Follow-Ups to Answer from Expert Harry Peterson

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Mike Wood wrote at 2006-09-27 10:31:30
I' m not sure I entirely agree with Harry's advice. For years I have encountered dogs chasing me on bikes. The first line of defence is to shout a warning to the dog like "go home" or "get out of it". But if the dog gets too close and is behaving as if it will attack tyres or legs, the best form of defence (in my experience) is to unclip while in motion and give the dog a kick in the teeth. That is enough to deter all but the biggest animals - momentum undoubtedly helps (for which the "stop, put your bike between you and dog" strategy is probably most effective). Certainly dogs that attack people on bikes DESERVE a hoof, as indeed do their owners.

By the way Harry, you need a quick training in use of the apostrophe.

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Mark wrote at 2007-07-18 06:05:04
Dude-



The answer is sooooo simple.  Pepper spray.  A good canister of pepper spray with enough in it for some decent spray time will definately discourage any dog.  I carry a gun but that means you gotta pay lots of money for a license and a gun and what not.  Pepper spray is the best way to go.

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Brad Anderson wrote at 2009-10-09 20:42:18
The main issue for people being attacked by dogs, is when they are walking down the street. Dogs are highly territorial, and usually will ONLY attack when you are on their property, or their perceived property; the difference is like night and day. For example, I've chased dogs home because they were on the street, and the INSTANT they were on their own property, they turned around and stood their ground barking!

Therefore, it's important to know the context of the dog's "territory." If you're walking down one side of a street, the best thing is to simply cross to the OTHER side, and continue on; if the dog even then continues onto the street, then simply walk onto the property on the other side of the street, even if you're trespassing: a dog might see the street as "neutral territory," but once you cross it then they will IMMEDIATELY lose confidence. (If the property owner objects, simply explain that there's a dog after you, and ask them for help; by law, they can't prosecute or eject you while you're in danger.) Likewise, if there's no one on the property, you can stand your ground and pretend it's yours-- a dog will almost NEVER attack a person on what they perceive as the person's own property.



Most problems with dogs, come from the fact that people don't understand them, and assume that they are like street-gangs or ruthless predators: in almost all cases of dog-attacks, the dog is simply trying to protect its property against a perceived intruder; and so the solution is simply to remove this perception, by crossing the perceived "property-boundary" of the street or neighboring property. Again, a dog is only defending its territory, and so will stop once it perceives that the intruder has left, particularly if it goes onto the intruder's own property.

If you do move across the street onto the neighboring property, it's best to then stand back, plant your feet firmly like it's your property, and then point at the dog and shout "OUT" or "GO HOME!"

This will give the dog the impression that it's your property, and so he will be unwilling to go from the defender to the aggressor: again, dogs chiefly attack humans out of DEFENSIVE instincts-- NOT predatory ones. About the ONLY time that a dog attacks a person off of its property, is if there is no clear boundary, or if it's an area where large and dangerous breeds of dogs frequently roam unchecked. If this is the case, then it's best to carry some strong protection such as bear-mace, and maybe even a handgun (for worst-case scenarios).

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