Ducati Monster Forum

One of my friends was taken out by a dog a couple of weeks ago. He said when the dog came after him, he tried to kick it. The dog then tried to avoid being kicked and ran right in front of the bike, so his leg then acted like a kickstand. Really screwed his leg up.  He was only going about 15 or 20 mph.

Has a dog ever came after you?

Whats the best way to evade a dog or other creature ? 

I think gas it and go if you can.

In my MSF someone asked the same question.  The instructor said to drive slowly towards the dog and then throttle around him when you get close.  The idea was by kicking the dog you have a better chance of losing balance yourself.  (or scaring the dog into running in your path!)  Luckily, I haven't had a chance to put this advise to use.

+1 on that.  I wait until the dog gets to the side of me then gun it.  IF you take off while the dog is charging he may cut you off, and take you down.

I had a similar thing happen to me about a year ago, dog was coming towards me doing stupid dog stuff.  I was in 2nd gear driving in the neighborhood slow (I try to be nice to the neighbors)

When it was clear he was coming close, I clutched and revved the engine.  It scared the shit out of the dog and he turned tail and ran.

Depends on how loud your pipes are, mine are PFL at full throttle.

I didn't even go above 20-25 mph

Threadjack, sort of.

This thread made me think about watching my dog. He would always run to the street and chase cars but never leave the yard, they say it's a territory thing why they do it, chasing stuff away and all. Anyway, he never actually ran at the car, he calculated in his head the intercept point and ran there, it was a really big yard. I spent several years teaching people how to plot intercepts on maneuvering boards and rapid radar plot and it was a pain and a lot of them never really grasped the concept, yet my dog did it all in his head without thinking. Must be a hunting thing left over from being a wolf.

End threadjack.

So maybe the best thing to do is to let them figure your course and speed and plot the intercept then alter your speed dramatically so they cannot achieve intercept.

Is that a really fancy way of saying speed up a whole lot?

+1
No FHE, but that's what MSF instructors say.  Drive slowly towards the dog (to get the dog to commit to a path) then swerve away from the dog and gun it.

General consensus is to slow down then speed up again. The change in speed will throw off the dog's natural ability to intercept your path.

Best explanation.  [thumbsup]

The guy I bought my first motorcycle from lived on a farm in rural Wisconsin.  He was big into bikes and owned several.  He also had a huge f'ng rottweiler that hated bikes and would always chase them and try to bite the rear tire off.  So one of the first things this newly minted squid learned was how to shake the dog in pursuit.  Slow down until they commit to their line of approach and then gun it.    It's like Billy D's Colt 45 - Works everytime.  [beer]

Thats what my MSF instructer said as well

I thought dogs would only chase you on the side,that's what my MSF instructor told us,so he said keep it in straight line and speed up a bit.Umm...

Thats exactly what your are supposed todo it is a hunting instinct.  A lot of predatory animals do the same thing all the time just watch some animal planet!

Exactly, this also works on a Snowmobile!!!!  (First hand experience).

Why are snowmobiles chasing you on your motorcycle?

I had a friend who rode over a couch on the LA freeway, on his motorcycle.  When he saw that he was going to hit it, he leaned back and opened the throttle.  Landed unhurt, made a great story to tell over beer.

Probably wouldn't work as well for dogs.

I hate the little 2 stroke snowmobiles they are ankle biters

I have had one or two, just gunned it and never looked back. I may have even knicked one with once. Te scariest dog incident I have come across was when I came around a corner on a twisty in full speed and one was  standing in the middle of the road, causing a sideways skid and near wipe out

Been there done that. It was as scary as shit but it worked! I wanted to turn the dog into... [bacon]


Yeah I wanted to use that bacon smiley.  [thumbsup]

the  [bacon] smiley is pretty cool

I have been knocked off twice by dogs in Thailand , they kill an average of 800 people a year in Bike accidents in thailand .

I have tried several different techniques slowing, etc dodging , noise. once i just got of the bike and cut the dogs throat.

I have been harrased by dogs while riding my snowmobile.  The noise doesn't seem to bother them at all.  I just slow down, let them close the gap, adjust their angle more directly at me and then wack the throttle.

Maybe not the best idea in every situations, but most dogs are only chasing you because you're a fast moving object and their hunting instinct kicks in.  On a couple of occasions I've just stopped the bike (left it running and in gear) and they just kinda sat there and then lost interest and wandered off.  Granted, sometimes that's not really an option at speed, but in residential neighborhoods it seems to work wonders. 

this is good .......... and you've tested this; and it works every time? .... LOL; and if ti doesn't work; theres even less time to gun it! [popcorn]

I have noticed dogs seem to go barking nuts with the Ducati exaust note all on  a leash so far, (and turned some hot chicks heads too.) ;D

Alright Bono, that's enough out of you.  I tend to gauge it on the apparent temperament of the dog and my temperament at the time.  Yeah, it works, but I don't really mind dogs.  It's one of those crazy "healthy" fears I guess I forgot to develop as a kid