What should you do if your dog is attacked?

Cardinal_Fang
Sat, 12 Oct 2013 09:52:09 +0000

The problem with dogs approaching me when I’m cycling is that, even if they are not the kind of dogs who bite (and I don’t know that, and small dogs can give dangerous bites) they can make me crash if they run under my wheels. In another thread you can read about the injuries a cyclist gets when the front wheel is suddenly taken out from under them: the kid got a broken jaw, stitches on the face, broken wrist and broken finger. That’s what happens in that kind of crash even if I’m going slowly (and why should I be forced to go 5 mph on the road, anyway?). Also, getting tangled in the leash could make me crash, and with a 15 foot leash you’ve made a 30 foot circle that I can’t go in without risking tangling the leash. I’m really not a fan of dogs on 15 foot leashes.

When some damn dog comes running up to me and the owner says, “Oh, he’s friendly,” I’m tempted to snarl, “Well I’m not,” and give the dog a faceful of pepper spray. (But I don’t; I don’t even carry pepper spray.) Dog owners overestimate how much other people like to be accosted by strange dogs. He’s your precious snowflake, but he’s my dangerous menace.