Best way to deal with dogs threatening while biking?

[Mansell]

Most of the ideas on here are great if you don’t have a super aggressive alpha dog leading his pack.....otherwise they don’t work very well. When they come running out barking the first thing I do is stop immediately, this tends to confuse them. I dismount with the bike between me and them and shout, “Yuut!” Which means stop, sometimes work, mostly does not. I then mime picking up stones and throwing them.....that works sometimes.....next I throw stones at them, this usually drives them away. Don’t turn your back on them. The stones has worked except for a pack of little dogs when there wasn’t any stones around. I ended up hitting the ring leader with my U lock....that did the trick. If you are really concerned you can take a spray bottle with a mixture of water and liquid soap and spray their faces and eyes. They really don’t like that at all. I have been told that Thai owners don’t like you throwing stones at their dogs.....my response is do you want to pay for my Rabies injections  after your dog bites me? And that isn’t cheap as I got bit by a temple dog when I touched it....my bad! If you are hardcore I would suggest having a farang bring over a bear spray from the states that throws around 25 feet....but that may be illegal. Just don’t show it to anybody.

[Patong2021]

I see this  discussion every few months. Same  subject, same comments.

 

I suggest you cycle faster and all will be well.

 

 

 

[nickmondo]

so sick of it, I no longer ride outside here.

just ride inside on my bike, on a turbo and watch stuff on Eurosport Player.

not the same, but at least its exercise

[Mansell]

Read one time in America when the dog came running out and more or less attacking the guy, he just shot it and peddled away. Harsh, but stopped the attacker. 

[PatOngo]

1 hour ago, robertson468 said:

Okay, but the last Guy who tried that with my dogs ended up with a broken leg!

So, why don't you control the dog and keep it off the street???

[oobar]

23 hours ago, Eindhoven said:

I just get off the bike, sometimes until they calm down. Inconvenient of course. But once they are familiar with you, the nuisance with that pack should stop. But I'm a dog person, so I don't have any fear.

Dismounting also enables you to turn your bicycle into an effective weapon.   I was once attacked by an aggressive and determined big dog and had to ram him repeatedly with the front wheel before he got the message and gave up savaging the tire.  My father was a livelong quail hunter, so I grew up with dogs, having bred and raised hundreds in my lifetime.  Most dogs can sense the absence of fear (the same as sensing fear itself) in someone and tend to tone down their aggression.

[Pushbiker]

Cycled all over the world for a couple of years, including thailand for several months. I always hear the stories about chasing dogs. They either can smell your fear or you are doing something wrong. A dog is a hunter, so if you go faster, he will chase you. So just slow down or if this not helps, then even go towards him! I never got attacked by any dog and i never used any tool or weapon for protection.

[NoshowJones]

23 hours ago, Dagfinnur Traustason said:

Something really heavy and hard to throw at them.

A big stone works for me, I just love to hear the yelp when I hit them, getting revenge on any living creature that attacks me gives me a great feeling.

[Monkeyrobot]

Just slow down and throw them some snacks  you can get a bag of dog biscuits at Makro for jack <deleted> , they will soon be your friends .

[mickyr55]

5 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

The soi dogs are always hungry . Just carry some dry dog food in a small container , when they start chasing you , throw a handful to them . they will be too busy to pick that up to further annoy you ... and , if you take the same route often , after a while they recognize you and you will get tail wagging instead of barking when they spot you .

If you feed them they will forever become a nuisance because they want feeding really is not a good solution, I have a sonic alarm with flashing lights bought off Lazada for about 400Bht emits a high pitched sound inaudible to humans but dogs don't like it the flashing lights show them where the sounds coming from had it a couple of years now and it works easily fits into shirt pocket. 

[Thingamabob]

Just let them get to know you. It's that simple. Ignore the advice of the many animal haters you will see in these postings.

[Eindhoven]

1 hour ago, mickyr55 said:

If you feed them they will forever become a nuisance because they want feeding really is not a good solution, I have a sonic alarm with flashing lights bought off Lazada for about 400Bht emits a high pitched sound inaudible to humans but dogs don't like it the flashing lights show them where the sounds coming from had it a couple of years now and it works easily fits into shirt pocket. 

 

Nonsense, you just made that up. Feed them once and they know that you are friend and not foe. No more aggression. Like you and I, they just need to know who is who. Once you know someone is ok, you relax your guard.

I was shocked at one point to see a dog running alongside my motorbike. I stopped swiftly to deal with the issue and he jumped on the bike. He wanted to go for a ride. 

 

Dog people see it differently. Not to denigrate anyone who does not have similar experience. If you are cycling with clip-ons or a fixed wheel bike, then of course it's a bit of a nuisance.

But if you are often cycling the same ways every day, it makes sense to make friends.

 

I had the same issue in a temple that I used to walk through. Daytime I would give snacks every now and again. One night when walking through in the pitch dark, one dog starting barking and then the whole lot of the started barking. I couldn't see a thing.

 

So I just got down and ordered whoever was barking to come over...now . I heard paws running towards me and soon there were dogs all over me playing and having fun. They need to know; friend or foe.

[Harveyboy]

the scourge of this country .. vermin on every soi ..im a dog lover believe it or not but id see the whole of these soi dogs culled  im sick of having to carry a stick or large stone each time i walk down the to my condo ive  been bitten .. so has one of my kids ive seen families turning back to the condo afraid to go past them i know its not answering the question regarding being on a bike   but walking or riding on the streets get more dangerous each day and Thailand does nothing to help with the issue..  

[Eindhoven]

1 hour ago, Harveyboy said:

the scourge of this country .. vermin on every soi ..im a dog lover believe it or not but id see the whole of these soi dogs culled  im sick of having to carry a stick or large stone each time i walk down the to my condo ive  been bitten .. so has one of my kids ive seen families turning back to the condo afraid to go past them i know its not answering the question regarding being on a bike   but walking or riding on the streets get more dangerous each day and Thailand does nothing to help with the issue..  

 

Quote

im a dog lover believe it or not

 

 

I choose to not.

Dog lovers don't carry sticks or large stones. You are afraid. Fear is not love.

Conquer your fears instead of advocating murder because of them.

[Hanuman2547]

On 2/22/2021 at 10:00 PM, sagra said:

I take a long bike rides every day on some rural roads and through local villages. What is the consensus on the top 2 or 3 ways to repel or scare off dogs that are chasing and threatening you? Thanks for any suggestions offered.

I have found when out mtn biking that the best way to scare off the barking dogs that are in front of me is to veer aggressively at them.  This tends to scare them as now the object is coming after them.  In my experience, they have always run off.  Still barking, but not threatening me anymore.  Oh, and if riding in a group.  The dogs always go after the last person in the group.  

 

I haven't heard anyone mention the use of a dog whistle.  It emits a high pitched noise that humans don't hear but dogs do.  They don't like it.  From a distance it should repel dogs.  It shouldn't damage their hearing if it is short and not sustained and from a distance greater than 10 meters.  I've not tried one so I don't have any experience with one.  

 

When road biking I generally don't come across a lot of dogs but sometimes I do.  

[Hanuman2547]

Could this thread be cross posted to the Cycling in Thailand Forum?

[scubascuba3]

19 hours ago, TPI said:

A water pistol filled with water, shoot them in the face....total confusion, disraction...even works with dogs fighting each other!

How about a bottle filled with urine, the ultimate insult to a dog. 

 

Pratumnak area, dogs chase every day, generally it's just a warning, get from my turf and all that, although they like to chase my white cycling shoes. 

 

The suggestion to stop peddling isn't practical on a hill

Edited February 24, 2021 by scubascuba3

[shy coconut]

17 hours ago, robertson468 said:

Okay, but the last Guy who tried that with my dogs ended up with a broken leg!

How did your dog's manage to breaks his leg?

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, shy coconut said:

17 hours ago, robertson468 said:

Okay, but the last Guy who tried that with my dogs ended up with a broken leg!

How did your dog's manage to breaks his leg?

Obviously lay in the way of the bicycle wheel, causing the accident.

[Hanuman2547]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

 

The suggestion to stop peddling isn't practical on a hill

 

You might get away with it on a downhill.  Not so much on an uphill.  ????

[Tagged]

4 minutes ago, Hanuman2547 said:

You might get away with it on a downhill.  Not so much on an uphill.  ????

Then you buy an el bike ???? 

 

[Hanuman2547]

5 minutes ago, Tagged said:

Then you buy an el bike ???? 

I'm not ready for an e-bike yet

[Harveyboy]

16 hours ago, Eindhoven said:

 

 

 

I choose to not.

Dog lovers don't carry sticks or large stones. You are afraid. Fear is not love.

Conquer your fears instead of advocating murder because of them.

ive had dogs all my life i have no problems but these are  street vermin Try conquering yiu fear when you have a dozen flea bitten saliva dripping scuffy hounds at you heels  Please come show me ..as for carrying something to protect myself   as a lot of people do....i suppose carry a Budda and ask the lovely animals to let the Farang pass  ..have you visited the streets at night..You Should.. 

[Tagged]

Aggression against work 99,99% of the time, but if you meet the wrong handled dog, with a pitbull, amstaff bully breed in them, you are big time F....., they do not back down, they continue to move on forward, and because of you stupid s..... you will be bitten and attacked, and very well deserved since you could have let them sniff you out if you stopped, and thrusted they just warned you, and wanted to check you out. Padaling is triggering something in every dog or wolf, and as everyone else said, stop any movement, or stop completely and they will (most of them) back off. With the wrong dogs, aggression is a big mistake, but I guess I am talking to experts on dogs, who for sure know better. So it is waste of time and energy. 

 

I just say, most get what they ask for if trying to be stupid with the wrong dogs. Good luck

[Tagged]

1 minute ago, Harveyboy said:

ive had dogs all my life i have no problems but these are  street vermin Try conquering yiu fear when you have a dozen flea bitten saliva dripping scuffy hounds at you heels  Please come show me ..as for carrying something to protect myself   as a lot of people do....i suppose carry a Budda and ask the lovely animals to let the Farang pass  ..have you visited the streets at night..You Should.. 

there is places you should not walk where it is dogs or houmans packs, and it is just matter of location. If its outside your door, then you have to deal with your neighbour and your community you belong to, and they will in most cases make the problem dissapear. Most likely over the hilltop to the naighbouring village. Out of sight, out of mind. 

[Harveyboy]

9 minutes ago, Tagged said:

there is places you should not walk where it is dogs or houmans packs, and it is just matter of location. If its outside your door, then you have to deal with your neighbour and your community you belong to, and they will in most cases make the problem dissapear. Most likely over the hilltop to the naighbouring village. Out of sight, out of mind. 

im in a condo in a city the packs of dogs are outside the entrance ..exit only way out down the soi past these things as far as help from our Thai office staff here dont want to know ive even video of these packs ive taken from my balcony im talking about these dogs barking ..fighting..and blocking the soi to vehicles  still they don't want to know one of my kids was bitten also They dont give S...

[Tagged]

46 minutes ago, Harveyboy said:

im in a condo in a city the packs of dogs are outside the entrance ..exit only way out down the soi past these things as far as help from our Thai office staff here dont want to know ive even video of these packs ive taken from my balcony im talking about these dogs barking ..fighting..and blocking the soi to vehicles  still they don't want to know one of my kids was bitten also They dont give S...

It is sad and pitty it go so far sometimes, but my experiences have been different from yours, but not the condo staff who handled the dogs, they are mildly said useless for everything than just sit on a chair and look stupid with a funny smile or grin on their face. 

 

[Andy from Kent]

 

 

Did anyone mention just pedal faster?  ????

[Harveyboy]

3 minutes ago, Tagged said:

It is sad and pitty it go so far sometimes, but my experiences have been different from yours, but not the condo staff who handled the dogs, they are mildly said useless for everything than just sit on a chair and look stupid with a funny smile or grin on their face. 

 

exactly  and its us paying for it ..i know being in a foreign country its up to us to learn a little of the hosts language .i have a little bit  but not enough conversational to explain the problem...with prob 90% of the clients here being foreign english speaking yet the office full of staff cant put a sentence together or don't want to .

[Eindhoven]

3 hours ago, Harveyboy said:

ive had dogs all my life i have no problems but these are  street vermin Try conquering yiu fear when you have a dozen flea bitten saliva dripping scuffy hounds at you heels  Please come show me ..as for carrying something to protect myself   as a lot of people do....i suppose carry a Budda and ask the lovely animals to let the Farang pass  ..have you visited the streets at night..You Should.. 

 

 

You need to step back a little. We don't all have the same state of mind. Your state of mind has dominion over your responses. 

I like to explore. So I will deliberately walk into communities where there are no foreigners to get a feel for life there. The communal dogs can come out in force. So I know something about having many dogs barking and threatening etc

But I don't panic. I show them that I am friend. Alpha always stays back and observes. Perhaps a puppy or younger dog will come closer to investigate. You allow them to do their thing whilst making reassuring noises. Don't try to touch them. Once the Alpha sees that you are no threat he will wonder off and the pack with him. There is often one lone dog that wants to keep up the noise, but the rest just ignore and get on with their lives.

Very rare that an Alpha will attack. They fight each other and are usually sensible enough to know their limitations.

Of course if you are aggressive and panicking, they might coordinate an attack. 

 

You state that you have had dogs all of your life, but you don't seem to understand them. Dogs and humans work together; of that there is no doubt. You just need to know how to behave around them, so that they understand what to do. 

 

Of course there are those who don't have warm human contact. Don't show fear, show compassion. They know.; even if they are afraid. Gain their trust. Life is richer when you don't see life around you as a negative.

I've met some super intelligent dogs in Thailand. They know. One dog at my local market would just come over to nuzzle and rest his head on my leg. I would have to sneak to the market quietly if I was busy and didn't have time to spend with him.

 

We just see life differently. If you had my experiences you might feel differently. But I won't say that you are wrong because it's genuinely the way that you feel.

I hope that you can have some positive experiences.

 

Edited February 25, 2021 by Eindhoven