work4bike

That's

It's the owners that really need to be peppered sprayed

livedarklions

Funny, I was thinking about the dog off leash threads this morning, and realized that they have all degenerated into people from places where there aren't many such dogs lecturing people who ride in areas where there are a lot of them about how they should calm down and not worry about it.

Where I live and ride, I almost never see loose dogs. The last one that attacked me weighed about 4 pounds and came at me from a right angle while I was climbing a hill. She had just escaped out the front door. I felt pretty good that I didn't run her over, but stopped and yelled at her so she wouldn't be tempted to do it again. She ran right straight into the house. I think her owner who was tripping over himself to apologize appreciated it. Overall, almost as funny as being attacked by a groundhog while riding.

Daniel4

Just fast enough so the dog can keep up and follow you until the owner can't see it anymore. Then tie it somewhere.

Koyote

I know you are joking, but...I never blame a dog for its own bad behavior - especially for chasing cyclists. These things result from bad dog owners.

I once had a real problem with a dog on one of my regular routes, and my main concern was that it would get hit by a car while running out in the road to chase me. I ultimately called the Sheriff's department, and asked them to have a chat with the homeowner. I never had another problem with the dog.

Hericann

Scream "STAY" so dogs will know that you are angry with them. If it's hard of hearing, raise your hand threateningly as if it contains a rock.

Koyote

Since most dogs have never had rocks thrown at them (hopefully), I don't think that part will have any effect. Dogs have to learn such things.

fredlord

I am a dog lover with a very low opinion of irresponsible dog owners. Pepper spray is illegal in Australia. I wonder what I could put in my spare bidon that would be more of a deterrent than mere water. I'm thinking lemon juice? We have a a steady trickle of horrific dog attacks in Australia.

alo

It depends where you are. Where I am, dogs are not controlled like in many other parts of the world. Most people get harassed by dogs at some time. Most people throw rocks and other things at dogs. They try to hit them, and often do. Not every part of the world is the same. The first step to dealing with this, would be to round up stray dogs. But they don't.

livedarklions

Had another small dog "attack" yesterday. Little yappy terrier caught me and was running next to my bike on the left. This was on a curved road where I was worried the stupid little thing was asking to get run over. I got off of the bike and tried to scare the dog over to the right side of the road. Then I saw a rather desperate 11 year old boy running up the road with a leash so I told him what I was doing. The dog got excited as he ran up and promptly ran across the street to attack a moving SUV. Fortunately, the driver saw him, stopped the vehicle, and got out and tried to help by corralling the dog. This took a couple minutes, and I was holding up the cars on my side of the road. The kid finally got the dog on the leash, but only with about 5 cars in both directions being stopped. Terriers are surprisingly hard to catch.

Daniel4

Oil?
Vinegar?
Bleach?
Ammonia?
Soap?
Windshield fluid?

livedarklions

Ammonia is pretty mean, but bleach might even be criminal. Windshield fluid might be both toxic and taste good to the dog,really bad choice.

350htrr

I just use my bear spray... 2 times in the last 20 years... worked fantastic... The other thing that also seems to work fantastic/ pretty good,, is yelling NO. NO, No, go home.... Most dogs seem to understand the word NO... JMO

DangerousDanR

Sweet .... all.

Put some of this in a bottle diluted quite a bit with water.

Garlic-Habanero hot sauce

rbrides

I respect your right to share this method. I did ask for input. But this is exactly the rider's reaction I am advocating against and that I'm hoping to avoid because I have never seen it work. Shouting at dogs excite them. In my experience, some people shout at dogs that ultimately tire and return home and the cyclist mistakenly thinks the shouting was effective.

rbrides

I respect your right to share this method. I did ask for input. But yelling at the dog is exactly the rider's reaction I am advocating against and that I'm hoping to avoid because I have never seen it work. Shouting at dogs excite them. In my experience, some people shout at dogs that ultimately tire and return home and the cyclist mistakenly thinks the shouting was effective.

burnthesheep

When a dog leaves their yard, they perceive themselves as top dog and defending "theirs". They're not viewing you as a cute fun training scenario or opportunity to play. They're defending their family the way their moron family taught them to do.

Between animals, there's the alpha. If you present yourself as a weakling, the alpha feels empowered.

Never pre-emptively yell where you think dogs are. They'll hear you coming, but that delay may be enough that you ride by. They just hear you sooner being an idiot. Next, if they are on approach already......sorry but becoming the alpha is a priority. Being dominant and confident. Whether that's voice or stature. The water bottle squirt is good, but if you're doomed for an interaction the bike is a good fence. Then, if legal.....some pepper spray.

Animals interact on the dominance thing. If you act like a mamby pamby they'll sense that and you're toast.

If you're on routes you know a dog has you up a hill.......IMO if you care THAT much about the route then you need to get in contact with law enforcement in advance. It's legal to defend yourself in most US places with force. A neighbor lady carried a personal protective device in her jersey. I've no doubt if a big enough dog tried to corner her she'd use it. We've in NC had several instances of a pet sitter killed by the dog they're pet sitting. It's not some cutesy interaction. It could be your life.

Just always start at the lowest end of the scale of countermeasures, don't go fully crazy instantly.

livedarklions

I don't think you're correct about it always being the alpha dog thing--in my experience, lots of dogs chase because they really want to race. The threat to me in that situation is they're either going to get hit by a passing car or screw up and go under my wheel.

Ixnay on the gun talk, by the way. It's a forum rule.

Bald Paul

I don't think there is any one 'sure fire' method of stopping a chasing dog. Every dog reacts differently.
I have had many dogs give chase. Some will run along the edge of their yard, but never come out in the street. They are just 'protecting their territory'. Ride on past them.
Some will charge, and stop if you yell at them (Bad Dog! Go Home!). The funniest version of this type was when I pointed and yelled "SIT!" and the dog just stopped, sat, and had this dumb look as if to say "okay, where's my treat?" as I rode off.
I've tried the get-off-and-put-the-bike-between-you method, but sometimes, it just doesn't work. The dog sits there and tries it's best to get to you. Unless the owner comes out to control the dog, sooner or later you're going to have to deal with it. Oh, and then there's the owners who come out and yell "He won't bite!", to which I reply, "Yeah, and my lawyer won't sue you into bankruptcy, either."
And then there is the dog (or worse yet, dogs) who view you as a meal and will chase you down in the road until one of you tires out, or it bites you. I use pepper spray for them. Just make sure there is no one riding behind you that may catch some of it, and you know which way the wind is blowing!

burnthesheep

Okie. If so I kindly request an update to the forum FAQ/Rules page, as it ain't in there. No issues with doing as I'm told, just have issues with expectations that aren't published. I've attended forums before where they had an explicit clause listing the forbidden references. It shouldn't have to be through the grapevine of posts, it should be easy to find and see.

It's a bit tiresome seeing the replies from folks "don't post about guns" or "don't post about xyz". If so........then publish it in the FAQ. I can't randomly guess what triggers folks OR what posting rules folks MIGHT want to have in place. Just put it in print.

https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sug...ad-please.html

livedarklions

You're just plain wrong here. It's definitively stated in the forum rules: "gun discussion and illegal personal drug use are not allowed in the open public forum."

https://www.bikeforums.net/faq.php?f...aq_forum_rules


If you don't feel explicitly stating it in the faq is sufficient notice, take it up with the management:
https://www.bikeforums.net/21988560-post3.html

I won't bore you with the scores of posts from mods on this exact same issue and trust that one example should suffice.

ETA: I checked, and you posted a link to an outdated version of the rules that was posted when the website went down. It's from 2014, and has been updated since then. My link is to the current rules.

burnthesheep

Last sentence, I used CTRL-F just now to find it.

Despite thoroughly disagreeing with the sentiment, I'll follow it.

burnthesheep

How's this?

livedarklions

TBH, I think BF is to blame for your confusion. Your reply crossed with my edit--you linked to a sticky posting of the rules that hasn't been updated since 2014, since it is labelled as all member should read thread, it should be current. I don't think you should be blamed for thinking it was accurate.

livedarklions

Don't think you should care if I approve or don't approve, ask a mod.

burnthesheep

Fair enough.

Yeah, my original beef was resolved with the new link.

I'm just used to lists for stuff like that. Like:
-No sports news spoilers within 24 hours
-No guns
-The following repeat topics are in the FAQ, so do not repost them: blah, blah blah

I had to ctrl-F to get to that last sentence. Lazy me not reading it really slow. I just like a list as it is very concise and to the point.

A suggestion could be also add it to the cussword filter. If you see a filtered word, it becomes a "clue". I'd go "hmmm, why'd it do that", then investigate and update accordingly.