Good luck with that! We need more dentists like you! smiletogo.com.au

Welcome to my life. I've no idea what it is but I am simultaneously irrationally afraid of dogs, especially the small yappy ones, and seemingly the peter pan of small yappy dogs as every one of the fecking things chases me no matter what I do. Start at it, ignore it, stop running/riding, run faster/slower, wear bright colours, wear dark colours. No difference.

My 'story' is from 2004 when I used to do all my long runs on a footpath that had been created from a disused rail line in the peak district of the UK. Beautiful place, just by my house, and was essentially a 10km long out and back from a small village with nothing along the way other than a reservoir on one side and farmland on the other. So one day I'm running out and about half way there's a woman with a mutt walking. This thing is off leash, bounding about even from as far as I can see (remember, it's a disused railine so pretty flat / straight. Anyway as I get 200m away this dog just missiles towards me. I stop running, place hands crossed over my chest and look to the side - basically textbook advice of how to be non threatening. So The dog bounds up, barking away, running around me, jumping up. Completely ignoring the owner that isn't making much effort to control it. Anyway she finally gets there and says he's just a puppy that's excitable. I explain I'm petrified. She says I shouldn't worry as he wouldn't hurt me. "Fine for you to say that, but I don't know that do I?" "Well you shouldn't run on this path then". Noting I'd been running that course at that time every sunday for 6 months. Anyway, we have a clear disagreement and I just use that to motivate for the rest of the run. Anyway, an hour and a bit later, I'm running back and same woman is there. This time dog is 200m behind her. Now I do feel a bit guilty about this, but as I got 20m away from here, still running I put my arms above my head, started waving them, screaming 'aaarrrrrgggghhhh" as I ran up to her. Upon getting 2m from her I stopped, and gently said "don't worry, I'd never harm you", then just jogged off. never saw her or her mutt again.

It's not the dogs that are at fault, it's the owners. And just like drivers and cars when we're cycling, you're never going to change the mind of the dicks.

Run towards the nearest busy intersection, then look both ways and jaywalk. That might encourage them to be leashed next time

About 12 years ago I visited Albuquerque for a conference. I went for a run through downtown early on a Sunday morning; there was almost no one out, but a few cars were driving though. I turned a corner around a construction area and faced an unleashed pit bull, no owner in sight, about 50 meters away. I stopped. It accelerated towards me. I turned and ran into the street, hoping the few cars would be a deterrent. Dog didn't seem to mind, and dodged them to stay with me.

A guy drove by in a pickup truck, moving slowly to watch the spectacle. I caught up and jumped into the back. I made my way to the cab, and realized the guy didn't know I was in his truck. He was pretty surprised but congratulated me on the effort and drove me a few blocks away, when I hopped out and went straight back to the hotel.

Even while I was in the back of the truck, though, that dog kept chasing until the driver sped up.

Since then I've always run with a small can of pepper spray on my waist belt. I used it only once, years later running through a rural area of Vermont. A massive dog (don't know what exactly) tore off its owner's property and came at me as I ran by the farm. There was no one around. I stopped since I had no chance in a footrace, turned and aimed for the face and sprayed when it was about 10 meters away. It kept coming but purely from the momentum it had before the stream hit. Then it turned and trotted back to the farm.

 

my teenager had an unexpected encounter with a 75ish pound pit bull last weekend running in a nearby subdivision. All ended well, dog was just off his property by a block or two and other than uttering some growls and snuffs as he got close didn't do anything. As soon as my son started off again though dog was "chasing" after him. This happened, start and stop like 10 times in 5 minutes covering a couple blocks.

Honestly as he and I reviewed it afterward we weren't sure what the future solution is. You run it runs. You stop it stops. Rinse repeat. And the initial "encounter" happens so fast and out of the blue for the neighborhood. We didn't come up with a lot of future solutions. Add to it that nothing actually "happened" and you are left with that feeling of what if you lashed out at a dog that truly wasn't trying to harm you.

Later that day I bought him a pepper spray device from hardware store to carry in waist band. Which he is doing. But kind of like a homeowner with a gun, we are left with that "how much safer does this really make me" feeling. Frankly if this same 75 pound pit bull had approached as quietly and quickly from behind with the intent to do harm I'm not sure what pepper spray in waist band would accomplish.

Any dog that follows you home is yours to keep. You may start to notice reward posters going up....give it a day or so, and return them for the reward. After a couple rounds, the owners catch on; or you get a new best friend to accompany you on runs...plus some cash to buy new shoes. It is a win win situation.

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I believe my local reality has been violated.
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Happiness = Results / (Expectations)^2

Time to engage in some dog training. "Hmmm every time I chase these running hoomans my eyes water and my nose stings. Maybe I should stop doing that?"

More proof that peacocks are huge, nasty, vicious birds, and are NOT to be fucked with

https://twitter.com/...EImvoBDeOdtV-hyVk1KA

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

That first time you figure out there is a dog that will chase you it is a bit scary. If it was on a route i really liked and the dog was a little bit threatening as I picked up my pace, i would normally ride with a camelbak and have a water bottle with some tabasco mixed in to spray in their face. Might have taken 1-2 times but he stopped challenging the bike.

In reference to a situation where you won't be injured:
If the humans never suffer consequences, the behavior won't change. I would NEVER stop and return a person's do to them just so they can be a piece of shit again, and treat me like shit when they're the one in the wrong. So, advice in situations where the animal won't really threaten you any harm........just keep moving. If the owner must chase, the stupid fuck should learn to use the leash.

In reference to a situation where you might be bitten/mauled:
Do what is necessary to avoid severe injury, then involve the police. There is no other right answer. Trying to handle it yourself either leads to more injury or issues with a piece of shit dog owner.

Same goes in general for bicycles. I don't care one shit if a dog likes to just follow a bike out of their yard and poses zero threat. Dog gets hit by a care, owner's fault. IF it's going to bring a rider down/maul them..........bear spray and cops involved. 100%.

We've had news stories local of off leash rotweilers nearly killing an advanced age greenway walker local to me. Don't pity the animal that might kill you. It will recover from "sprays", you can't recover if it makes a snack of you. And the spray works on people also till you can run/cops arrive if they come after you. Your life is yours.

In general, dog culture in the US is out of freaking control. Both on the lazy/entitled trashy human side and the "take fluffy everywhere" crunchy granola side also. It's gone way way way too far from when I was a kid in the 80's 90's. And we're dog people. Love our little tzu.

I have planned on packing a small can of Wasp & Hornet spray, but never have. I've been told it's effective at stopping dogs and often has a longer effective spray distance than typical dog sprays even if sprays only buy you some extra time/distance from the psycho. Dunno...

That's a lot of eggs!

+1

I've been thinking that slowtwitch needs a "like button".

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Someone once accused me of being swimfan. I miss that guy.

I've run for a couple of decades through subdivisions, trails, paths, cities, etc. even outside the country in Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras and only been chased a few times.[/url]

Once I realize I am being chased I stop and turn around either telling the dog to go home or waiting for the owner to catch up. Never had I had a bad experience with the owner as they are always apologetic.

The only time I had to lecture someone was a person running on the path with their dog while I was running leashed with mine. I'm glad their dog was not violent, because I would've done anything to defend my dog.

To me biking against dogs is scarier. About a decade ago I was thinking about a one-way bike about 130 miles so I decided to test the route by biking halfway and turning around. Near the turnaround I was deep into farm country and was chased by multiple farm dogs. It definitely encouraged me to do some interval training. On the way back I remembered the landmarks and made sure to be at peak speed hitting that section. Sure enough the same dog picks up chase. The dog finally broke off and I hear a new dog barking. I was unlucky to get a dog relay. Anyway I knew if I got touched I would surely go down and break something. The farmer would show up and then shoot me and put me out of my misery.

I train dogs for agility, love dogs, and I have zero dog fear.

Overall you are doing the right thing by trying to be nice and "return" the dog, but if it persists just run on. Sad that some dog owners are douches.

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Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.

And for those saying "It's just a mama protecting her nest" remember that peacocks are the MALES; the females are called peahens and are a lot less fabulous [kinda plain, actually]

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I'll stop if they're running out in the road and there's traffic, otherwise as long as they're not nipping at my heels, not my problem. Dog's are pretty good at finding their way back to where they came from.

burnthesheep wrote:

In general, dog culture in the US is out of freaking control. Both on the lazy/entitled trashy human side and the "take fluffy everywhere" crunchy granola side also. It's gone way way way too far from when I was a kid in the 80's 90's. And we're dog people. Love our little tzu.

There is a chapter in my cat's memoir about this

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I did some research into this as I had a number of bobcat encounters in the last 2 years.

It seems like bear sprays are far more effective. Bear sprays also tend to spray wide, and pepper sprays tend to have a narrow stream. So in general, it's easier to aim a bear spray.

If your jurisdiction allows, something like a retractable baton also seems like a reasonable option.

I think this thread getting resurrected inspired owners along my typical route to let their dogs roam free for the summer! I've had more encounters with unleashed dogs on my last 3-4 runs than I have had in quite a while. I've pretty much abandoned the "turn around and find the owner" technique and I just keep plodding along until the dog gets bored. There are a couple of bulldogs that have just popped up that I had to stop running and get big and loud to get them to stop their pursuit. I picked up a stick as I got near the property with bulldogs today, luckily they seemed disinterested me in today.

Edit:
In regards to peacocks, they make excellent home alarm systems and guard dogs. I've had quite a few patients during my home health travels with peacocks. They have a very distinct noise they make to alarm people of unfamiliar cars, people or animals being around. Guineas also make good alarm systems but aren't near as intimidating as an angry peacock.

This is true - and those fuckers are LOUD

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

For most of the herding and working breeds, if you run away from them you will likely trigger their prey instinct and it will cause them to want to chase you more and possibly bite in order to subdue their “prey”. Stopping and facing them will allow them to catch up to you, but unless the dog is a true fighter then he won’t likely bite you. You’ll likely see the dog stop a few feet short and just bark at you. If you turn to walk away they will close and try to nip you.

I run with my police dog. He is good around other dogs but will defend himself against an aggressive dog. If he gets injured he’s out of work for a few days. He shouldn’t have to defend himself against other dogs, that’s my responsibility. I carry bear spray. If an off leash dog gets close and the owner is present I tell them to call their dog back. If they can’t verbally control it, it gets two seconds of bear spray. That will train the dog and the owner when they both are coughing and have snot running out of their face. Bear spray, while highly uncomfortable, doesn’t cause any lasting harm and can be cleaned up with a good dousing of water.