I think you are being snarky, with the joke about a bite suit
Yes Michael, I was, but if you're going to walk/ride around like a victim that was the only thing I could think of to protect you... entirely.
If you really want to understand this though, you've also got to realize that much of the culpability lies within you.
Yes, dogs do approach randomly. No one has asked them to or done anything to ask for or provoke it. Your paths crossed and you just happen to be the target that day.
Where I was going with that self defense is much like I look at encounters with opportunistic criminals. The ones that will choose their victims based on actions, outward appearance, body language, etc. You can choose to look and act like a victim or you can choose not to.
But until we become conscious of what our actions are telling these predators, we remain oblivious to why these things keep happening to us. I'm so innocent, why me, make it stop.
Unlike human predators, in most cases, dogs are simply doing what comes natural - what they've learned, got away with, is fun, etc, with what I believe to be, very little malicious intent, depending on how the interaction unfolds.
They may be "pressing" because their owners have always allowed them to approach people this way, never gave it another thought (yes, some very dense owners out there and the dogs have no choice but to learn from them).
Had this dog approached me, and Michael, I am a 5'4"1/2 woman, well 4 and 3/4 almost 5'5"
but no dog is going to back me up to my truck. And the last thing I'm going to do is put my hands straight in the air and stand there, hoping he understands that I don't want him near me, maybe even thinking he fully understands English as I utter nonsense, intensifying the situation.
If it's a more assertive approach, I'm not moving. I'm not going to act like prey, trust me, they know what to do with prey. I'm going to reach deep for a calm, confidence that the dog's going to get immediately. If they're barking, they're just trying to get me to run. I'm not buying.
And I could go on and on. They're dogs Michael. Hating them is not helping your situation. You need to learn to understand them. And even more important, you need to learn to understand what's triggering this hatred in you.
I totally get that you don't like being chased and having your day disrupted, but geeze a nasty encounter with bees or even a flat tire can make for a really bad day. There's danger and disruption around every corner and it's not always in the form of dogs.
How do you deal with these? I'm going to take a wild guess and say you take it as it comes. You eat good every day (yeah right, like we all do), you keep yourself in relatively good shape and mentally prepare yourself for what the day may have to offer. You have a picture of what your day should look like but how often does it really end up that way. It's how we deal with these bumps in the road that can make or break us.
An actual aggressive, attacking dog is an emergency. What do you do in an emergency? What's the hardest thing to do in an emergency? You remain calm.
You keep your wits about you and pull out all the knowledge you have about that particular situation. Fight and flight are not your best options here.
Know your "enemies". Understand what makes them tick and how to defeat them. Don't hate them (trust me, they don't hate you). It's simply an encounter for them as it should be to you. What do you do in these encounters. Each dog is going to be just a little different. What will remain the same is you, your knowledge base and how to deal with it.
Your goal is to walk away unscathed. Not frustrated, not mad, not scared and certainly not bitten. Confidence in your ability to handle dogs wisely and controlling your emotions will get you a lot further in these situations than any target practice.
Michael, I ramble and I could go on forever in all kinds of directions but it’s late and I’m going to stop now.
I just wanted to add though that I think your advocacy is to be commended. I think you could do both the dog and bike world a lot of good. Bottom line, as I'm sure you've heard loud and clear is that it's not the dogs you need to be talking to (most don't understand anyway), it's the people that should be controlling those dogs.
If you want to direct that anger at something, please let it be the irresponsible owners, not the animals who, believe it or not, are really just as innocent in this as you are.
I'm glad you're here.
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