Allow me to first say, I like dogs – nearly all dogs. I’ve owned a dog most of life. I am currently without but I think of getting one regularly – I miss the companionship.
With that out of the way, I DO NOT like being barked at while riding bike (or walking or any other time). Even less, I HATE being chased/threatened by dogs. I blame dog owners for the problems. These behaviors can be trained out of a dog. I know – I have done it – there is no use arguing about it.
I ride in rural areas so there are many dogs. I hear dogs barking a LOT. I even categorized the different types of dogs here. I get attacked pretty regularly – probably once per week – maybe more. The behavior of the Comedians and Sportsmen is very annoying. The behavior of the Nulls and Assassins is frightening and dangerous. I’ve flown thru more than one stop sign with a dog or two at my heels. Imagine getting whacked by a car whilst fleeing from a dog attack – nice.
For a year and half I’ve tried to find a reasonable dog deterrent. A few months ago a dog came at me from a ninety degree angle – directly from the side. The only thing that kept his teeth out of my leg was my fist impacting the side of his skull – the result of a lucky swing on my part. All this occurred with the owner standing there on the side of the road watching – no leash, in a public place. A violation of county ordinance. I know, rules are for OTHER people… I get that.
The dog “training spray” approach works but I hate the expense. A ten dollar can only lasts for a few weeks.
The home-grown spray bottle of diluted vinegar works. I hate the bulk and clumsiness of carrying a trigger-pump spray bottle – especially on long rides when both of my bottle cages are needed for drinks.
I’ve considered carrying a pistol after a few of the more frightening attacks. Yes, I would shoot those dogs – the ultimate deterrent. However; the bulk and weight of a firearm is downright annoying. Spending money on the lightest components for your bike only to toss on a 5 to 8 pound firearm – no thanks. A BB gun (air pistol) isn’t much better. Obviously, either of these could create major conflict with the dog owner. The type of conflict that I’d just assume avoid – never mind the fact that it was not me breaking the law and/or county ordinance.
So, I kept researching possibilities…
A few weeks ago I stumbled onto the Dog Dazer II. It is an electronic dog deterrent that uses sound – ultrasonic sound. I was a little skeptical but REALLY wanted to find a solution. I figured the device was worth a twenty-five dollar test so I ordered one from Amazon.
Click ahead a few weeks… the unit arrives.
For my daily ride, I picked a route on which AT LEAST a dozen dogs bark at me and occasionally attack.
Guess what!?!? Not a single bark for the entire ride! The Dazer must work! But wait… I had not actually used the unit. I mean, I never pressed the button – so that can’t be it. Pure luck, I guess.
I made a little sleeve using velcro strap around my bike’s stem to hold the Dazer. When I say I “made”, I mean I saw some velcro laying on the table and I stapped it onto my bike – it was far from a real design/manufacturing effort!! However; it actually works pretty well. The Dazer is easy to pull out and reasonably easy to slip back into place while riding.
The very next ride, opportunity presented itself. I came upon a medium size dog in a fenced yard that ALWAYS runs along the fence and barks. A tap of the button on the Dazer and the dog not only shutup but stopped running and darted the opposite direction! SUCCESS!! I liked what I saw.
Over the next week or so, I had many opportunities to use the Dazer. So far, it has worked in every situation. I have not yet had to deal with one of the truly frightening attack situations using the Dazer but I am hopeful that it will work in that situation as well.
I’ve noticed that the closer the dog and the less “stuff” between them and the Dazer the better. Fences, shrubs, etc… all minimize the effect. There is definitely a distance limit. I’ve tried it on a couple dogs that are a ways away (50′ or more) and there was no noticeable effect. That’s ok, my goal was not to quiet the entire county – just the dogs nipping at my heels!
One very nice benefit of the Dazer is that there is little no observable action by YOU, the rider. By this I mean that the owner of the dog (if nearby) does not see you hit the dog, spray something at it, or anything else. Thus, a conflict with the dog owner is much less likely.
So far I am very happy with the Dazer II.
Hi,
thanks for the review.
I am also cyclist (and programmer) and I am thinking of buying one Dog Dazer II Deterrent.
Are you still satisfied with yours? Would you recommend it to me?
Regards,
Nenad
Hi Nedad. I’m not sure exactly how I feel about it. When it works, it works. But when it doesn’t work, you have to quickly switch to plan B. There is really no way to tell on which dogs it is going to work but it seems that big dogs are the ones that are occasionally not affected. Those are the dogs I fear the most while cycling so I am not totally please with the Dog Dazer. Maybe it was me or the batteries that I was using or something… I dunno…
Thanks for the review! I feel your pain and have gone through three of the Halt! cans in about 4 years which work but then I have to get a new one after using it. My first time using the dog spray was while walking and the interaction with the owner was not pleasant…mostly I was so mad at people’s reaction when their dog is inches from me and get sprayed. I stumbled across this device online and thought it might be a nice first response/long distance deterant. I too would like something to stop the barking, especially the dogs that I am pretty sure are tied up or an invisibile fence but am never fully confident in those things and therefore am distracted whilst riding. I am thinking of still having the Halt! spray as a back up, since there are one or two dogs in one or two spots that LOVE to come charge out barking at full speed INTO the road causing me and my husband to veer into the road. I am glad to see this worked for you, I am not expecting it to stop the very determined dogs…I actually enjoy spraying them a little and hopefully teaching them to not chase wheeled moving things in the road. I’m now going to read your Bikes and Dogs break down and will be sharing your site with my dad, a big time biker. Thanks again!
Hi Sami! I agree – the behavior of dog owners can be pretty ridiculous. I have a riding buddy that got attacked by a dog owner because his dogs attacked my buddy (on a public road). I know, makes no sense. After the dog owner took a swing, my buddy clocked him. The police arrived shortly thereafter. The owner got arrested and fined, his dogs taken to the pound.
The Dog Dazer is far from the ‘perfect’ solution but it is a tool. I recently purchased a small dog training “whistle”. It was supposed to be ultrasonic but it is not. In any case, my thought was yet another tool – this one being very small and light. I have not yet had the opportunity to use it.
I’m not exactly sure what it says but I’ve been riding around Helena, MT this summer and have not had a single dog chase/attack me. This is an interesting comparison to New Mexico where it occurred at least once a week (if not more). Possibly a reflection on the quality of the dog owners??