dogs and security

[staehpj1]

Good, but I think by the time you start yelling and whistling, the angry dog will have already done his job (biting).

The risk of bites is grossly over rated IMO.  I have ridden hundreds of thousands of miles, many of them back in the 60's when dogs mostly roamed free where I lived.  I was chased on pretty much every ride.  In well over 50 years of riding I have never been bitten by any of the hundreds of dogs that have chased me.  Since I have been touring I can recall very few dogs that I thought wanted anything more than a good chase.

[litespeed]

My favorite trick is to swerve back and forth if there is room to do it safely. This really confuses the dogs. I have had them run into signposts, telephone poles and culverts, get all tangled up with each other and go down in a tumbling, dusty heap, even just trip all over themselves. They can't handle a swerving target.

[PeteJack]

The eastern third of the Transam did seem to be worst for dogs. On the NT a year ago I used Halt in a res in MT, and on a lone chaser in Alberta. It did the trick both times.  What I have had happen is dog has 'adopted' me. The last one was on the Natchez Trace when I stopped for a 'natural break' as they say in the TdF, he was a very handsome animal, part husky with the odd eyes, obviously underfed but very good natured and he just wouldn't stop following us. In the end we called the NP rangers as we didn't want him causing an accident. The ranger came and said he'd take him round some houses in the vicinity to see if he belonged to anyone. Apparently the locals are prone to just letting dogs wander.

[johnsondasw]

I have gotten very good at kicking dogs in the head with either foot and have done it many times.  I live in a rural area and have been attacked probably 20+ times in the past 40 years.  I make no apologies about this.  If a dog attacks, the rider could easily end up on the road under the wheels of a passing vehicle.  That the mortal danger, much more serious than the dog bite danger.  A word of warning--for the inexperienced, the thrust of the kick can throw one off balance and cause  a crash which could also cause one to end up under a car.

I hate the fact that dog owners allow their pets to get into the road.  It's not the dog's fault, but they get the penalty.  I have found that dogs learn and have known ones that have received the kick penalty in the past come charging out, see who is riding past, turn tail and run back into the yard.  To me, that's success for all involved.

[hyegeek]

I've applied the kick penalty to a couple of dogs that were mostly friendly, but who got a little too excited and started nipping and biting. They no longer do that, so as you said "success for all involved".

[2riders]

I am a letter carrier for the USPS and we are told to carry two canisters of spray...have not had to use it in 28yrs.  Yelling and backing away without turning were my way of getting out of the situation.  I also carry a spray on my bike.  Being on a route and being on a bike are totally different ~ on a route the dog is protecting, on a bike I believe they are in it for the chase.
This past week we were on a 3 night Inn to Inn tour.  Twice we had dogs come at us and both times I stopped with the bike between me and the dog and yelled "go get your ball".  I've done this before and it took the dogs by surprise, they stopped and looked around...not sure what to do.  I suppose it depends on the dog.  The last time a boxer and golden retriever ran out to the road and i yelled to get your ball, the golden stopped and looked confused as it is a retriever while the boxer stopped at the road as I kept saying no.  One constant in it all is that I always had the spray ready. 
I once read on another forum "maybe we should carry treats".  Please do not start this practice.  It only teaches the dog to come out to the road/biker for treats. 

[freightbike]

I had a pair of large dogs chase me about five miles in the Kansas City area on my way to the Katy trail. They would tag team each other but finally quit the chase when I went down a hill and around a corner. I have used the, "get back in the house", yell with some success. Squirting with water worked well one time when a dachshund was chasing me from a lower elevation. When the water hit the little weiner dog, it was so startled that it did a somersault and rolled back down the hill it had just come charging up. Almost fell off the bike laughing. Had a rotweiler get its teeth into one of my panniers and shake it and me on the bike like a rag doll. It let go and gave up once I got past its territory.

[MarkM]

On my 2012 transamerica trail tour, I encountered several aggressive dogs in eastern Kentucky. All of their chases ended with a good blast of water in the face from my water bottle. I did have pepper spray ready in case the water didnt work, but I never had to use it. If you hit them in the face they stop dead in their tracks. Most of the dogs were in my opinion 30-40 lb dogs. They did give me the feeling that if I didnt do something be it water or pepper spray it would have been bit or at least risked crashing.