Dogs

[Blodwyn Pig]

Are dogs more or less likely to chase , bite , a recumbent rider, or the odds the same as any other bike?

[Kim]

I've not noticed a particular difference in dog behaviour towards me.  It's not like horses.

Being low down might put something more delicate than your ankle in range of the psycho yappy ones.

If they chase, it can be difficult to see where they've gone, as they naturally hang in your blind spot.

I collided with a dog that leapt out from behind a van on a country lane recently (I had no idea there was an uncontrolled dog around).  Was thankful for the chainring guard, though probably not as much as the dog.

[Auntie Helen]

I think they chase more, but as I’m enclosed in a velomobile and faster than them that’s ok, although I tend to stop to allow the owner to collect their dog (I love dogs so no problem for me).

What I love is the facial expressions on dogs as you cruise past, sometimes eye level with them, and they have no clue what you are. Labradors are the best for looking totally nonplussed.

[ElyDave]

The little yappy dogs stay small and yappy, as AH says labradors an red setters remain confused. The only ones that have scared the sh!t out of me were a German shepherd that reached the end of its chain about two feet from me, and the great Dane that came rocketing out of a farmyard at head height from my right. He did not give chase, but stood on the lawn bellowing at me. That's on a regular route for me, but not seen before or since.

[Kim]

the great Dane that came rocketing out of a farmyard at head height from my right. He did not give chase, but stood on the lawn bellowing at me.

I've been twitchy about them doing that since the muntjac turned out not to be a dog, tried to jump over my bike, and didn't quite make it.

[Mr Larrington]

A bunch of us once passed a woman obligingly holding her hound by the collar somewhere in darkest Flanders.  Alas she cried "Havoc!" and let slip the dog of Whatever a little prematurely i.e. before the Tail-End Charlie had passed.  I do not know whether the furry fellow was merely being inquisitive but he ended up getting a bunch of fives on the end of his snout as this Unit attempted to fend off his unwanted attentions.  There is probably a Belgian farmer's wife who now thinks all recumbentistas are violent dog-hating bastards who should be zip-tied to their machines and flung into the canal.

[ElyDave]

the great Dane that came rocketing out of a farmyard at head height from my right. He did not give chase, but stood on the lawn bellowing at me.

I've been twitchy about them doing that since the muntjac turned out not to be a dog, tried to jump over my bike, and didn't quite make it.

Oh yes! Had that as well, heading rapidly downhill in MON in the Galloway forest, roe deer jumps out the hedge bside me and skitters alongside for about 100yds, before disappearing left. I was not looking forward to it turning right

[mzjo]

The only time i have managed to scare a dog was on an upright tandem. the stoker didn't even have to unclip the pump (advantage of a proper old-school pump rather than the modern telescopic stuff; CO2 cartridge would be not much use unless it was fitted to an airgun).
The one animal that has scared me and that I definitely would not want to meet on a bike, recumbent or not, is a wild boar. I came across a bunch of juveniles ("marcassins") running in a ditch alongside a main road when I was in a car and they still terrified me because they are very unpredictable and exceedingly solid if you hit one being a bit erratic in his behaviour.

[Tigerbiten]

I've found that horses are roughly 80/20 if they're scared/not and dogs are roughly 20/80.
Deer always run away, cattle are variable and sheep don't care.

The worst dog attack I've suffered while on tour was an alsatian type that snapped its tether and then hit my loaded trailer hard enough to lift a wheel off the ground.
I didn't go back to see how the dog was ......... 

[Karla]

Yebbut Tigerbiten, how does that compare to your experience with tigers?

[Tigerbiten]

If a dog attacks you then it's trying to do damage.
My tiger was just playing ........ 
If I had got my hand out of its mouth in the first 30 seconds or so, I probably wouldn't even have a hole in my hand.
I just never got my hand out ...... 

[Nelson Longflap]

The one animal that has scared me and that I definitely would not want to meet on a bike, recumbent or not, is a wild boar.

Seconded! I turned down a quiet road in French woodland. An adult wild boar standing in the middle of the road seemed to be saying "come and have a go if you think you're hard enough" ... 

I U-turned back to the main road.

[tonycollinet]

My experience of dogs is either they go hide behind owner, or they think I am the most amazing thing they've ever seen. Ever seen a dog dance with excitement? I have! 

[nobby]

I'd rather meet an aggressive or otherwise idiot dog on the trike because I've always found that I am at the right height for dealing with it.
The sharp command, "F off" with frightened waving of arms has worked so far.
On an upright the same actions have resulted in me falling off and the dog stopping to snigger.

[Cudzoziemiec]

The one animal that has scared me and that I definitely would not want to meet on a bike, recumbent or not, is a wild boar.

Seconded! I turned down a quiet road in French woodland. An adult wild boar standing in the middle of the road seemed to be saying "come and have a go if you think you're hard enough" ... 

I U-turned back to the main road.

I've only once seen wild boar. That was in a forest (on foot) at dusk. I suddenly noticed a family of them staring at me from 10 or 20m. They looked at me, I looked at them, they concluded I wasn't intending to eat them or particularly edible myself, so they returned to grubbing up roots.

[Lightning Phil]

I find dogs usually get confused when I’m on the recumbent.  So they’ll bark as you approach then just have this odd look on their face as you cruise past.