Can a bike outrun a dog?
The experience has you wondering though… Can you outrun a dog on a bike? Yes, you can pedal fast enough on a bike to get away from an attacking dog.
Can a human outrun a dog? Elite human runners, however, can sustain speeds up to 6.5 meters per second. Even run-of-the-mill joggers typically do between 3.2 and 4.2 meters per second, which means they can outrun dogs at distances greater than two kilometers.
How To Avoid Contact With Dogs On Your Motorcycle
Having a pet is meant to be something that’s enjoyed. Unfortunately, not everyone trains their pets properly, even their dogs, which can result in a catastrophic situation for strangers and the dog itself.
Dogs chasing motorcycles is nothing new and unfortunately some owners don’t do anything about it. It can be a very scary situation if you’re the one being chased. It can lead to unpleasant confrontation with the owner.
Getting chased by a dog while riding is most common in residential neighborhoods, though it’s not unheard of to be chased on busier street. According to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, if a dog is chasing you from behind or you notice you will soon be encountering an aggressive dog that will attack, slow down your motorcycle.
Some dogs still don’t get the concept of what motorcycles are and will run right in front of the motorcycle tires. Slowing down can help you control such a situation.
If it looks like the dog is going to intercept with you, meaning you feel like the dog is going to bite either you or the motorcycle, speed up right before you feel interception will happen. This will throw off the dog’s timing and give you a head start if the dog decides to continue to pursue you.
If the dog seems aggressive, it may help if you’re far enough away to put your motorcycle in neutral and do a high rev. The loud sound has a good chance of scaring the dog away.
Avoid using that street again on future motorcycle rides. If it a road that you have to use frequently and you notice the dog(s) keep chasing you, you’ll need to have a discussion with the owner and request they keep their dogs locked up. If the owners still have done nothing to help with your situation, you have an obligation to call animal control.
While you are talking with the dog owner, make sure you are cordial but firm about your request. Report that if it is not resolved, that you will call animal control.
Talking with aggressive dog owners can be tricky. Some may take offense to what you are saying or may even find you threatening. If you have another encounter with their dog and their dog gets hurt, they may claim you threatened to hurt their dog when you came to talk with them.
If you are planning on talking to the owner, take a witness with you. Also have some sort of recording device with you in your pocket that records the conversation between you and the dog owner. If the dog gets hurt and the owner tries to come after you, you have a witness as well as a recording that will back you up.
Why Should You train Your Dog to Stop Chasing Bikers?
You know, upon preparing for this post and looking at resources, etc. I have seen over 300 bikers complaining about the same issue, dogs chasing them. And guess what, I have seen only FOUR articles written by trainers addressing the real problem of chasing bikers!
So that made me think. How are so many bikers complaining, and only a few owners are saying that their dogs have such a problem? Yes, you might say, because only stray dogs are chasing the bikers. However, our “trained dogs” are right on the leash and never go off-leash
So, I opened the forums yesterday and contacted a biker. I asked about his experience, and by the way, his name is Flavio, and he told me that he is a traveler around the world by his bike
He said to me that surprisingly, most of the dogs that chase him are Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and Bull Terriers. When I asked him if he ever experiences a stray dog running at him, he answered, “Well, sometimes I do. However, 98% of the dogs that chase me are people’s dogs, not stray dogs. Stray dogs stay away from the bike and the people. The street taught them how to deal with humans, which, surprisingly, what the brand dogs lack.”
And I was shocked to hear this. When I asked him how do dogs run at him when they are fastened to the owner by a leash, he answered: “Actually most of the time I see that dogs are too angry when they see me. Besides being on-leash, they grab their owners firmly and strongly until the owners just control, and the dog starts running as fast as he could to reach me. Another popular situation that I deal with daily is the dogs that are in backyards. Many people think that the dog in the backyard means that he will never be able to get out. In fact, most of the time, I see the dog jumping over the fence or destroying it to reach me whenever he hears the sound of a bike.”
Can you see how people are struggling? We want a happy life for ourselves, our dogs, and other people. It’s a full-side triangle that we can’t miss any of its sides.
That’s why I am here to help you to get over this problem as I did and I really advise you never to ignore this problem because you think that “It’s OK, the dog is with me on a leash, he can never run” Perhaps if he went off-leash, he could do a severe damage to someone. Thanks, Flavio, for the interview, and now let’s start discussing how to stop a dog from chasing bikers.
why do dogs chase motorcycles?
Chasing cars and bikes — basically anything that moves quickly — is instinctual for dogs. They are predators, after all. Chasing and “attacking” moving objects can be problematic and dangerous. And the longer that your pup has been chasing cars, the more rehearsed it becomes. Practice makes perfect! It becomes a habit, a perfected and deep-rooted behavior.
Clearly car-chasing puts your pooch at a great risk of getting injured and possibly killed. Additionally, it’s a liability. Swerving to avoid your dog may mean that the car ends up injuring the driver or others around them. The same goes for bike-riders or skateboarders: your dog or the rider could easily be injured.
Let’s discuss a few things to help Duke to stay safe and calm around moving vehicles.
The first thing to do is for Wheelie Woes to identify the reasons why Duke might be chasing wheels.
Different breeds have been bred for different traits. Some dogs have been specifically bred to herd other animals and that instinct can be very strong. Not only can instinct be strong, but also highly satisfying. It can be challenging for your dog to focus on anything else. Herding dogs also instinctively nip at the heels of the livestock, so your puppers may attempt to nip at the tires of cars or bikes. Though this may be more typical of herding breeds, it’s also not impossible for other breeds, like Duke who is a pitbull.
Wild-living dogs, like wolves and coyotes, hunt for food. Again, this behavior is instinctual. Hard-wired. Prey drive is a sequence of behaviors that, one started, can be very difficult to interrupt. The process starts off with stalking, it involves chasing, and ends in killing. This instinct will be stronger in some dogs than others and some parts of the sequence — like chasing — might be stronger than others — like killing. In fact, herding is a highly specialized version of the predatory sequence that’s all about stalking and chasing.
There are lots of reasons why moving things can be scary. Cars and ATVs, for example, are loud and unpredictable. Some dogs have been under exposed to these items during their critical socialization period (3 weeks to 16 weeks), predisposing them to becoming more fearful adults. A not too uncommon reaction to something scary is to chase it (lunge, bark, and bite). The best defense is a good offense, right?
Many dogs enjoy chasing a ball or a flirt pole. It’s a game. Playing chase can be inherently self-rewarding, and this might extend to cars, bikes and other objects that move as well. Dogs play and predatory behavior can often be linked.
It is important to keep in mind, punishment is not going to get us very far in this situation. We need to take proper precautions to make sure that the behavior isn’t practiced, and we need to teach our pups what we want them to do instead. An incompatible behavior. For example, if we teach our dog to sit when greeting people, sitting incompatible with jumping up.
Dogs who are fearful can also react in undesirable ways. Especially when restricted by a leash. Dogs who are fearful enter into a fight or flight mode. With no option to flee, they may become reactive. And it probably had worked! “I bark and chase and bite, and the bike leaves!”
For fear, we can use the same strategy listed above. The most important thing is that we pair the trigger with something good (a high value treat) so that his emotional response changes from something negative and panic-inducing, to something predictable and positive. By offering treats when the trigger is visible, we can make a positive association with the car (car = treats).
Ultimately, it comes down to good management to prevent rehearsal and teaching our dogs what we would like them to do instead. Instinctual, hard-wired behaviours can be a hard habit to break, but with consistency, we can make the world a safer place for them.