Sorry to hear about the dog problem. I cycle and for some reason the last 2 days have been TERRIBLE with dog chasing me on routes that I haven't seen them before. I do carry HALT and have used it to some effectiveness. One other thing that works very well is to carry a spray bottle with a mixture of about 1/3 ammonia to water. THAT works well for the monsters that don't take the hint. When I go down to Missouri I use that because of the junk yard dogs. Load this mixture into a good squirt gun and you can get them at good "stand off" distances. HALT (carried by postal carriers) is not suppose to cause permanent damage but there are stories where some dogs don't react to it much at all. The ammonia will get their attention if they get it in the mouth or eyes and it can be damaging to the dog.

Before anyone jumps on me about being a dog hater... I have 2 German Shepherd Dogs and love dogs in general. HOWEVER...people who own dogs need to treat them like guns. They can be dangerous and no one should be afraid of dogs that aren't contained because that just shouldn't happen. I do not go out to find dogs to chase me. In fact, I have shut down a couple of my favorite routes to avoid them. Keep in mind that I do over 300 km a week on the bike so I cover a lot of ground. Still...I have a right to free movement and defense of myself. And...I believe that the vast majority of "bad dogs" are victims of bad/stupid/careless owners. However, I am not going to be laid up in a hospital debating that issue after taking stitches or even more drastic treatment from a dog.