Advice on approaching dogs while cycling anyone?

[shutterman]

Whatever happened to talking to people/owners rather than shouting at them??

Reading a lot of these posts i do have to wonder would you honestly really do that in the real world,shouting,kicking etc,etc??

I would much sooner stop and try to have a bit of banter with the dog and owner than having a row with a stranger, getting stressed, ruining the buzz of the ride

 

[sancho]

I live in a very rural area with lots of farm dogs around. If I'm on a flat section I usually turn up the speed and get away from the dog (especially if I'm on my road bike).

On climbs and descents I usually slow down and talk to them in a friendly tone. This seems to work most of the time, but one time while climbing a hill I was chased by a German Shepherd that nipped me on the heel of my shoe. The owner was in her yard and I turned around to explain what happened as well as voice my concerns being bit and my fear of running into her dog when coming down the hill. She introduced me to "Molly" and, thinking I had now befriended her dog, I started calling her by name the next time she came out to greet me. This time she nipped me in the calf!

I called animal control and explained what happened. Now whenever I ride by Molly is tethered.

 

[boy"O"boy]

I said to the owner that some people could find that intimidating. To which I received a 5 minute lecture on how I would not find it intimidating if I was a "Dog Person".

Carry a gun.

Next time, point it at their head whilst you give them a 5 minute lecture about how they wouldn't find it intimidating if they were a 'gun' person.

- I'll try that one next time I get bitten. I too have been lectured by "dog persons". Completely agree with tintin, surely if the owner knows it has a tendancy to bite people when let out with the public ( or nipping as they prefer to call it ) it should be muzzled? - saying that, it's the small ones that usually give the most grief. I'm not a dog hater, but I do dislike being bitten especially when it's me that has to have a tetanus jab because it's drawn blood.
Recently, an out of control rat chased me for a least 1/4 mile before running out of steam on those little legs. Next time I rode the same trail, there was a homemade poster up for the very same 'lost dog' - revenge is sweet :twisted: :twisted:

 

[1duck]

I am very much a dog person but i have in the past been attacked by a rottweiler style big beast of a dog that bit me about 4 times all up the right arm which i was using to defend my face and throat.

My friend dragged the dog off me by the collar and in return got bitten as well on the forearm...i don't really blame the dog, but the owner should have been taken out and shot. Which is what would have happened to him if there wasn't a big piece of dog between me and him.

Anyway...i don't have issues with dogs, i find that if you stand your ground by slowing down and general body language they realise that they are dogs...that you are a human and that they are going to lose any sort of conflict they might feel the urge to get into.

 

[sylus]

kick em..kick em hard

 

[konatime]

Anyway...i don't have issues with dogs, i find that if you stand your ground by slowing down and general body language they realise that they are dogs...that you are a human and that they are going to lose any sort of conflict they might feel the urge to get into.

I think Ducks on the money. Had a dna-disguised pit on me week an half ago.. whilst i had a bike and 1ft terrier in tow. The dark blue can drinking male owner and his brass where too busy argueing to notice thier dog lineing us up.

Had a dog d'Bordyxcane corso lump propelling the little butterfly chinese femme owner along the pavement (via her flat bottomed shoes/not an intended act) in a water-ski-ing style (me or me dog or both being it's intended targets) .....seemingly unable to halt what was about to happen. I give her the dog back 15mins later broken to the walking to heel caper, with and without lead. Suprisingly (or maybe not) though she seemed convinced she'd witnessed a miracle, she was;nt shy in letting me know how well qualified she was in the medical world (without me asking), strange but true.

The best for last, i'm training a young (possible fearbiter) terrier in a remote outpost...an ownerless/leadless Husky appears 70yds behind him (terrier) and proceeds to b-line at full flight straight at him. I called the terrier-in but he winded the trepidation in my call and stalled, smash! its got him by the ear, the husky lifted him backwards from behind then body slammed into the deck #(proper unannounced sling-shot) and thankfully stalled on the rag....though from the screams i imagined best case ear loss whilst screaming into them. The terrier somehow got out of it and next news had the husky by its ear. The owner appeared at the end of what must have been a 2 mins knock-up (i also had the terriers leadless mother on-site to deal with/she'd deafed me outand was circleing to honour her son) and got his phone out to call policmen Bill and asked me with a straight face had i any insurance, honest to god. He(the terrier) ate me venison for his tea that night and from the look he threw me when he finished i knew instantly that he knew why he got the prize (when the husky owner had the snapping husky on a lead and busied himself with phone calls i trusted the terrier to sit steady....was;nt fair to hold him after being attacked....the fear had to be removed.

 

[konatime]

I forgot..folk that are keen to kick only certain dogs are clocked to be lower than double dealing second hand goods merchants..like i said 'when you're on...you're on'.

 

[highlandsflyer]

I wee tap is not going to hurt the average dog, but may well put it off trying to nip you again.

Personally, you have a bike with you.

Bikes are made of hard material generally, and make very good fending off devices.

As do helmets.

Improvise. Give the dog a distraction.

Then once the dog is suitably distracted, kick the living shit out of its owner.

 

[lumos2000]

dogs arnt agressive by nature but they do learn from experiance. being a pack anmial they will nauraly defend their pack. if you appear out of nowere traveling at speed you will probley startle the owner and the dog. its only natural for the dog to bark and chase off the would be predator. if you then turn on the dog or owner in an aggresive manner it would only be natural for the dog to attack you. by acting agresively you are not helping the situation in anyway.
any dog that attacks somone on a bike for no good reason has probley had a problem with a bike befour and is probley acting from past experiance. if you lash out at a dog or an owner you may create a situation where a dog will become nervious of people on bikes. the next time that dog encounters someone on a bike it maybe a small child.
this also works in reverse, if a dog that dosent like bikes has nice experiance involving a bike he will become less nervious the next time round.
acting aggresive around dogs is just plain idiotic :roll:

 

[highlandsflyer]

Joking aside, this is a real issue for anyone enjoying the outdoors, and the answers are out there on dog specific websites.

Dogs ARE aggressive by nature. There is a context to the aggression, and where a dog is behaving aggressively outside that context there is a problem the keeper needs to deal with, and we should know how to react to.

Generalising is of no real use.

You cannot predict the behaviour of people you meet, regardless of whether they have dogs with them or not.

There is no real fits all answer to how to deal with a dog intent on chasing or attacking you. You need a range of approaches to use according to what happens.

Sometimes shouting at a dog is effective, sometimes being super assertive. Calm quiet backing off, removing yourself from the dog's perceived territory is often the best answer. You don't have time to deal with 'bad' dog keepers every time you encounter their dogs.

As a keeper you should make sure your dog does not react to raised voices or low level aggression with an attack.

It is no use keeping a dog that will attack a drunk teen giving you some attitude down by the canal.

Just the other night I faced this. Not a teen, but a thirty odd year old dude who had downed a bottle of Vodka and seemed intent on drinking another whilst balanced precariously on the end of the pier.

I asked him to move to a picnic table away from the water, and he ended up reacting very aggressively.

Neither of my dogs reacted. Only if I had shown fear and agitation would they have become defensive.

Of course if he had shown aggression to them they would have run to me for protection rather than attacking him, unless cornered like most dogs.

I went to do my shopping and when I came back said dude was being questioned by the fuzz, and then was taken away in an ambulance.

Dogs should take their cue from their keepers. If they are remiss, we have to deal with them.

Shouldn't happen, but this is the real world.

A wee tap on the nose will not hurt a dog, and neither will a wee nip. The reason it often works is it distracts a dog, rather than inflicting pain.

You have to have all the tools in your arsenal when dealing with dogs, just as you need when handling people.