Savage dog attack

[Accy cyclist]

I was out on Monday, i was climbing a steep hill going through a council estate when it came at me! One of those freaks of nature you seem to find on council estates and when you go on holiday to Spain, Portugal etc..i mean a hybrid dog by the way.
It was a monster and i headed for my leg,i wasn't changing direction for this creature, it would have been safer to turn around and fly back down the hill to safety, but being one that believes in making a stand and not backing down or running away(if it's fairly safe to do so)i carried on climbing the hill. I unclipped my left foot and kept on peddling waiting if needed, to boot the swine and save my leg at any cost! Anyway, the numpty owner shouted something like "get f.....g back here", so i shouted that he should have the thing under control. to which he replied something like "you should keep still when a dog comes at you.. you f..... puff". I presume he thinks that cyclists, unless they're drug delivering chavs on stolen mountain bikes, are soft and easy game for him and his horrible dog! I noted the numpty's house and if "Cujo"had chewed my leg i'd have been straight off to the police station, there'd have been no point in trying to argue or reason with the thicko and i'd want the police to take action, as i know they have to when a dog attacks a human.
By the way this is the third time in the last week or so that i've attracted dogs while out cycling. Well the first one wasn't aimed at me but i witnessed it. A bloke was cycling on a designated cycle route when out of nowhere some monster headed for his back wheel, chewed it then nearly knocked the bloke off. The cyclist sped away, then the dog headed towards me. It must have read my thoughts as i waited behind my bike with a nice piece of wood i found on the floor, it ran back to the owner. I glared at the idiot who seemed to think that attacking cyclists is part of his animal's exercise routine!
The other day i was doing laps around a local park(on the road, not in the park)when some looney creature came running at me. It seemed friendly and wanted to run beside me, but the owner was shouting for me to keep still while he caught up with his dog. I wasn't stopping for him or his dog so i kept on doing my laps. He eventually stepped in front of me and asked why i hadn't stopped, grabbed his dog then waited till he arrived to collar it?. Apparently parks are for dog walking and not cycling around according to the owner, and as we "don't pay road tax or insurance, we have no rights when on the road"according to him.

Have any of you had a similar experience, and what do you reckon about "savage dog attacks"?

 

[Chris S]

By the way this is the third time in the last week or so that i've attracted dogs while out cycling.

Do you have a pet cat by any chance?

 

[sidevalve]

Sorry but you've only got [in those cirumstaces] one real option - get off. Reasons are simple, the dog is "on the hunt" it was big and dogs are very fast [they are predators and evolved to be so] and even if you managed to boot it while remaining upright it may only raise the adrenalin levels higher, it won't notice the kick but it will "go for the kill". The owner seems to a bit of a yobbo and if you hit the beast and had to stop he would probably have had a go [may have been more brain cells in the dog]. You could always try the old one of pretending to throw a ball for the brute, some of 'em fall for it and allow you to get "out of range".
However once you dismont everything changes in your favour. 1 - you are no longer something to chase.
2 - you are standing firm [not balancing on 2 wheels, or worse just fallen off 'em]] and can thus deal better with either the dog or the owner. Lastly you are a pedestrian, an innocent bystander attacked by a dangerous dog, everybody is on your side, police, courts, even passers by and the owner has NO argument or excuses.
I know it seems like "giving in" but it's better then a trip to casualty with either a dog bite, falling off the bike or a kicking from the owner and his dumb mates.

 

[betty swollocks]

I was once bitten by a Doberman while on my recumbent. It got me on the upper arm, inches from my face.
I reported it to the police. It was destroyed.
Good.
You should report this incident to the police. It may be a child next time, or someone not so lucky.

 

[oldfatfool]

I was once bitten by a Doberman while on my recumbent. It got me on the upper arm, inches from my face.
I reported it to the police. It was destroyed.
Good.
You should report this incident to the police. It may be a child next time, or someone not so lucky.

Its the owners that need destroying, not the dogs.

 

[Glow worm]

As said above the best thing is to get off if you can't outpace the thing. I have yet to have the pleasure of testing this though and I believe the advice to stand still and put your bike between you and the mutt if you can is probably about right.

I was recently chased by a large dog while cycling but managed to outpace it. I don't think it saw the cattle grid 100 yds or further along and I then heard the crunching sound of dog and grid behind me!

 

[PpPete]

Dealing with dog attacks is about the only justification for old-fashioned frame pumps.
Not to hit the dog with ... just hold both ends, dog jumps up to grab it, you hoist it in the air, and use that stiff sole of your cycling shoes to put force into kicks to the dogs ribs and tender nether regions.
Thanks to Richard Ballantyne (Richard's Bicycle Book) for that one.
Fortunately I've never had to use it. I love dogs. All dogs. It's some of the owners that should be "put down".

 

[Mike!]

I've had a young Labrador have a go whilst cycling across some local heathland in the snow, he grabbed the bar end and then had another go at my wrist, luckliy i pulled away and he just gave my clothing a nip.

The owner (who did apologise) said he's just excited becuase it's the first time he's seen snow!!

He held him while i cycled off but i took chase even though i'd gotten out of view, he followed me out onto a road but turned back once he spotted traffic, i wasn't going to stop!!

Didn't report it and no damage to me or my clothing but it wasn't until i got home i though "what if it had been a child".

Dogs should be on a lead at all times if you can't control them!

 

[the snail]

Apparently parks are for dog walking and not cycling around according to the owner, and as we "don't pay road tax or insurance, we have no rights when on the road"according to him.

Does he pay "road tax" for his dog then? Some dog owners have less brains than their dogs.

 

[Manonabike]

Its the owners that need destroying, not the dogs.

I don't know who I dislike more, nasty dogs or people that defend nasty dogs and I make no apologies for that. A feeling of dislike for these people that has developed from reading their opinions on dog attacks. To them there are no nasty dogs, only bad owners.

 

[oldfatfool]

I don't know who I dislike more, nasty dogs or people that defend nasty dogs and I make no apologies for that. A feeling of dislike for these people that has developed from reading their opinions on dog attacks. To them there are no nasty dogs, only bad owners.

Not in the slightest, (not that I care wether you dislike me or not) there are nasty dogs in the same way there are nasty people BUT I would say if you owned a nasty dog you would know about it and (if you where a concientous owner) ensure it was not put in a position to harm the innocent.

I would also say that for a dog to be nasty it as been trained or treat in such a way to be made nasty unless it is a trait of the breed (Pity Bull etc) and even then it is because they have been specifically bred by US to be nasty.

Lets face it Humans are probably the Vilest creatures on earth.

 

[sidevalve]

Oldfatfool is correct. There are no bad dogs unless they have been taught / encouraged to be so [even the pit bull CAN be harmless]. However I must return to the OP, I'm sorry but heroics are simply asking for trouble, unless the ground is very much in your favour get off the bike. In 90% of cases the situation stops there, the dogs are CHASING a moving object once it stops moving it stops being interesting. In the situation described waving a bicycle pump [which a large dog could probably bite through in one go anyway] and kicking the thing will only give the already brain dead owner an excuse to run over and join his dog,possibly along with any mates he may have around.
By all means report to the police but do so with no injuries. Don't waste your blood on stupid people and their dogs.

 

[Glow worm]

Although I don't like dogs, I do a lot of riding along bridleways and farm tracks hereabouts where there are often an awful lot of dogwalkers. I would say that almost all of them are brilliant with their dogs and they generally make a lot of effort to keep their mutts under control as I pootle by and I always make a point of thanking them.

 

[Boris Bajic]

I find myself feeling a little envious.

You manage to get a dog incident and a Road Tax rant from just one person.

I'd be happy with either. Where are all the psycopaths when you need them?

Posting on an Internet forum, probably.

 

[Dragonwight]

Shared space like parks requires give and take and common sense to be exercised by all users. Most dog owners that I have come across are responsible people and dont want their dogs hurt which could result in a big vet bill. Like all groups including cyclists there are always a few idiots and agitators.