't know the dog is coming after you until it's within biting distance or nearly so. The silent, vicious attack dog that doesn't bark, but but comes running from behind the house and you hear its toenails on pavement from 12" behind your foot and closing fast. It was a nice ride, there was nothing to be afraid of. Why would you smell like fear? How would the dog smell it from 50' away?

Camilo

But report it! Animal control showing up on an idiot dog owner's doorstep with a reprimand or fine will get their attention.

bocobiking

Many years ago, I was riding back into town when a German Shepard escaped his kennel and made a lightning, silent beeline straight for me across 4 lanes of afternoon traffic. There was no doubt he meant murder. I started a desperate stop to try to put my bike between him and me when I heard two thumps; he had been hit and killed by a car. The driver stopped and commiserated with the dog's owner. Then he took me aside and said that, even though the collision was an accident, he was glad that I was lucky enough that he came along because the dog indeed had intended murder.

qwaalodge

We have dogs posting in the forum?

rsbob 

Yikes! Terrifying indeed.