Dog Chasings...Advice?

[Trek420]

Not on the bike but off leash dog encounter this morning: while walking my mutt I saw a dog off to the side of the green space area of the condo, big black lab type dog, off leash. We started to just head the other way when he started to run towards us. Doggie body language not good, hackles up, up on his toes, this is aggressive doggie language. I just drew myself up to the height of my lanky 5'1" body pointed at him and with as deep and loud a voice as I could yelled "no! go home "

and he did

[northstar]

Do you think I could scare them off with my yodeling if I'm really loud?
(seems to work with people, anway....)

Whoa, no way Lisa. You can yodel? That rocks!

One of the families from our church went to Yellowstone this past summer and one of their kids did a young naturalist/ranger program. They told the kids that if they ever turned around and saw a bear, they were supposed to hold their arms out, stand up tall and start singing as loudly as they could. But I suppose if you're doing this with regards to a dog, you'd need to start singing/yodeling before the dog decides to give chase. If a bear came after me, I wouldn't stand there and sing.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

....We started to just head the other way when he started to run towards us. Doggie body language not good, hackles up, up on his toes, this is aggressive doggie language. I just drew myself up to the height of my lanky 5'1" body pointed at him and with as deep and loud a voice as I could yelled "no! go home "

and he did

Yeah this works well for me, about 4 times now and it's worked like a charm. They totally are first surprised and confused, and then shamed.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

...If a bear came after me, I wouldn't stand there and sing.

You'd be singing your "swan song"!

[Technotart]

Just a note: the little pepper spray cannister I got on Ebay has a flip-top that you have to flip up with your thumb to reach the red spray button- there is really no way to spray it at yourself accidentally because it sort of has to aim away from you to get your finger on the red button. I keep it bungee'd upright, right on my headtube where I can grab it quickly.

The wind will blow it at you when you spray it if you are standing downwind from what you are trying to spray.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

The wind will blow it at you when you spray it if you are standing downwind from what you are trying to spray.

The spray comes out like a strong shooting jet stream, not like a mist. Sort of like a far reaching water pistol. It would have to be a pretty strong wind to blow it back and up at your face. But yeah, not smart to spray into a strong wind. Once when i was little, my older brother and i were riding on the Staten Island ferry. We were on deck, leaning over the railing to watch the waves. My brother thought he was so tough, spitting out into the sea....until his glob came right back in the strong winds and hit him in the face. Ha ha.