3 Dobermans took chase, but I managed to escape. What do you guys use to ward off chasing farm dogs?!?
by Mothernaturehatesus
3 Dobermans took chase, but I managed to escape. What do you guys use to ward off chasing farm dogs?!?
by Mothernaturehatesus
17 Comments
Pepper spray
Hand gun
That’s very scary, I’ve had dogs jump out in rural areas before but thankfully they’ve never taken chase
I carry bear spray, some prefer airhorns. I have it on hand for wildlife, creepy people, or rural dog encounters. I hope that I never have to use it, but as a woman who rides 90% of the time alone in areas with poor service, I will absolutely defend myself with it should a situation arise.
I love dogs and it makes me so angry that an owner would put their dog in a situation like that where they can harm others or be harmed themselves.
Unsecured rural dogs are often assholes and their owners seem to praise them for intimidating passerbys where I’m from even though they are on public roads.
I found that quickly getting off the bike and yelling at them usually works. Letting them chase you just makes it worse.
Knife (spray and guns are illegal in my country).
Feel ya. Been chased by one (did outrun him).
A long time ago a big one came out of nowhere, crashed into my front wheel and I did an involuntary half-front flip (partly due to my panic braking + bad brakes). Luckily the owner (elderly woman) was nearby. Front wheel was bent. Funny thing, she knew my family and she came by my home a few days later with some cheap chocolate to make up for the incident and that was it. At the time I was too young too really understand how serious a situation that was. Different times. Nowadays that person would get quite a different treatment from me.
Love dogs (we had one) but they are and will always be animals. People tend to forget.
Took me a couple of weeks every time to shed the fear while on the road.
I’ve done a lot of touring where feral dogs are a big problem. Getting off the bike usually is enough for them to start losing interest. Keep the bike between you and the dogs. Challenge the leader if there’s a pack. In more problematic areas I’ve kept a 2ft’ stick sheathed under my handlebar bag to theaten them with.
The worst is when they come out of nowhere and are already at your speed and too close to do the above. I’ve been a foot away from being bitten and out paced them luckily. A bite is a trip ender.
Squirting them with a water bottle has always worked for me.
They are very common here in the south of Spain, spraying them with a water bottle has always worked for me.
They mostly get a kick out of chasing something.
I have a friend who had success with a high pitch sound device thingy.
I’m not fast so I’m not outrunning anything more athletic than a pug. I usually slow down or stop and speak in a friendly voice (“hey buddy, ohhhhh who’s a big scawwy boi? You are, yes you are!” etc). Most of the time where I live the farm dogs are friendly, or at worst just wary of strangers. I’ve never encountered a truly aggressive dog that made me fear being bitten. Once they realize I’m a person and not some weird person-smelling wheeled monster, they either come over for pets (yay!) or stop barking but keep their distance (also yay!).
Yelling, “No! Go home!” has worked 50% of the time. Pepper spray has worked the rest of the time. Pay attention to the wind direction.
Yeah, I deal with them a lot here in Pennsylvania. One of the hardest things are invisible fences. Dogs come bounding and angry barking and you need to decide if they are going to stop or not. A friend of mine used to carry bear spray when he lived down in Tennessee to be able to fog whole packs of dogs at a time… the fear is real!!
Always save some energy! lol you never know when you’ll need it
If you have a chance, kicking a dog in the stomach is a sure way to put it down. But be careful with pitbulls.
There are devices called ultrasonic dog repellent/deterrent, I have no clue if they actually work but if you find out let me know! 🙂
Pro tip, Just stop and smile at them… The moment they realize you got your teeth out, they panic…Dogs understand teeth as a weapon..