Broke a rule....

[jamisjockey]

No, not a real rule. One of my rules.

Always have a gun (when legal)

Backstory:
I like to bicycle for fitness and fun. Yes, spandex and everything. In 2005 I was bit by a dog while road biking in the suburbs in Utah. Loose family pet took a chunk out of my sitting muscle. Ouch.
Since then, I carry a Kel-Tec P3AT in a fanny pack on most rides. I say most, because once I know a route I usually don't carry unless there are dogs.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
Well, lately I've been getting in shape. Yes, round counts as a shape. The little missus insinuated sunday night that I was achieving that status. So, feeling quite like I might need to get into a less round shape I grabbed the bike for the first time in 4 weeks and headed out yesterday.
Took a quick route through some semi-rural areas near Fresno. Pretty much a figure 8 from my house.
Sure enough, I hear a woof over the sound of my panting. Look over my shoulder and see a dog on an interept course. Full missle lock. But, with fence in the way, I figure on completing the mission intact. No gate. NO GATE? Crap.
Too close for missles, going to guns.
I drag my extra girth out of the saddle and sprint. 20. 22. 24. 25. 26. 27 and holding. My body begins to rebel and I can feel the last hundred Shiner's trying to find their way out of my fat cells. Not good.
So the dog is one of those black and white Sheep dogs. You know, the ones that are real smart. Like smarter than most of the members of Congress. He does a quick caluclation in his head that his intercept speed and my current velocity aren't going to allow him to remove a portion of the gristle in my kiester, and subsequently he backs down.
I put my body back into coast, hoping my heart rate comes back from "jackhammer" and I don't puke up lunch. Sure enough, more dogs. These ones are the little white fluffy ones, the ones if you kick 'em hard enough some Latino will yell "gggoooooaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!". These ones, though, are in the street. In front of me. Okay, fine, probably no need to bust a cap in the little buggers. A few harsh words get them scurrying back to the trailer they crawled out from under.

Moral of the story?
Had any of them been a large dog, like say the 110 pound ridgeback mix that thought my hind quarters were a chew toy, well, that may have been an issue.

Always
carry
a
gun.

[JJVP]

I would not be shooting dogs just because they are coming after my bike. Get a bottle of pepper spray to get rid of those pesky dogs rather than shoot them. Just get off the bike, use the bike as a barrier between you and the dog and spray the sucker with the pepper spray. Start shooting at dogs and you could get in a heap of trouble. Plus the dog owner might have a gun of his own and might shoot back for you killing his dog. Just my $0.02

[Aggie_engr]

Plus the dog owner might have a gun of his own and might shoot back for you killing his dog. Just my $0.02

Leash law???

[C-dub]

Plus the dog owner might have a gun of his own and might shoot back for you killing his dog. Just my $0.02

Leash law???

The dogs don't know they're supposed to be on leashes and they owners don't care in many rural areas.

[Aggie_engr]

I am just saying it would seem that if someone feels so passionate about their animal to shoot a human defending him/herself that they would take proper precautions in keeping their animal from suffering the inevitable fate of roaming the open roads. Just my opinion and certainly not needed to be taken as gospel.

Edited to add that I do agree with the pepper spray as an intial method of defense mentioned above over the use of a firearm.

[Aggie_engr]

I would not be shooting dogs just because they are coming after my bike.

Being bitten and just chasing your bike are two different things. I believe the point that the op was trying to stress was in the event that he was attacked, again, he did not have his firearm for protection.

[chasfm11]

I, too, have been bitten while bike riding. I normally ride 3 times a week, 12 miles per ride and try to get it done in 55 minutes. I was watching a guy with about a 65lb Doberman on a retractable leash and thought I had gotten by. That dog went from 30ft on one side of the owner, past the owner another 20 feet towards me, grabbing my right calf, drawing a reasonable amount of blood through a pair of sweat pants. Even if I had had a gun with me, there is no way that I could have outdrawn that dog.

After he bit me, I almost got into an altercation with the owner who refused to identify himself.

Note to self: Never, ever ride without a cellphone with a camera again.

I have mixed feelings about shooting the dog after it has bitten me. According to the Town, I'd be at fault, even though the animal has shown a willingness to take a piece of my flesh (I did report the incident and talked with an animal control officer who tried to find the animal). I also doubt that I would have been effective with pepper spray or maybe even bear spray. It happened too quick.

My strategy now is that if I see a dog, even a leashed that looks like trouble (and I knew the Doberman was but it looked like I had a enough distance), I slow down enough that I can get off and put my bike between us. I've had to do that in the past week with a pit bull mix.

I'm a dog lover and a dog owner. I have zero time for irresponsible owners. When you cannot control your dog on a leash you are holding, you are way beyond irresponsible in my book. We won't even talk about the ones where the dog is off leash and pays no attention to the owner.

[Pawpaw]

When I was a kid with a paper route, I had occasional trouble with dogs. My solution was to take 4 strips of rawhide and braid one end to make a handle. I left about 3 feet of loose ends and cut them at an angle. I kept that hanging on my bike for ready access. I burned a few dogs with it and not one of them showed any willingness to try me again.

Add pepper spray & a pistol to that and you've got all the bases covered.

Oh and I'm glad you kept all of your hide in tact this time.

[philip964]

I would carry pepper spray, no offense, but shoot my dog and I might decide my life for yours would be a fair trade.

I hope you don't take offense about what I have said, but I care a great deal about my dog.

[chasfm11]

I would carry pepper spray, no offense, but shoot my dog and I might decide my life for yours would be a fair trade.

I hope you don't take offense about what I have said, but I care a great deal about my dog.

..and I suspect that you would not be one of those who allowed your dog to bite someone who was just passing by. I love my dogs, too, but it is my responsibility to control them. There is absolutely no excuse for someone who has a dog out in public that will be bite and not having the owner control it.

This isn't about dogs...it is about owners.

[jamisjockey]

I'm sorry, but nowhere in my post did I advocate shooting a dog for running loose. I'm really, really not sure how you read that into my post, and I'm really, really trying not to be incensed.

What I did advocate is being prepared in case of a dog attack.

Oh, and as for the pepper spray....

Ever try to deploy it from a bicycle moving at 20mph? I was in a group bike ride once, when a dog came hauling out at us. Some bright girl at the front of the pack whipped out her spray and tried to hose the dog down. It was more effective against the riders in her draft than the dog, who was more interested in racing than biting anyways.

I would carry pepper spray, no offense, but shoot my dog and I might decide my life for yours would be a fair trade.

I hope you don't take offense about what I have said, but I care a great deal about my dog.

What, would you advocate I just lie there while your dog tears me apart?

If your dog attacks or attempts to attack me, I will do just that. Unknot your fruit of the looms and keep your dog on your property or on a leash. Menacing and attacking dogs will be dealt with accordingly. Menacing or attacking owners, well then, I do carry a spare magazine for a reason.

I have been attacked by a dog and it is not a pleasant experience.


I would not have outdrawn the dog that attacked me. But if I had been armed and the attack continued, I'd have been able to defend myself.

My experience is the little dogs go after the bike. They are a hazard because they can cause the rider to crash.
Larger dogs, however, go for the rider. I've had plenty snapping at my heels.

[pbwalker]

What, would you advocate I just lie there while your dog tears me apart?

If your dog attacks or attempts to attack me, I will do just that. Unknot your fruit of the looms and keep your dog on your property or on a leash. Menacing and attacking dogs will be dealt with accordingly. Menacing or attacking owners, well then, I do carry a spare magazine for a reason.

Well said. Owners who do not control their animals are just as bad, if not worse than the animal itself. I have an extreme hatred for those kinds of people. I've had dogs come after me before and have had to put a size 12 across its face, only to have the owner decide to be all "tough" and flap his gums about some nonsense. I would have no qualms about shooting a dog who has attacked me or my family. If the owner wants to "bow up"...well, like you said, spare mags are there for a reason.

And really...if your (in the general sense) dog were to attack me and I defend myself, only to be shot by the owner...well, you may have shot me, but you're going to jail.

I own two dogs and love them like family. But they are MY RESPONSIBILITY! Not the streets or neighborhoods. If my dog were to attack you (she's a lab, so it's not likely...but still) and you had to shoot, I would apologize for my mistake and offer you the $$ it cost you in SD ammo.

ETA: Just to keep it on topic, carry a gun next time.

[philip964]

I'm just saying shoot my dog and you better be ready to shoot me.

Those of you thinking that shooting a man's dog is a wise move, better think again. You would be better off shooting the owner first then the dog.

[Pawpaw]

If you don't care about them enough to control them, you're just blowing smoke.

[E.Marquez]

I'm just saying shoot my dog and you better be ready to shoot me.

.

I agree 100%..
If you allow your dog to attack a human, I am fully prepared to treat both dog and owner as a threat, and shoot to stop the threat if needed... human or dog.

So

better be ready to shoot me

Rodger...CHECK...

You would be better off shooting the owner first then the dog

Nope that would be wrong... unless I witnessed the owner send the dog in for the attack....then

better be ready to shoot me

Rodger...CHECK

I would much prefer owners control there pets.. I do.. and have put down my own dog once when it went nuts and bit a human for no apparent reason.
I love my dogs,, care for yours, and no one will need to stop the threat from you or them.