I bet on at least one of your favourite cycling routes there is an annoying dog (or pack of them!) which likes to chase you on your bike and even take a nip at your legs or bits of your bike.

A recent thread on the Cycling Forums discussed ways of defending against this menace, and I thought I would share a few of my own tips, which have been more or less successful.

First, just to mention a couple of things:

1) I DO like animals and would NOT condone injuring them, unless it was a choice between me or him

2) If an animal is being agressive, a cyclist or anyone else has the right to defend him/herself with the use of reasonable force - the law would back you on that most days.
Having said that, bear in mind that most dogs that chase cyclists are not really that dangerous, otherwise (theoretically) they wouldn’t be off the leash at all. Mostly they are obeying some kind of territorial instinct and only intend to chase you away from their patch, not actually harm you. Especially our friend here in the picture, who joined us on our Serbia Bike Trek and who was the epitome of Bike’s Best Friend!

Along these lines, have you noticed how cowardly these mutts usually are?! They don’t go for you as you are approaching, they usually wait till you are almost past and then run after you. I rest my case - they’re chicken! The problem mostly comes when they put you off balance, or stick their snout between your spokes. So that’s why I thought I would share a few top tips of mine for ridding yourself of this annoyance, assuming you don’t have any luck talking to the owner (usually a fat lot of good). Just remember, I don’t make any guarantees that any of this will help you - some of these tips might even GET you savaged by a dog, so take it all with a pinch of salt!

OK, here they come:

Top tips for defence against agressive dogs

1) Just keep riding. Like I said, a lot of the time they are really not aiming to hurt you and will usually just give up after you have left their little area, without actually touching you or the bike. This is the best scenario!
2) Hiss, or shout agressively at him. Dogs obey a hierarchy and may well respond to dominant behaviour, even from a stranger. An agressive motion or noise often gets him off your tail. Hey, you could even try yelling “sit”! Now there’s an idea, you could even take a stick with you and throw it for him to “fetch!” when he comes near!

3) Aim a friendly kick towards him. Read my disclaimer above first! The idea is not to hurt him, just to put him off. Use only if you think you risk injury from him and if other things aren’t working. And remember, this manouevre can put you off balance! A little kick won’t do him any harm though and might make him stop and think.

4) Use chemical weapons. Got two bottle-holders? Fill one with your favourite cycling beverage and the other with a solution of water and vinegar, or other substance that you think Fido might not like up his snout. Again, nothing dangerous, just using the dog’s keen sense of smell against him. A noseful of acetic acid and he might well come to associate you with trouble next time he sees you riding past!

5) Stop and pet him! Erm, OK, I’ll admit, this is the only one I haven’t actually tried, but it is your motion that he finds so tempting, so if you just stop he may well turn back into a normal, friendly pet dog and let you make friends! I have used a similar tactic when I really needed water and the only tap I could see was in a yard guarded by a seemingly agressive terrier. As soon as I hopped the fence he chilled right out and went off and sulked in a corner. Dog psychology!

Well, if you’ve got any more tips for making cycling dog-free I’d be happy to hear them!

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Posted on May 23rd, 2007 by markowe
Filed under: Biking - general, MTB Serbia (All)