Dogs........

Question for you experienced road riders.....I am getting some longer (long for me 25-40 mi) rides in now that the weather is getting nicer, so am on some country roads. What do you do about dogs that chase after you! 5 dogs this weekend on rides....thank goodness didn't get bit, but VERY close, inches from my calf close, twice. Like I am not breathing hard enough already, geez! I ordered an "ultra sonic dog deterrer"....hoping it works, but any other ideas?

I ride out in open ranch roads and some times find the dogs now and then. I have developed a fierce deep voice and yell no loudly and frequently. I do not speed up or slow down so I don't incite a chase response. Mostly if you stay calm and firm in your conviction and voice that tells them if they mess with you they will draw back a bloody stump, most of them will drop back when they reach the end of their territory.

Ride the same as you have been, be loud, and, if all else fails, get out your waterbottle.

If you are able to stay stable and have a dog close to you, squirt water back at it as a last ditch effort. My mother once had a dog try to attack her while she was out riding and this was what stopped the dog.

We got chased last year by 2 dogs at once. It was one of my 1st rides on the new road bike. I was not in shape yet as I was coming out of injuries (requiring physio for 9 months). So my speed was not fast, and needless to say my cardio not strong yet. I'm riding in the front. At some point hubby says to me: keep looking in the front, don't slow down, do not stop. My heart skips a beat. I wonder why (although I knew inside) he tells me this. At some point I turn around and see 2 black dogs chasing us. Husband tries to protect me. So he zig-zag (he's good on bike and has a good cardio, etc.). So I speed up. What's the point....they would be faster than us. I went up to 27km/h which was fast for me. I could have lost control easily. Luckily the road condition was top-shape. We had driven by and were on our way back because rain was near by. At some point I told hubby I have to stop. I can't keep up. They'll bite me, I'll die, but I can't go on. I'd stop at next house. There are no houses and they are so far in-between. So I stop. The dogs were black labs.... I did not know at 1st. They sniffed, looked happy. By the way, I'm a dog trainer (in my other life) and none of the tricks we tell people to do, or were thought to do worked. The voice, being calm, etc. For the dogs, it was party time! Let's run! There was no one at that house. Dogs were not a danger to us, except when they criss-crossed our bikes in the front. I figured they'd stop at some point. Get out a breath. Nope. ****!!!! They kept running, we had to tell car coming in the front to slow down and point the dogs. I'm sure those drivers thought we were nuts having our dogs loose running with us!!!! Anyway, they stopped about 4km later to a house where a dog was on leash (in his dog house) and owner out. Guess what!!!! 20-30 seconds later, they were back with us. No slowing down pace. I got back to the campground and I was purple, light rain was on and the dogs were about 500m from us. Whew! Told campgrounds owners not to be surprised to find 2 dogs as they were still coming. Just slowed down. And indeed, later on (after a swim and lunch) we saw them being put in the pick up to be driven home (thanks to tag id). They had ran 8km. I never got scared like this by dogs in my life. You're in the middle of nowhere, we never saw them come out and they never quit.

I did not want to ride on roads anymore. I read horror stories that weekend about aggressive dogs. We normally carry our pepper spray. But we did not have it with us and traveling to the USA we cannot cross it at borders (it is illegal I've been told).

I read a few things on how to protect yourself but there is not much to do. The deep loud voice is the 1st to try. But as you can see....the 2 of us were screaming GO HOME, etc and it did nothing.

I've been told if you have time, get off your bike and put the back wheel or chain in there faces. It should protect you some. Try to call 911 for help (cell phone is handy), at least if you get injured, help is on the way.

That is one of the reason I still stay in my usual roads, or bike paths. No matter how fast you can go, chances are the dog will outrun you anyway, unless it is a pug. :)

When the chase started, I should have stopped, turn around and take them back home. But like most people, bad adrenaline kicked in and no matter how much dog training you can get, sometimes, you do not think straight. I was already afraid on my new bike, afraid to fall and injure the fragile repairs the physiotherapist did with me, rain to come down anytime...put that in a melting pot and it can get ugly.

So yes, I'm willing to get more hints on how to protect myself more if I can. And have the time.

I don't rec pepper spray while on a bike. I know people carry it but I think it's a bad idea. I accidentally got hit by some when I was younger while trying to protect my dog from another dog. Winds are hard to understand and getting hit going at a high rate of speed would be potentially devastating to a person. I think it's a bad idea.

Thanks all for the great replies! Never even thought about my water bottle!
I tried the deep voice "NO" and "GO HOME", no luck. They did finally drop back, but it was quite a long chase! Will definitely try some of your tips!! 3 of them,(at different points during the ride) I could've turned and taken them home, I was more afraid of running them over/crashing. The other 2 were VERY aggressive and were snapping at my calf for what seemed like MILES, Ok, maybe 1/2 mi. ;) But they were not playing!

My husband has a unique way to deal with dogs. He slaps his thigh and says "Come on boy! Come on!" in an exited tone of voice. I'm not sure why it works (perhaps one of the dog owners on the forum could explain it?), but it does. They look puzzled and then turn around and stop chasing.

Heh, that's a good one.

Maybe one of the dog trainers here can contribute ... but I wonder if it's just that no matter how hard you try, the meaning of your words comes through in the tone of your voice. That's why what I usually yell at them is "Get a job!" which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't ... but the attitude of contempt keeps the fear out of my voice. :D