I have been having problems recently with being chased by dogs on my runs and even on my bike rides. Last week a very big dog actually chased me while on my bike and was nipping at my legs. I had to pedal really hard to outrun him. Last year I was bitten by a dog so now all dogs that try to run me down make me nervous. Does anyone else have this problem? I am not sure what to do about it. Should I be buying pepper spray to take with me, it seems kind of mean but I really don’t like being bitten by dogs. Last year I had a big gash in my leg from where the dog bit me and it hurt for weeks to run afterwards.
Get some steel toed running shoes and kick 'em when they get close.
I read somewhere about screaming “get off the couch”…I tried it and it worked for me. Good luck, I’m not sure what your state laws state, but I’d look into that if you’ve got some time.
I’d pepper spray them, don’t get me wrong, I’m a dog owner, but my dogs are well behaved, and spoiled…they have A/C in their very nice dog house.
But in all seriousness, pepper spray would be a good defense. They make pepper spray specifically for dogs that you can buy at most any running store. I think it is called Halt. As far as it being mean, you will probably only have to spray the dog once and it won’t ever chase you again. It would be better for the dog to get pepper sprayed then to repeatedly run out in the street chasing you and get hit by a car.
Buy a can of HALT!. It’s the spray that is carried by Letter Carriers. It shoots a stream and is very effective for immobilizing (but not injuring) dogs. I’ve only used it once from my bike, and it stopped a farm German Shepherd in his tracks. Performance Bike sells it (or at least used to) in their catalog. I kept it clipped to my seat bag.
I would suggest yelling loudly at the dog first. If that doesn’t work, get the spray ready.
Or change the route you ride
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I was taught at a young age to turn and “attack” the charging dog. Has worked every time I needed to do it. When the dog is running at you, don’t run away because the dog will sense the fear. Instead, turn and take a threatening stance at the dog and yell something at it. Anything will do as long as you let the dog know you mean business. When I do this, every dog has stopped dead in its tracks with a look on its face like, “Oh sh*t! This guy is seriously going to mess me up.” You are telling the dog you are up to its challenge which causes them to back off.
**** Disclaimer: I am not an expert. If you still get bit or otherwise mauled it is not my fault. By reading this message you consent to a waiver of all claims against me or anyone else who has given me the advice I am passing along to you.*
I have never had problems with dogs…yet. But i have heard of people squirting them in the face with water
“Get off the couch” is what I say also – with a lot of growling. And then “go home”. If a dog came after me more than once, I’d be talking to the owner and then the authorities as we have a leash law and articles about mean dogs and their owners always make the local newspaper. Big news in a low crime town.
It’s been my experience that dogs go after bikes more than runners. I lived for a year in a place with free dogs everywhere (packs of them) and they were always terrified of me on the run but came after me on the bike. It isn’t fun when you are hoping they will give up before you hit the next hill.
The very same thing happened to me and my wife last weekend right after we started our ride. The dog crossed the entire street, came around the back side of my wife and started nipping at her. She instinctively panicked, sped up while eyeing the dog and the next thing you know, we both went down. Fortunately, no serious injuries or damage, and the crash scared off the dog. Within 48 hours, she purchased a can of Halt dog repellant.
I go with the harsh “NO”. But then one of my neighbors yelled at me to stop yelling at her dog that was chasing me in the road. I wasn’t afraid of it, I wanted it to get out of the road so it didn’t get hit.
On the bike your options are limited. Unless you have a problem dog you know is coming up it is hard to have spray ready to go. I m not afraid of being bit, I am more afraid of the inevitable crash when we get tangled up.
And I am more afraid that the dog will get hit, I had a small dog come out into the road following/half-ass chasing me a couple years ago that got hit. Not a fun run.
If I know a road has problem dogs on it I avoid it. But if it is a road that is tough to avoid and there is a dog that chases me more than once I have been known to drop a postcard in the mailbox to let the people know their dogs chases bikes/runners and they will be sued when they bite someone. It has worked at least twice as the dogs were kept confined after that.
You have to stop running or they will chase you as its instinct to chase anything that runs. They will sense fear, so you gotta look them in the eye and yell. I’ve been ready to throw down with a few but they always back off… Needless to say gets me fired up and run pace after that usually is solid so ends up a good workout. On the bike throw in some intervals and drop them.
Spray them.
I had a neighbor down the street do the same thing. She told me she didn’t like me yelling at her dog, so I said “fine, I’m going to yell at you instead.”
To address the OPs questions, a lot depends on why the dog is chasing you. Is the dog trying to attack you, or is just looking to play? Many times, the dog is just looking to play and a loud shout (NO, GO HOME, or something similar) can do the trick. If the dog is trying to actually attack you, shouting may not work. The challenge is trying to figure it all out in the split second before the dog actually reaches you.
This is actually a good reason to ride with a group. You don’t have to outrun the dog, just the slowest person in your group!
This guy has it down pretty good.
sue the life out of owners and you wont see the dog out of the yard ever again
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What about Coyotes? I’ve encountered one on my runs that seems to track me for a mile or so - I see him/her once on the trail, they jog off to the side and watch me go by (while I’m watching them too). Then a couple hundred feet or so, I see it again, but this time it’s off to the side, just looking, couple hundred feet more, same thing. I’ve read they won’t attack anything as large as a human, but kinda gets me spooked for any training ideas I had planned for the run, my pace falls off, heart rate is whacked-out, etc. I’ve called animal control, and they said they would look into it, but I still see that joker routinely.
There is a house on my run route that has at least 5 dogs that come running and barking every time I pass them. When I get tired of them, I pack a few rocks and let them have it when they get close. This backs em up for a week or more.
I go with the harsh “NO”.
YES…think of yourself getting carjacked, raped, any situation that would have you using your loudest and scariest voice.
If the owner hears this they will be more likely to realize something is up and possibly control their animal.
I led a group of guys on rides through WV this spring, dogs all over the place but I had my scream down. One “NO!” and they would literally turn around and run the opposite direction.
-Physiojoe
A squirt from the water bottle has worked for me and is usually very accessible. (even worked on a pit bull last year!)