What to do if a dog attacks

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~Skynews ~

Bicyclists trap cougar. 😲

Is that the animal or the female predator of younger men? I don't read links without context in the post.
 
I generally find that a lot of dogs chase bike because of the prey chase drive - and if you immediately stop then they cannot play their favourite game and stop as well
Generally
I have tried to outrun a few dogs - works great with ones that have flat faces - and hence breathing problems - or very short legs - there is no way they can maintain 15-20 mph for any time especially if they need to catch up first
did try it with a group of 3 dogs going past a park once
The dogs had run right across the whole field of teh park and were following me on the other side of the fence. 2 gave up pretty quickly as I was doing 20mph ish (OK it was slightly downhill!) but the 3rd just loved it and found a gap in the fence and carried on ON the road
I was not worried about him biting me because of his attitude - but he just would not stop. I was worried about him getting too close and causing an accident
eventually he stopped and went back to his owner

If I don;t have a decent lead I always stop - and I never allow anything like a gsd to play chase - I used to have one and I know they don't easily give up and only some can be trusted (mine could - she was a total wimp)

Once a greyhound tried to play chase - I stopped and he looked SOOO disappointed - I told him there was no way I was playing chase with a damn greyhound just as his owner caught up

wosr thing that has happened - so far - was a jack russel in a small park - damn thing just went for me and bit my ankle. reporrted it to the Police but had no details so there was not much they could do
 

GuyBoden

Guru
Location
Warrington
One of the good things about old style chrome frame pumps is that you can hit dogs very forcefully with them.

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oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
Besides the shouty stuff, and if forced to stop 'bike between treat and rider', an immediately accessible staff/stick/frame pump (as recommended by the late Richard Ballantyne) is attractive for self-reassurance and deterrence. Only carried by a few and must be quickly accessible, without stopping.

Not easy or quick to get trike between rider and dog. The stick is right beside me with the quick release mounts attached to the seat so instantly available.
 
Interesting replies. Don't know whether I've just been "lucky", but in coming up half a century of cycling regularly, I have been chased a handful of times by farm dogs (fair enough, they're were protecting their "territory" from the "weirdo stranger") and whilst have occasionally been barked at, never been attacked.

Perhaps I don't smell "dangerous" enough 😀
 

Accy cyclist

Legendary Member
While walking from my flat to my car today I saw two dogs off their leads running towards my dog. The owner casually said "come here, what have I told you about running up to other dogs". I wasn't taking any chances, so I held my heavy walking stick horizontally in a pointing fashion, ready if needed to defend my dog. The off the lead dogs were a Beagle and a Spaniel, neither known for being aggressive, but I wasn't taking any chances. The owner didn't seem too pleased about me pointing my walking stick, but he should've had those dogs on a lead, especially as it was near a main road. I've seen this fellow before, letting his dogs run all over the place. He obviously thinks they are so well trained, but dogs are so unpredictable. 🤔
 
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