Dogs

[rakuwoman13]

Does anyone have a good solution for getting dogs not to chase you? I don't want to hurt the dog, just stop it from chasing me!

[Mary T.]

I could race and win if you put a dog behind me. My friend Linda and I are usually tied for the "dog sprint". The only thing I can say is talk to the game warden and get him to notify the owner of the dog that is a threat to you. You could also call the owner yourself if the name is listed on the mailbox or you know them. I have done this in the past when we have a weekly ride. I let the owner know we will be riding by their house every Tuesday night at 6:15 so please keep your dog in.

My bike club posted an article saying that you should yell "Go Home" to the dog and I have been doing that ever since. It works sometimes.

The best method I have found is to get faster!

[webby2]

I have been have seen shouting "go home" loud work. Also, riding faster is good advice, the dogs natural instinct is to come up from behind, which is where you want it to be, behind you, not at your side or at your front wheel. Often, once the dog has run to the end of his "territory" he will stop. Try squirting your water bottle at it if it gets too close, I've seen this work too. I have heard of a commercial dog repellent call "Halt" though I haven't tried it.

[Lin]

Is it always the same dog? If so, see if you can befriend it. Say "Come on! Let's go!" While I have never been chased by an aggressive dog (and I know they're out there), I have raced a few. And they always win the sprint. I'd rather have it be a friendly race than a race with a bite at the end. They can put on an amazing burst of short-term speed. Not sure of their top end, but pretty sure it's higher than mine.

My philosophy as regards dogs is this: they are instinctual pack animals with a strict hierarchy. They want to know where they fall in the pack; and are, of course, instinctively mistrustful of members of other "packs" (which includes us). Let the dog know, right away, your position in the pack. And that position is... above his/hers. If you don't want that dog bothering/following/chasing you, say so, loudly, firmly (and don't let your voice crack while commanding "No. Go home!")

This will sound like a cliche, but don't show fear. If you show fear, you are inferior, and they can take you down (look it up... it's in the rule book... unless, of course, you're a puppy, then that's against the rules... "Not allowed to hurt the puppies"... but human adults are never "puppies"... kids are sometimes, but not necessarily).

If a dog attacks, get something (like your bike) between you and it, hopefully until it loses interest or someone arrives to help. As much as I love dogs (I've grown up around dogs, and have three now), I've made a determination to myself that if I ever have to fend off an attacking dog, I will hurt it, as badly as possible. If it's attacking me, it's because one or the other of us has violated the rules. Once someone breaks the rules, it's gonna be a fight.

Having spouted all my brave rhetoric, I have to admit to quailing inwardly when I pass a Rottweiler ("Please, please, please, doggy, stay inside the fence. Don't eat me."). So far, they've all stayed inside the fence. Here's a corollary to The Rules: Don't Mess With A Rottweiler (or any other aggressive breed). I think that the aggressive breeds also operate under the same rules of behavior of the other other dogs, with the exception that they'll break them sooner, and once they clamp on, they won't let go.

Whew! I think I'll go home and play with my Golden Retrievers now.

Lin

[marys]

dsfa My experience with dogs has been that most will leave me alone once they are used to seeing me. I don't race them; I stop, turn around to face them, and yell very loudly-NO! GO HOME! Most will turn around or at least calm down. The really mean ones I shake my pump at; if that doesn't work, I have just recently begun carrying that Halt! spray. I hesitate to use it-I don't want to hurt the dog-it's really the owner who is at fault if a dog is misbehaving. But while walking my dog back in early May, he got attacked by an Akita-the owner was with it-and I ended up with a badly chewed dog and a broken hand. So far I've not had to spray any dog, but I did come very close once. The problem with sprays is that if you don't get the dog in the face, you'll probably just make them madder; and if there is a breeze, you may end up spraying yourself.
Overall though, if I yell really loudly and face the dog, they usually realize that I'm the boss, not them.
by the way, earlier in the thread, someone stated Rottweilers were mean dogs to be avoided-not so. They are actually quite friendly, if the owner hasn't ruined them. Try not to badmouth an entire breed over one poor owner. 'Course, I realize that's hard to remember when you have one chasing you....
See you on the road-good luck!

[The Spin-ster]

Don't look the dog in the eyes, but yell "Go Home" and/or "No" forcefully. Don't increase or decrease speed and be aware that vehicular traffic may be cluless to what is going on so will not be ready for you to swerve. Have Mace, Halt or similar easily accessible on your handle bars and do not be afraid to use it. It will only have a temporary physical impact on the dog, but may help it learn that cyclists are not lunch on wheels.

[The Spin-ster]

Just chatted with someone at my LBS. They said you can pick up some kind of noise-maker at a pet store that will keep dogs away from you. Haven't checked it out yet, but she swears by it. Keeps them from even getting close. I love dogs, bu not enough to provde them lunch if I am the entree!

[DoubleLori]

My problem with dogs locally hasn't been with dogs that want to eat me for lunch. Rather, I've had a problem with a couple of too-friendly dogs who want to follow me for long distances. I had one follow me for 3 miles uphill recently. There was no way I could go faster to get away from it on the 8-9% grade (until I turned around at the summit and literally left it in the dust), so it just kept following me, wagging its tail the whole time. The scary part, was that despite my constant yelling for it to go home, it frequently stepped in front of me and I was afraid I was going to hit it and crash. A couple of cars coming down the hill as I was going up had to swerve to miss the silly dog too. I haven't seen any of the noisemakers to keep dogs away. I would be interested in hearing more about them.

[spazzdog]

I have an Astralian Cattle Dog... a herder to his very last tail hair. It's instinctive and no matter what I do (short of buying one of those remote control shock collars ) he will herd. Fortunately he's a 'heeler', meaning he does his herding from the rear, nipping at the 'heels' of whatever he thinks he needs direct.

He has an obsession with bike tires... he's not interested in the riders, he just wants to stop those black round things that are ignoring his yipping demands. Plus, he discovered they're rubber and now believes they are the coolest chew toy going.

When I'm out with him on an off-lead run or playgroup, I keep my eyes peeled for cyclists. I snag him by his collar or leash him up until the cyclist is well out of site. However, I have missed a couple, and Quidditch being true to form has run a speeding trail biker down and stopped 'em cold... he actually grabs the back tire (while its moving) and chomps it. Then his job is done and he says hi to the rider.

Yes, I always pay for the tire... and have given a couple of cyclists rides home when they were way out of walking distance.

All have been very understanding... even amused. Thank goodness.

On another doggie subject: heres a link to a velonews article by Tyler Hamilton about his buddy, Tugboat. It's a 'kleenx required' read...

http://www.velonews.com/diaries/ride...es/6639.0.html

[KkAllez]

I have a blue heeler, too! Her name is Lucky Lucy aka Lulu. When I go running it takes her a few minutes to get it out of her system to not 'heel' me before we can get into a groove. We have 8 fenced acres I run with her in but I don't take her cycling.

The mechanic at my LBS said to squirt dogs with water bottles. So far I've 1)practiced my sprinting 2) put the dog between me and hubby 3) yelled in a firm tone, "NO GO HOME"

Then there was the time about ten years ago when hubby and I were in a 50 mile bike race and a huge labrador came running out at us and I panicked and rode blindly into a car, who fortunately saw it coming and had stopped so the damage was minimal.

The "NO GO HOME" seems to work best for us.

Someone once mentioned pepper spray but I'd hate to have to use that. I don't mean them any harm. I guess if I were facing a Cyclist Eating Monster Dawg I'd reconsider but the two dogs that bug us on the road are really old ancient mutts that mean no harm and just trot out to the edge of the road and bark like mad at us when we cycle by.

Speaking of cycling....gotta go ride!

[Sparrow]

I'm a dog lover too ... was a groomer and trainer for 17 years. We get more than our share of loose dogs around here but most of them are no problem. Dogs who aren't familiar with bicycles aren't likely to recognize right off the bat that there are humans attached so we look like fair game to them. Most of the time these are friendly family pets and a gentle eye contact with a softly-spoken "well, hello there, fella" and you can watch their eyes soften as they realize there's a person up there and sit back. You can almost see the "oh bummer, THAT'S no fun!" thought-balloon over their heads. If that doesn't work, most dogs have at least learned the meaning of the word "no."

On the other hand, if a dog challenges me I'm not strong enough yet to try to outride him so I'll challenge him right back with my best top-of-the-lungs bring it on pal and I'll beat you to death with my bike voice accompanied by two more steps and I'll have you by the throat body language. The trick to the whole thing is to MEAN IT. If you don't firmly believe, beyond a shadow of a shade of a doubt, that you can kill that dog, don't start it. Thing is, I do ... at least, in that moment.

That behavior on my part serves two purposes: First, I haven't met a dog yet that wasn't impressed enough to slow down long enough for me to get into a defensive (behind the bike) position, and second ... my voice is loud enough to bring the entire neighborhood out to see what's going on. Good fun at 5:30 in the morning.

[Adventure Girl]

I normally wouldn't respond to a 3-year old thread, but I think the last two posters missed the point. spazzdog brought up this old thread and talked about how her dog nips at tires. Yes, the old "NO! BAD DOG" seems to be the preferred defense. But in this case, I think spazzdog needs to be more responsible and keep her dog leashed unless she has complete voice command. This is for the safety of both the cyclist and the dog!

Originally posted by spazzdog
I have missed a couple… I always pay for the tire… have given a couple of cyclists rides home

This indicates that your dog has done this more than one or two times. What is it going to take for you to realize that you don't have control over Quidditch? The biggest problem you've encountered to date is paying for a few chewed tires. You, Quidditch and the cyclists have been very lucky.

Originally posted by Kim
a huge labrador came running out at us and I panicked and rode blindly into a car, who fortunately saw it coming and had stopped so the damage was minimal.

You don't know how the cyclist is going to react. You know your dog is harmless, but the cyclist doesn't. A panicked cyclist could easily crash or run into a car and not be as lucky as Kim. There is also the risk of injury to your dog.

Originally posted by spazzdog
have given a couple of cyclists rides home when they were way out of walking distance.

Also, please think about the fact that you have spoiled a more than one cyclist's ride. I assume that if they were "way out of walking distance", they were planning on riding more that day. But they ended up getting a ride home from you. And I'm not sure taking a ride from a stranger is such a great idea…

[Irulan]

I hadn't read this thread carefully but now I have.

he actually grabs the back tire (while its moving) and chomps it. Then his job is done and he says hi to the rider.

all I can say is, you have got to be kidding - I am flabbergasted that you would allow your dog to do this more than once.

As a dog owner and a cyclist, I totally second AG's leash advice. Better, leave him/her at home until you can get it trained. Cyclists everywhere will thank you.

Ultimately it's the owner's responsiblity to train the dog properly, or control it so that it doesn't cause problems. Nothing ruins a ride more for me than a dog that doesn't have good manners, no matter how well intentioned the owner or how sweet the dog. Mine is a dork and although lovable he's not well trained ( my fault, not his) therefore he stays home.

And before someone says that it's in their breeding and they can't help it (herd instinct etc) , I took a malemute to blue ribbon in obedience. He knew the difference between a slack leash proper heel and his pulling harness. Hire a professional trainer if you don't have the skill to break your dog of this inappropriate behavior.

Irulan

[spazzdog]

OK folks... before the flame gets any hotter. ..

Yes it is an issue and yes I continue to train my dog. I am a cyclist and 'get' the need, responsibility thing. It is a work in progress and he is getting better. I don't cop-out to the instinct thing... it is what it is. He's learning.

I have never endangered another cyclist. If he is out of reach I give a very loud warning to the cyclist, which has always been met with understanding and gratitude. There are lots of dogs around that cohabitate with the off road cyclists. The couple of rides I've given were before my dog was even a yr old. The riders were understanding... both were dog owners.

Be that as it may, I appreciate and understand your input.

[Irulan]

I'm sad that you feel that two women expressing a strong opinion, politely,
that runs counter to your point of view is flaming, it is not. It's just a
different point of view. One should expect to encounter different points of view when posting to a public forum, people aren't always going to agree with you.

No one called you names, no one is hostile. I suspect that neither AG nor I would want to be on the recieving end of a dog that's training is a work in progress, that thinks bike tires are a chew toy.

I'm not known for my tactfulness, but I see nothing wrong with expressing
my opinion in a direct manner.

Irulan