Was it some sort of national dog walking day today? I saw about a dog per block. Lots of them still wearing their Independence Day finery (bandannas, striped collars and leashes, etc.). 
Also? Dogs are great, but if your dog doesn’t care for strangers, it’s sort of impolite to have him unleashed in your yard or driveway if it touches the sidewalk where people are likely to be walking or running. Just saying. I know plenty of people who carry pepper spray for those situations, and while I don’t, sometimes I wonder if it wouldn’t be wise to do so. If your dog lunges at me and growls, I have no idea whether he’s just alerting me to stay on my side of the property line or if his next move will be to chase and bite. I also have no confidence in your ability to handle the situation if all you do is call the dog’s name while barely looking up from your newspaper.
Am I wrong? I’ve never been a dog owner, so I’m aware that my stance might be biased. I do appreciate the dog owners who are cautious about not only a runner’s worries, but also their dog’s concerns about the matter, reassuring their pets with love and pats while the stranger passes by.
I’m doing this race as my first 50K/ultra in July 2012. I’m so tardy to the party but...
I walk every day with 2 small children, a baby in a stroller and my own dog– fully leashed at all times. We have been menaced on several occasions by other dogs in the neighborhood while on these walks. I keep my Tiny in his own fence at all times and I believe other pet parents should do the same. I have called the local “dog catcher” on several occasions and just asked them to go out and talk to the dogs parents who have been unfenced and antisocial. The one lady laughed when I told her I didn’t necessarily want the offending dog arrested, just his parents talked to.
I have a dog but I am not one of the many who believe it is okay for their animal to do whatever, whenever. Tiny has to act like a nice boy and it is my responsibility to keep him where he belongs, which is with me or in my yard.
This dog owner says—You are not wrong at all. Do you carry pepper spray or something just in case?
I don’t, but I probably should have something.
Several times, when I was running on the local bike path, dogs have come bounding through the trees along the sides, not an owner nor a leash in sight. Once, one of the dogs approached me; I slowed to a walk when it became apparent he was going to do that, and I grabbed a handful of gravel in case I needed to protect myself. Luckily, he was friendly, and when I told him to “Stay!” he sat down and let me pass. But kids walk those paths, too, and I hate to think about what might happen; I’ve taught Sam about not just trying to run away, but most kids probably would, or might try to pet the strange dogs!
Ugh. I have two dogs, and they are never off lead outside of our fenced yard. It drives me absolutely nuts when other people have their dogs off lead and not contained. One of our dogs was actually attacked by another (off-lead) dog on a hike. He was unhurt, but the off lead dog did bite Morgan as he was trying to break up the fight. (He still has a scar, and that was 2 years ago.) That incident has made me especially adamant about leashing. It could have been so much worse.
What people don’t seem to realize is that leashing is not just something to protect other people and dogs, but leashing your dog protects YOUR dog. ANY dog can be aggressive if the right triggers happen. ANY dog will ignore voice commands from time to time. If your dog is off lead, they are much more likely to get attacked. But more importantly, if your dog attacks a dog or another person, you may very well be forced to put your dog to sleep. I cannot imagine how horrible it would be to be in that position, feeling guilty not only for being responsible for hurting someone else or their dog, but also being responsible for your own dog’s death sentence.
So… yeah, I agree with you, Carrie. heh. And it’s smart of you to slow to a walk or stop if you are approached by an unfamiliar dog. A run or jog can set off aggressive behavior in a lot of dogs.
Yesterday after I’d done my 5k on the treadmill (watching Hell’s Kitchen) my friend called me up desperately needing to get out of her house (her husband broke his leg and having him sitting immobile in the living room while she tries to keep her 1 and 2 year old off him about did her in) so that evening I went for another 5k run with her.
I did pretty good – not sore at all today which is surprising. Near the end my calves started to really burn. I’ve been having difficultly getting past 5k distance wise, so maybe doing 2 runs is a way to gradually up my distance.
I have to say, I really prefer running outside with company to running alone. I also find that I get hotter inside than I do out. I guess the breeze really helps a lot.
There is a house along my route that has a dog that is not leased in their yard. The dog is VERY aggressive in that it will bark and almost block people on the sidewalk. I used to think that perhaps they had the underground “leashing” that my MIL’s neighbors had but the dog has crossed the road to bark at me. I stopped and said in my best mommy voice–NO! Go HOME and amazingly he did.
Here’s what dog owners not containing their dogs in their yards should also know–it would only take an instant for that dog to run into the road and get hit by a car.
I am a proponent of the spray, personally.
I have used it only once: on a barking, aggressive, unleashed rottweiler that was threatening me as I approached its property. I was in the street, not on the sidewalk, and the dog rushed me. I yelled “NO!!!” and sprayed him in the face. The dog skidded to a stop and crouched, face to the ground, wiping his face and yelping wildly. So obviously, it worked.
And do you know what? That dog never bothered me again. He did bark at me from well within his yard, but that was the extent of it–he never rushed me again. I like to think I did other innocent passers-by a favor when I “trained” him not to mess with people outside his boundary.
The spray does no permanent injury to dogs, but it teaches them a lesson their owners obviously aren’t willing to provide Too bad you can’t give the owners a squirt as well!
i think dogs should be leashed or in yards all the time. it aggravates me when people think their dogs won’t attack, because it’s a dog. domesticated or not, it’s still an animal.
i was taking ccd classes at my local church and because i got there early all the time, i used to take walks around the neighborhood. i was walking around the block and a dog came rushing out at me, growling. i’m not really afraid of dogs, but my heart stopped and i didn’t know what to do. luckily, the owner was there to call the dog back, but still.
dogs should be leashed or in yards all the time. it’s the safest for other people and the dog itself.
I kicked off my running week with 6 miles early this morning. It was SO humid. Ick. Started to feel a little woozy this afternoon and thought it was dehydration, but then I realized that I had eaten far fewer calories so far today than I’d burned.
There is a house around the corner from mine (that I run by all the time) where they keep the dog inside an invisible fence that goes across the end of the driveway. That dog stands right at the very edge of the street and menaces me every time I go by. I know there’s a fence, invisible though it may be, but omg does it ever freak me out.
I couldnt agree with Melissa more…Ive had dogs all my life and even the sweetest dog can react in a sitation in a manner thats not typical. People seem to assume that only “bad” or “mean” dogs would ever attack (or just really scare) someone but thats just not the truth. Most places have a leash law which requires the dog to be on a leash or in your fenced up property – which is just as much for the dog as it is the people that could be around.
I’d also suggest you get pepper spray to carry with you. Its always better safe than sorry – But if you go that way make sure that you get the dog version of pepper spray. Dogs dont have tear ducts so the normal pepper spray would be very harmful for them. Id just google Canine Pepper Spray..
I have a runner friend who hurt her knee badly trying to get away from a dog who charged her while she was out for a run—she twisted her knee and was in PT for several months.
really irritate me. When walking, hiking, especially for children.
We have two big dogs, both of who are never off leads. The people in the park who love to take their dogs off leads don’t get why we don’t do it. Our smaller of the two thinks the joggers are playing a game with him and tries to chase them. Hence the never off leads.
Also many of the people in the park refuse to leash their openly hostile dogs, so we have to do what we can to protect ourselves.
That said – I have a shoe question. I’ve gone through the same issue as you have with losing weight and dropping a shoe size. I’m actually able to get into a 7 now, but it’s tight. When buying my current running shoes, but I bought a 7.5 but they are getting big. Do you suggest I buy small and then wait for them to expand with my foot?