How to Avoid Being Bitten by a Dog While Riding an E-bike

The weather has warmed up and many people can’t wait to get out on their HiPEAK folding electric bikes for some trekking or exercise. In addition to some well-worn precautions, for those who like to go riding in the countryside and rural areas, they face a problem of being suddenly chased by dogs.

Most experienced riders know that there are often many residents or organizations in suburban and rural areas that keep a variety of dogs, often off leash, and sometimes even encounter packs of wild dogs. These dogs usually do not harm the local and nearby people, but they always show a different attack posture for the sudden intrusion of “outsiders”.

So, what to do in this situation? This article summarizes some ways to prevent dog attacks when riding an electric fat tire bike!

Reasons for dog bites

Everything has a cause before it has an effect. To know how to prevent being bitten by a dog, people must first understand clearly the cause of dog bites.

Protecting ourselves

Dogs also have emotions, if threatened, attacked, provoked, they will issue a warning, such as low moaning, etc.. At this point, if you continue to provoke them, the dog will make a bite behavior, which is a sense of self-protection.

In addition, for some long-term fear or lack of care of the dog, bite for them is also a self-protection awareness behavior.

Territorial awareness

Like many other animals, dogs are territorial animals, and it is their innate habit to mark their territory or make marks. If a stranger enters their territory, they will certainly make aggressive behavior, this is the dog’s instinct to protect the territory.

Protecting the host

Dogs are very loyal and protective animals, which is the reason why many people choose to have a dog. When they realize that their master is threatened or hurt by someone, they are easily angered and even make a bite.

Food protection

Food protection is an instinct that many animals have, and dogs are no exception. Many dogs are very sensitive to food, so never come forward to disturb or take away their food. Any animal that wants to get close to its food may suffer its attack to expel.

Protecting the pups

Female dogs are at their most maternal when they first give birth to their babies, and this is when their personalities become more sensitive and irritable. When they find someone close to their pups, they will show aggressive behavior, and sometimes even the owner can’t get close.

Rabies

Dogs can also become more irritable and aggressive when suffering from a disease, more typically rabies. Dogs suffering from rabies will be mentally abnormal and aggressive, even if the owner is close, they will be bitten!

Ways to prevent dog bites while riding an electric bicycle

After understanding the causes of dog bites, people can roughly deduce some of the ways to deal with it, the following is a number of riders summed up to prevent being bitten by dogs.

Stopping and stand still

Many riders instinctively accelerate when being chased by dogs. Although HiPEAK BONA can reach speeds of over 20 miles per hour with its powerful 750W motor and 48V battery, it cannot guarantee to outrun all dogs. Therefore, accelerating while riding is not an effective method. On one hand, continuing to ride may trigger a dog’s desire to chase and hunt, and once a dog’s chasing desire is aroused, it will not stop chasing unless it exhausts its energy or you ride too fast for it to catch up. On the other hand, continuous acceleration may also prevent riders from avoiding potential danger in time.

The better approach is to stop riding and avoid direct confrontation with the dog. When the dog pounces, use HiPEAK BONA as a barrier between you and the dog to prevent it from biting you, and then stay still! Why stay still? Because if you keep “moving” when the dog is exploring you from all directions, it will only prolong the dog’s interest. Therefore, the better approach is to stay still. Even if the dog circles around the rider and the bike, it will soon lose interest.

Walking away

If you accidentally enter a dog’s territory and it’s relatively close, it’s not advisable to immediately ride away. Instead, you can leave its “territory” by walking away slowly while speaking softly to the dog. As long as the dog doesn’t feel threatened and there’s no pleasure in chasing after the rider, it usually loses interest in the rider and returns to its own territory.

Using bike as cover

Some riders who ride a certain route regularly will know a place where there are dogs that love to chase people. If a car happens to be heading in that direction before you get there, you can follow the car. The noise of the car will have a “masking effect” and the dogs may not hear the sound of the electric fat tire bike wheels and not even notice that someone is passing through their territory.

Stopping or scaring them

Dogs can sense if people are afraid, so it’s important not to show that you are scared. For a less aggressive dog, you can squirt water in its face with a water bottle, and usually, the dog will become disoriented and stop attacking.

Pepper spray is also a commonly used method for bikers to deal with dogs. It doesn’t harm the dog and can temporarily deter it from attacking, but if used in strong wind, it may end up affecting the user.

Another effective way to scare off a dog is by using a horn. Many HiPEAK BONA riders purchase an electric bike horn from the HiPEAK website, which has a maximum volume of 120 decibels and can produce a very loud sound that shocks most dogs. Research shows that dogs have very sensitive hearing, and to them, these sounds may seem like explosions, causing them to seek cover.

Do not meet the eyes of the dog

Locking eyes with a dog can be perceived as a threat, which may provoke it and become aggressive toward the target. The correct approach is to keep your head down to avoid the dog’s eyes and look around.

Counterattack as a last resort

When all of the above methods are used and the dog still attacks you, then it’s time to fight back. Note, however, that it is not a good idea to kick with your legs on a moving adult e-bike, which can make it easy to lose your balance and fall off the bike.

If the dog is coming up to bite, hit it in the nose with a pump, U-lock, or whatever you have in your hand. This is a last resort in the most critical situations, and all you can do as a human is not to actively hurt the dog.

How to handle after being bitten by a dog

No method can completely guarantee that you won’t be bitten by a dog. If you are unfortunate enough to be bitten, remember the following ways to deal with it.

The wound must be strictly cleaned and disinfected. First, rinse the wound with saline or water, then repeatedly disinfect the wound with hydrogen peroxide and iodophor, and finally apply tincture of iodine to the wound.

It is recommended to go to the hospital to inject a course of rabies vaccine, because the mortality rate can reach 99.9% if the rabies virus is accidentally infected.

If the wound is deep, also go to the hospital to inject tetanus antitoxin, as well as the appropriate application of antibiotics to prevent infection.

Conclusion

There will always be the inevitable unexpected situations during a ride, but these are no reasons to stop people from getting out and enjoying the ride. With spring and Earth Day just around the corner, it’s time to take a nice green trip with family and friends using HiPEAK folding e-bikes. Now head over to the HiPEAK website and you can also get $120 off each HiPEAK electric fat tire bike and a free e-bike double pannier bag valued at $69.

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