Preventing dogs from attacking me/biting me/traumatizing me while running?

Carry dog biscuits. I did deliveries in a rural area for 15 years and ran into unleashed dogs every day. I usually carried at least two dog biscuits. One to give the dog on my way to the door and one to give him on my way back to my van.

I was doing a delivery one day in Carmel Valley and had forgotten the dog biscuits. I was leaning into the back of my van (from outside) when I heard growling. I turned and a black lab was growling and bearing his teeth. I was surprised because black labs are usually friendly. The dog basically had me pinned to my van. I don't know where the idea came from, but I said to the dog, "Where's the ball, where's the ball?" He immediately morphed from a growling, threatening beast to a dog that wanted to play. I was amazed. He started wagging his tail and looking around. There was not a ball to be found, so he picked up a stick and dropped it at my feet.

So: 1- Carry dog biscuits. 2- Say, "Where's the ball?" 3- Act like you're picking up a rock. 4- Look big. 5- Carry spray.

I've never been afraid of dogs (dogs can sense fear) because I knew if I was attacked I wouldn't be defensive, I would go on the offensive myself. You may get bitten, but you out weigh every dog. When I was a teenager I'd wrap an old shirt around my arm and hand and work our German Shepard into a rage. I was able to pin him or shove my fist so far into his mouth he couldn't close his jaws. Yeah, I was a jerk, but didn't really realize it at the time. But I learned that the only time to really fear a dog is if there are more than one threatening you.

Throw rocks at them and spit at them.

wikid pissah wrote:

Hi

Lifelong problems with dogs chasing

What can I do to prevent this from happening again?

From a practical perspective and perhaps a legal perspective.

I just want to go running without dogs attacking me.

I don’t want to get in trouble but I’m at the end of my cord on this.

It happens rural suburbs and city.

Had this happen 100’s of times over 45 years

It sucks I hate it.

Two times, during a long run and a bike ride, i sprayed a water bottle at a chasing dog,

stopped it dead in its tracks. Maybe they didn't like Lemon Lime gatorade.

A third time the neighbours black lab jumped my (low) fence and charged, I pointed my arm up and said "Sit".

No idea why i did this, just instinctive - it veered off to the side, head down and slinked back to it's yard.

my goodness wrote:

Old and slow wrote:

You need to get yourself a team of aggressive monkeys. That will sort out the dogs.

You don't see that every day though.

I almost fell out of my chair when I read your idea.

As others state, it often helps to stand your ground, identify yourself as a human by yelling "NO!" , "DOWN-, "BAD DOG!" and/or "HEY DOG NO!" repeating as necessary, pointing at the dog and either lifting a rock or stick and pulling your arm back as if you were going to throw it, or pretending like you are going to throw something.

Your shouts might alert the owner, who might call the dog back away from you.

If you have time and access to things to throw, throw them.

Most dogs seem interpret the sight of a human about to throw something at them ingrained in them as a universal threat.

Continuing to run will not help.

It always helps to identify and say something to the owner, as long as you are not putting yourself in more danger by doing so.

Report irresponsible dog owners to authorities by getting the address and a photo/description of the dog, and /or a photo description of the owner.

The above works with most dogs, but not with encounters with trained attack dogs.

fisky wrote:

Pick up a stick. Dogs know for the stick is and they will not get close to you if you have a stick in your hand. You need to waive the stick and say no in a very loud voice. I once demonstrated this to a friend and I said you need to say no in a very loud voice like this and then I said no! She literally jumped even though I had prepared her that I was going to shout.

plus one , I been running with a stick for a year and so far 100 percent works. Most dogs seem to respect a runner who has a stick. This one big ol nasty fcker in particular who has a reputation of biting charged me. I was fired up to try my stick out on him so when he came at me I was totally committed to beating his efing brains in . The dog turned tail and ran as I charged towards the cowardly beast swearing and swinging my stick . I chased that SOB with murder in my heart and it felt GOOD!

The one really helpful thing I learned from Jim Fixx's "Running" book that was so popular in the 1970s was that if a dog comes at you pretend to pick up a rock and they will back down. This is surprisingly effective. It worked about 90 percent of the time for me. The other times I just had to run like hell.

I've been around dogs since I was a kid. They often come bounding up woofing. They are like little kids and what they do is almost always dependent on how you react - some of them might sense fear and decide to scare you or "see you off" from their territory.

- If the owner is in sight, greet the owner like a friend. Dog instantly changes mode

- If not, stop, greet dog like you want to play. Ditto

- If it continue being aggressive, get firm with it. Stand firm and growl back or wave a stick

On the other hand I never had to deal with a dog trained/abused by a psycho owner to attack people. Most of them are just out for walkies and full of energy

Dogs can sense if you’re a bad person.

wikid pissah wrote:

Hi

Lifelong problems with dogs chasing

Me

Biting me

Growling

Clawing me

Pinning me on the road

Etc

Tripping me

Then after the attacks the owners unleash their barrage of abuse on me too.

What can I do to prevent this from happening again?

From a practical perspective and perhaps a legal perspective.

I just want to go running without dogs attacking me.

I don’t want to get in trouble but I’m at the end of my cord on this.

It happens rural suburbs and city.

Had this happen 100’s of times over 45 years

It sucks I hate it.

You have to mount and dominate them….it’s the way of the wild.

Sub-8 Mile wrote:

+1

I have done this (minus the biting). A fit human male is larger and, when behaving aggressively, quite physically intimidating to most domesticated dogs.

Pause your run, face the animal, feet apart, slightly bent knees, arms away from sides (now you look bigger and ready to fight). Give an I-mean-business loud deep throaty growl. And stare them down.

Most dogs will stop. Some will actually start wagging tails and become friendly (suddenly trying to make friends with a dominant dog/person is submissive, self-protective behavior) -- if they do this, briefly make friends (not TOO friendly or they will assume that YOU are the submissive one).

Some will just stare at you in surprise and confusion, but they'll leave you alone. And some will turn tail & run away (had this happen, it's pretty funny).

I agree that this works the majority of the time. Live in the city now - few dogs off-leash since my city is laid out such that your unruly dog will get hit by a car in any place that isn't a fenced off-leash park. But, I did grow up and go to university in a more rural setting. Most people don't fence or leash their dogs, and some are quite aggressive/territorial/poorly trained.

I'll add that most dogs freak out if you yell or scream at them in addition to doing this. I am a woman so I try to lower my voice a bit, but tbh even a fear scream (very high pitched) does the job quite often. Acting like you're about to charge or kick them works too. Most pet dogs are wimps. Ultimately I have a mental map of my town where all the awful dogs live and avoid those roads, but the trails can be a bit unpredictable. I find that earlier in the day is usually better... dirtbag dog owners sleep in.

Every once in a while there is a dog that is a complete psycho and the above strategy doesn't work. I've had this happen once - I came around a corner and it was just there (probably escaped from a yard). The danger sign is that it didn't bark at all. As soon as it saw me it put its head and tail down and ran straight at me teeth bared. I ducked into the road right in front of a cop car, who stopped and grabbed the distracted dog by the scruff of the neck. I am not sure what would have happened had this not been the case... probably would have gotten messed up.

Have you ever had a dog or know anyone with a dog? I used to feel the same way until my girlfriend got a couple of dogs. After over a year of taking them out have learned a few things about dogs.

One big thing is announce yourself early, especially if you are running up on them from behind. When dogs get startled sometimes they can freak out. Runners and cyclists often don't realize how threatening they look. And especially in a leash. A dog feels like a sitting duck sitting there on a leash while a big animal or leash comes flying down the trail at it. For an animal that weighs 20-50lbs, an encounter like that could be life or death. In general I would just say try to be aware of how you appear to that animal. It could make a lot of difference.

rayyar wrote:

Have you tried running with a monkey?

Great answer!

I've the same thing with the same results. The dog came after me and I turned towards it and ran waving my stick and screaming like a madman. It always works.

Dogs can smell fear. Seriously. If you decide in advance that you're going to bash the dog's head in if he bites you, the dog will sense that in your mannerism and retreat when you wave your stick.

had a teammate in HS who would turn fast and kick the dog right in the mouth. End of problem

I used to be pretty fearful of dogs...I was chased by a literal pack of pitbulls (that were obviously abused), and managed to jump a fence right before they got me. That happened when I was a teenager, and I was scared of larger dogs from that point until I got some dogs of my own. Since I got my own dogs, the issues have subsided. I think it's because I know how to approach dogs better. I also don't run in the country anymore, so I'm sure that plays a part. One thing, if you show fear, they are going to be more likely to come at you. If you're calm and stern, they seem to be less likely to attack. Avoid running in crappy neighborhoods or in the country and that'll solve most of your issues, though.

I don't believe bad intent is needed. In my hometown, there were always dogs off leash in the neighborhoods and when running through the farm areas. My experience was if they were barking, they were scared and had no intentions of biting anyone. Just pretending to pick up a rock worked just about everytime. It wasn't a big deal.

One time I was running past a guy with a large German Shepard that suddenly growled and took off after me afterI had passed by. When I looked over my shoulder, I stepped in a hole, twisted my ankle and went down. The dog seemed pleased with that outcome, turned around and returned to his owner.

One person mentioned mapping my area where the aggressive dogs are…I’ll do that that’s a good idea.

I got jumped on the other day two small dogs left claw marks on my legs…was close to calling 911 but no blood so I let it go.

How about from a legal perspective? What can you do to prevent this from happening?

Kick the dog? Hit with stick? mace?

I appreciate all the constructive comments…(snide ones not so much).

Ty