When I first started bikepacking, I was scared of everything. I hated riding at night, was always concerned about being too far from a hotel or hostel, and spent most of my day worrying. One fear that did take me a very long time to get my head around was wild dogs bikepacking.

After having a few chase me on trips and seeing some YouTube videos of packs chasing down cyclists as a group, it was something that really scared me, and it did many people. 

I was lucky enough to have a lot of experience with aggressive dogs and found the perfect, foolproof way to deal with them. In this article, I’m going to be telling you exactly how. We will be discussing:

• Understanding Territorial Canine Behaviour Dogs While Bikepacking
• Does The Dog Want To Play Or Bite? Dogs While Bikepacking
• Our Step By Step Guide On Dealing With Aggressive Dogs
• What Should I Do If I Get Bitten By A Dog While Bikepacking?

Understanding Territorial Canine Behaviour Dogs While Bikepacking

Before we get into telling you how to protect yourself from an aggressive wild dog, it’s important to understand canine behavior when it comes to their territory. Most dogs don’t mind people and are very friendly in their territory.

The first point to mention is that dogs are very territorial, and this doesn’t come just from how they might have been brought up but from their ancestral pack behavior. Many years ago, they had to be like this to survive and protect their pack.

Their territory could be a house, a part of a road, or even a yard or driveway. They see it as their own and are often marked by smells from their urine or feces. They are not just protecting their space but are also known for resource guarding, such as toys and food. Stray dogs and loose dogs are very good at resource guarding.

Dogs are very intelligent when it comes to their territory and will not only scare intruders off, but they will also patrol the perimeter to ensure nothing is trying to sneak into their space. When people approach, they can be very friendly, send a warning, or be incredibly aggressive. 

It’s important to understand dogs are not often aggressive unless they are protecting something. They wouldn’t waste their energy on you without a reason to. It’s extremely rare for a dog to be malicious and want to bite someone for no reason. 

If you want to learn more about bikepacking check out Long Distance Cycling Benefits and When Bikepacking, What Muscles Are Used?

Does The Dog Want To Play Or Bite? Dogs While Bikepacking

Dogs can be very social animals and, at the same time, very anti-social. It is vital to understand the difference between a dog that wants you to come and say hello and a dog that wants to push you out of its territory.

When Does A Dog Want To Play?

• Dog Bows And Lowers Front End
• Raises It Rear And Often Wags Its Tail
• May Bark But In A Lighter Nicer Tone
• Often Will Jump Up And Down

When you come up to a dog, and it runs up to you and bows, more than likely, it’s ready for play. It’s telling you that it’s friendly and just looking for some attention. If the tail is wagging and the dog is jumping around, it likely just wants fun. 

At this point, you can feel pretty safe to pop your hand out and say hello. It will either sniff or lick you to say hello and tell you it’s friendly. This is more so the behavior of a trained dog who has spent a lot of time around humans. Street dogs also are known for being friendly to get food.

When Does A Dog Want To Attack?

• Snarling, Snapping, And Lunging
• Raised Hackles (Hair On The Rear Of The Spine)
• Rigid Body And A Still Tail
• Showing Teeth And Growling Alongside Barking

When a dog is going to be aggressive, you will soon notice. They will generally start by going completely rigid, and the hackles will go straight up and stay very still. This is them on guard, trying to work out if you are a friend or a foe. 

If they think you are a foe and you start to approach them closer, they will spring into action and start snarling, snapping, and lunging towards you. To really scare you off, they will start showing their teeth and growling, ready to bite. If that fails dog chases might happen. 

Our Step By Step Guide On Dealing With Aggressive Dogs While Bikepacking

Now for the exciting part. Here, we will tell you how to deal with an aggressive dog or, in fact, any dog while backpacking or on a bike in general. It’s good to learn now before you have dog encounters so you know what to do.

Key Points Of Advice Dogs While Bikepacking

• Never, Ever, Harm A Dog
• Understand You Are In Its Territory
• Never Use Anything Like Pepper Spray Or Bear Spray
• Treat The Dog With Respect
• Be Fearless!

Step 1

Assess The Situation

The first step is to assess the situation. Not all dogs are out there to bite you, some want to know who you are and why you’re coming into their territory. It would be best if you started by slowing down and looking for signs of a friendly or aggressive dog. If you have other cyclists with you it’s important to warn them as quickly as possible. 

Step 2
Slow Down Consider Jumping Off

Now, you will need to approach the dog on your way to go past. Here, I recommend slowing down and unclipping. Slowly take yourself past and keep eye-to-eye contact with the dog. Try not to stop or be scared, be slow but confident, they can sense fear, don’t be scared.

At this point, it will either go one of two ways. The dog will either walk away or it might come closer to try and scare you off. If it comes closer, I recommend jumping off the bike and putting it between you and the dog in case of dog attacks.

Can I Ride Away Fast?

You can opt for another approach and try to ride away fast, but I wouldn’t personally recommend this unless you are on a big descent with no other cars or people around. Unfortunately, it works most of the time but comes with a lot of unnecessary risk. 

Firstly, if the dog catches you on the bike, it will just bite your leg. Not only does this heavily risk you getting bitten, but you might also hurt the dog with the rear wheel or your foot. Stopping and protecting yourself when a chasing dog is doing 20 mph behind you is very difficult.

Secondly, if you go down this route, you also risk the dog running into traffic or the dog running and biting another person. Running away winds the dog up, and it will do everything possible to get to you or another human. I try never to run as it’s too dangerous for you and the dog.

Step 3
Calm The Dog And Go Past

Now, it’s time to calm the dog down. I like to speak in a calming voice and treat the dog respectfully. Make slow movements in the direction you need to go, and don’t be scared to stop and stare it out for a few seconds to ensure authority. 

Never put your back to the dog, and always keep the bike in between you both while maintaining eye contact. With 99.9% of dogs, this will work, and you will be able to walk straight past and, when you are far enough away, jump on and continue riding.

What If The Dog Tries To Bite?

If the dog tries to bite you and is incredibly aggressive, you need to protect yourself with the bike and keep pushing it away. At this point, it’s time to raise your voice and start shouting. You have to assert dominance, and the best way to do this is by staying tall and shouting back. 

Then, shimmy yourself around using the bike as a shield until you get past and out of the dog’s territory. If it gets a bit much, you can spray some water out of your water bottle into its face, which often defuses the situation and they lose interest. 

Shepherd dogs which protect livestock are incredibly aggressive and it’s not that the dogs behaviors bad, it’s bred to attack and protect no matter what. If it needs to chase cyclists, it will. If you come across two dogs or three dogs, you need to protect yourself and get away as quickly as possible. 

Step 4
Ride Away

The final step is to ride away. When doing this, try to keep turning around and showing eye contact to ensure it doesn’t chase you and end up in a dog attack or getting caught up and harmed in the bike. Stay slow and also be ready to jump off the bike. 

The more you learn how to cycle around aggressive and wild dogs, the better you will be at it, and the more confident you will become. It’s about being fearless and going past them like they are not a threat to you.

I did a tour in Peru, which is known for very aggressive dogs. After many encounters with dogs, I became so confident that I could stop and stare at a dog, and it would back away. It’s important to understand that 80% is confidence, which comes with experience.

Only once in all my time as a cyclist has an attacking dog tried to actually bite me. All the other dogs have only tried to scare me out of their territory. They have not been a bad dog just protecting their pack and their goods.  

What Should I Do If I Get Bitten By A Dog While Bikepacking?

If you a dog bite while bikepacking, assessing the situation and seeking medical help quickly is important. Wild dogs and some tame dogs are full of nasty diseases like Rabies. 

A lot of people say it only matters if they draw blood, but that isn’t always the case. Diseases such as Rabies can be transferred through saliva, and even a dog licking you could leave you in a very bad place. 

I highly recommend, after any bite, to go and seek medical attention. Please do not wait until you are home, the sooner you are seen, the more chance you have of getting it fixed and avoiding getting very ill. 

I highly recommend getting all your jabs before going bikepacking to ensure that you can avoid getting ill from nasty diseases and also to ensure less treatment abroad if it does happen.

A Final Note Dogs While Bikepacking

Many dogs are lovely animals, but they can be your best friend or worst enemy. You have to be careful when bikepacking in certain countries because it’s much more common than you might think. It’s always important to remember never to harm a dog and understand you in their home. Know you know how to deal with Dogs While Bikepacking.

If you enjoyed this article you will also like 10 Top Tips For Budget Bikepacking, Bikepacking Bags Everything You Need To Know, and Do You Need A Bike Fit For Bikepacking.

Author

Authored by Robbie Ferri, a distinguished Ultra Cyclist hailing from the United Kingdom. With profound expertise not only in cycling but also in the art of bike construction and collaboration with prominent industry-leading brands.

www.ridingwithrobbie.com
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