from my dog trainer friend:

[mimitabby]

When a dog is in "prey" drive saying anything to the dog is probably pretty
useless. Yelling will always kick the dog into higher prey drive which is
why screaming at barking dogs is so ineffective. Now using something like
telling the dog to stay or you git home as they are coming towards you but
not in a full out run can help. I've told dogs in a deep, mean sounding
voice to GIT HOME NOW, not yelled but threatening and 99% of them stop and
don't advance. I just came from the older lady's home where I evaluated the
dog. She's having all kinds of problems and one of the was loose dogs
approaching her when she was walking her dog. Now she's carrying a small
water bottle that she hooks to her pants loop. We got a chance to try my
suggestion out on the walk and it worked beautifully.

If I was on a bike I
would take my water bottle and blast the dog in the face with a nasty GIT
HOME voice

[Geonz]

... except some of the dogs I know LOVE water on their faces...

MOst of the dogs I go by are in "defend my territory" mode, so as soon as I get outside that, they lose interest.

Some of them are in "oh, gosh, a human to run with, yippee!" and hollering when they're too close sometiems works.

[bcipam]

In a past life I used to train dogs. Some were fairly agressive. The best derrent to to take control, stand, face them and in a sharp, firm voice say "NO" All by the craziest dog will stop, turn and run away. Now for the 1 crazy dog not even water in the face is gonna work. Take your pump or your camelbak or anything you can swing off and be prepared to wail away.

[mimitabby]

In a past life I used to train dogs. Some were fairly agressive. The best derrent to to take control, stand, face them and in a sharp, firm voice say "NO" All by the craziest dog will stop, turn and run away. Now for the 1 crazy dog not even water in the face is gonna work. Take your pump or your camelbak or anything you can swing off and be prepared to wail away.

of course standing and facing the dog might be the best way to go BUT if i am on a bike going 15 mph i am not going to stop and face the dog!!

That pump is a great handy weapon though, i like that idea.

[Lenusik]

I don't quite understnad where you ride to get attacked bya dog. All our dogs are at home in the back yards surrounded by stone walls.
I have three dogs and one of the is a Rottweiler. None of them are even closely interetsted in a cyclist - this is how they were trained. Any dog responds to a firm and strong "NO". There is no reason to hurt the animal.

[mimitabby]

I don't quite understnad where you ride to get attacked bya dog. All our dogs are at home in the back yards surrounded by stone walls.
I have three dogs and one of the is a Rottweiler. None of them are even closely interetsted in a cyclist - this is how they were trained. Any dog responds to a firm and strong "NO". There is no reason to hurt the animal.

you sound like you live in a nice area. There are a lot of parts of the state of washington where people let their dogs run free, and big dogs at that.

if a big dog is at your ankles you have every right to smack it with what ever you've got. More than one person I know has been bitten.

True, some dogs are not interested in biting but they get in the way of bikes
causing accidents. remind me to tell my favorite pitbull story..
unfortunately leash laws are not keeping dogs off our streets here.

m

[tprevost]

dogs do get out of their yards and in rural areas, sometimes they aren't even fenced in! I had two little terriers chase me one time; they weren't very big but they startled me because they jumped out of a field very quickly. Yelling didn't work so I ended up grabbing my water bottle and squirting them and they went away. I had to go back by there on the way back though so at that point I was mad and actually stopped when they popped out and chased them! I probably looked like an idiot but I did it anyway!

Trac'

[btchance]

Whenever I go home, which is in rural Oklahoma, I literally can't ride or run off of our property because you will basically be attacked going in all directions. Even making sure you're on the opposite side of the road from their house doesn't work. Sometimes being on my parent's own property isn't enough. When you get out into rural areas you will literally get packs of dogs that run together, sometimes with the coyotes, that will bring down grown horses and cattle or run them through the fence. They chase cars, bit at the tires, and go after you on horseback. Personally, if a dog is coming at me, I try the NO! first, then do whatever I have to do to keep myself safe, and most of the people who live out there are the same way. I hate doing anything that would harm an animal, and try to avoid it at all costs, but when it comes to my safety versus them, I'm going to pick myself every time.

[Lenusik]

That's true, we don't see that many dogs just running around with no leashes or unattended. There is only one area where you can see that but I would not ride thier anyway. I can sooner fins a snake or a tarantula running across the road.
As I said, the only thing that dogs are looking for is dominance. If you are not the dominent one, a dog will take that space. Just be firm and sharp. But first of all, be safe.

[bcipam]

Lots of areas have loose dogs. I used to live in Fresno, CA and would go riding out in the orchard and through farm land. Can't tell you how many times I was riding, minding my own business and a pack of dogs came flying out yapping and barking at me. I alway stop. If you ride by the dogs will chase and I don't really want them out in the street or road and away from home. I stop, turn and shout. Takes little more than that. They will back off and turn around. Then I can ride happily on. Trying to squirt a dog with water might cause one to have an accident. Not good!

[madisongrrl]

Realistically, yelling may stop the dog or might inflame the situation. I recommend spraying water in the dog's face or using direct stop citronella spray. Stay away from pepper spray because it often can make aggressive dogs more aggressive.

If you can out ride the dog, do so. But the dog is most likely trying to chase you because his prey drive is kicking in and/or because of poor human leadership, care and management (dog is left unattended in yard and is filling his day with chasing bikers because it is a fun doggy came to play).

If you think the dog is going to out run you, stop and get off your bike (the motion of the bike is directly causing the dog to chase you, so stop moving). Keep the bike between you and the dog. Slowly walk away, ignore the dog (avert your eyes and turn your head - this is very clear canine communication) and act uninterested (when doing this try to the watch the dog out of the corner of your eye so you can read his body language).

I wouldn't recommend hitting the dog. Try to avoid it because you won't win and you might make the situation worse for yourself. Most situations can be handled or diffused non physically.

Stay safe,
Associate Member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (Canine Division)

[DrBee]

In a past life I used to train dogs. Some were fairly agressive. The best derrent to to take control, stand, face them and in a sharp, firm voice say "NO" All by the craziest dog will stop, turn and run away. Now for the 1 crazy dog not even water in the face is gonna work. Take your pump or your camelbak or anything you can swing off and be prepared to wail away.

While this sounds like the way to go - I'm more likely to crash if I start trying to remove things from my bike and then try to hit something that is nipping at my heels. My fear is that I'll try to get the water bottle out and in my panic of trying to get away from the dog, I'll lose my balance and crash and then the dog will chew my leg off. I've used the threatening "git home" trick a few times and it worked. BUT - that dog that caught up to me when I was going 12 and stayed with me for 1/4 mile while I was going 20 (on a hybrid) would have chewed my leg off if it I hadn't outraced it. At least now on the roadbike, I think I can outrun them. I think I can...I think I can...