http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=081_1350227803

Reminds me of a few run-ins I’ve had with dogs over the years.

S***, Scary situation !

dogs in packs are scary. don’t think we need a translation to understand that. if this ever happens, probably best to push on (slowly or they’ll chase) using bike as weapon? riding through is iffy too they go for your heels. handgun is what you need. or treats? hmm.

Better start a what handgun thread!

They were all wagging there tails FFS he should have just kept cycling.

i might not be great at reading dog body language but had an idea.. if you have a QR seatpost, pull that out and start swingin’! (“what seatpost to beat dogs with?” thread).

of course best idea is not to ride into a big pack of dogs, ‘cos almost any kind of dogs without an owner are going to go nuts if you do that.

A big non-event, the non-victim is big over-reacting flouncer. No dog came within 5 feet of him.

They were all wagging there tails FFS he should have just kept cycling.

Dogs often wagg there tail as a sighn of aggression, dont assume a waggy tail means a dog is happy.

Dogs often wagg there tail as a sighn of aggression

I don’t think so, a tail that’s as upright as possible and not moving is a sign of a ‘dominating’ dog. Bared teeth are also a sign of an unhappy dog, but not by default the pre-cursor for an attack – the dog might be more scared of you than vice-versa and this is their ‘back off’ sign. Waggy tails are happy/ excited. An excited dog could be mistaken for an aggressive dog by someone who is uncomfortable around dogs.This is all IMO obviously.

As a confident handler of aggressive dogs i stand by my advice.

what is the right way to act around out of control dogs then, if you suddenly find yourself too close? be dominant? ignore them? face them? hit them? try to phone 0118 999 881 999 119 7253? only ever had to deal with one at a time so far.

I was stalked/chased along a deserted beach in India by a pack of feral dogs. The chain on my decrepit rental bike had broken at just the wrong moment and I was miles from anywhere. I’m very experienced around dogs but this was genuinely threatening, not least because rabies is common there. The leader would dash in for attacks. Luckily I’d picked up two coconuts so I wanged them at just him – dissuade the top dog and the others won’t do much. It was a long walk.
In that video I think the dogs were excited rather than aggressive. But I agree that there were a lot of them. In a situation where there’s an excited dog or two I always stop riding, get off the bike and sometimes remove my glasses or helmet off, talk calmly and confidently to it and let the dog approach to check me out, which is all they usually want to do. I never approach the dog. 99 times out of a 100, once they’ve had a sniff, we all go on our merry way. If you’re not agitated – ie. shouting, kicking out etc – or fleeing, very few dogs will come up and sink their teeth into you. Of course, that 1 time out of 100 they’ll probably bite your face clean off.

what is the right way to act around out of control dogs then, if you suddenly find yourself too close? be dominant? ignore them? face them? hit them? try to phone 0118 999 881 999 119 7253? only ever had to deal with one at a time so far.

Well, stand still and calm, and don’t act like a total pussy would be a good start.

Should have just ridden through..

Yeah they were barking & yeah there was a lot of them..

But that was about it..

Personally I think the dogs were reacting to him!

Luckily I’d picked up two coconuts so I wanged them at just him – dissuade the top dog and the others won’t do much. It was a long walk.

Exactly this. Despite years of supposed evolution, in my long and varied experience with dogs (search my profile history if you must), dogs cannot understand stuff getting thrown at them. They don’t like it. They will back off.

Many accounts of cycling through India cite stone throwing incidents involving dogs this one for instance

The first thing I said to Mrs Removed upon watching this clip was, “why doesn’t he throw something at that big dog!”

I bet he was carrying a string of sausages.