They chase, growl, bark, and bite while I pass by their territories. That scares me and other cyclists, perhaps to a point that we stop this lovely sport.Any specific suggestions to deter them? Especially when they run after you at random spots and without any prior alerts or seeing them.
by No_Sign7782
4 Comments
Air horn or wasp spray
In the group I ride with, the male riders with the deepest voices will maneuver to get between dogs and the rest of the group. Then we tell the dogs “No! Get back!” using deep, low pitched tones. It usually works. Then when the dogs back off, we tell them what good dogs they are.
I just spray any chasing dog with a water bottle. Gatorade preferably. It is negative reinforcement, and they chase less and less as time goes on. I don’t think that dogs really are scary, for the most part, so long as you just keep riding and spray them. I have been on group rides on which some riders swerve wildly off their line due to dogs, and that is the most dangerous thing about riding near dogs.
Fart in their general direction!