Preconceived notions much? Since the dogs aren't really aggressive, there is a good chance there has never been an issue with them until the OP ran by. Loads of people in rural areas let their dogs run loose. Assuming the owner is a dick and escalating the issue without even speaking to them with some respect is juvenile. Moving "out to the country" and calling animal control because some dogs chased you is not a smart move. Unless you want the locals to hate you...

I'll 2nd the air horn. So effective, that a friend of mine had a special air horn mount made for his bike. Now friends he ride with, want them too. Hasn't failed to deter an attack yet.

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Athlinks / Strava

rruff wrote:

ripple wrote:

Dog owners that let their pack of dogs accost an individual on a public road are assholes.

Preconceived notions much? Since the dogs aren't really aggressive, there is a good chance there has never been an issue with them until the OP ran by. Loads of people in rural areas let their dogs run loose. Assuming the owner is a dick and escalating the issue without even speaking to them with some respect is juvenile. Moving "out to the country" and calling animal control because some dogs chased you is not a smart move. Unless you want the locals to hate you...

To quote the OP:

Quote:

pack of 5 pretty mean dogs that run out snarling, barking and nipping at me

Doesn't sound "not aggressive".


I expect dogs in the country, and around my area almost all owners call their dogs back, and most have electric fences. If the owners aren't even giving the OP the courtesy of calling off the dogs, that says a lot. Unless they aren't home, in which case leaving your 5 dogs to run loose during the day is just plain stupid.


It sounds like the OP didn't have a chance to talk to the owners. That is often fruitless anyway. The nice owners have already presented themselves as wanting to call the dogs back in. Personally, I've never called dog control and never used a spray, a horn, or anything. I just deal with it, but have 2 particular houses in a 20 mile radius around where I live that I won't go by, because the owners are assholes and won't get a handle on their dogs.

I'll 3rd the air horn. No physical damage is done and the dogs will quickly learn to leave you alone.

If the owners are true rednecks, and you call the authorities on them, prepare for payback!! Last thing you want or need is a couple of pickup trucks full of good ol' boys rolling up on you in the middle of nowhere while you're running. Ever seen Deliverance?!?!

In which case Prestone + Stake = dog problem solved

Similar in N GA but it's usually only 1-3 dogs. My tips: channel your inner dog and don't show fear, I like to yell YEAH DOG with a guttural yell (I sound like my farmer father when I do) (that often makes the owner in the house aware too), reach down like you're going to pick up a newspaper, stick or stone (dogs know that that means business even if you don't use it).

I like to avoid dogs especially on my bike; yet, not to the point of avoiding a perfectly good route. Yelling at the dog works better than yelling at the owner lol

Whatever you do - don't show fear - communicate in every way that you have the advantage over the dog(s).

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

I've looked at a few stun batons for just such a reason.

https://amzn.to/2XiLwky

Lots of reviews that the sound will frighten the dog off initially.

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Ryan
http://www.SetThePaceTriathlon.com
http://www.TriathlonTrainingDaddy.com
I got plans - https://www.trainingpeaks.com/...dotcom#trainingplans

You don't have to give a specific, but where generally? I've been riding east of Clayton and there are a couple such properties you wouldn't be able to run past. Just curious.

My brother and I ran by a trailer park once and around 7-8 dogs came from under the trailer into the road looking to bite us. We got away but had to run back by there to get home. We each picked up a stick about a half mile from the trailer. Sure enough, the dogs came back out into the road nipping and growling. My brother busted one of them across the head with his stick. It ran off whimpering and whining. The others followed suit. We never had any problems from those dogs again.

It's on the Iredell/Rowan county border.

Someone recommended the "pet corrector" above, and I would absolutely second it. The product is essentially a small, lightweight can of compressed air that makes a loud, shearing noise when sprayed. It's designed to stop animals in their tracks when they're misbehaving, and it really scares the hell out of dogs (tail between the legs, scared).

It may not train these particular dogs to leave pedestrians alone, but it will scare them away any time you use it.

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"The right to party is a battle we have fought, but we'll surrender and go Amish... NOT!" -Wayne Campbell

Carry pepper spray. Had the same issue while riding. After the dogs got sprayed once every time I came by they turned around and walked home.

Well, then it turns into resistance training after the dog is attached to your leg.

Sometimes you read something and you're just thankful you haven't been put in that position because I'd go full war with those bumpkin pieces of trash.

I hit the same dog with pepper spray on two separate occasions, think it would learn. The second time the owner came out and threatened me. I called animal control and reported the dog and threat. The problem is that in my state dogs are assumed harmless until they are not. The dog has to bite or previously bitten someone before any action is taken. So a pit bull chases me twice, only stopping when hit by pepper spray, and nothing can be done until he catches and bites me. Haven’t taken that route for awhile, owner probably has the dog doing speed work to catch me next time😳

With so few people having landlines anymore & no reliable cell phone directories the only way to do that would be to knock on the door, which means walking into the dog's yard. Personally, I wouldn't do that.

The house is obviously local to the OP so he can stop by in his car.

The dogs back off when yelled at, so they don't really mean business. Somebody running by is just too irresistible to ignore. Stop and pet them. Give them some doggy treats.

BTW, I don't have a dog and I don't have an urge to own one, but I can understand the perspective of someone living in a rural area and letting the dogs run loose... particularly if it's a place where runners and cyclists are rare. They aren't necessarily evil, or stupid, or assholes.

I have been bitten by a pack of dogs when on the bike. My answer is pretty simple: bear spray.

I am also pretty shocked by replies in this thread. Are you people really genuinely scared of "rednecks" taking revenge? Geez. You make US sound like some 3rd world country. At least from EU perspective.

That's not particularly funny. I'll assume you're ignorant and don't know how painful and miserable a death ethylene glycol poisoning can inflict.

Do you believe the stuff you’re writing? Just curious.

Reminds me a good one.
In France we only have a handful of bears in the most remote areas of the Pyrenees mountains and a few dozens of wolves that nobody ever see, but agressive (or at least barking) untethered dogs are a common thing in the countryside.
I was running alone on a rural road. When running I'm generally very aware of my surroundings and never wear headphones but a medium sized dog managed to surprise me by surging silently from behind a property wall (the gate had been let open). In the blink of an eye, he was upon me. I don't know where it came from but I had the reflex to throw a kick at him. Unfortunately, it took it right in the nose, rolled into the ditch and stayed lifeless. Shit, I killed it, I thought to myself. I was super embarassed and didn't know what to do. Nobody came out of the house. Finally, I decided to take off and to go on with my run. My course was a loop and I had to run by the house with the dead dog twenty minutes later. A long moment spent dealing with my guilt... Upon approaching the house, I decided to take responsability for my deed and explain myself to the owner (we also have our rednecks in France but very few are armed). What the f..., the dog had disappeared from the place it had been lying in! F..., the owner should have discovered it! Finally, as I reached the gate, I saw the animal standing in the driveway, staring at me. Good lord, he was only knocked out! I was so relieved I could have kissed him!
Needless to say, he never again attacked me!

Supposedly dogs will always back down if you are authoritative enough.

I ran in rural Arkansas for years and encountered loose dogs on most runs. Never got bit, but had some nervous moments. It's a hassle. You have to slow down or stop, sometimes just walk slowly backwards while yelling at the dog. Some people have success with the petting the nice doggy thing, but when they come out angry and snarling, I go with yelling and they've always backed down. But again, some close calls.

Rocks are another tactic. If I see a dog ahead or am coming up to a place I know there are dogs, I'll grab some rocks. I travel a lot in the "third world" and there all dogs understand the language of rocks. In fact, you can scare them off by just bending down to pretend you're getting a rock. But in the US, in my experience anyway, dogs don't know about throwing rocks and you actually have to throw the rocks to scare them off. People with mean dogs know their dogs are mean and don't get upset if you yell at or throw a rock at their dog.

Here in Pennsylvania I run in rural areas but have had zero problems with dogs. A whole different dog culture or something.

Well, a few problems with nice dogs. One place my wife and I run people are out walking their dogs without leashes. The dogs run up and the people say "don't worry, she won't bite you, she'll just lick you to death". Well, you know what? Maybe I don't want dog slobber all over me. Maybe I don't want the muddy dog to jump on me and scratch up my legs and get mud on my clothes. Nice dog people are almost worse than mean dog people. My wife is especially authoritative with dogs and she'll angrily yell at and confront a nice doggy if it tries to jump on her. The owners' jaws just drop in astonishment. It's a shock to them that strangers don't want the muddy slobbery dog jumping on them.

The other day a lady was walking four loose dogs when we came running by. We thought "uh-oh", but then the lady said something sharply and the dogs immediately turned, ran to her, and sat down at her side. It'd be nice if all dogs were trained like that. Our long-time pooch passed on and we're between dogs, but when we get a new one, I'm totally going to go through the training and have it super obedient.

Have you watched the documentary Wrong Turn ?

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What's your CdA?

I have two riding buddies that were out a year before we moved to the area (so I wasn't there, but this is their first-hand account).. they were on a climb and got encircled by 4 dogs, my one buddy pepper sprayed them, the dogs went back and they rode on. 5 minutes later the owner squeezed them both into a ditch with their pickup, and said they'd kill them if they ever pepper sprayed their dogs again. My buddies said it's a public road, to which the owner said I guess you'll have to find another public road to ride on.

A few years later I got into an argument after being chased by 3 dogs while the owner basically laughed at me. I was able to grab a rock and make the one dog scared, and chase them back to the property. I informed her that was BS and get a handle on her dogs. She said this is my property. I said, the road? She said if I see you on my property I'll sic em after you. I again said, the road? She said you're a stranger and I'll use my dogs to protect myself. I muttered a few choice words and left. Not 3 minutes later I was "buzzed" by a large pickup truck about a mile down the road but couldn't get a good view of who was driving. But it was the same model and color as the one that was in their driveway. What was I going to do, go back and see if the truck was mysteriously gone?

So yeah, if you use pepper spray, bear mace, whatever, or god forbid a handgun on someone's dog you'd better be prepared for the fallout. As stated previously, these kind of dog owners are assholes, plain and simple.

And what is that you usually do in such situation? Around here, I would call the police. Death threat is actually a criminal offense, so is squeezing someone into a ditch. Letting unassisted dogs on public road is misdemeanor. They guy would get heavily fined, with possible probation.You just let it go?