10 Wheels

Easy, I saw the wasp on the dogs nose.

urbanknight

Better be sure you can drop it. The only thing worse than being taken down by a dog is being taken down at 30 mph by a dog.

martialman.45

1) dog was at first in front of me due to ambushing guy on quad from trees 2) German shepherd top speed is 30-35mph, mine is 30 if im lucky
https://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/...ad/328520.html

Kerian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abIz1KZOOzg

NickDavid

I can understand not out-sprinting a greyhound, but we're talking German Shepherd. I guess it would depend on the situation, but I would assume most roadies could out-sprint a dog.

Regardless, it's good to hear that you suffered no injury. I have a very large German Shepherd and can't imagine how one would look if it were to attack.

gabdy

What's with you yanks and wanting to shoot everything?

silversx80

The only time I've ever been afraid of a dog while riding is when one darted out in front of me while I was going 25+ mph.

Dogs can sense your fear, and will take advantage of that in order to dominate you; especially German Shepherds.

GSDs have been bred to... herd. They do that very well and instinctively do it all the time. Chances are that this particualr dog was attempting that with the quad, then you. They nip at your heels, so chances are that it was not going to bite hard, if at all.

I'm guessing the dog was startled because it was doing its 'job' and you gave an unexpected reaction. Then, you let your fear of dogs take advantage of you, letting the dog become the dominent one. Thrusting the bike at the dog, without the dog actually attacking the bike, shows its intent was not to attack. It also shows that the dog was not in fear of you, nor the bike.

Quel

A handgun just won't do the trick. Just build a mount for a shotgun on your top tube. Sure, mounting things to your bike is a bit fredly, but I don't think anyone will have the guts to tell you that to your face.

cyclewolf

The thing I find with a lot of dogs is they really know their angles. Riding by a house with a dog that notices you from their porch - they aim to cut you off and have a knack for knowing at what point they will meet you at. At least for the dogs that aim to really give chase.

Then there are the dogs that really have no intention of leaving their yard and just want to bark and come out into the yard a bit to make sure you aren't stopping by. They give a half-hearted chase and are easy to out-sprint, but they never really had an intention to actually chase you down.

With the dogs I encounter I usually keep a reasonable speed and they stop at the edge of their yard. For the ones that come on to the road more aggressively I generally come to a stop, put my bike between me and them and then proceed to yell at the dog. If they continue I take the handy Zefal frame pump and prepare to yield it like a club. (I've tried air horns, water bottles, ammonia, etc and I've had the best luck with this procedure). In some cases I tend to be very confrontational with the dog and will actually at times take steps towards it while yielding the frame pump (I imagine this looks quite comical to folks seeing this). To date every dog I have done this with has hesitated and thought twice of coming closer.

Really though, this happens rarely - most of the dogs I encounter quickly lose interest when they see you aren't coming into their yard and just riding by.

dhale50

Just ride with this guy:

Bah Humbug

I keep wondering this, honestly. I mean, guns are cool and all, but there are a lot of people who seem to be searching for any excuse to be "forced" to shoot something, or even be "forced" to spray poison on something. You know, just maybe some of the dogs are sensing the latent aggression in you. The worst thing to happen to me when I come across a dog - including unleashed ones - is needing to slow down until I'm past them. I could never live with myself if I shot a dog unless I was certain it was rabid or actually trying to kill me, not just run at me and bark.

Flash

man those are some tough ride conditions. 5-15 dogs per ride? Sounds like you are experienced and this helped. I rarely see dogs on my rides and this likely contributed to my slow reaction when I was attacked a couple of summers ago. I have the permanent scar to remind me:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...&highlight=dog

Flash

the dog that bit me was owned by a dog trainer

unbelievablyred

I usually just break into a sprint when I see a dog charging and they give up, although I've had some close calls.

I've caused a dog to get hit by a car before too (not intentionally of course). This guy's yard was surrounded by thick woods on both sides adjacent to the road, and his dog just went blindly charging across the road at me, only to be hit by a car coming from the opposite direction. Can't say I was sorry, that little mutt always viciously chased me.

SendMoreChris

I saw a dog that didn't try to chase me a couple days ago. It stood there and watched, didn't bark or anything. WEIRD

1)They should always be on leashes, sure, but they're not.

2)Dogs chase things, it's what they do. Add in the fact that cyclist are perfect dog-chase size, moving at perfect dog-chase speed and their "Throw the ball, throw the ball" instinct goes crazy.

3)Not every dog that chases you wants to chew on your calf, sure there are bad ones, but shooting poison at every dog that jumps on the chase is irresponsible.

Bah Humbug

Unless you know (and you can't) that it was actually going to hurt you, I don't think I'm allowed to post what this makes me think of you.

Quel

The dog got ran over trying to chase him in the street. Not the riders fault there. That's the dog owners fault.

Flash

Have you ever been attacked and bit by a dog while riding your bike?

While I understand that much of the problem lies with dog owners, if a dog is charging me and looking like it means business and he is closing, out comes the mace.

SendMoreChris

All dogs "look like he means business" when they're running. I've been chased by a lab and a rottweiler (that one was a little scary) No, I've never been bitten because I can out-sprint a dog. You could too if you were not fiddling around for your weapon of choice. They can't, or don't, hold speed for very long.

cofgrn

Most of the time I've had real dangerous situations with dogs is when I'm riding uphill and can't turn around due to the route, so there's no sprinting around the dog. To the dog owners / "lovers" representing here: Please keep your dog leashed unless you want it pepper sprayed or shot by someone not wanting to be bit by it.

hopsing08

the only thing that sucks is you really have to aim with those. so your gonna be looking at the dog, spray it, crash, and then the dog is gonna be PISSED OFF. good luck with that.

Ygduf

I learned that the type of people who use Wasp Spray as a weapon are the type who think mugging Amish folk on buggies will be lucrative.

jwible

There's a dog that bites on a hill near here. Going up hill sucks and I've had to kick the crap out of him once. Down is easy to outrun him. Big ole black lab with an attitude.

A well placed kick with a hard soled cycling shoe does the trick for me.

banerjek

I'm a bit confused by this report.

You appear to have some experience with dogs, so this is definitely an unusual ride. However, stopping and preparing for a confrontation is the best way to guarantee you'll get one. Then you get attacked, but there's enough time to dismount?

Most of the rest of it makes sense but you fear for your safety from one dog? I totally understand not wanting to be bitten, but even a Shep represents more of a threat of pain than actual danger. In the case at hand, you would have shot a dog that sounds like didn't even get you. If a dog is serious about attacking you, it's really hard to get away without any bites at all.

BTW, watch out for the cars and trucks when you ride. A dog killing a cyclist is a truly rare thing. In a normal year, 700-800 cyclists a year get killed by motorists

silversx80

I bring my wasp-spray to deal with cars and trucks