Emily,

I am so sorry to hear about your crash and am especially symphatic to the fact that the crash was a result of dogs allowed to run loose. Having trained and raised dogs for 14 years I consider myself a bonafide 'dog mom' and am irritated to no end that people who share their lives with a dog act so irresponsibly as to allow their dog to run loose. Drives me crazy when someone tells me, "Oh Fluffy never leaves the yard." Apparently they've watched too many Disney movies where their dogs 'talk' like Michael J. Fox (Incrediable Journey) and when they tell Fluffy to 'stay in the yard' Fluffy, having an extensive vocabulary, stays As much as I love my dogs, they are dogs and no matter how much we train/work together I trust them about as far as I can spit. :::moving off my soap box:::

I've had a couple of instances where I've been chased while out riding but so far I've been able to put enough distance between myself and the dogs (which I think is probably more adrenalin than anything )

A number of years ago BC (Before Cockers) we had a Scottish Terrorist .. oops I mean Terrier who loved going out for walks. On one of our walks a 7 month old German Shephard puppy broke off his chain (the kind you find in the supermarket and certainly not what a responsible GSH owner should be using but that's another story ...) He immediately took off after my dog - picking him up and trying to carry him off all the while I am frantically trying to get him to drop my dog. Long story short - Alex (our Scottie) was fine after a long course of draining the lacerations, antibiodics etc. I on the other hand was a wreck. We had just gotten our very first (English) Cocker Spaniel but I was terrified to take her out for walks. I started walking both dogs in the early morning, rationalizing that no one had their dogs out at that hour of the day. (We're talking dark early morning!) After a few months I realized that I really needed to overcome my fear; the dogs were picking up on my anxiety and starting to become very nervous. I started taking short walks during the day which was a huge step for me and after continuing to tell myself I was going to be okay I eventually talked myself into believing it. Just to be on the safe side, I also carried pepper spray and an air horn. Fortunatley I never had to use the air horn as I'm sure it would have scared the begeezus out of my dogs.

It took me quite awhile before I overcame my fear of walking my dogs - I have since taken a very proactive approach reminding people about the need to be responsible dog owners which means keeping your dogs under control in their yard. DH has become very patient while I talk with a dog owner, pointing out that yes, Spot is wagging his tail but that what bothers me is the stiff legged, chest bumping while the tail is wagging. But all that isn't helping you with your anxiety ...

Give yourself time Emily and you'll find your way back to your passion for road biking. Feel free to use the forum to express your fears and feelings - keeping everything bottled up won't help you overcome your anxiety. Journal, post to the board, write a letter to the editor of your paper - do something proactive that will make you feel that you are doing something constructive will certainly help.

It sounds as if you did everything right but that the dogs came after you too quickly to have any time to react. In most situations taking an alpha stance will help diffuse a situation (not particularly easy when you are sitting on a bike saddle ) but that is not the case in all instances with all breeds; in fact there are some instances where your best defense is to lower your eyes and not give the impression that you are a challenge.