DaveZ

Tuesday I was chased by a pit bull. I got away, but was surprised how long the damn thing kept up the chase. So now I am considering carrying pepper spray. Anybody do that? How does it work out?
My girlfriend says if I spray a pit bull it will just make him madder.

Don in Austin

A friend of mine frequently encounters dogs that want to chase him in the rural area where he rides. He bought some huge honking pepper spray canister from a web site that sells law enforcement gear. It is about the size of a water bottle and fits in one of his bottle cages. He says it is very effective, but you have to be careful about the wind blowing it back at you.

Don in Austin

dramiscram

I get chased once or twice a week by the same dog, I stopped once to talk with the owner of the dog who didn't cooperate much. Fortunately it's a friendly dog who just want to play but I'm afraid that he will run into me one day. I never tought about pepper spray but I think it's a good idea to teach the dog to stop racing me every now and then. Thanks for the tip.

sauerwald

I have never tried pepper spray, but I have used a squirt from my water bottle - especially if you hit the dog in the face, it startles him enough for him to break off the chase.

If there is a dog that you encounter every day, I would talk to the owner, and if that doesn't bring any relief, call animal control.

doc0c

Tell the owner that next time it happens you're gonna do whatever it takes to eliminate the threat.

Commodus

I think pepper spray would at least blind the dog, even if it was mad surely you would be able to escape more easily.

oban_kobi

I carry it sometimes on country roads. Most of the time it stops them dead in their tracks, even "scary" dogs like pitbulls. It certainly works, though I usually don't bother and just ride faster instead. If you're really worried, get bear spray. If it can stop a bear, it's bloody well going to stop a dog.

mprelaw

Diluted ammonia in a small spray bottle. It's what was issued to letter carriers by the USPS for many years. Cheaper than pepper spray--which, by the way, isn't legal to carry in every state.

ironwood

Some dogs are bad, but others see you as prey. They interpret your pedaling away as an animal running away and they chase you. They sense fear and it sometimes simply reinforces their old hunter, predator instinct. They are descended from wolves after all. Sometimes they respond to authority, and if you stop and command them to stop they generally will.
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Unfortunately, some dogs have been bred to be vicious, so in that case you'd better think quickly.

yep202

The other day a dog charged me while I was going at 18. A pitbull. As I rode by him he went for my right foot. But he thought better of it. good thing to I was wearing steel toe shoes and Im sure getting hit in the mouth at 18mph and on the downturn would have broke his jaw. Not all dogs are like that tho. every situation is different I'm sure peppery spray will help. But in the event where you don't have time to get it out a knife could save you from going to the hospital or your life. I should have a knife with me in case a dog were to get me off my bike and jump on top of me. all pits are different my sister has one and he has never charged anyone. Even outside.

Juan Foote

I would warn of a couple of possible outcomes with using pepper spray.

One, if the owner catches you spraying his dog with spray it is highly likely that he could chase you down, run you off the road with his car, assault you, and get away with it. Ask me how I know this.

The other is that you catch any of this yourself and accidentally blind yourself, or other potential riders if you are in a group, and the outcome is likely to be much worse than being chased by a dog.

DaveZ

Thanks, everyone for the suggestions. I have called animal control, but I am not sure what house it was. I may go back there and try to find out. For now, I found a way around that vicinity.
BTW, pepper spray is legal around here (Sacramento).

DaveZ

Good point

howeeee

You buy the big one,,usually called a Bear Stopper, you have to buy 2 and practice with one,,even letting a little blow back in your face so you know what it is like. Pepper spray is usually allowed in almost every state, some states have a limit on precentage contenet, which is actually meaningless but you have to make sure what ever it says on the can complies with state laws.

Contrary to what you read in the papers, pit bulls are the number 2 friendliest dog breed(next to the Golden Retriever) when it comes to people. They are extremely dog aggressive (agrressive towards other dogs). So if you stop face the dog, he will most likely come and lick you lol. I have one pit bull that doesnt like bikes..but would never harm the rider. Never turn your back on a dog that is coming for you.

I ride almost every day, when a dog comes after me, I dont ride as fast as I can, I slow down and the dog usually will run on the side of me till I get away from his territory, I stay calm and usually have no problem.

ckaspar

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o03_s00_i00

redtires

It won't blind a dog (permanently, which is what I assume one poster meant)....it's a highly irritating substance, but RARELY leaves permanent damage.

Also, don't use it all, a one to two second burst is all you need (usually).

One major issue with using OC ("pepper spray") however, is that your leaving an animal temporarily unable to see...on a road, possibly with other traffic. The dog will do everything it can to get it off it's face, running around and rubbing it's face and head area into the ground. This could cause the dog to run into traffic causing a larger issue. The difference is, if you spray a person, and they are compliant, you can verbally calm them and get them and you safely on the way.

And while it's true...an irritated owner could possibly come after you (literally)....but personally, I'm not going to live in fear of what someone MIGHT do when it comes to my safety. If a dog is going to bite, I'm going to protect myself...I have a right to. I will also do everything in my power to protect myself from the owner if need be.

On that note, while I carry OC spray on the job, I rarely ever have it with me while off-duty. In 25 years of riding I've only ever needed to give a shot of water to a doggies face and they break it off right away. It really does work.

genec

I have often found a firm and loud NO is enough to do the trick for domestic dogs. Really.

yep202

w

Yelling doesn't always work watch the video and note this is a small dog. btw I'm the bike rider. Enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XnrU8KMqRg&feature=plcp

Tandem427

I use pepper spray bike mounts from defensedevices.com with the 3oz police grade pepper spray from Amazon. The mount attaches to a bike tube or handlebar with velcro and has two button snaps for the pepper spray. Haven't had to use it yet, but it's there if I need it.

Too many owners out in the open country let their dogs run loose with no regard for the dog's safety or the safety of others. A lot of dogs end up getting shot harassing livestock or run over in traffic. The owners don't seem to care, they just get another dog. A non-lethal deterrent like pepper spray may end up saving the dog's life by teaching it not to run out into the road.

Whiteknight

I have a 4 oz canister of Fox Five Point Three pepper spray on my top tube in a Defense Devices holder. The 3 ounce version on my wife's bike.

Here in the city we have those who will train their pit bull(s) to fight. When they escape and roam the streets you can be in trouble if one takes a dislike to you. The other day I was out working in the yard. I heard some kids yelling for help. They had climbed a 6 foot stockade fence to get away from a pit bull that was growling at them. They could not get down until the dog was gone. I opened my back gate a crack. The dog headed for me growling. I gave him a short spray with the Fox stream canister. Not the fog one. Just a light shot. The dog dropped to the ground and started pawing at his nose. I opened the gate and stepped out pointing the canister at it. It then got up and ran down the alley. Then the kids could come down off the fence. Two days later the local police and the Animal Rescue League caught it and took it away. I like dogs so I didn't want to give it a lot of spray in the face. The quick shot stopped it and caused it enough discomfort that it went elsewhere.

waldowales

I was walking my two little dogs a couple of weeks ago, when we were attacked by a large dog. I yelled at it, kicked at it, it kept coming. I could only see two ways to stop it before me or the dogs got hurt, shoot it or pepper spray it, and I figured there would be less trouble and paperwork if I sprayed it. He took a good shot right in the face, and he backed off but still kept following us, stopping occasionally to rub his face on the grass. We finally walked past a house with a little dog and its master on the front lawn, and he went for them. They went in the house, and he stayed at their door while we walked away. I haven't seen him since, but if I do, I'll spray him down again and call animal control

bassplyr

While I carry pepper spray and am occasionally chased by some aggressive dogs in the rural areas in which I ride, I have never used it. I am not comfortable taking my hand off the handlebars to get at the spray then try and use it. I have had pretty good luck with the sheriffs department responding to dog owners that let their animals run loose. Most dogs that I have encountered respond to a loud "no." I have always felt like it is the owner that needs to be sprayed instead of the dog.

silmarillion

Good point and I agree completely. I cases like this, It's best to ride like heck and get out of there. Get to a safe distance and immediately call the police and tell them you need a unit on site to take a report. Tell them it is not the first time. Do this as soon as you are safely away from the animal. When the cop gets there, he will go to the home of the owner. Then he will see the dog (hopefully he won't be attacked...)

You have to insist that the officer take a report to protect you in case of an accident that creates a time loss for you. It's good to have documented reports to back up your claims should you be hurt. This is a right you have as a citizen, and the police should have no problem doing this. Playing the legal angle is the only way to get animal owners to abide by the leash laws.

Where I live, we have some pretty tight laws regarding animals on the loose. Three formal complaints and the owner is on their way to court.

ukoro

(Due note: this is a fairly long rant and want to share my experience to maybe give someone on some insight)

About a month ago, I was walking my dog down the street. We usually go to this small park down the road. While my dog is doing his thing this guy comes out of his house with his two dogs that are not on a leash and one of them immediately approaches me and I had never seen this particular one before.

As it's trying to get closer to my dog I have mine on a leash and trying to keep him from getting too close to the strange dog. (Mine is a miniature btw and the other guys was a full size btw) so as i am using each hand to keep the dogs seperate cause it looked like his was fairly unpredicatable, I look at the owner and he's just standing on edge of his property watching. So I say to him in a loud and disgruntled voice, 'What, are you just gonna stand there?' and he did, he stood there for a good solid minute and a half not even responding to my question.

Eventually I started using my body to make a barrier between the dogs and verbal commands telling it to go. Finally, the owner starts using a command to call the dog back to him and the verbal command isn't working. he continues on for another full minute trying to do so. I'm in completely frustrated at this moment looking in another direction ready to flip out on both the owner and dog, the owner finally comes over, tries to get his dog physically by the collar and fails multiple times. Eventually the dog runs off back to the house on his own free will.

The owner didn't say anything to me. Not even an apology. I was fully pissed off and decided to call the non-emergency number for the police. Told them exactly what I'm telling you. Apparently in my area, its okay to have your dogs not on a leash, but they have to respond to a command. When the officer finally came, he pretty much flat out said there's not much I can do, but that he could go talk to the guy.

The next day, the mother and the daughter are standing out in the street pretending that they're seeing someone off as they leave in a car and as I get closer, they just started staring me down, so I stared them back down as well. From then on, I haven't seen any of the family members or their dogs around when I am walking mine; knock on wood. Why is that someone has to get hurt before the police do anything?
___

To make the story short. Know the laws in your area. Consider carrying bear mace cause you never know when you will need to defend yourself. If you think a dog is going to attack you, you have the right to defend yourself. I am exhausted of inconsiderate people who just let their dogs loose and don't even keep an eye on them and don't even clean up after them in public areas where there's signs specifying you have to.

Carry a Cell phone and Get a spray that shoots a fog and covers good distance. Be aware of which way the wind is flowing. And always, call the cops afterwards to report the situation so that it hopefully doesn't happen again and that the owner doesn't even have a chance to make false statements against you. Same applies if the situation involves people.

Edit: Also wanted to answer the Ops question. It might make the dog mad but if you get it in their eyes and nose, it will be stunned enough to allow you to make your next move.

silmarillion

Oh yeah, one more thing...

I have heard of some people carrying a milkbone or a bag of gaines chunks and tossing it to a dog who pursues you.

Dogs may love to chase, but they love to eat. May work in a pinch...