HALT! animal repellent

[Flybye]

I find this thread very interesting. I too, carry pepper spray and wouldn't hesitate to use it, if need be.

The main reason that I find this thread interesting is because of and incident that happened at my house the other day. Pardon the hijack...

I was out watering my flowers enjoying the nice summer morning.... la la la, flowers, bees, sunshine, etc. I had just returned from a lovely morning ride...

My weim, the one in my avatar, is extremely well trained. We've had her in 3 obedience classes plus agility. She is two years old and the nicest dog I have ever had. She is fantastic with the kids. I would call her skiddish, nowhere near agressive.

Anyhow, she was in the front yard with me and a jogger went by the front and she took off running and barking. No concern for me, as this is normal for a dog to do. I figured she'd come back as soon as she got the barking out of her system. I said good morning to the jogger and said "don't worry, she's a big chicken, all bark and no bite"................ my dog proceeded to nip her on the rump.

Profuse apologies. The jogger was fine. I was disappointed in my dog and really confused. What the $#@1**&&$% just happened??

Anyhow, I feel like
#1 - I would be HAPPY if someone would spray my dog with some cayenne, etc, so that she wouldn't feel the need to chase the next jogger down. Part of training.

By the way, we almost always have her in the backyard, but with kids, etc. she does get out. I am not so relaxed after this incident with letting her out front.

#2 - I think that if the jogger would have STOPPED and let my dog sniff her for a second, the nip would not have happened.

This was one of those AAHHHHHAA moments for me as a cyclist/pet owner. Dogs still have that prey instinct in them, even if they are domesticated and WELL TRAINED. It runs, they chase. I now stop when I see a dog out of the yard, let it approach me, and move on my merry way. I have the pepper spray handy in case the dog isn't friendly. I feel like I have more of a chance against a dog with pepper spray if I am standing than cycling anyhow. I don't think I could successfully spray a dog in motion, let alone manage to spray downwind. Ouch!

This has worked so well for me, I thought I would pass it on. I also love the idea of water in the mouth from the water bottle. I hadn't even thought of that one

Does this look like a beast to you??

[Zen]

The amount of coordination needed to get the spray out and aim it at the dog would result in me crashing more than it would spraying the dog.

I read somewhere to carry dog biscuits and throw them at the dog

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Flybye,
I know your dog is well loved and very well trained....but....
Yes we never know when our dog will do something unexpected. They are animals after all. Now your dog has bitten someone and may likely do so again even though he is a generally well behaved dog.
I knew a man who had two "very friendly" lab-type dogs who had the habit of leaping up at people who were merely walking away slowly and nipping them on the butt. My girlfriend had a huge purple bruise from this right through her jeans, and found out that his dogs did this to other people as well. Yet he kept saying they were "real friendly dogs". This happened at HER house, by the way- I can't believe he was taking his dogs visiting after this having happened before!

As pet owners we have to take responsibility for our pets whether on or off our property. No matter how well trained a dog is, it should never be allowed to chase people down public roads barking at them. Joggers and bicyclists, joggers with baby strollers, rollerbladers, etc, should be able to travel on public roads without being chased by loose barking dogs. People on the road have no way of knowing whether a dog coming at them will bite- they must assume it will. It's a scary feeling when a big dog is running towards you barking. We all need to be responsible keeping our dogs on our property and prevent them from chasing people down the road.

I don't mean to pick on you in particular, or accuse you since this was a first occurence. I am just giving my opinion in general about dogs on the road.

[Flybye]

LisaSH,
I totally agree with the responsibility issue. I generally (read 99.9%) of the time have a shock collar on her when she is out front with us b/c the neighbors have chickens and she is, after all, just a dog. There is no way I could call the best trained dog off of a chicken chase. I would say that in a given month, she is out with us once and sneaks out with the kids about 3 times. We have 23 kids on our block and my house is the hang out central. It is quite a blessing, however, I don't know how many times I have had to remind them "shut the door" "shut the door" "shut the door" . We live at the end of a dead end street and so joggers are a rarety (read one jogger or walker every other month or so).

Anywhooo, she had never done anything like this before, hence my surprise and my vigilance about keeping her in the back yard. I totally agree with you about dogs being a responsibility. It angers me to see them running at large, not being cared for.

I just want to make the point that just because a dog runs at you and barks doesn't mean that it is vicious. It is just doing what dogs do - being a dog. I have found it WAY more beneficial to stop and say hi to the dog than keep going. I have, I am sure, avoided dog nips on the heels by doing just that - stopping.

I don't feel picked on by you Lisa, because I already know that I am a responsible dog owner. No worries!!

We share the same opinion about dogs on the road. Keep them inside or fenced.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I just want to make the point that just because a dog runs at you and barks doesn't mean that it is vicious. It is just doing what dogs do - being a dog. I have found it WAY more beneficial to stop and say hi to the dog than keep going. I have, I am sure, avoided dog nips on the heels by doing just that - stopping.

I don't feel picked on by you Lisa, because I already know that I am a responsible dog owner. No worries!!

I'm glad you are not offended.

I agree with you about stopping your bike when a dog comes running. There is really no way I can out pedal a running dog unless I'm flying downhill. I stop my bike when I see one coming, get off and swing the bike between us, grab my pepper spray off my handlebars just in case, and then when the dog is about 12 feet from me I use my most commanding deep loud voice and say NO!-GO HOME!! GO HOME!! and point back to where they are coming from. I try to look big and authoritative. Might need to throw in a BAD DOG if they hesitate. This routine stops the dog in its tracks every time I have used it (about 6 times now, maybe just lucky so far?) and usually the dog seems ashamed, confused, and embarrassed and slinks off back home. It's the best thing to do I can think of, and it seems to work well for me so far.

If I threw dog biscuits I'd be training every dog for miles around to chase bikes-

[Zen]

If I threw dog biscuits I'd be training every dog for miles around to chase bikes-

Instead of the ice cream man you'd be the Dog Biscuit Woman. I can hear the familiar music now as dogs dash out their front doors with quarters in their teeth and notes tucked into their collars....

[Flybye]

I'm glad you are not offended.
I stop my bike when I see one coming, get off and swing the bike between us

I read somewhere, might even have been here, that a rider did exactly that to ward off a BEAR

[SAMbike]

An owner who sits by letting a dog chase after runners or cyclists is irresponsible IMO. That is in effect letting the dog know it's ok to do this. I have witnessed first-hand dogs being called off mid-chase so know that dogs can be trained to respond to their owners commands.

Just two weeks ago my husband and I were out running and a dog started coming straight at us, full speed, barking aggressively (meaning not just bark bark woof woof, but teeth showing snarl bark). Suddenly we hear "NO! Come here!" The dog stopped dead in its tracks, almost fell over itself it stopped so fast, and immediately turned its complete attention to getting over to its owner pronto. I was in awe of this owner and very thankful! Owners like this are few and far between where we live. We yelled out "thank you!!" and waved and went on our way.

I think that one of the problems is that many owners don't see things from the runner/cyclists perspective. It's always "oh, don't worry about Fluffy, he won't hurt you" said with a smile. Well I don't think it's fair to the dog or fair to those of us out there trying to enjoy the outdoors to let a dog chase, no matter how nice the dog usually is because you never know what could happen. The person being chased could get aggressive and hurt the dog, or visa-versa.

[Dogmama]

<rant on>

Some people are terrified of dogs. They have a right to use the streets without harrassment. It isn't up to the populace to train other people's dogs with pepper spray.

Dogs should be confined or leashed, period. I don't care how good the recall is, they're still DOGS. A speeding motorist could take out the family pet in an instant.

I've trained dogs to advanced obedience degrees. Not only do they come immediately when called, but I can have them drop (lay down) in the middle of a recall. I would still never allow them to roam freely, much less chase anybody. It isn't fair to the dog or the citizen.

<rant off>