Mike has a lot of good points. It is mostly things that the dog whisperer is saying here in the states. You are right, sometimes an authorative “NO!” does the trick. It is the need to break their train of thought to hear the “NO”. As for the mace, I personally do not agree though I have considered it. I think you are asking for trouble if you go on the attack. I will let you all know how well that dog “dazer” works when I get it. It should be here today or monday. For those of you who don’t know, it emits a irritating burst frequency that only dogs respond to. What I envision and read, is that you press the button and say no (or whatever) and it will startle the dog. It has a 30’ radius. We can all attest we are not trying to kill dogs we just want to ride safely.
Always carry a cat with you. When a dog starts to chase you, drop the cat. The dog will be distracted and chase the cat. Getting fresh replacement cats is easy.
Well, now I feel silly for thinking that hissing would be a good idea. If I were walking, I’d tell the dog no and use an authoritive voice to tell him to mind his own business. So surely unicycling shouldn’t change the situation too much.
The link you posted was really interesting, especially the discussion on why dogs seem so attracted to unicycles/ unicyclists.
Like I said, You seem to be biased to the dog side of the world. Maybe you don’t understand kids, just dogs.
As for swearing at a total stranger, you got me there. Please excuse my French, but this topic gets me very angry. I don’t like dealing with dogs and I don’t like the rationalizations that I hear from dog owners that tell me what I should have done to have avoid a bad situation with a dog. The fact is if the dog is controlled, by leash or barrier, I don’t have a problem with it.
As for solving problems with violence, when being chased, barked at, or threatened by a dog, I see no other method than return the action. I have stood my ground and yelled NO at dogs and avoided further contact. The act of controlling the dog, or at least standing it down, I can do. Putting up with the attitude of entitlement that is shined from dog owners is the most frustrating part. I loved the pissed off attitude I got from an owner when I tried to pepper spray her dog that was unleashed in a public park. It had chased me off the path and the owner was 50 feet from it. Come on! Your dog threatens me, I defend myself, what is the problem here? The dog and its owner.
You might want to contemplate my thoughts on having rocks thrown close to you by a total stranger. It seems a little scary, maybe even intimidating. When you confront the stranger on this, and he say s something like don’t be irresponsible, I am throwing rocks over there. If you don’t want rocks to come close to you, then go somewhere where I am not. That is what living with someone else’s uncontrolled dog is like.
I think we are under the general consensus that if people would control their dogs we would be better off. As for the leash laws… whether posted or not people do not think they apply to them and their dog. I do like the idea of throwing rocks at people! Ha! (just kidding)
From Mark Twain
Some things never change. 
Thanks Unibugg. What a great read.
I am in agreement with rem48, I don’t mind dogs if they are controlled.
I do question Mikefule’s argument about comparing dog killings to accidents and homicide. Is it really a fair comparison to equate human activities to animal activities? Car accidents happen by people driving cars, parents killing their kids this could be intentional or accidental. Dog owners not controlling their dog/s is a human activity. Dogs attacking and killing humans is an animal activity.
I am all for nature and loving animals, but if a dog is a menace it should be put down. We do it to bears why not dogs?
um, don’t they?
I know a few people who have shot their dogs because they were untrainable or mean (the dog). Maybe it is a cultural difference but we get rid of bad dogs, I can’t imagine why you would keep a dog that is mean and does not serve a purpose. Would you keep a horse that bites, kicks and refuses to work/let you ride?
Despite the old fashioned language, that is so very descriptive. I can picture every problem he had with this penny farthing to perfection. It reminds me to make contact with a friend who has one ( genuine article), and to plead with him to let me have a go.
Nao
I had a very rare and pleasant exchange with a man who was walking two dogs today on the local nature trail that I usually ride on. He saw me coming and held his dogs by their collars as he let me pass. As I rode by, the man gave me a nod (which I returned) and I said “Yep, just your local neighbourhood unicyclist.”
I am sure they do in some extreme cases. I’d like to extend this practice to the chasing, threatening level.
As long as I am bashing dogs and dog owners:
Why are dog owners ok with letting there dogs bark at every person that passes their yard? Dog owners in general, don’t think of the nuisance that their barking dog is to their neighbors. It is so rude.
My neighbors have two dogs that bark and thrash the fence at every person or dog that passes by. Otherwise, these are very nice dogs. At least they are controlled from chasing. The commotion and annoyance is too much. Fortunately I work during the day so I don’t hear it too much, but if I take the day off it gets old, fast.
I was at their house for a party over the holidays and the misses of the house was lamenting that a neighbor (not me) kept calling Animal Control to complain about the barking. She held up her hands and said “Come on, their dogs; they bark”. As if this was suppose to make it acceptable.
i think yell at them and tell them to sit etc. every dog most likely knows the sit command and by yelling it asserts your dominance. every dog responds to dominance, its the basis of the pack mentality. every pack has a heirachy and a “top dog”. if you can show the dog that your bigger, stronger etc than the dog and make them submissive, then they’l back off (hopefully). the smaller the dog, the easier it is, but it should work with every dog. i have two dogs and it works with them (they dont bark and are obedient etc), admittedly they are small which makes it easier because your physically bigger then them.
if in doubt, wear shid pads:D thats the part of you most likely to get bitten whilst riding (happend to me, dog wasnt too serious but it wouldve sucked w/o shin pads.)
So the lawyer for the prosecution would have to prove that you’d set out on your ride LOOKING for dogs to mace. Now, that might be the case, but it would still be hard to prove. Just don’t wear your “I [MACE BOTTLE] dogs” shirt while in pursuit of fresh game.
I don’t care WHAT the dog owners think…
Oh, you meant the dogs.
As for the owners, I’ve posted about this subject a long time ago. My philosophy is that if it’s a shared road, like a bike path that allows pedestrians, you have to ride safely (slower than top speed) and dog owners have to keep their pets leashed. If they allow their dogs to walk unleashed (which is illegal in NYC), then you are within your rights to squush the dog if it’s small enough. Now, no one wants to do that, since it’s not the dog’s fault, so better yet, aim for the owner.
Luckily, I never had to do this in my NYC-riding days, but it’s always best to be prepared, and believe me, I was certainly prepared to smoosh an unleashed dog-owner whose dog was threatening my safety.
Inspiring words 
I forgot to mention one other thing I used to do while riding past unleashed dog owners. I’d shake an index finger at them and say, with an authoritative voice, “BAD dog owner. BAD dog owner.”
After reading all of these posts, I have a few other comments:
- I will henceforth ensure that I have at least two cats (it’s always best to have a spare cat) when I ride thru dog-infested areas; thanks, Harper.
- Bear owners should also be forced to leash their animals. I will write to my local government leaders to see if we can enact some leash laws for bears, and I suggest the same for Saskachewan.
There are times when, reading through these fora, I feel that it is not just the dogs, but also some unicyclists who should be on a leash… and the response to that is NOT “Yes please”.
Nao
what’s the difference between smoosh and smooch? I’m not sure if that’s New World English, or a typo.
…
smooch = to kiss
smoosh = to crush, as when you fall off your unicycle onto a small dog and/or the owner. Possibly an alternate of “smash”.