I'm glad cats don't chase bikes!

I passed several cats on my ride today. Cats are cool - they don't chase bikes. I really appreciate that!

Dogs on the other hand just have something to prove I guess. The last few days I have encountered a beautiful Dalmatian. I've been riding a mile loop so I've seen her many times. The first time I saw her she came out of nowhere barking and charged right at me. :eek:

She could have had my leg but then just pulled away. Whew! What a relief! She chased me a few other times that same way. I could tell she was being more playful that threatening. Finally she got used to me or bored with me one and stopped chasing me. She'd just sit there and watch me go by.

With this experience I have a few questions. :confused:

I know someone in that neighborhood who might know the owner of the dog. Would it be wise to try to meet with the owner and the dog so we can become friends. (In case she forgets me the next time I ride in that neighborhood.)

When she first came at me and I didn't know what she was going to do I was wishing I had maybe a blow horn to chase her away. Do any of you use a blow horn (air horn)?

I had an incident last week while riding my mountain bike. This huge boxer came flying at me and was trying to bite my front tire so I couldn't really get away. Luckily I knew he was just playing, but other people who aren't so familiar with dogs could easily be upset by something like that. And the owner just sat there on a park bench saying the dog wouldn't do anything. Well maybe, but if you know your dog chases bikes why leave it loose in a park with several bike routes while you sit around knitting?

Like I said I didn't mind because I love dogs and worked at a dog training school, but owners should be a bit more understanding.

As for your case it might help if you get to know the dog, but it might also have the opposite affect. The dog will see someone he knows and then want to play with you. I'm not sure what type of neighborhood you're riding in, but it seems to me that the dog shouldn't be able to just go running in the street whenever it wants (it's not safe for cyclists, pedestrians, cars or the dog). That's something I'd confront the owner with if I were you.

As someone that has been caused much pain and suffering by a loose dog, I would recommend speaking to the owner of the dog. If there is a leash law in your state, the dog owner would be liable in the event of an accident caused by the dog. Many owners are just careless and/or ignorant and the possibility of a lawsuit or claim may open their eyes.

As for dealing with the dog, many people recommend squirting water on them and/or using "Go home" or "NO!" in an authoritative pack leader voice.

Good luck and be careful!

yes, what Arielmoon said
and to both the dalmation owner and the owner of the boxer; These dogs can do irreparable harm to cyclists, and most places have leash laws so they are breaking the law with their "nice doggies". Both of you are being too kind. Maybe you can make friends with that dalmation and learn to trust him, but what about the next person what if they panic and get hurt?
besides, I wouldn't want to be friends with someone who let their dogs run in the streets!

First of all, I am really glad cats don't chase bicycles either! Second, dogs, even friendly ones, are very dangerous to cyclists. Arielmoon & Mimi said it all.

The only thing I can add is that one of my best friends had an accident involving a friendly dog in June. My friend was riding his bike 8 mph (he was just topping a hill) on a quiet country road, saw the dog (off-leash) coming toward him and knew he was friendly because he also knew the owner - who also happened to be walking down the road. What he did not anticipate is that the dog was going to turn directly in front of his bike just as the two met. My friend's front wheel turned sharply to the left, he went down on the right in a slow-motion crash and broke his femoral neck. A rush to the hospital, emergency surgery & three screws later, his leg was back together. He is now concerned about avascular necrosis.

His experience has completely changed the way we react to dogs on our bikes now. In every instance, we brake hard and try to stop or ride very very slowly until we know what the dog is going to do. Fortunately for us, the dogs generally are friendly and just want to chase. Once we slow or stop they lose interest.

Be careful out there!!!

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Originally Posted by krisl6

As for your case it might help if you get to know the dog, but it might also have the opposite affect. The dog will see someone he knows and then want to play with you. I'm not sure what type of neighborhood you're riding in, but it seems to me that the dog shouldn't be able to just go running in the street whenever it wants (it's not safe for cyclists, pedestrians, cars or the dog). That's something I'd confront the owner with if I were you.

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Good point about the dog might just want to come out and play with me if she knows me. Since she got where she pretty much ignored me I should leave it at that. The dog definately shouldn't be running loose. There are several apartments where the dog was. I never saw anyone come out and call the dog or anything. A friend of mine has a daughter who lives in one of the apartments. She's going to try to find out who the dog belongs to. It's a beautiful dog!

I had a cat chase me when I was running once. It startled me, but I must have rustled some leaves and it came out to pounce. It was quite comical!

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Originally Posted by beccaB

I had a cat chase me when I was running once. It startled me, but I must have rustled some leaves and it came out to pounce. It was quite comical!

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Funny!

I've been having a problem lately with squirrels running out in front of me. I've barely missed running over a couple of squirrels by just a few inches.

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Originally Posted by beccaB

I had a cat chase me when I was running once. It startled me, but I must have rustled some leaves and it came out to pounce. It was quite comical!

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LOL That must have been cute! You have to love cats.

Where I live, people aren't that great about keeping their dogs confined. It's quite remote here and people rarely pass by except in cars. Lots of people use dogs to guard livestock, etc. So not only are they unconfined - they're big and bossy! I admit I was guilty of it until not too long ago. I have a beautiful, wonderful shepherd and a border collie who was already down to 3 legs when we adopted him. Every single time I stepped outside they were right by the house, and every time I came home they were right by the house. I assumed they never left the house but now I know they just listened for me and knew the sound of my car and went back where they were supposed to be when they heard me coming. I didn't know they were running out to the road frequently until a friend told me about it. So now the poor babies are indoor dogs. Too bad, so sad.

My point is that it might not be a bad idea to let the owner know the dog doesn't stay right by the house. Some dummies (like me) invest too much trust in their animals.

Another thing is that usually the only animals dogs see moving really fast are prey animals. When many large dogs see you riding past, their natural instincts come in and they want to take you down because they think you're a deer. When they're in predator mode, they're not interested in a confrontation with another predator. The last thing they expect a deer to do is stop running away and actually confront them with authority. If you just get off your bike and stand up straight and tall and point to their house and yell "go home!" they'll usually stop running at you, become confused, and not know what to do for a sec. An authoritative step or two toward them and another command, using aggressive body language, will usually send them trotting away. I've heard many people squirt them with their water bottles to get the point accross and that works well.

Truly aggressive dogs are much less common. I haven't encountered one, but I still want to keep some sort of self defense with me on my bike just in case. I haven't found anything suitable yet. A whip? Police baton?

Whether they're friendly or not, they can still make you crash. I don't think it's safe to keep riding when a dog is chasing you.

weapons include rocks, golf balls and tire pumps :) oh, and your bike. (Get off bike, and threaten/crowd dog with bike)

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Originally Posted by staceysue

usually the only animals dogs see moving really fast are prey animals. When many large dogs see you riding past, their natural instincts come in and they want to take you down because they think you're a deer. When they're in predator mode, they're not interested in a confrontation with another predator. The last thing they expect a deer to do is stop running away and actually confront them with authority. If you just get off your bike and stand up straight and tall and point to their house and yell "go home!" they'll usually stop running at you, become confused, and not know what to do for a sec.

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I hadn't thought of that. I just pedal faster to get away! :eek:

I had a dog once that started to chase our new cat. The cat just stood there and when the dog got close the cat rubbed up against the dog. Wow, was that dog confused! :confused: The dog never tried to chase that cat again and they became the best of buddies!:D

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Originally Posted by Lakerider

I hadn't thought of that. I just pedal faster to get away! :eek:

I had a dog once that started to chase our new cat. The cat just stood there and when the dog got close the cat rubbed up against the dog. Wow, was that dog confused! :confused: The dog never tried to chase that cat again and they became the best of buddies!:D

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Yep, that's pretty common. People used to ask me if my last dog chased cats and my answer was always 'only if they run'!

My dog is the same. Once he went after a cat in our back yard and when the cat didn't budge my dog just stood there and then looked at me like, "what now". It was too funny!!

Another funny cat and dog story...

The dog I have now use to run up to my cat and either run circles around her or the cat would run away. One day the dog ran toward the cat, I guess thinking the cat would run out the way and I guess the cat throught the dog would run around her like she usually did. Well, the dog kept running straight instead of going around the cat and the cat didn't run away. The dog crashed right into the cat! They were both o.k. (but very surprised!) The dog weighs 10 pounds and the cat weighed 12.

How about deer crossing the trail? On my ride on a local bike path this week I had no less than 10 deer run across the path in front of me? And probably 5 squirrels!! I kept thinking what it would feel like to hit a deer or have a deer hit me. And this was in a very busy suburb. Geeesh...

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Originally Posted by tctrek

How about deer crossing the trail? On my ride on a local bike path this week I had no less than 10 deer run across the path in front of me? And probably 5 squirrels!! I kept thinking what it would feel like to hit a deer or have a deer hit me. And this was in a very busy suburb. Geeesh...

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I wonder how often bicyle/deer crashes happen?

I'm guessing there's a limited set of circumstances where bici/deer crashes could happen.

The #1 factor is that when it's full dark out, a lot fewer people are riding their bicycles in places with enough greenspace to have deer, and most of those who are, have the sense to slow down. Not like cars, who (not only because of their own psychology, but also because of the risk of being rear-ended) generally keep going the same speed regardless of visibility.

In most terrain, bicis are going a lot slower than cars anyhow, slow enough to be able to avoid deer safely. And one would hope that bicyclists' vulnerability makes us pay more attention to our surroundings generally, than car drivers do, although I do realize that's not necessarily the case for motorcyclists. It's true for the ones who survive years of riding - but there are unfortunate numbers of the other kind, too. :(

I've had a couple of, not exactly close calls with deer, but closer than I'd like, and they've all been in the same situation.

Late afternoon/evening (deer o'clock), dappled light with sun and dark through leaves making visibility very difficult, and bombing down a hill way too fast for the light conditions. :rolleyes:

I've had a really close call with a deer. I was on a bike path, and it leaped out of the woods, over both lanes in half a heartbeat. If I had been a few feet ahead of where I was, I probably would have been knocked off my bike, and possibly trampled. It's not like you can avoid it if it runs into you. It was daylight, and I was paying attention, but he wasn't. :rolleyes:

Edit to add, I was on my old bike, so not that fast.

They're so still and quiet sometimes. I've got pretty close to them kayaking before they noticed me. The only close encounters I've had with deer on my bike have included tiny little newborn fawns laying on the shoulder. It's happened twice that I've found them there - perfectly healthy and perfectly still. The first time I thought it was just a clod of dirt. Then one day I saw why they were doing that. I encountered a mother and fawn and the fawn immediately layed down, still and quiet, while the mother bounded across the field, making herself highly visible. They're so beautiful.