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flechero wrote:also to clarify- those of us saying don't stop, aren't necessarily saying to shoot.

If you shoot, shoot to stop.

When my Brother in law, Joe, was a teenager, he was riding his ten speed going down a road where a Great Dane lives. He was always scared of the dog ironically named "Tiny". One day, as he is riding past Tiny sees him and comes running. Joe was in top gear and pedaling as fast as he can and Tiny just matches his speed and, to Joe's horror, gets really close. At that point, as Joe is about to freak out, Tiny lays his head in his lap, wanting to be scratched. Finally Joe pulls over and Tiny is so happy to have some attention. They were best buds after that.

barstoolguru wrote:if you just stop the dog will stop, all they are looking for is a chase; be big and show some kindness.

My neighbor feeds our dogs when we are out of town, knows them well. When he is in his car/truck... he's fair game.
When the ups truck comes, they will lay down and wait. Once the engine starts, the truce is over.

Don't draw if you don't have to. You didn't have to.

Spending this week in PA visiting wifes family, I kinda like PA law on the matter.

Dog Attacks: It is legal to kill a dog that is pursuing or attacking a pet, a domesticated animal, or human. - Title 3, Chapter 8, Article V, Subsection 459-501. It is also legal to kill any dog that is chasing or attacking big game(turkey, bear, elk, deer) - Title 34, Chapter 23, Subchapter E, Section 2385

Jaguar wrote:When my Brother in law, Joe, was a teenager, he was riding his ten speed going down a road where a Great Dane lives. He was always scared of the dog ironically named "Tiny". One day, as he is riding past Tiny sees him and comes running. Joe was in top gear and pedaling as fast as he can and Tiny just matches his speed and, to Joe's horror, gets really close. At that point, as Joe is about to freak out, Tiny lays his head in his lap, wanting to be scratched. Finally Joe pulls over and Tiny is so happy to have some attention. They were best buds after that.

As the owner of a Dane...I can tell you, that's pretty much standard fare for a Dane...at least the ones I've dealt with.

I've dealt with a few dogs while running backroads on the motorcycle...quick maneuvering is really the best...focus on riding more than anything. Losing focus can cause bad things to happen.

Someone brought up carrying a can of pepper spray that sounds like a great idea. Cheap, inexpensive and I am sure a good teaching tool. Remember when and if you shoot that bullet had to go somewhere

barstoolguru wrote:Someone brought up carrying a can of pepper spray that sounds like a great idea. Cheap, inexpensive and I am sure a good teaching tool. Remember when and if you shoot that bullet had to go somewhere

I race sailboats, including model sailboats, so I'm acutely aware of wind direction. It is just a natural thing for me to sense. In most of the dog attacks against me recently, the wind was blowing, sometimes stoutly, from the dog to me. Had I tried pepper spray under those conditions, I likely would have sprayed myself, not the dog. In each attack, I was regretting not having bought a pepper spray canister and mounting it where it would be instantly available. I realized how useless the pepper spray would have been in stopping the attacks.

I work very, very hard at situational awareness when I ride. Even so, I've had dogs come from seemingly nowhere and be very close to me within a few seconds. The dog that bite me hardest (about a 60lb female Doberman) went from 30 feet on the other side of her owner (the end of a retractable leash), past him and another 20 feet to me to end up tearing into my calf in about 2 seconds. There was no chance for me to have sprayed her to stop the attack unless I had been carrying the canister in my hand - hard to do on any kind of a two wheeled setup.
My lesson learned from that is to never talk my eyes off of a younger dog no matter how far away they are. Another dog ran over a 1/4 mile to attack me. I have serious reservations about the ability of pepper spray to thwart that level of intent.

chasfm11 wrote:

barstoolguru wrote:Someone brought up carrying a can of pepper spray that sounds like a great idea. Cheap, inexpensive and I am sure a good teaching tool. Remember when and if you shoot that bullet had to go somewhere

I race sailboats, including model sailboats, so I'm acutely aware of wind direction. It is just a natural thing for me to sense. In most of the dog attacks against me recently, the wind was blowing, sometimes stoutly, from the dog to me. Had I tried pepper spray under those conditions, I likely would have sprayed myself, not the dog. In each attack, I was regretting not having bought a pepper spray canister and mounting it where it would be instantly available. I realized how useless the pepper spray would have been in stopping the attacks.

I work very, very hard at situational awareness when I ride. Even so, I've had dogs come from seemingly nowhere and be very close to me within a few seconds. The dog that bite me hardest (about a 60lb female Doberman) went from 30 feet on the other side of her owner (the end of a retractable leash), past him and another 20 feet to me to end up tearing into my calf in about 2 seconds. There was no chance for me to have sprayed her to stop the attack unless I had been carrying the canister in my hand - hard to do on any kind of a two wheeled setup.
My lesson learned from that is to never talk my eyes off of a younger dog no matter how far away they are. Another dog ran over a 1/4 mile to attack me. I have serious reservations about the ability of pepper spray to thwart that level of intent.

I've been lucky enough not to have suffered your experience, but I can attest to how quickly a dog will come up on you and how far they'll pursue you. One dog chased me down for at least 1/4 mile, if not more, while I pedaled away as fast as I could. It was pretty scary to see that dog keep up right behind me for so long despite how fast I was trying to get away.

I use a belt clip, nylon type material, can holster. It's always clipped on my belt and very handy - I can have it in my hand ready to spray in a moment's notice.

I carry a 4 oz. spray can of of stream style Freeze +P. It contains both potent pepper and tear gas, won't injure, but will cause enough short duration, high intensity pain (and then dissipate to nothing) to turn away attackers.

I've learned that most attacking dogs can be quickly discouraged once they a face full, but not all...

I've also learned that you have to remain calm during an attack. Most especially if the wind isn't in your favor. Better not to spray until it is...and always spray below eye level. This requires a calm demeanor during an attack. Not easy, but doable. Make your spray count.

When under attack, I start out very quickly spraying above the dog's head in a Z pattern as trying to spray very precisely is like trying to shoot bullseyes and attempting such precision often ends in a miss. Many times, while facing forward, pedaling quickly, I've sprayed upside-down, (again in a Z pattern) not looking back, and connected. The attacking dog or dogs, as is often the case, quickly lose interest.

If, after the initial attack, the dog keeps attacking, I then try to be more precise in my aim for the eyes, nose, mouth - remembering to keep the can below eye level. All the while pedaling furiously to get away.

One dog tactic and one of the scariest is rather than chase you, they attempt to body block the front tire. If the wind is in your face you can't spray. This situation has only happened to me twice and both times I kept pedaling with as much speed and as much caution as circumstances would allow. I knew if I ran over the dog I'd probably crash and the dog would be all over me. Luck has been with me so far as eventually each dogs ultimately tired, quit the blocking tactic and dropped back parallel with me - at which time I sprayed them. Attack over.

Just in case I do spray myself, I carry decontamination wipes with me.

chasfm11 wrote:

barstoolguru wrote:Someone brought up carrying a can of pepper spray that sounds like a great idea. Cheap, inexpensive and I am sure a good teaching tool. Remember when and if you shoot that bullet had to go somewhere

I race sailboats, including model sailboats, so I'm acutely aware of wind direction. It is just a natural thing for me to sense. In most of the dog attacks against me recently, the wind was blowing, sometimes stoutly, from the dog to me. Had I tried pepper spray under those conditions, I likely would have sprayed myself, not the dog. In each attack, I was regretting not having bought a pepper spray canister and mounting it where it would be instantly available. I realized how useless the pepper spray would have been in stopping the attacks.

I work very, very hard at situational awareness when I ride. Even so, I've had dogs come from seemingly nowhere and be very close to me within a few seconds. The dog that bite me hardest (about a 60lb female Doberman) went from 30 feet on the other side of her owner (the end of a retractable leash), past him and another 20 feet to me to end up tearing into my calf in about 2 seconds. There was no chance for me to have sprayed her to stop the attack unless I had been carrying the canister in my hand - hard to do on any kind of a two wheeled setup.
My lesson learned from that is to never talk my eyes off of a younger dog no matter how far away they are. Another dog ran over a 1/4 mile to attack me. I have serious reservations about the ability of pepper spray to thwart that level of intent.

do you taste like chicken ..... ... I know how it feels. when I was a kid I got bit on the butt and couldn't sit for a week. now when someone talks getting their butt chewed I turn white with fear

Abraham wrote:...One dog tactic and one of the scariest is rather than chase you, they attempt to body block the front tire. If the wind is in your face you can't spray. This situation has only happened to me twice and both times I kept pedaling with as much speed and as much caution as circumstances would allow. I knew if I ran over the dog I'd probably crash and the dog would be all over me. Luck has been with me so far as eventually each dogs ultimately tired, quit the blocking tactic and dropped back parallel with me - at which time I sprayed them. Attack over.

Just in case I do spray myself, I carry decontamination wipes with me.

Yes, I hate it when they do the front tire body blocking. I'd rather be chased than have them do that. I haven't endo'ed yet, but when they do that, I always think I'm about to.

As for decontamination wipes, I've never heard of those. Are these specifically for pepper spray? If so, how well do they work and where do you get them? I probably could've used them when some got on my arm that time. Soap and water just didn't do the trick and had to wait out the sting.

tommyg wrote:threoh8 you are right I did a simple manuver to get away
from the dog then I used my cell phone to call the dog catcher.
... It is very dangerous to approach a strange animal and the dog was big

When I started riding in 1965 there was no such thing as a motorcycle class

I have been told that it is part of a motorcycle class to handle a dog chase the way I did it

I have never had any formal motorcycle training but I have been riding successfully for 47 years

I don't think there is a dog on earth that can out run my 1200cc sportster

but sometimes you can't out run a dog like approaching an intersection with a lot of on comming traffic or
a lot of loose gravel on the road
Then you have to fight the dog off no choice

I too have been riding since the 60's and never took a class until 4 years ago. My wife had decided to get her own bike so she signed up for the class. Then she started getting cold feet because she wouldn't know anyone (go figure). So I offered to take it with her. I must say, it taught me a few things and reminded me of some other things long forgotten. I am glad that I went.

What I am saying here is perhaps you should look into taking the class for a refresher course.

Regarding the class...don't forget the 10% insurance discount as an added bonus.

I bought my decontamination wipes from Defense Devices.com. It may also be Defensive Devices, it's been a few years...

They're sold (or were when I bought them) individually for $1.50 each and worth every penny. They're like moist towelettes. So wet in fact, that you can squeeze the solution contained in the towelette into your eyes if you need to.

According to the info printed on each package, it can take as much as seven minutes for pain relief effect, but in my experience (just once) using one was immediately relieving.

My seven year Granddaughter (at the time) and I were biking and out of a yard we were cycling past came an attacking Pit Bull. I sprayed him and he turned back. However, when I looked at my Granddaughter she was continuing to peddle, but was also quietly crying. I asked her what was wrong. I thought she was simply reacting to the fear of being attacked. She pointed with one finger just below her nose and told me it burned. I had gotten some over spray on her.

We quickly stopped, I dug out a decon. wipe and applied it to spot she pointed to. I thought it would take some time for it's effect to kick in, but she immediately stopped crying and started smiling.

I asked her if the pain was gone and brightly replied YES!

My guess is if it had been a full blasting spray contact the seven minutes to work scenario would have come into play, but it was just a little over spray - so we got lucky with the time it took to relieve.

Abraham wrote:I bought my decontamination wipes from Defense Devices.com. It may also be Defensive Devices, it's been a few years...

They're sold (or were when I bought them) individually for $1.50 each and worth every penny. They're like moist towelettes. So wet in fact, that you can squeeze the solution contained in the towelette into your eyes if you need to.

According to the info printed on each package, it can take as much as seven minutes for pain relief effect, but in my experience (just once) using one was immediately relieving.

My seven year Granddaughter (at the time) and I were biking and out of a yard we were cycling past came an attacking Pit Bull. I sprayed him and he turned back. However, when I looked at my Granddaughter she was continuing to peddle, but was also quietly crying. I asked her what was wrong. I thought she was simply reacting to the fear of being attacked. She pointed with one finger just below her nose and told me it burned. I had gotten some over spray on her.

We quickly stopped, I dug out a decon. wipe and applied it to spot she pointed to. I thought it would take some time for it's effect to kick in, but she immediately stopped crying and started smiling.

I asked her if the pain was gone and brightly replied YES!

My guess is if it had been a full blasting spray contact the seven minutes to work scenario would have come into play, but it was just a little over spray - so we got lucky with the time it took to relieve.

Thanks for your information. I just placed an order. Your story about your granddaughter reminded me again that I have the same problem and that fending dogs off of my granddaughter is a lot more difficult than protecting myself. I realize that if I overspray and get myself, it is going to be difficult to get to the decon wipes but at least having them might lesson the length of the discomfort.

Unlike my guns, I figure that I'm likely to have to use the spray within the next year. It is a miracle that the dog attacks that I've had so far have been when I'm riding alone. My granddaughter and I are riding more and further together. I'm figuring that increase our exposure to dog problems, no matter how careful I am about where we ride.