Free Roaming Dogs

[ninemm]

I used to simply think that some people are stupid. Then I realized how much I was overestimating them.

[Abraham]

TheArmedFarmer,

I'd be happy to peddle by if we were in same general area, but you're a bit out of range for me.

As for having a dog get in the way by running in front of me - I peddle straight at em when this occurs. I've found they're quite agile and will work to stay out of the way preventing me from hitting them - but not by much. I'm not going to slow down enough to allow them to latch onto me if I can help it...

I swear they have a strategy that says if I'm dumb enough to allow them to slow me down, at some point in my deceleration, they'll be able to latch onto me. I've experienced this when they're in a pack. The lead dog (sometimes two) get right in front of me and I'm supposed to slow down enough for the dogs on either side to bring me down. I disappoint them by speeding up and aiming for the lead dog. This keeps them confused and with pepper spraying the rest of the pack and determination I get away. So far...

I suppose some might ask, why put up this? Become a mall walker. Or don't go at all. My answer: I'm a human being. Why should I allow irresponsible dog owners my freedom to peacefully travel the roads?

Frankly, I don't blame the dogs. They're just being dogs. The owners bear the responsibility for the problem of roaming dogs. Recently,one of our members mentioned abandoned dogs. I have yet to be bothered by these poor critters. They're so miserable and hungry they can't be bothered with a cyclist or pedestrian. They've little energy and apparently realize it can't be squandered. They're easy to spot and my heart go out to them.

How anyone could abandon their critters is a mystery. Economics really doesn't explain it. Lack of character might...

I will now step off the soap box.

[frazzled]

I swear they have a strategy that says if I'm dumb enough to allow them to slow me down, at some point in my deceleration, they'll be able to latch onto me. I've experienced this when they're in a pack. The lead dog (sometimes two) get right in front of me and I'm supposed to slow down enough for the dogs on either side to bring me down

Welcome to the world of savannah pack hunting. Congratulations-you’ll be playing the role of…Wildebeast.

How anyone could abandon their critters is a mystery. Economics really doesn't explain it. Lack of character might...

I will now step off the soap box.

No stay on that soap box boyo! Abandoned pets are heartwrenching. There’s a special place in heaven for abandoned pets. Even cats.

[ninemm]

I was within seconds of shooting a dog once. A woman was walking three dogs (each on a leash) down my street. I was sitting on my front porch drinking coffee and reading the paper with one of my cats beside me on a mat. One of the dogs broke away from the woman and was headed straight toward my cat. I reached inside the door to get my shotgun. The dog had my cat cornered right next to my front door and made a run at him and seemed almost to have his mouth on him when it (the dog) let out a whelp and took off down the street. In about two seconds, my cat had inflicted multiple clawings about the dog's face, eyes and ears. I found out later that the dog got some serious infections from the scratches and eventually lost an eye as a result. I halfway expected to get sued but actually got a letter of apology from the dog's owner.

I still wonder how it would have turned out if I had shot the dog. While the whole scene seemed to play out in slow motion, it probably transpired in less than 10 seconds. I still remember trying to think through the trajectory of the shot, if I would get any ricochet off the Hardie siding that was behind the dog (I had the muzzle of the gun touching the dog's rib cage), how big a bloody mess it was going to make, if I would get sued/arrested, what my close neighbors would think, how much louder the dog walker (not the dog's owner) could scream, etc..

[smokindragon]

I used to ride the country back in the day, I road the whole stretch of 917 from joshua to mansifeld and back and always came across dogs, but back then I had a long frame pump I used to use to hit them in the head. Now with the use of CO2 cartridges that would be hard to do

I think I would just carry my little NAA .22 along for that ride now-a-days, the noise alone would stop them.

Or maybe even an air horn ( the kind you take to a football game )

[Abraham]

I tried the air horn idea and found it startled them at first, but they quickly realize it's harmless and keep coming in my experience.

In fact, I've tried many different, harmless methods to deter dogs.

None worked.

Pepper spray, (with one notable exception) works.

The exception was a big, raw boned, unknown breed to me. He just coming after I hosed him. He caught me by surprise and was within biting distance and so I sprayed and turned on the afterburners, fortunately the wind was in my favor and away I went. I saw the pepper spray hit him in the eyes and it didn't deter him. Odd, how most dogs will shut down (including one very determined pitbull) with a blast of this stuff, but not "ole whatever it was".

[Abraham]

While I'm on a roll, I will also mention I've tried the kicking method. Couldn't perfect it. I very nearly crashed every time I gave this method a try. After recovering my foot from a mighty swing, I'd wobble and careen way out of control and once very nearly had a head on with a car. I must've looked like I'd gone completely insane to the driver.

I once got the inspiration to carry a heavy stick with me. My first swing at a charging dog not only missed completely, but again, the recovery effort had a Jerry Lewis look to it and my efforts to right myself almost produced a hernia...

As it is, the effort to pepper spray single/multiple dog attackers and not crash is daunting enough for me. That too takes practice to keep from going off the road or running into a tree or mailbox or whatever... believe me, the wind better be right too or you'd best not spray. Timing is everything...

[ninemm]

One of my neighbors is an avid cycler. He has an expandable stun gun (very high end cattle prod) he got from MIS Defense Products in Plano. He claims it will cure a dog of chasing a cyclist forever.

[Oldgringo]

I was within seconds of shooting a dog once. A woman was walking three dogs (each on a leash) down my street. I was sitting on my front porch drinking coffee and reading the paper with one of my cats beside me on a mat. One of the dogs broke away from the woman and was headed straight toward my cat. I reached inside the door to get my shotgun. The dog had my cat cornered right next to my front door and made a run at him and seemed almost to have his mouth on him when it (the dog) let out a whelp and took off down the street. In about two seconds, my cat had inflicted multiple clawings about the dog's face, eyes and ears. I found out later that the dog got some serious infections from the scratches and eventually lost an eye as a result. I halfway expected to get sued but actually got a letter of apology from the dog's owner.

I still wonder how it would have turned out if I had shot the dog. While the whole scene seemed to play out in slow motion, it probably transpired in less than 10 seconds. I still remember trying to think through the trajectory of the shot, if I would get any ricochet off the Hardie siding that was behind the dog (I had the muzzle of the gun touching the dog's rib cage), how big a bloody mess it was going to make, if I would get sued/arrested, what my close neighbors would think, how much louder the dog walker (not the dog's owner) could scream, etc..

Your post raises a question. We no longer have a dog, our precious little Mindy is waiting for us at The Rainbow Bridge.

We do have our third cat and this cat, like her predecessors, does not go outside without being on a leash/harness arrangement. How come it's alright to let cats roam free but dogs have leash laws?

[ninemm]

The same laws that apply to dogs applies to cats in Dallas and most cities. I believe that a cat owner who lets his cat roam free is irresponsible. I also believe that people who have their cats de-clawed are ignorant POS's. There are some inherent disadvantages for a dog that roams free. The number of people who feel threatened by a dog (even a very friendly dog who just wants to play) compared to a cat are like a million to one. Cats cover their droppings (but still make a flower bed smelly). One of my cats is a stray that was caught by animal control in Cedar Hill (I adopted him from the Tri-City shelter). So they do get picked up. But it's much easier for animal control to catch a dog. More than half the time, the dog will come to them. A house cat allowed to roam is very susceptible to being picked up here. A feral cat always has to be trapped. If the cat escapes the trap (manages to get out as the trap door drops), it will never ever be caught because they are too smart to ever go near anything like that again. One of my cats will not go outside even if I left the door wide open. The other one, if she does get out when the door is open, freezes up about three feet outside and I scoop her up.

[kirock7]

We no longer have a dog, our precious little Mindy is waiting for us at The Rainbow Bridge.
--- Clipped

If anyone reading this hasn't ever heard of the Rainbow Bridge and you're an animal lover, please Google it up. If you've ever lost a special pet, you'll understand the emotional affect this poem can potentially have.
Sorry for the highjack.
Now back to the thread...

[ninemm]

I'll say this. If you've lost a "special pet", you're probably not the kind of person who would let a dog roam free or drop off an unwanted puppy, dog, kitten or cat on a deserted rural road. If you had a pet and it wasn't special to you, please don't get another one. It isn't so much the animal as it is the owner. If you have a pet now and you are ambivalent towards it, you should try to find it a new home and not get another one. Not everyone is cut out to be a pet owner.

[TDDude]

One of my neighbors is an avid cycler. He has an expandable stun gun (very high end cattle prod) he got from MIS Defense Products in Plano. He claims it will cure a dog of chasing a cyclist forever.

This sounds like the best idea. I used to use cattle prods back in the day and they did hurt. I don't know what it would do to a dog though or even if a big dog would notice.

[KC5AV]

One of my neighbors is an avid cycler. He has an expandable stun gun (very high end cattle prod) he got from MIS Defense Products in Plano. He claims it will cure a dog of chasing a cyclist forever.

This sounds like the best idea. I used to use cattle prods back in the day and they did hurt. I don't know what it would do to a dog though or even if a big dog would notice.

A dog would notice. Don't ask me how I know.

[Venus Pax]

I can't comment on the why-let-your-dog-roam-free issue, but I do have a free-roaming cat.

When we moved into our current house, we decided that the big kitty (20 pounder) could no longer stay indoors without supervision. He had a bad habit of urinating on our things (MAJOR problem IMO), and getting into our cabinets and taking things out. Since we have a fenced back yard, he goes in the back during the daytime, and into the garage at night. I thought that he was too heavy to jump or climb the fence, and too fat to crawl under it. I discovered from another neighbor, who also has a daytime free-roaming cat, that they both leave the fence at about 9am each day and head for the greenbelt across the street. (I think they're smoking catnip out there, but I can't prove it.) He seems happier. When I do let him inside, he doesn't urinate on my things or pull things out of my cabinets. (He does still open them up and rummage through, however.)

Before having problems with big kitty, I always thought that letting an animal outside unattended was cruel. Now, I do it because it retains my property value, and he appears happy with the arrangement.

(Finding him another home was not an option. He's ten years old, he's irritable, and has some health problems. Also, how do you ask someone, "Can you take my cat? Oh, by the way, he likes to urinate on things. I hope that's not a problem.") KWIM?

I don't like free-roaming dogs either, especially the large variety. I guess people just don't want to fool with them.