Well a. Couple of weeks back I was out on a ride through a rural area. I was coming up a slight hill and not going too fast when out of nowhere a pit bull dog cut me off. My only option was to get off and put my bike between the dog and me and carefully back away. Eventually I was able to get away when the stupid owner was able restrain the beast. So here is my question. What is the collective wisdom on pepper spraying one of the beasts. Will it stop them or only make things worse. I have seen numerous reports where police have used many bullets to stop an angry pit bull and I definitely do not want one to bite me. I hate to have to take this road off my route but without a plan b other than out run the bugger that may be the better part of valour. Thanks for the advice, I am sure I will see some not so serious replys and I can smile now but face to face with a growling pit bull was not a pleasant few minutes.

 It seems to me if you know where this pitbull lives, you can speak to the authorities to prevent this crap from happening again. This is INTOLERABLE.

 A guy I know almost was eaten by a pitbull just before heading to Ironman Canada.  He got away unscathed.

 http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090817/pitbull_attack_090817/20090817

22 years in law enforcement here.  Pepper spray is a crap shoot, both on people and dogs.  It affects most, but not all.  Depends on a lot of factors.  You have to be within 3-12 feet for the spray to atomize and be effective, and since we're talking about outdoors it's also dependent on wind stregth and direction.  You also have to hit the dog directly in snout, so if he's on the move that can be difficult.  If you're on the move at the time, even more difficult.  With Pits, if it doesn't work, it might just make the dog angrier. Since the dog is usually just trying to protect its territory, your best bet is try to sprint through.  You should be able to outrun the dog in the bigger gears, and he will usually only chase you for a couple of houses.  Absent that, you did right by getting off your bike and putting it between you and the dog.  Be aggressive and yell at the dog to get back.  The dog can sense your fear or confidence, so make yourself as big and as loud as possible and be super aggresive.  You can use your bike as a shield or striking instrument as needed.  Several years ago, while out on a run, I had a Pit start to chase me.  I had to turn and kick it in the snout a couple of times before it would leave me alone and it finally took off.  FWIW, a Pit Bull's head is so hard and bony, that we're trained to shoot at their body mass and not the head.  Bullets frequently just bounce off their skull if shot at any kind of indirect angle, so even putting one down with a handgun can be difficult.   

There are numerous web articles on this subject with some other good tips.  Best Wishes.  

 peislc,

I work in the pet industry and the first thing I tell folks to do after being confronted by an angry beast is contact the authorities.  If someone does eventually get attacked and no one has launched any complaints it looks like the dogs first act of aggression when in actual fact it had been building through a series of unreported incidents.  On the other hand, if everyone who is confronted by this dog files a complaint the authorities will be forced to act before someone gets hurt.  You should not have to remove this road from your route.

Good luck,

NewGuy

Do not try and outrun/bike a dog. You will not win that race unless it is over 10 years old. When a dog is chasing you, it is because of instinct (and a a$$hole owner). Stop your bike, yell STOP as loud as you can and use your bike as a shield. When you stop, the dog figures out pretty quick that you are not prey (the odd Pitbull withstanding). Best advice my vet brother-in-law ever gave me. Fortunately I have not come across too many dogs, but I did 3 times on one ride, including one point when five (yah 5) dogs came running at me full force. They had crossed the road to come after me, but as soon as I stopped and yelled they stopped dead in their tracks. They still barked and growled while I stood there for several minutes waiting for the stupid owners to come out and reign them in (plus I wanted to give them a piece of my mind). No one came, so I slowly walked with bike until they stopped following me and rode off. Scared the crap out of me and pissed me right off though. You can even spray them in the face with your water bottle if they get too close. I never figured I would have enough time or foresight to spray a dog with any type of spray. Plus I would rather do that to the owner, who is the one at fault - dog is just being a dog.

+1 to most of the above tips on stopping and confronting. I can only speak from one experience, long ago when living in a rural part of central France with my wife. We were out puttering on a couple of old, "no-speed" bikes (wife's term - very fitting!) when something big and angry (can't even remember the breed, I just remember teeth and neglected fur) ambushed us from the roadside ditch.

We hadn't the muscles nor the bikes to outrun it, so I immediately dismounted and began yelling away at it, saying anything that came to mind to make it seem I was in charge. I flatter myself that I knew what I was doing - perhaps it had never heard English before and was just confused by this. Regardless, my wife had time to bike into the horizon, and eventually the dog must have gotten creeped out by this wacko foreigner yelling at it, so it stayed put while I retreated, walking backwards, bike always between me and it. What an adrenaline rush, especially afterwards when I realized I had no Plan B. (Unless you count whacking it with the baguette I had in my backpack at the time)

I would pack pepper spray and use it as well, but only on the owner. The satisfaction I'd get would almost be worth the assault charge...

Jasann:

Do not try and outrun/bike a dog. You will not win that race unless it is over 10 years old. When a dog is chasing you, it is because of instinct (and a a$$hole owner). Stop your bike, yell STOP as loud as you can and use your bike as a shield. When you stop, the dog figures out pretty quick that you are not prey (the odd Pitbull withstanding). Best advice my vet brother-in-law ever gave me. Fortunately I have not come across too many dogs, but I did 3 times on one ride, including one point when five (yah 5) dogs came running at me full force. They had crossed the road to come after me, but as soon as I stopped and yelled they stopped dead in their tracks. They still barked and growled while I stood there for several minutes waiting for the stupid owners to come out and reign them in (plus I wanted to give them a piece of my mind). No one came, so I slowly walked with bike until they stopped following me and rode off. Scared the crap out of me and pissed me right off though. You can even spray them in the face with your water bottle if they get too close. I never figured I would have enough time or foresight to spray a dog with any type of spray. Plus I would rather do that to the owner, who is the one at fault - dog is just being a dog.

YMMV, but I have found that while riding solo, it is very easy to outrun most dogs. The steps I follow:

1) slow slightly when approaching the dog (Downshift and be ready to accelerate quickly.)

2) as the dog approaches yell, "No" or "Stop" as loudly and with as much authority as you can muster - Often they will listen to you or be momentarily startled enough to let you safely get by.

3) If the dog is still approaching you, he (Aren't all bad things in life male?) he will have adjusted his intercept angle to your lower speed. At about 3' - 5', accelerate as fast as you can. Usually the dog having aimed at the wrong point will miss you - once in the front you can get away - few dogs chase for very far.

4) If the dog continues to chase and is about to catch you, unclip the foot on his side, take the foot and kick back as hard as you can.

I have never reached step 4 (at least after using steps 1-3).

Everyone should do what they are most comfortable with, but stopping, especially in the face of multiple dogs is very risky. IF they wer actually going to attack you and they don't stop, you have virtually no defense. You are outnumbered with a bike that is a pretty bad weapon. Stopping and facing them is perceived by most dogs as a challenge and will only serve to antagonize them.

There is a very effective pepper spray that shoots a powerful stream more than 10', even in wind. You can buy it here at Competitive Cyclist. My problem with such devices is that you have to carry it all the time and if you can't grab and wield if effectively in a second, it is useless. On bikes, we're not like women on the street, who have time to slowly reach into a purse and mentally prepare to fire the darned thing. Most canine encounters last 5 seconds or less.

BTW, the most 'dangerous' dog attack I ever witnessed was on a group ride where a overly friendly lab jumped on one of our riders and nocked her down.

* Repeat post - Deleted *

 Shoot the f**cker. I thought you could carry guns in the states?

Some of us r gentle Canadians. No guns. But someone should put away the owners and the frigging dogs.

Thanks all for the thoughts. I tend to do the yell go home etc and most dogs do respond. Many typical dogs are easily scared away. This was a new experience for me in that the beast ambushed me. I had just climbed a small hill and was going way too slow. The dog got too close to out sprint. I Have done every step in the list at one time or other depending on the situation. This was very different and in thinking it over the best advice is I should have reported the incident to the police for all the good reasons given not just for me but for others who may not be so luck as I. I now tend to agree that probably it would be a last resort to use pepper spray. Thanks for all the thoughts as we all know regardless of the dog's intent even a friendly lab can lead to a bad outcome for possibly dog and rider.

Oh by the way I live in Canada eh! The smallest province Prince Edward Island. Generally great people but like everywhere there are a few stupid people.

wilwil:

 Shoot the f**cker. I thought you could carry guns in the states?

Not only are they allowed, but in places like here in Texas, they are highly encouraged! ;-) 

But on a bike, there are few places to carry them, they look really bad bulding from spandex, are tought to draw quickly and a weapon small enough to use carry is too small to aim accurately.  Besides, who needs the extra weight?

On the other hand, if we all carried them, we'd probably get more respect from motorists!

 

 

My family has owned dogs my entire life and I love them, but I have not tolerence for irresponsible owners and I think pitbulls, rotweillers, etc. are the most worthless dogs.

That said, my dad managed the local animal control for 7 years before retiring and he carried the same pepper spray that my police officer brother does.  He said this was usually pretty effective. 

Personally, I have had a dog come after me (13 years old on my paper route) and I kicked the thing in the face.  I would gladly do it again to any dog that came after me, on my bike or not.  I would also give the owner a piece of my mind and maybe my shoe.

 I've been chased twice this year.  Usually, a loud NO! will do when approaching any dog.  The two times that I had run ins, one a bull dog and the other, 2 Doberman's that crossed traffic to get at me. 

 The bull dog cut me off on a climb and I got off my bike, put it between me and the dog, and fended it off with my water bottle until the owner came out.  Repeated yells NO!  did not help with this dog. I called animal control and they gave the owner a warning and threatened a ticket.  He was a real ***, never saying one word to me when he came to get his dog. So I asked himwhat he was going to do about it and he replied "what do you want me to do about it?"  Ok. I was on the phone 5 minutes later. 

 The two Doberman's crossed traffic, causing a big jam up with brakes squealing etc.  I have pepper spray but it happened so fast that I only had time to get off my bike, put it between me and the dog and yell NO!  I didn't see the dogs get across the road until one was 20 yards behind me running at full speed.  The one closing in on me stopped dead in its tracks when I yelled and ran back across traffic causing another jam up.  The second dog never got that close to me.  Again, I called animal control (different town).  They got a ticket. The animal control officer advised me never to try and outrun a Doberman.