}Sheesh, even a trained attack dog is no match for a human,
}we have *all* the advantages.

I agree with this 100%. After all, when you grab under his chin and
are careful to keep your hands away from his twisting head, what is
he going to do -- tailwag you to death? I even had one occasion where
I was unexpectedly jumped by a 130 lb. German Shepherd and grabbed
his upper jaw in one hand and his lower jaw in the other. Now I'm
holding his mouth open (no way is he strong enough to clamp down)
and he can do nothing.

HOWEVER, all this macho shit aside, the fact is that when you are
riding a bike and a dog is arrowing to intercept, it may be unwise
for you to stop and try to deal with the dog, for the simple fact
that it might be through your leathers and working on your jeans
before you can dismount and deal with it properly.

By all means, if you do kick the dog or otherwise get its attention,
STOP and STAY there. If you kick the dog and ride away, that is a
victory for the dog -- it drove you out of its territory. It is not
even a qualified victory, it is a victory. If you kick it and STOP,
and sit there, 99% of dogs will say, "Oh, shit! This guy's serious!"
and back off. Now you have established your dominance over the dog,
and it probably will not bother you again.

Llamas, however, are a different story. If you stop near a llama,
it will just hop on and insist on a ride. And that's if you're
lucky; if it doesn't like you it'll barf you off the bike and
steal it!