Today I Thought I Was Dinner

This is a post I’ve been reluctant to write. The reason for this is because I don’t like how many blogs / cyclists have written about dogs and their experiences and I don’t want to add to the fear!

Before I started this trip the one thing I was afraid of was dogs! I even said this to the local paper who laughed down the phone – how can you cycle around the world and be scared mostly of dogs. Well because of scaremongering! What I should’ve said when asked what my biggest fear was, was cars! The only thing you really need to worry about on this trip are cars / careless drivers. That’s my experience so far.

Anyway, back to dogs…on the road you meet loads of dogs, countless numbers of dogs – strays mostly. We’ve encountered more than 50 without any doubts and I’m just referring to the ones you meet on the road. Not the dogs wondering around cities.

The sight of stray dogs for us started in roughly Albania and the numbers increased as we went further east. I’s worth noting we also cycled through an industrial estate and no lies, there were easily 30 dogs in one place and guess what happens when one starts barking, they all bark – they get hepped up. Nonetheless we still pacified them and this is how we do it:

🐶 We slow down on the approach and use this time to establish whether or not we’ve found ourselves a chaser
🐶 If the dog is a chaser, we get off the bike. Counter-intuitive but get off the bike. In almost all cases you will see a growling, chasing menace turn into a scaredy-cat the moment your foot is off that pedal. Walk a few metres and ALWAYS put your bike between you and the dog. This is important.
🐶 If you have a persistent chaser you will, at worst need to raise your arm, as if you’re going to throw something. In almost ALL cases and I mean, in almost all cases you will not need to cause any harm to the dog.
🐶 All dogs protect an area and it’s not usually very big! Honestly maybe 5 metres squared in most cases – he generally won’t leave his area to chase you!

I didn’t raise my arm to pretend to throw a stone until Georgia so almost 4 months & 4500miles/6000kms of blissful encounters.

Now, as you will learn on this road, or as you will already know there are different types of dogs out there.

💔 There are the strays – the strays who wonder wearily up and down the duel carriage ways looking for food. These guys don’t have it in them to chase – they’re tired and malnourished. They’re just a few bad days away from death. Seriously, it’s not a nice site. These are the poor pups who wag their tails in anticipation if you give them any attention, follow you if you have food and beg you for affection. These dogs are the heartbreakers.

🥾 Another type of stray is the too-big-for-his-boots type, he’s a bit crazy. He’s going to keep snarling but you can put him in his place with a swift movement of raised arm as I said above.

👿 And finally, the devil dog. This is the type of dog that we’ve come across twice and an extra savage one today.

This dog has been taken in by a person or area. This dog is fed – he has energy and his behaviour goes unpunished because he has been accepted into the human pack as a guard dog. However, no one takes responsibility for the dog. No one owns the dog. They simply feed it and the dog becomes territorial. This dog is a threat. A well fed dog is an energetic dog and a territorial dog is aggressive.

Stew and I met a devil dog today, the worst one so far. We both got off our bikes as normal but this dog would not let up! Snarling around Stew then coming to me, back to Stew etc.

Locals came out and started trying to chase it off, it would cower and come back savage!

This happened a few times.

Eventually the locals left us to it (no one has any responsibility for the dog). We started walking away slowly, he came back – he had me behind my bike and kept trying to get in. He wouldn’t leave and I couldn’t get on the bike because my back was in the direction I needed to move in.

He would’ve me bitten if I’d made the manoeuvre to escape. At a loss I threw stones to scare him off, well this backfired, he got even more savage! I was pulling the bike round so quick so defend myself I almost dropped it – if that happened I would’ve been defenceless (well after 4500 miles I’ve got some pretty epic kicking legs now.)

The locals came at it again with more gusto and we managed to get away!

Even after the locals managed to control it Stew and I still had to pedal for our lives as he came running! At that point we should’ve been at our safe zone! Devil dog!!

Honestly when you meet a dog like that I don’t know what to suggest. We were lucky and I hope you will be too! In all cases we’ve had help from local people and passers by who will do all they can to help you.

I would like to reiterate that this type of encounter has happened one and once only in 4 months. Dogs should not occupy your thoughts pre-touring like they did mine. They’re part of the parcel and the worst thing about dogs is the sadness in watching them starve and be lonely. It’s really not the chases. You get through it and you get over it. The sight of malnourished, breeding dogs will stick with you.

I laughed later anyway because I cycled very well after that dog chase and it just so happens Stew and I had barely eaten for 2 meals so thanks devil dog for a dose of adrenaline. 🖕🏼

Here are pictures of the heartbreakers.