There are loads of dogs on the Chase – very rarely on a lead – but a good 50% are well-trained and responsive.

The other 50% are sadly uncontrolled and it’s getting to the stage where I need some advice from people who know dogs

What’s the best thing to do or say to stop them when they’re heading straight for your front wheel or chasing you?

Depends on the breed.

Tiny toy rat types you can just run over, especially on a 29er.

Little yappy bastards I try to outrun on the basis that they are more likely to try to nip you if you stop.

Loveable rogues I stop and make a fuss. Or if their owner looks like they need some exercise, keep them chasing you until they are half a mile away.

Devil dogs I get off and try to use the bike as a shield or curl up in the foetal position.

Ignore them.

Most dogs have a chase reflex but they will literally do that, chase (and possibly bark) rather than chase and then attack.

Water bottles seem to be quite popular as close range deterrents although I find a proper bellowed ‘NO!’ gets the attention of both the dog and its owner.

disclosure:

I suspect I’ll be flamed for this but I have a dog that chases bikes. I taught him to do it so he’ll ride with me but he’s not very discriminatory and sometimes (not always) will tag along if a bike comes whilst we’re out walking. He’ll bark too as he’s excited (he loves running behind me on singletrack). He never gets closer than 3ft from a bike and will return quickly when called. If I get warning a bike’s coming I can call him to heel and hold his collar until the bike’s a few metres past us and he’s lost interest. So if you have a bell use it, if not slow down a bit and give the owners a chance to react.

Stop and do a quick charcoal drawing of said four legged thingy. It’s all they really want, a nice portrait.

Full disclosure, this is just a hunch, please report back.

there is no one (right/wrong) answer.

things that go through my head…

Does the dog look friendly or aggressive? If friendly, easy; stop and a big ‘ole ruffle of it’s coat and “good boys” all round…If it’s aggressive, can I out ride it? Probably, then do that. If not put bike between dog and me, and if time; find a stick to throw to hopefully distract it.

Owner, is he/she calling at the dog fruitlessly, (99% of the time this is Yes) and you can bet that the dog is ill trained, or most likely not at all, and see option one up there…

4 posts in and no suggestions of kicking it in the face?

Standards are slipping people!

Stop , look as big and scarey as possible and if need be grrr.

I’ve owned (and liked) dogs for most of my life but they are all different. Yes there are certain breed traits, but I wouldn’t even rely on that too much. Basically, when you are out and about you are at the mercy of the dog’s owner. Either to keep it under control or, if that fails, at least to give you some hint on how to react. To be fair, I meet a fair few on some trails but can’t remember the last time one was a problem. If it is wanting to chase then I’d stop, get off and if it looked friendly, interact with it. If not, I’d keep the bike between me and it, but either way I’d be looking to the owner to sort out the situation.

If it’s practical, get off the bike and stand next to it. Most dogs aren’t aggressive towards people, but they don’t recognise the concept of a person on a bike, either thinking it’s a threat or prey. Once they see you as a person on two legs, they will normally stop or become much more submissive/friendlier. At that point I just wheel the bike away a short distance, get back on at ride away at a slow pace.

<span style=”font-size: 12.8px;”>As above, a squirt with a water bottle will surprise them and cause them to back off or shouting “No”, “Stop”, “Down” will often do the same. </span>If you can’t stop, try your best to avoid them, but ultimately it’s the owners responsibility to control the dog and their fault anything happens to you or it.

Some tw@ will be along in a minute saying you should kick or punch it, but that’ll only make it more aggressive towards bikes in the future. Dogs are basically good (apart from Chihuahuas), treat them nice!

Childs toy water pistol in holster on handlebars. Fill with grapefruit juice (preferably freshly squeezed)  and squirt into the eyes of offending pooch. It wont hurt them permanently, but it’s like tear gas in the short term.

Then if the owner does nothing, or makes a fuss, do him in the eyes too.

It’s also a fabulous paint stripper, so keep that in mind if the owner has a car close by.

Mine will recall. But if we are in close proximity they’ll either ignore you or the big one will bark but with submissive body language showing how big and scary he is but also ready to turn tail. If you, as someone once did shout and swing a boot at him, the submissive body language goes as he now knows you’re a threat to his family. If you stop and ignore him he’ll either wander off or look for a pat and a biscuit.

As a disclaimer 99%of the time they’ll come straight back to me on command.

I think the best catch all answer is to stop and put the bike between you and the dog. The vast vast majority of dogs will not bite a still, calm human..a very small minority obviously do though, although I’ve never been bitten. A moving target is more likely to be nipped and those nips can be painful and harmful.

Depends on the dog.

If appearing friendly I’ll slow to a stop and say hello, offering a fisted hand for it to sniff (so it’s harder to bite). I’ll also remove glasses to show eyes and remove any other visual obstructions. I’ve met dogs that don’t like people in helmets too – every one is different. Slowing also defuses the chase instinct and stops the annoying whistle your spokes make while passing through the air that the dog can probably here.

If the dog is approaching fast I’ll raise and hand and yell ‘STOP!’. My Dad worked briefly as a binman in London and it was advice he got. It does sound daft, but it worked well while guiding in Spain and being approached fast by two large, barking sheepdogs. They kept a distance of 30-40m after that and kept barking, but kept away.

Owning a dog and a bike so looking at it from both sides i think it’s better to stop and see what the dog is like, most dogs just want to come over for a look and see what you are and as dogs like chasing things riding off just makes them chase after you which I appreciate can be a bit worrying sometimes.

Most of the time you can tell if a dog is aggressive by it’s body language, a couple years ago our dog got attacked by a short fat evil looking staffy (it resembled it’s owner!) You could tell it was hell bent on attacking something by the way it came running over and i had to kick the crap out of it for about a minute before the owner appeared and then offered to do the same to me.

Luckily our dog got away with just a badly cut mouth where he had been trying to bite back.

Dogs are basically good (apart from Chihuahuas),

I have 2 Chihuahuas and they are the friendliest dogs you could ever meet, they don’t however chase people on bikes as they are not interested in doing that (if there were I wouldn’t allow them to)

It is more the threat from bigger dogs that is a concern (the same uncontrolled dogs that are probably chasing you on your bike)

As for other dogs chasing me (which happens now and again) I just keep riding as I am faster than they are.

My old neighbour’s dogs (collie and terrier) would bolt out under the farm gate and chase me in a pretty savage manner every time I went by on the bike, had a few close ones with them nipping at my heels. The one day I shouted at them in the loudest gruffest voice I could muster, they crapped their pants and it was fine, and ever since I only had to say ‘oi’ and they’d bugger off.

Really depends on the dog. You can’t outrun anything bigger than a terrier, so I will always stop when confronted with other dogs that look like they will chase. I try and keep the bike between me and the dog. Big friendly mutts get a scrunched up hand to sniff & perhaps a back of neck tickle, then a firm “OFF!” to let them know I’m done. Small yappy type things, jewellery dogs and those rat type things I’ll wait until their irresponsible adult comes to retrieve.

If i’m out on my bike with my own dog: a proper ex-farm collie who has a HUGH herding instinct and always wants to play; then it’s a little different. Generally she’ll wade in & do the arse sniffing/spin around in circles thing. That’s usually enough to distract the hound that is in the way, I can then ride off & she’ll catch up after a whistle recall. Only the gangliest daftest lurchery boxxery drool box will outrun her over any distance, so I can leave her to deal with whatever it is & recall at my leisure from much further up the trail.

As for other dogs chasing me (which happens now and again) I just keep riding as I am faster than they are.

Tie a rabbit to your seat post and I bet you wouldnt out run my Lurcher!!

Bang your staff on the floor and shout “thou shall not pass!”. Then give it a tickle tum.

Tie a rabbit to your seat post and I bet you wouldnt out run my Lurcher!!

My Vizsla’s got up to 30mph according to Strava. I let him back in the car after that*

*joke! he was following me on my bike downhill

Tazer it

 offering a fisted hand for it to sniff

That’ll make its eyes water!

That’ll make its eyes water!

I feel the dog has a right to know what it’s potentially being sociable with.

😆

If the dogs looks and sounds friendly I just keep riding or slow down a little. But having been chased and bitten in the past, if the dogs barking and snarling then i just sprint to outrun it. Those dogs should be on leads.

Punch the owner in the sponge for having his animal off lead. Then bum his dog.

Depends on size of dog – mine is 1 year old and weighs 42.5Kg – but she is a soft lump that just wants to play. She looks rather frightening running towards you, but always(*) slows and then goes to a side.

* only once has she not stopped and my step-mum was flat on the ground.

I tend to ignore any dogs – I have a fear of them – convinced they are just waiting to pounce…so I never really see any running towards me.

+1 depends on the dog, and it’s attitude.

A big lab lolloping towards you is probably just coming to say hi even with a noisy bark. Angry snarling aggressive type dog needs more caution.

Generally though if it’s going to chase, I’ll stop and greet it. More for the owner’s sake often so they don’t have to run after it or potentially lose it.

Friendly hello and usually they’re disarmed and just sniff around. Rare I get aggressive ones and usually the owner comes to sort it out. Stay on bike or bike between myself and dog until it settles down.

Some I can tell aren’t going to do much and will see if it turns back once away from the owner after a short distance, then just ride on.

Am impressed by the number of owners who are good at distracting their dog when bikes come past. Find that a lot in the hills and woodlands. Less so on tow paths though where a few like to let them off the lead to jump in the canal, chase swans and don’t seem to care about all the other traffic on the path. The other one is pro dog walker types who just let them off the lead and stand around chatting, not bothered what they chase after.

You can’t outrun anything bigger than a terrier

Of course you can, dogs just don’t have the endurance.  I just ride along at 20mph while they struggle to keep up for long and are certainly not in a position to do anything other than just try and keep up.  They typically give up after 1/4 mile but sometimes go on for longer.  Gives their owner something to do when having to catch up/find them.

Its worthwhile to point out that a dog running towards you even if barking loudly isnt usually being aggressive.

As a first time (nearly 2yrs now) dog owner i took a long time to realise that I and most people dont speak fluent dog.

What i mean is ours is very well trained, chases/retrieves/find objects/ does all manner of tricks including tidying his toys into a basket etc. However if a bike passes when we are walking you would think hes a nutcase. He barks loudly strains to get across and then gets frustrated as he cant do so. SO much so people have often “judged” him with a “nice dog” comment before they carry on. Thinking they almost got savaged hadnt he been on a lead.

If a bike passes in the woods or fields and hes not leashed he will bark and run very very fast at the bike, when he gets there hes hell bent on saying hello and getting fussed. If you tried to pedal away thats great cos he can run for miles and the game lasts longer. However he will never run farther than eyesight from me/the wife.

If you stop he will usually try to wash your legs for you and clean the mud up (i think he likes the taste) before becoming disinterested and running back to me.

I used to get frustrated at him for not responding to my calls and think it was down to poor handling etc but i have come to accept that he just cannot control the urge to chase/investigate.

So i would say best thing to do if a dog runs at you is just stop for a moment, this gives the owner a chance to catch up/cuss the dog/apologise for him looking scary or loud and say hi before you both carry on with your fun.

And remember that a dog barking furiously could just be really really excited to say “hi im here lets play, i can run for miles”

Ok thanks folks some good advice

I’ve electrified my bike.

Rubber grips. (P)leather saddle. Tyres, obviously. So I’m safe.

Then I’ve strapped a rib-eye steak to my downtube.

Any dogs going for me are distracted by that then shoot off like a rocket when they come in to contact with the frame.

Max distance so far is around 5 metres into the brush. I’m sure there’s an equation for: mass of dog plus amperage of current through frame plus speed/angle of bike/canine upon contact.

Absolute best reason ever to buy an e-bike and one that is strangely never mentioned in reviews.

Get to know dog-psychology, you are more likely to be bitten by one that is not barking, bared teeth, ears and tails flat.  Usually ones that are barking, tails upright / wagging are simply up for the fun of the chase. In most cases its simply the fun of the chase and once you stop, they lose interest – stand still and don’t make eye-contact. Clearly, if aggressive, putting the bike between you and the dog puts a physical barrier in place.  Sadly, its mainly the owners at fault for letting their dogs off-lead with no control / recall – technically they’re at fault but you can try arguing your case but f’wits will be f’wits. One of my abiding dog chase memories was riding down a farm road in Galway after a long night in the pub and coming back with no lights – there was little light and all I could see was the flashing white of the knashing teeth as I attempted to sprint in the pitch-dark!

After being bitten recently I tend to stop and search for a massive rock or a humungus branch. I have used the bike as a defence and will continue to do the same.

Those dogs that are just intent on yapping I tend to carry on riding and not change course to miss them, considering those that are intent on biting I stop get off and do above.

And dogs don’t just chase bikes, I’ve been chased running in QECP too and had a proper altercation with a blob in a human suit. Ended up laughing in his fat face as I ran backwards as he waddled trying to catch me. Then took his car numberplate down and handed it to the warden.

TBH, in all the time and miles riding/running I’ve only had three proper “attacks” so that says something.

that a dog barking furiously could just be really really excited to say “hi im here lets play, i can run for miles

Reminds me of this!

Not making eye contact, not trying to stare down, not getting your teeth out and if scared of dogs, thinking of happy things instead and ignoring the dog are probably the best universal advice.  Sudden moves are generally a bad plan. If you’re already moving at a pace it’s probably best to continue but if slow then maybe stopping and being friendly and open without assuming you can handle the dog unless it invites you, show it your hand before reaching out to pet.  I’m assuming the ‘act big and threatening’ advice earlier was a joke.  Do that and you’re only escalating the situation.

All dogs are different, but almost no dogs see people as prey and so if ‘attacking’ will be responding to what they view as a threat/challenge.  They don’t read minds but they’re very good at scents and body language.  Fearful behaviour will likely be misinterpreted as threatening.  There are outliers here, some dogs include lurching drunks or people with abnormal gaits in this category but then the owner should be aware and the dog shouldn’t have so much freedom.  In the current weather, it’s possible the dog is not thinking straight and suffering mild heatstroke in which case the owner wants a thump, really.  Most dogs love salty sweat, which is more likely what they’re after if licking your legs than any mud.

Its not really a cut and dry situation.  There are dogs that shouldn’t be loose but there are also people who should stay clear of dogs.

In developing countries the universal remedy is to bend down and pick up a stone.

With open arms, and a winning smile?

It would be a lot simpler if dogs owners took responsibility for themselves and kept their animals on a lead. I know of several fenced off areas near me where dogs can roam, so there is no need for people to be so selfish.

slow down and wait for the owner to appologise