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Original poster

Attacked by dog when cycling!!! What should/couldy I have done?

33 replies

Piffpaffpoff · 20/02/2013 22:55

So today, going past a park on a cycle path I got chased for about a 1/4 mile by a small dog that was snapping, barking and it actually managed to get a hold of my foot 2 or 3 times. There are teeth marks on my shoes!! I screamed at it, kicked out at it but nothing was making it stop. Eventually, it lost interest and ran away. I hung about and waited for the owner to come over (and to be fair, she did approach me). I was v calm and explained that her dog had bit my shoe and she should keep in under control in future. She said that it chased me because I continued to cycle and had I stopped, it too would have stopped. I said that that was unreasonable, she had a responsibility to keep it under control in a public space when other people were about and that other people may not be as reasonable about it as I was.

Anyway, my question is this - realistically what else could I have done? The dog was totally out of control, she was shouting on it the whole time it was chasing me and it never came. It was still running about barkng the whole time I waited to speak to her, spoke to her and then cycled off. Should I have called the police and reported it? But if I did, how do they/I identify the dog if they've left? How else could I have got rid of the dog? It was a really horrible experience and I want to know what else I could do if it happens again. Sad

OP posts:
Original poster
Piffpaffpoff · 21/02/2013 10:57

Thanks for the advice deepred and sorry to hear about your dog. I can see that you as the dog owner might be confident that it might stop if I stop but having had it bite my shoe three times already, I had less confidence that it would ease off!

Btw the dog was in the park on the other side of a 4ft stone wall about 200m from me when I went past on the cycle path so there was no need or requirement for me to alert them to my presence. I always ring my bell if walkers or dog walkers are in front of me on shared use paths and about 95% call their dogs and hold them as I pass.

OP posts:
NotADragonOfSoup · 21/02/2013 10:54

If a dog is a bike chaser, it should not be off the lead where there are likely to be bikes.

My dog is a "jumper" ie if he finds someone he will bounce at them enthusiastically to say hello. He is in no way aggressive when he does this. However, this is one reason he is always on the lead when walked and why I reel him in when I see other people and warn them he is a bouncer. (the other reason is that the little bugger refuses to come back if running free)

DeepRedBetty · 21/02/2013 10:42

I run a dogwalking agency.

IME some dogs will start to chase bikes, of those most will give up when called back, and those that don't will stop if the bike does. I usually call out something like 'hang on while I get him on the lead, otherwise he might follow you'. However, if the cyclist comes belting up behind without using a bell I might not have time to do this. I could conceive a situation where a dog has become so overexcited that it continues to bark and snap even when the bike is no longer moving but I've never seen it happen. If the owner was too far away to call to you to stop then the dog was too far from her to be under control.

Naturally if I've discovered a dog is a bike chaser then I take it where bikes aren't.

So advice for the future.

Make sure dog walkers know you're approaching, give them a chance to call their dog in.

If you are being chased, stop.

One of our family dogs turned out to be a bike chaser, a group of boys went past, he started in pursuit, we shouted please stop, but they ignored us.

Our dog must have just kept following until they got to the main road. He was killed instantly by a car.

Original poster
Piffpaffpoff · 21/02/2013 10:10

Thanks all. Not, yes an unreserved apology would have helped but it was definitely 'sorry, but.....'. I'm just so glad I didn't have the DCs with me, that's what's really pissing me off about it now - I'm a grown up and can rationalise it but if it had happened to a child, they would have been totally traumatised by it. Grrrr. Anyway, I'm away out on my bike again shortly so hopefully I will have a less eventful trip today!

OP posts:
NotADragonOfSoup · 21/02/2013 09:44

The dog owner was the unreasonable one.

Had you stopped, yes that dog may have stopped but equally another dog may have attacked you more. She should have apologised unreservedly.

Pan · 21/02/2013 09:42

Glad you're fine Piff. Someone else could have panicked and fallen off. For me it's the owner that should be kicked into the middle of next week. Arse.

Original poster
Piffpaffpoff · 21/02/2013 09:21

Thank Ilove, I'm fine apart from a very sore throat from all the shouting and screaming!

OP posts:
Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme · 20/02/2013 23:22

Bloody hell. Not much advice here I'm afraid but hope you're ok. Think you were very reasonable with the owner! She should have the bloody thing under a bit more control than that, anything could happen to it.

You were a lot more restrained than me, I've have kicked its arse all the way back to the park. I bloody hate horrible snappy little dogs.

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