I stopped riding because of a dog. When it was obvious that i couldnt out-pedal him, i got off my bike and kept it between us. A man in a nearby yard ran the dog off and i went about my way... opposite direction! Even though it scared the crap out of me, I don't think the dog wanted to bite me, just chase me. Now if i want to ride i have to take my bike to a biking trail... 25 miles away! AND because it's very deep into nature I wouldn't go by myself so DH has to be in a riding mood the same time as me.

Dogs, like children, can't pick the adults responsible to train and guide them to live in the world. If they could, many wouldn't choose to have who they're stuck with.

I might first try a water bottle and perhaps a loud air horn (as is used on boats, hand held but with compressed air can attached) before resorting to pepper spay.

I don't see a lot of those types of dogs when I'm out and about. I'm more concerned with alligators. There were some big ones chasing joggers on the trails near one of the bayous about a year ago.

I've been bitten on a bicycle before so I clearly understand your concern. When I first started reading your post and got the point, my first thought was a container of pepper spray. While, yes, there's other things that MIGHT work, pepper spray is probably the most likely TO work. You could carry a squirt bottle of ammonia, the air horn is a possibility but a squirt gun of water is going to do absolutely nothing so that's a waste of time. And ammonia could leak and cause you issues and probably is worse for the dog than pepper spray.

I'm an animal lover but I'm a total non-liker of irresponsible owners and too many dog owners just let their dogs run loose. Those are the owners who are way more likely to not vaccinate their dogs too so there's an additional concern where I wouldn't look for alternative methods that are less likely to work. And you certainly should not feel bad in the least for defending and protecting yourself. If you know who the owners are, it could be a courtesy to have a talk with them and express your concerns and alert them that there could be repercussions if they don't keep their dogs under control. It's better for the dog. However, again, those owners are generally not receptive to rational discussion so the likelihood of such a courtesy being successful is slim.

I hope the spray comes with a practice container so you can get used to using it.

Lucille, where did you order the pepper spray?

Lucille, I used to carry as Dog Dazer, where I used to live. Stops dogs in their tracks pretty good. Used it on a vicious German Shepard. Only thing is, you got to let the darn dog get close to you, for it to work. Check them out at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dog+dazer&sprefix=Dog+Dazer%2Caps%2C189&crid=307DT6BZ1XPLV

Spray can "backfire on you", aka, the wind has to be out of the right direction.

Moni

My experience has been that a good strong stream of water (NOT a mist!) from a spray bottle can be quite effective, but you have to get them in the face. They won't pay any attention to it on any other part of their body. No way I'd ever spray an animal with ammonia! And Moni is right about the wind and pepper spray. If your part of Texas (at least I think you live in Texas), is anywhere near as windy as my part, I'd give the pepper spray some serious second thoughts!

I sincerely hope you can get this problem worked out! I think it would be worth at least a try, if you know who the dog belongs to, to have a short, polite conversation with the owners.

I dearly love dogs, but NOT if they are barking and chasing me! !

Rusty

When my son was young, he was bicycling over to a friend's house and two dogs unknown to him got out of their fence. They tag-teamed him, and he fell off his bicycle and was bitten badly on one leg before a woman rushed out with a broom and chased the dogs off. Police were called, my husband was called and he took son to the hospital where he got seven stitches. The dogs were impounded, we never heard what happened with them. I suspect they were put down, but this was WAY back before it was common to keep folks informed.

When dogs are darting back and forth, and especially if more than one is involved, it would be hard (for me) to think quickly about doing this or that. I think the pepper spray is a good idea, just be sure to have it near your handlebars so easy to grab.

Eld, I ordered it on Amazon from the Mace company.

I agree with functionthenlook that water or an air horn is not going to dissuade a dog that has already decided to attack.

Moni good point about the wind direction.

Good luck with pepper spray. Spraying a dog and pointing it into the wind, and you're going to get a face full of it. A policeman friend says he'd rather be tasered over and over rather than experience pepper spray. The effects of pepper spray are lingering. You can get in the shower the next day after getting a face full the day before, and the hot steam will reactivate it all over again.

My lifelong fear and distrust of German Shepherds is a result of being knocked down by one while riding my bike past a neighbor's house. That dog came out of nowhere, no warning, no barking, no growling - just knocked me and my bike down and then stood over me snarling in my face with it's teeth bared. I was eight years old and terrified. I remember that as if it were yesterday, but I have no recollection of how I got away from the dog. I'm guessing the neighbor or another adult must have intervened.

Do what you have to do to protect yourself, Lucille.

Sephia, if one is aware of wind direction one makes sure the dog is downwind.

Do what you have to do to protect yourself, Lucille

Exactly. Sephia's police friend would use pepper spray in a heartbeat, methinks, it is like anything, it has to be used properly. I'm thinking Sephia's police friend carries a gun on duty, I bet he would be careful to use that correctly as well and not point it the wrong way.

I would rather get some back lash from the pepper spray than a dog ripping into me. More than likely the dog isn't going to be at you face level and the back spray will be less. I don't understand why people keep aggressive dogs anyway. When I was young (back when the dinosaurs roamed) if someone got a dog and it turned out to be aggressive it was put down.