I'm glad cats don't chase bikes!

[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!

[Lakerider]

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!

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.

[staceysue]

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!

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.

[Biciclista]

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

[Lakerider]

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.

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

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! The dog never tried to chase that cat again and they became the best of buddies!

[GLC1968]

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

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! The dog never tried to chase that cat again and they became the best of buddies!

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'!

[krisl6]

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!!

[Lakerider]

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.

[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...