Doggies
A few of the states along our route have reputations. Kentucky is one of them. Cyclists passing us heading west were warning us miles upon miles back about the Kentucky dogs. Here if you have one dog you have three dogs. Some have been too tired or hot to care about our passing and others can’t wait for a new opportunity to stretch those legs. We had one stealthy dog laying under an old pickup parked right next to the road. He could see us coming but we didn’t see him. When we got right next to the pickup he jumped out and began the chase. Not too many have been aggressive, just very excited. Today we had a pair and the milder dog started barking and nipping at the aggressive one as if to chide him.
There are a few strategies to help deter the dogs.
1) Pointing – One rider explained that dogs don’t realize you are a human on a bike and so deserved to be chased down and investigated. Pointing at them helps them to recognize the human in you amongst all the gear. We like to use the pointing strategy coupled with yelling to get the dog’s attention.
2) Yelling – This is using a firm voice to say “go home” and adding anything else you deem more colorful. This works pretty good on the mild dogs that are just too happy you decided to roll by. The aggressive dogs have selective hearing and require an action based response.
3) Pepper spray – Neither Josh nor I have ever used pepper spray on dogs but we have heard stories from others who use it as a strategy. One girl said she only sprayed one dog on her ride through KY. Another guy, the aritecht, said he had been carrying the spray around for three years and never used it so he opted for dog treats instead. The reason we didn’t go for the spray is because it needs to be very easily accessible, either in your jersey pocket or in a side pouch on your handle bar bag. We don’t have a handle bar bag and we don’t like weight in our pockets unless it is edible. The other thing is that you can’t give a good direct spray while also trying to pedal. The spray is for the worst case scenario, when you are fully stopped and have your bike in between you and the dog.
4) Dog treats – After hearing the aritecht say he used treats we decided to try it. We hadn’t heard of that as a strategy before by anyone but if it works for the USPS drivers we figured we’d give it a shot. So today we tried it. However it wasn’t as effective as we hoped. We kept one treat in our jersey pocket and pulled it out every time we spotted a furry ball. We came up to one house with a more aggressive dog but found it hard to get him to realized there was a mini steak being offered. I had been hoping their sense of smell would over power their desire to chase but it didn’t. So we decided this strategy was also for only those times when you’re forced to get off your bike. With less going on they will hopefully take more notice of free food.
5) Water bottle spray – This is our favorite way to keep the dog at bay while we pedal out of its territory. First of all the water bottle is always accessible and being down wind from it isn’t an issue. When we’ve sprayed water at the dog it doesn’t even have to hit them for them to notice and give a bit more space. It doesn’t stop them in their tracks but they keep their distance. We are also able to keep biking as we spray them so we get out of their territory faster.
Between the yelling, pointing, and spraying we’re able to get by the dogs without any time lost.
A few of the states along our route have reputations. Kentucky is one of them. Cyclists passing us heading west were warning us miles upon miles back about the Kentucky dogs. Here if you have one dog you have three dogs. Some have been too tired or hot to care about our passing and others can’t wait for a new opportunity to stretch those legs. We had one stealthy dog laying under an old pickup parked right next to the road. He could see us coming but we didn’t see him. When we got right next to the pickup he jumped out and began the chase. Not too many have been aggressive, just very excited. Today we had a pair and the milder dog started barking and nipping at the aggressive one as if to chide him.
There are a few strategies to help deter the dogs.
1) Pointing – One rider explained that dogs don’t realize you are a human on a bike and so deserved to be chased down and investigated. Pointing at them helps them to recognize the human in you amongst all the gear. We like to use the pointing strategy coupled with yelling to get the dog’s attention.
2) Yelling – This is using a firm voice to say “go home” and adding anything else you deem more colorful. This works pretty good on the mild dogs that are just too happy you decided to roll by. The aggressive dogs have selective hearing and require an action based response.
3) Pepper spray – Neither Josh nor I have ever used pepper spray on dogs but we have heard stories from others who use it as a strategy. One girl said she only sprayed one dog on her ride through KY. Another guy, the aritecht, said he had been carrying the spray around for three years and never used it so he opted for dog treats instead. The reason we didn’t go for the spray is because it needs to be very easily accessible, either in your jersey pocket or in a side pouch on your handle bar bag. We don’t have a handle bar bag and we don’t like weight in our pockets unless it is edible. The other thing is that you can’t give a good direct spray while also trying to pedal. The spray is for the worst case scenario, when you are fully stopped and have your bike in between you and the dog.
4) Dog treats – After hearing the aritecht say he used treats we decided to try it. We hadn’t heard of that as a strategy before by anyone but if it works for the USPS drivers we figured we’d give it a shot. So today we tried it. However it wasn’t as effective as we hoped. We kept one treat in our jersey pocket and pulled it out every time we spotted a furry ball. We came up to one house with a more aggressive dog but found it hard to get him to realized there was a mini steak being offered. I had been hoping their sense of smell would over power their desire to chase but it didn’t. So we decided this strategy was also for only those times when you’re forced to get off your bike. With less going on they will hopefully take more notice of free food.
5) Water bottle spray – This is our favorite way to keep the dog at bay while we pedal out of its territory. First of all the water bottle is always accessible and being down wind from it isn’t an issue. When we’ve sprayed water at the dog it doesn’t even have to hit them for them to notice and give a bit more space. It doesn’t stop them in their tracks but they keep their distance. We are also able to keep biking as we spray them so we get out of their territory faster.
Between the yelling, pointing, and spraying we’re able to get by the dogs without any time lost.