Joe Bikerider

Small black shaggy dog chased me down the street and then nipped on my left ankle.

I’ve been riding on McNutt Ave recently in Walnut Creek to avoid the construction going on a block over for a new library and condo complex. In fact I have really enjoyed getting away from the construction and have waved and dinged my bell at several people and thought I was getting at least a little bit known. I go by there almost every day.

Then this morning I was heading West on McNutt and heard some barking behind me. I couldn’t really see behind me that well so didn’t think much about it. Then I felt a bite on my left ankle.

I stopped immediately and put both feet down. I yelled loudly and then turned back to look. A small black sort of shaggy dog was running away and then was sitting on a lawn. I walked my bike a couple yards ahead and the dog stayed there. I noticed the front door of that house was partially open.

So I yelled “heh, your dog just bit me. As##ole”. a couple times. No reaction.

Considering the situation and the amount of gun owners in that area I just rode on. I could just see myself knocking on the door and getting shot. Such is the world I live in.

I couldn’t really check at the time what with my thick socks and tights but when I got home there seemed to be no skin broken. And anyway it was probably too late to make any claim.

So here I am, pissed as hell about that dog and the owner and the state of our country.

thanks for letting me rant. What street will I choose tomorrow?

Notso_fastLane

I would still note the address and report it to your local animal control. If there are previous reports, or subsequent reports, at least something will eventually be done.

Ignoring means someone else might get bit and not be so lucky.

Glad you weren't really hurt.

CliffordK

I don't let dogs get close to my bike.

I had an ankle nipper chase me a few years ago, and was more worried that the dog would do something unsafe than have it bite me. It did eventually break off the chase, maybe a block from its home. I hope it made it back.

I will yell whenever I see a dog on the road. I have an up and back ride I do from time to time. On the way headed out, about 3 dogs chased me one day. My yell can probably be heard for a mile. I was cautious on the way back, but no dogs then, or ever again.

There was one dog that barked at me at the turnaround once. After I yelled "GO HOME", it simply went back and sat at the corner of its yard. That was its safe place, and it could stay there. I've seen it out a few times, but never any problem.

The closest call was when I passed a dog owner who said "It's a sweet dog" right before it nipped my handlebars. I should have reacted quicker, but ultimately no harm.

And, just one dog that I wish I had mace. Chased me about 1/4 mile along a moderately busy road. Fortunately just past a gentle crown in the hill. It never broke off the chase. I've been back past there a few times, and no dog.

10 Wheels

I use a Marine Air Horn to Blast Dogs when they get Close.

boilermaker1

CB HI

There was a junk yard owner that I reported for environmental pollution, not having a business license, selling used cars without a dealer's license and illegally parking junk cars/trucks next to the bike path. He started sicing a dog on me. The first 2 times, I simply out distanced the dog. The third time, I was ready with pepper spray and gave the dog a good shot. The fourth time the dog ran out of the junk yard gate, saw it was me, tucked it's tail and ran away.

Iride01 

Yeah, why is it that it's the small yappy dogs that seem to be the worst offenders? Too much in-breeding? I've never been bitten by a dog while riding. Most normal size dogs stop chasing if I stop or ride out of their territory.

But I'd agree with reporting it to an animal control or sheriff's office. Even if nothing is done toward your incident, at least there'll be some data in the system that maybe a future statistician looking to address this issue can use for support.

Korina

I'd have been tempted to use it on the owner. Stoopid human.

Korina

I know! There was one rural route where two dogs came out of their yard every time my husband and I rode by, slowly, because it was near the top of a steep hill. The big one (maybe 60 lbs.) just ambled over to say hi, maybe get some pets, and the little one (maybe 8 lbs.) acted like it wanted to rip our faces off and stomp on our corpses. We never got bit, as I think the little one had just enough brains to realize it probably wasn't a good idea. Haven't been up there in awhile; hope they're well.

I never blame the dog for bad behavior, I blame their humans.

CB HI

Owner already knew better than to confront me, that is why he sent his otherwise OK dog after me. I only gave the dog the minimum shot to keep it away, but would have loved to give the owner a real long shot.

masonv45

If able to safely - I found a water bottle spray right up the muzzle will deter most dogs.

DeadGrandpa

I don't think that deterring "most dogs" is sufficient, and hitting a running dog exactly in the face with a stream of water while pedaling is not a certainty, either.

I have found a canister of bear spray which sends a 2ft diameter fog of pepper spray to be absolutely effective.

Not every dog that chases is going to bite, but even a little Yap dog has caused me to crash as he ran under my front wheel (I was approaching a stop sign and going very slow). A crash of any kind can result in broken bones, so I don't play. Once sprayed, they remember.

Gyro

I was bit by a Great White Pyrenees last year . I was rolling up to a blind country stop sign. Trees blocking east, west view 55 mph highway. Hidden in the bushes to my left were two Pyrenees I didn't see. I hear a growl and in a flash, had his fang into my calf before I could blink. I drove my fist down on his head and they both ran back into the bushes. The dog fence was dead I later learned. Don't think for a moment you'll always have time for a defense, you won't.

Barry2 

I got bit at work of all places.

I had to go see my doc for fear of infection.
She insisted knowing about the dog despite my resistance.
She claimed "what if the next time the dog bites a kids' face!"
So I gave up the details.

Animal control came to my house to take a statement and a picture of the injury, they placed the dog into "house arrest/quarantine" for rabies.
I assured them I hadn't give the dog rabies.

Some time later, Animal Control then checked in with the owner regarding the dogs health and reported back to me.

They take all this extremely seriously.
Made me feel sorry for the poor owner, right up to the point I found out it was not the first time the dog had bitten for no reason.

Report it !

Barry

ARider2

One time a medium sized dog began to give chase on my right side. I was going about 15MPH and I noticed a car parked on my right about 25 feet away. As the dog was nipping at my right heels I rode as close to the parked car as I could using it as a stationary block. The dog ran smack into the parked car and came to an abrupt stop as I pedaled away with a grin on my face.

Kat12

Is truth. The only time in my life I've ever been bitten by a dog, I had no warning. I don't mess with dogs to piss them off, I know what an aggressive dog's demeanor looks like, etc. But. I was walking up the street and two dogs came out of yard/driveway. I didn't think much of it; they were just strolling, didn't seem aggressive or territorial or at all riled up, seemed they were just looking at the person walking by. Behavior I'd seen a million times before. But, suddenly one growled and rushed me, closed the few feet between us before I could react, and bit me on the calf. Immediately after, he jumped back as if almost shocked about it, hadn't bitten hard (but just enough to break the skin with one or two teeth-- and put a hole in the leg of one of my favorite pairs of pants, the tosser-- so I went for the rabies shots anyway).

Maybe he was just showing off for his friend, who knows. Lucky for me, he didn't really mean business. If he had, he would've been a lot faster and there would've been nothing I could've done (yes, I probably would have seen it in his behavior, but the house he came from was near the road and at the time he emerged, there were probably never more than 10-15 feet between us; if he'd chosen to take that at a run, or even if I'd seen him in time to try to take evasive action, I would've been toast either way; all I was carrying was a small messenger bag, not even containing anything heavy so I could swing it at him, and that as a cross-body so I wouldn't have had time to take it off to use it as a weapon or a shield). All the same, I was more wary around unrestrained dogs I didn't know after that, no longer confident that I could necessarily "read" a dog or that they would telegraph an intention to bite me ahead of time.

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ETA, as I've just recalled the time this past summer when I was at a local park, sitting at a picnic table, practicing music (I live in an apartment with thin walls; practicing at home isn't an option my neighbors would appreciate). Suddenly from behind me (my back was to most of the park, including its entrance) I heard a growl... I turned in time to see a dog running toward me from about 15 feet away. I had no time to do anything whatsoever except start to turn around in my seat... luckily, by the time I got turned the other way, this dog was next to me licking my arm rather than tearing it off and his people all the way across the park were yelling, "He won't hurt you!"

Sure, I'm sure I jumped a mile when I saw him. I love dogs and have never been afraid of them, but it's a whole new ballgame when there's an unfamiliar, growling dog charging you from behind, he's already close, and there aren't owners in sight. (If I'd been afraid of dogs, I likely would've had a heart attack!)

I noticed they disappeared pretty quickly after that... hopefully, next time they decide to let their dog off leash and out of their control at the park, they'll make sure they're alone first. My guess is that they took the leash off as soon as they entered the park, he saw a person and made a beeline before they even registered I was there, and the owners never would have had a hope of stopping him if he'd meant me harm-- nor would I have since it would've taken me time to extricate myself from the picnic table (I suppose I could have whacked him with my recorder if I'd needed to).

billyymc

Got bit early this year by a chocolate lab I thought I could outrun but couldn't. It got my calf, broke the skin through my tights, then satisfied with that it turned back home. I went back to the house it was from to ask the owner if they had proof of rabies shot for the dog.

Turns out the owner was a doctor, at the same practice my primary care doctor is at. The dog was current on shots. Dr. looked at the bite - it wasn't bad and I wasn't worried about it. I told him that a lot of people ride his road (I"m sure he already knew that), and left.

I hope he kept the dog under better control after that - not everyone would be as understanding, and I coudl just as easily have crashed while trying to outrun the dog.

I was chased a few times after that this summer, and in two instances turned the dog away with a squirt from the water bottle. Third time I was riding with a friend. She had put my water bottle on my bike as we were getting ready and had shut the valve unbeknownst to me - tried to squirt the dog and nothing. Luckily I shouted it back. Pepper spray wouldn't have worked because she was in the line of fire.

Mr. 66

Small dog nips you, doesn't even break the skin, is no reason to act like a jerk. Wow!

I also think you live in the state of paranoia that you are going to get shot. Why would you get shot?

SurferRosa

My advice is stay away from McAnkle Ave, just in case there's a correlation...

jppe

I was bitten by a black lab (I always thought Labs were friendly!) a few years ago. I contacted animal control and they visited the owner who was an older man. All their shots were up to date so I didn’t have to do the rabies protocol. I haven’t seen them running free since then.

In rural NC gravel roads we have about 1 dog per mile! All that I’ve seen recently are just chasers and often my bike bell stops them.

The worst issue I ever had was on a longish climb where I wasn’t going very fast. Off to my left was a young kid playing with two dogs in front of their house. When the dogs saw me they bolted after me. One of the dogs was a yappy small dog that was trying to run circles around me. The second dog was much bigger and beefier. He was darting back and forth in front of my front wheel and snarling. Then he starting biting at my tire and wheel and even grabbed it with his teeth now and then. I didn’t want to get off the bike fearing that they might come after me. But I was worried the bigger dog could actually take me down and I’d be even more vulnerable. Luckily I kept hollering and slowly pedaling and the dogs quit bothering me. I called animal control on those dogs as soon as possible. Plus I was supposed to take that road back to the start. However I found another way back but it required a 5-6 mile detour.

Gyro

Reminds me of my attack. After the local sheriff picked me up. I rode with him to the house where the dogs were. Pulling into the driveway, both dogs attacked the tires on the car before he had completely stop. No one looked to be home and he wasn't about to get out of the car after that.

Milton Keynes

I haven't been bothered by dogs too much, just once when I was riding through a small town and an aggressive dog nipped at my heel, but I do plan to get some pepper spray this year.

Pop N Wood

Did you know it is possible to bruise a human penis? A dog taught me that when it took down my bike.

Even little yappy dogs can take down a bike and dog owners never think their dog is a threat, so yes, there is great reason to act like a jerk.

Inusuit

One of my out and back gravel rides has one house with a small yappy dog that chases me coming and going. I know the guy who owns it. It's never got close enough to bite so I just ignore it. Another house has two larger dogs that are outside of their fence every other ride or so. I've stopped, kept the bike between me and them. They eventually lose interest. I carry pepper spray but am reluctant to use it. I've never seen another cyclist in the area and have some concerns about retaliation from the owner. Plus I really don't want to harm the dogs unless it's necessary.

Bald Paul

Being the 'dad' of four rescue dogs, I understand that having dogs comes with responsibility, not only to the dogs (food, shelter, health care) but to the public that may interact with them.
Thankfully, none of my dogs are aggressive (well, one will sometimes get a bit insistent on jumping up on your lap to sleep, but...) and are always either on-leash, or outside in a fenced in yard when not commandeering a bed or couch inside the house.
It's uncommon for a dog to just suddenly, for no reason, chase someone on a bicycle. That behavior is usually repeated and known to the dog's owner. It's the owner's responsibility to either train or restrain the dog to prevent that from happening. When they just ignore the behavior and allow it to happen time and time again, they need to be reported to the local agency in charge of animal control (in our case, the Sherriff's office) and, in the event of their dog causing injury, they need to be held financially responsible. In some cases, claims against a homeowner caused by certain breeds are automatically denied by homeowner's insurance companies, and the homeowner is on the hook.