Judge Judy rules in favor of cyclist injured by dog

And tips on stopping aggressive dogs

This is an amusing — and frightening — segment from the Judge Judy Show a couple of years ago in which she rules in favor of the cyclist, Kevin Gilmore, who was injured when a dog ran into his path.

It's amusing because the dog's owners are so clueless about who's responsible for the injury, and frightening because their argument — that the cyclist caused the accident by riding down the highway instead of using one of the state's hundreds of miles of bike paths — is probably a common perception among a lot of people.

Bike vs. dog confrontations are no laughing matter. Most of my current routes are free of aggressive or loose dogs, but I've had plenty of problems in the past.

Stopping dogs

There are a lot of theories about how to stop dogs. I've recommended shouting “Stop!” or “Go home!” at dogs, which usually works for me, so far. The sage proprietor of the Lazy Louie Bicycle Camp in Missouri suggested that we point our bicycle pumps at a rural dogs because they think it's a shotgun.

Those “home remedies” might be fine in some, but I agree with Neil Gunton at Crazy Guy on a Bike that bringing out the ultimate weapon — Halt! pepper spray — is definitely the best choice.

He writes in “Dealing with Dogs:”

“I am somewhat dubious about everything but pepper spray. This is for good reason – the stuff really works well. It doesn't harm the dog (beyond a half hour of face-rubbing in the grass) and it actually teaches Fifi that chasing a cyclist is painful. If we can make that association (cyclists = pain) then you're doing both other cyclists and the dog itself a favor.”

Besides, 334,000 mail carriers can't be wrong.