bbeasley

So I've called Animal control once in my short cycling career. I did this about a year ago after fending off a dog several times and speaking politely with the owner. None of this did any good so I made the call.

Today my friend and I were riding past the home where the offending dog lives. He was there and loose but did not come into the street as we went outbound. It looked like he might have had an electronic fence collar on. On the way back he also stayed out of the street. But, his smaller buddy tried to run through my back wheel. The dog got stuck in the bike and we skidded to a flop stop. The poor dog detached himself and whimpered home. I hope he was more scared than hurt. I'm a dog lover and feel terrible about the accident. I'd like to tie the owner to a motorcycle and drag him down the street a bit, okay not really but it sucks he doesn't take care of his dogs. I called Animal control again, hope it does some good.

Thinking back on the incident I don't see any possible way I could have avoided this other than walking the bike past the house. I didn't even have a shot at him with my water bottle as he attacked from a rearward angle. Bent up my bomb proof Bontrager Race Lite wheel but was able to ride it home with the brake released. I think I'll take the repair bill to the house and see how that goes.

turkey9186

Sorry to hear about this.
During a group ride the beginning of October, while I was in Texas, a French bulldog and a Wiemaraner loose in a yard decided to "join" us. The bulldog tried to bite the guy in front of me, and while trying to avoid the Wiemaraner, I T-boned the bulldog. Five seconds from the time they left the yard, I was on the ground.
The people told animal control their dogs were never allowed to run loose. The police said there was nothing they could do about the dogs being lose. I got an ambulance ride, a CT scan, a broken tooth and a damaged bike. It did make for an interesting GoPro video though.

I had heard all these horror stories about drivers in Texas. I found the dogs allowed to run loose to be a much bigger problem.

99Klein 

Why do you keep riding by if you know there is a problem dog?

bbeasley

Couple of reasons, the first time I went through what I thought was reasonable steps to solve the problem and I think it worked. The original dog doesn't come in the street anymore. This was a different dog today.

But the main reason is I won't give up my right to ride on a road because of one person being irresponsible. It's against the law here to let your dogs run loose. If I just ignore it and a kid gets hurt I'm a bit guilty by omission.

rpenmanparker 

Please consider this as constructive criticism. 99Klein is brutally on point. Reread your response I have quoted above a couple of times a day for a few days. Think about it. Can you honestly say it makes sense to put yourself at risk on a regular basis in an unsafe situation you can neither control nor remedy. Are you truly about sacrificing yourself because you think it may help prevent a child from getting hurt when your actions cannot even help to protect yourself? Based on the response from the authorities to your reports and even your crash, how is your risk helping anyone? I honestly believe you need a reality check...and another cycling route. What's that they say defines a lunatic? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result?

kflagg 

this is where an old school aluminium frame pump comes in handy.... One good whack will do the trick.

kflagg 

Police may not be able to do anything but a lawyer probably could.

Darth Steele

A whack to the owner or the dog? I would opt for the former.. But polite society dictates the latter.

rpenmanparker 

Well, we are firmly back into a "dog" thread again.

Come on, can the average bike handling recreational cyclist being chased by a significant dog really unmount a frame pump, effectively strike the dog approaching from the rear and stay up on the bike? And how about two dogs? Silly urban myth as it pertains to most folks. Why not just carry a baseball bat in a scabbard on your back? Or a Glock while you're at it? This is very dangerous advice.

kflagg 

Whatever man.Another one who makes things more complicated than it needs to be.It works don't know what to tell you.Just do nothing and see where that gets you.

rpenmanparker 

Yep. Just me and that other guy. Well, 30 years in, and "do nothing" has me just about where I want to be. But the image of you steering with one hand, looking backwards and flailing across your rear tire with a hyper-extended frame pump as you approach a speed bump with a couple of pit bulls hot on your tail has further improved my outlook. Where is Norman Rockwell when you need him?

vasuvius

With concealed carry being permissible in many states, I wonder if cyclists anywhere carry hand-guns.

RPK79

They do, but only carbon fiber handguns with titanium bullets.

Samfujiabq

Yes,I carry a Ruger LCR 38,extremely light,BUT if a dog was coming after me there would be no way to get it out quickly enough and I don't like to shoot animals.If one got me on the ground and it was a life or death thing then I would be able to get to the gun and use it.I ride through an area called the War zone so I'm more concerned with the two legged animals.

02Giant 

Are you fricken serious?

Carry some mace...the lawyer isn't a bad idea either.

StanSeven

Or another possibility is one or more cars are driving by when the dog chases you and an accident results.

cannondale125

I carry mace in my shirt pocket. Hope I never need it.

SpeshulEd 

Hey, its a dog thread...it's been awhile.

Karma...be nice to the dog and they'll be nice to you.

banerjek

Amen brother. I've said the same thing about idiot drivers for years. Ignoring obvious threats to safety is our duty. Substantially increasing chances of injury or worse is a small price to pay for making a stupid point.

My only regret is adjusting my speed for ice today. Friggin' city should have kept the roads clear. I could totally sue their asses if I wiped out due to their negligence...

banerjek

Get with the program. For my entire life, everyone has told me ammonia in the water bottle is the way to go. Someday, I may meet a cyclist who actually does this...

halfspeed

Things will really get going when someone mentions anti-freeze.

Long Tom

I haven't, but I could. In my state open carry is legal; it just needs to be in plain sight.

Looigi

Sounds like every road ride I've ever been on.

Fleabiscuit

Whenever I see a suspicious looking dog, I just dial it up to 450 watts and leave him in my dust. Please note, if the dog is a greyhound or the rare greyhound-pit bull mix, I might crank up my wattage to 550. Anything higher might make me break a sweat.

Dogs usually avoid me during my rides. You aren't carrying around any bacon with you on your rides, are you? That could be your problem. I'd just avoid the problematic area if possible and leave the bacon at home.

banerjek

Dogs are sensitive to smell so you'd think they'd leave cyclists that reek alone. Except most dogs like things that stink.

Now I'm confused.