After experiencing my third incident with an angry dog, I have to rant
about dog owners! I was riding on a basketball court doing smooth
figure-8s when I hear this dog barking. I immediately jump off my
unicycle, turn around and see this unleashed dog barking at me from
about 50 ft. away. This is in an area where dogs are supposed to remain
on a leash.
The dog starts approaching me, still barking loudly, and I urge the owner
to take physical control of the dog. He makes half-hearted attempts to
call the dog, to run after the dog, but still the dog approaches. After
what seemed like several minutes of facing down this dog, the owner
finally rambles off with the dog.
And in case you’re wondering, I wasn’t flapping my arms, I was well away
from the dog and didn’t even know he was there. I ride a lot, so I run
into dogs quite a bit. It seems to be only a problem with unleashed dogs.
Why can’t dog owners be more responsible? I wouldn’t mind them breaking
the law if they’d just take control of their dog when the situation
demands it. It’s rude to continue to allow their dog to threaten
someone like that. Every single time this happens, the dog owners do
virtually nothing!
I love dogs and really appreciate nice dogs. But they are usually on a
leash because their owners are responsible. And they’re not aggressive.
It’s the irresponsible owners that seem to have the nasty dogs. And nasty
dogs can really be dangerous.
If you meet such aggressive dogs, and their owners are not
cooperative/very far away and can’t control their dog, why don’t you think
of carrying a can of pepper spray? If it works for the mail carriers and
police I’m sure it’d work for you, and it’s certainly better than getting
bitten. Once you take out the can the dog owner will certainly get the
message that you mean business and their “dear sweet Brutus, who really
wouldn’t hurt a living thing” is really harassing you. I’m sure you’d feel
a little safer if you could do something about the situation rather than
being at the mercy of the dog owner. Are these dog owners malicious or
just unsympathetic?
I’d check with the law to see if pepper spray or mace is legal where you
live. If you get harassed and call the police, the dog and owner will
probably be far gone. Maybe carrying a cell/mobile phone would
be helpful.
Don
Import Car Fan wrote: > > After experiencing my third incident with an angry dog, I have to rant > about dog owners! I was riding on a basketball court doing smooth > figure-8s when I hear this dog barking. I immediately jump off my > unicycle, turn around and see this unleashed dog barking at me from > about 50 ft. away. This is in an area where dogs are supposed to remain > on a leash. > > The dog starts approaching me, still barking loudly, and I urge the > owner to take physical control of the dog. He makes half-hearted > attempts to call the dog, to run after the dog, but still the dog > approaches. After what seemed like several minutes of facing down this > dog, the owner finally rambles off with the dog. > > And in case you’re wondering, I wasn’t flapping my arms, I was well > away from the dog and didn’t even know he was there. I ride a lot, so > I run into dogs quite a bit. It seems to be only a problem with > unleashed dogs. > > Why can’t dog owners be more responsible? I wouldn’t mind them breaking > the law if they’d just take control of their dog when the situation > demands it. It’s rude to continue to allow their dog to threaten someone > like that. Every single time this happens, the dog owners do virtually > nothing!
Keep in mind my advice: If you ever find yourself in a situation where
you feel you may have an accident due to a dog on too-long a leash or no
leash at all, the dog is innocent…so break your fall by crashing into
the owner.
Plus the owner is usually larger.
I have never had to do this, but preparing for this eventuality (and I do
believe it will happen one day) could help a cyclist avoid hurting self
due to someone’s lack of caring or smarts. Basically: Why should I risk
hurting myself if I can break my fall with the person who has caused it?
Happy trails.
David
Co-founder, Unatics of NY 1st Sunday / 3rd Saturday
2:30 @ Central Park Bandshell
> If you meet such aggressive dogs, and their owners are not > cooperative/very far away and can’t control their dog, why don’t you > think of carrying a can of pepper spray? If it works for the mail > carriers and police I’m sure it’d work for you, and it’s certainly > better than getting bitten. Once you take out the can the dog owner will > certainly get the message that you mean business and their "dear sweet > Brutus, who really wouldn’t hurt a living thing" is really harassing > you. I’m sure you’d feel a little safer if you could do something about > the situation rather than being at the mercy of the dog owner. Are these > dog owners malicious or just unsympathetic? > > I’d check with the law to see if pepper spray or mace is legal where you > live. If you get harassed and call the police, the dog and owner will > probably be far gone. Maybe carrying a cell/mobile phone would be > helpful.
If pepper spray isn’t allowed, you can always carry something like a
deoderant and spray it at them.
On a coker, doing a quick action-reaction turn will scare off most dogs,
especially if the spokes come anywhere near them. On a normal 24"
unicycle, I had success with jumping off and going to the other side of it
and looking like I was about to bash the dog with the unicycle. That tends
to get the owners worried enough to get the dog back. Or shout loudly you
“naughty” dog I’m going to kill you at it like you’re some kind of
psychopathic madman.
At least on a unicycle, the dog isn’t going to do much damage to it. I
had a dog jump on my kite when I was flying it and the owner, who had
about six dogs, had totally ignored it chasing my kite for about 2 or 3
minutes before this happened and then went off pretty quickly without
offering to pay anything towards mending the rather expensive kite the
dog had just trashed.
Yes, and then spray the owner in the face with pepper spray. He’ll never
be irresponsible about his dog again.
(If only we could without worrying about lawsuits and assault charges…)
David Stone wrote:
> Keep in mind my advice: If you ever find yourself in a situation where > you feel you may have an accident due to a dog on too-long a leash or no > leash at all, the dog is innocent…so break your fall by crashing into > the owner.
If you’re riding a 6’ giraffe the dog can’t directly injure you, but he
can try to knock you over. I almost had this happen to me, but the dog was
on a leash and I think he was quite terrified of me.
On Thu, 18 Oct 2001 01:04:18 GMT, “Import Car Fan”
<dsholt@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >After experiencing my third incident with an angry dog, I have to rant >about dog owners! …
Too right! Richard’s New Bicycle Book (ISBN 0-330-31315-0) has a few pages
devoted to how to deal with dogs when on a bicycle.
Having been bitten by a dog when I was a toddler, I have a healthy fear of
any dog I don’t know (and I’m glad to say that the friendly dogs I do know
I’m quite happy with).
If I can see that the owner is in sight and has some control, I’m happy.
If it’s just me and the dog then sorry, but I’ll defend myself to the
death of the dog if necessary, and if it really is necessary then that’s
one dog less which might attack someone less able to defend him/herself.
I know deodorant was suggested, but I thought of an air horn as well. Dogs
have very sensitive hearing and loud noises make them run. There’s the
Samui Air Zound Horn (“Samui” is “cold” in Japanese, not to be confused
with Samurai) for bikes that you can pump up with your bike pump that’s
really loud. And because it only uses air it’s environmental as well. You
can reuse it thousands of times. At 120 decibels the dog’s got to be deaf
not to hear it. I’m just not sure how to mount it.
Don Tai wrote: > > I love dogs and really appreciate nice dogs. But they are usually on a > leash because their owners are responsible. And they’re not aggressive. > It’s the irresponsible owners that seem to have the nasty dogs. And > nasty dogs can really be dangerous. > > If you meet such aggressive dogs, and their owners are not > cooperative/very far away and can’t control their dog, why don’t you > think of carrying a can of pepper spray? If it works for the mail > carriers and police I’m sure it’d work for you, and it’s certainly > better than getting bitten. Once you take out the can the dog owner will > certainly get the message that you mean business and their "dear sweet > Brutus, who really wouldn’t hurt a living thing" is really harassing > you. I’m sure you’d feel a little safer if you could do something about > the situation rather than being at the mercy of the dog owner. Are these > dog owners malicious or just unsympathetic? > > I’d check with the law to see if pepper spray or mace is legal where you > live. If you get harassed and call the police, the dog and owner will > probably be far gone. Maybe carrying a cell/mobile phone would be > helpful. > > Don > > Import Car Fan wrote: > > > > After experiencing my third incident with an angry dog, I have to rant > > about dog owners! I was riding on a basketball court doing smooth > > figure-8s when I hear this dog barking. I immediately jump off my > > unicycle, turn around and see this unleashed dog barking at me from > > about 50 ft. away. This is in an area where dogs are supposed to > > remain on a leash. > > > > The dog starts approaching me, still barking loudly, and I urge the > > owner to take physical control of the dog. He makes half-hearted > > attempts to call the dog, to run after the dog, but still the dog > > approaches. After what seemed like several minutes of facing down this > > dog, the owner finally rambles off with the dog. > > > > And in case you’re wondering, I wasn’t flapping my arms, I was well > > away from the dog and didn’t even know he was there. I ride a lot, so > > I run into dogs quite a bit. It seems to be only a problem with > > unleashed dogs. > > > > Why can’t dog owners be more responsible? I wouldn’t mind them > > breaking the law if they’d just take control of their dog when the > > situation demands it. It’s rude to continue to allow their dog to > > threaten someone like that. Every single time this happens, the dog > > owners do virtually nothing!
Puc Ouajio <jima@javery.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:<btcust89nr6vlicsdjld2d6nb6un0u8vcg@4ax.com>… > On Thu, 18 Oct 2001 01:04:18 GMT, “Import Car Fan” > <dsholt@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > >After experiencing my third incident with an angry dog, I have to rant > >about dog owners! … > > Too right! Richard’s New Bicycle Book (ISBN 0-330-31315-0) has a few > pages devoted to how to deal with dogs when on a bicycle. >
I remember reading this bit in the original version of the book, is it
still as hard hitting as it was? I remember the actions as extreme but
possibly necessary in (hopefully very) rare cases, e.g. if the dog is
small enough, try to pick it up by the back legs and smack it off a rock,
or if it is big and has your arm in its mouth try to shove your hand down
its throat and suffocate it.
I think the general context of this thread is about dealing with less
extreme situations. However before I read the above book, I used to get
quite a bit of hassle from local dogs when on my bike (many years before I
had a unicycle), after I read it I seemed to get less hassle. Maybe I felt
more confident knowing (in theory at least) that I could protect myself
and the dogs picked up on this.
Before anyone jumps on me for suggesting such actions, I’m NOT saying do
this when a dog starts giving you trouble, just bear in mind what you
could do if you felt at risk of serious injury by a dog (and not just
because it made you fall badly off your uni).
>I remember reading this bit in the original version of the book, is it >still as hard hitting as it was? I remember the actions as extreme but >possibly necessary in (hopefully very) rare cases, e.g. if the dog is >small enough, try to pick it up by the back legs and smack it off a rock, >or if it is big and has your arm in its mouth try to shove your hand down >its throat and suffocate it.
Indeed this section has not been toned down.
I agree with you that it’s as well to be sure that the dog really is going
for you. IMO, if the dog is barking at me from a couple of feet distance,
it’s a well-trained guard dog, but if it’s fool enough to go for my face
then it deserves whatever damage I’m capable of inflicting on it.