Dogs and Frame Pumps

[bigbill]

I pepper sprayed a dog last year. It ran out in front of me when I was going slow and there was no way I could ride away from it. I just put my foot down and tried "NO!" "Go Home!" and even squirted water in his face. He kept charging at me when I'd try to move. The owner was watching the whole thing so I just emptied the pepper spray on the dog. I rode off and left the dog rolling around in the grass not caring about me. No problems since.

[stephenmarklay]

Originally Posted by bigbill

I pepper sprayed a dog last year. It ran out in front of me when I was going slow and there was no way I could ride away from it. I just put my foot down and tried "NO!" "Go Home!" and even squirted water in his face. He kept charging at me when I'd try to move. The owner was watching the whole thing so I just emptied the pepper spray on the dog. I rode off and left the dog rolling around in the grass not caring about me. No problems since.

I have had some dogs chase me on and off for a couple for years. I reported them to the local animal control on numerous occasions. The one owner of the most troublesome dogs lately is a cop and clearly does not give a hoot.

Last week one home with two dogs got the jump on me and there was nothing I could do but stop. I had pepper spray ready as usual but this time I used it. The dogs were pretty savvy and managed to not get hit directly by keeping distance.

However, I have not heard a peep out of them since.

I certainly don’t want to hurt a dog but I certainly don’t want to get bit and I have no problem defending myself.

[efaust_o]

You do not always have an opportunity to react, pump, spray, dodge, dismount, etc...especially if more than one dog. Ask me how I know....Also if you want to see what a dog can do to a cyclist....PM me. Dogs should not be allowed to run free range close to roadways.

[Cicli]

Can you frame pump a pokemon hunter?

[Hilltopperny]

I've been chased by many dogs. I have fortunately been able to out pedal most, but did have a German shepherd chase me into the opposite lane at a blind corner on Otsego lake. If there was a car coming we'd have both been dead. I saw him again one day at the entrance to his owners property and his owner was there. The owner being a middle aged overweight woman riding in a golf cart and let her know that her dog had chased me and shouldn't be left to run on a busy road where lots of people ride, walk and run. On my way back through the dog was sitting there untied at the entrance...

[Red Tornado]

Originally Posted by bigbill

I pepper sprayed a dog last year. It ran out in front of me when I was going slow and there was no way I could ride away from it. I just put my foot down and tried "NO!" "Go Home!" and even squirted water in his face. He kept charging at me when I'd try to move. The owner was watching the whole thing so I just emptied the pepper spray on the dog. I rode off and left the dog rolling around in the grass not caring about me. No problems since.

Owner was watching. This is what bothers me.

[eddief]

whack the lady on the side of her head with your pump. It won't really hurt her, but I bet she thinks twice about letting her dog run free. Oh crap, you could go to jail for that .

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

I've been chased by many dogs. I have fortunately been able to out pedal most, but did have a German shepherd chase me into the opposite lane at a blind corner on Otsego lake. If there was a car coming we'd have both been dead. I saw him again one day at the entrance to his owners property and his owner was there. The owner being a middle aged overweight woman riding in a golf cart and let her know that her dog had chased me and shouldn't be left to run on a busy road where lots of people ride, walk and run. On my way back through the dog was sitting there untied at the entrance...

[Frankwurst]

Originally Posted by Tihsepa

Can you frame pump a pokemon hunter?

Yes.

[Peter P.]

I've twice clocked dogs with my pump and the extended handle bent as a result. Cost me two pumps.

Both times, the dog never bothered me again.

I love dogs (recently dog sat my sister's Doberman for a week; the cupcake took over my couch!) but boinking the dogs was necessary and worth it.

If only the owners would chase me instead...

[93legendti]

Originally Posted by efaust_o

You do not always have an opportunity to react, pump, spray, dodge, dismount, etc...especially if more than one dog. Ask me how I know....Also if you want to see what a dog can do to a cyclist....PM me. Dogs should not be allowed to run free range close to roadways.

Agree...it's dangerous for the dog. It's dangerous for humans.

We have a 6' leash law in our county- the exception is if the dog is in a fenced yard or on an electric collar. If a dog is roaming free, whatever occurs is on the owner 100%. That's the law.

[jruhlen1980]

Originally Posted by superbowlpats

I've never been outsprinted by a dog. that being said I wonder if a dog really could bite your leg as they spin at >100 rpm. Me thinks they'd end up with a mouthful of crankarm. does get your HR up though when it happens. sprint or water bottle for me. what's a frame pump

Sure.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

I find a spray from the water bottle in the face is just as effective.

I have never had this fail me. I actually slow down so the dog can catch up & squirt it in the face. Skids to a stop every time. Dogs's ok, I'm ok. Everyone wins.

[bikingshearer]

It's been a long time since I've had a dog problem on a ride, and I've been fortunate to only have to deal with attacking dogs a handful of times over many years. The last time I did, I saw a nasty fang run out of its farm home to scare the sh*t out of a rider about 200 yards ahead of me (I tried to shout a warning, but the strong headwind drowned it out). Fido surprised him and the guy almost crashed.

Fido then retreated a short way up his dirt road to reload for me. I came riding up brandishing my Zefal HP-X pump. Fido clearly had encountered such things before, because he stopped his forward progress, stayed a respectful distance away and only snarled.

I'll keep the water bottle trick in mind, and I'll hope that my years'-long trend of not having to deal with dog attacks continues, but I will also still have my full-sized pump on hand. (Zefals work better for this than Silcas.)

[11.4]

I own multiple Australian shepherds and have raced and trained for years around many many loose ranch and farm dogs. And in Dallas, where I live currently, there's a huge homeless dog problem in some neighborhoods with attacks and killings by dogs. So one can't assume dogs are just playful when some woman was killed and half eaten last week in the same neighborhood I'm riding through.

Leaving all the moralizing aside and just seeking the objective, which is to get away from the dog without risk:

The only thing worse than the dog getting you is swerving or being distracted and having a car get you. So focus is on cars, not dogs, even if the dog is hostile. Swinging a pump is too distracting, and a water squirt is less so but potentially too much as well. Sprinting away from the dog can often work, especially if gravity is favoring you. On a climb, dogs have to climb too and may give up quickly. If you can't outsprint the dog, I get off the bike. Then I've taken care of the hit-by-a-car risk and I have the bike to keep the dog(s) away. If we're talking Aussies, a pump hit is likely to be plenty. It just annoys a pit bull and causes you to become not a toy but an attacker. If you've stopped and the bike is between you, you are defusing the situation for starters (nobody says you can necessarily win a fight with a dog if the dog is powerful and really wants to fight). It can also limit the risk by limiting how much the dog can get to you.

Think like a dog. They chase riders on country roads because they look like fun to chase. Remember that almost any ranch owner is going to use the words "No" and "Off", and the dog should know those if said loud and in a deep voice (very important -- dogs think high voices are play voices and deep voices are authoritarian). When dogs are having fun, you take away the fun if you stop and then roll away slowly. That's safer because if a dog doesn't intend to bite you, it can still swerve in front of you and bring you down. (That's another unintended consequence of a pump blow, by the way.) I know your preference is not to stop, but slowing does defuse the situation. And if you're in a pace line or group, you don't need to be hitting each other and going down; the dog will be sitting there laughing at that outcome.

One thing that works if you know you have a particularly pernicious dog on your training route is a small air horn (the kind running off compressed air). A short blow and it'll stop any dog in its tracks. To dogs, he with the most noise wins. A couple days of riding past that dog and using the horn will usually cure the dog of the behavior.

Note that in many areas, laws don't require that dogs be locked up or even that they be vaccinated for the safety of a cyclist. If a dog brings down a cyclist, courts have a hard time prosecuting the owner. You can even be charged with injuring a dog. Again, no moralizing here, but that's the law. And you don't want a Texas ranch mom to come out with a shotgun because she saw you swing and take a hit at her dog. Unless you can manage escalation of force, as the police call it, you now have a bigger problem.

The point is that dogs aren't that hard to manage. The only exceptions are the marauding wild dogs at night that can seriously injure or kill, but farm or ranch dogs aren't in that category. They may be guarding, or herding, or most likely just having fun. Protect yourself first of all before going after the dog, because going after the dog can get you killed by a car and doesn't necessarily do anything except to make the dog nasty towards the next cyclist it sees. We're all really engaged in a little bit of dog training, like it or not, and that's the best way to handle this issue.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

I find a spray from the water bottle in the face is just as effective.

Their eyes don't seem to like Gatorade either...