Dog walkers seem to be everywhere, from the most remote trail path to busy main roads and they are always getting in the way, or worse the dog gets aggressive. I live in the UK so we don't have wide roads and big open spaces and half of the population don't work, so there are guaranteed to be dog walkers around at all times of the day. It's got to the point now where I will only run along a small handful of roads or areas. Ages ago when I went to a local park a religious woman was complaining to dog walkers that they shouldn't be there because they are unclean and I can see where she is coming from. They crap everywhere, attack birds and try to bite. I'm sick of them.
Dog walkers seem to be everywhere, from the most remote trail path to busy main roads and they are always getting in the way, or worse the dog gets aggressive. I live in the UK so we don't have wide roads and big open spaces and half of the population don't work, so there are guaranteed to be dog walkers around at all times of the day. It's got to the point now where I will only run along a small handful of roads or areas. Ages ago when I went to a local park a religious woman was complaining to dog walkers that they shouldn't be there because they are unclean and I can see where she is coming from. They crap everywhere, attack birds and try to bite. I'm sick of them.
Hey, man, how have you been? Haven't seen you around lately. And I've looked everywhere. First I checked all the remote trail paths. Then I checked out all the roads, no matter how busy. (Down, boy! Down!) Oh...he's just being friendly. So where have you been? What? Broadcasting your opinion on the LetsRun forums? Why would you want to do that?
p.s. That religious woman has died. And I don't think she got into heaven.
p.p.s. I'm sorry my dog crapped all over your thread. Think of it as fertilizer for something that might actually be worth reading.
Sorry if my dog tried to bite your shorts the other day. I adopted her from the local animal shelter so I have no idea how she was trained (or not trained) by the previous owner.
I’m okay with it, rather see people out walking than sitting at home, also the dogs need plenty of exercise especially if you live somewhere without a backyard. You can avoid them, go to less popular spots.
If dogs are aggressive with you it's because they are detecting something. I've been walking twice a day (averaging four miles) for the last ten years. (Ever since I had to quit running). I come across 3-5 dogs a day. In all that time I've never stepped in dog crap or had a dog get aggressive. Well, that's not quite true. I did have a little yapper charge at me ONCE about 5 years ago. Carry dog treats. You'll soon have dogs wagging their tails and licking their chops when they see you. They'll remember you forever after having gotten that first treat. The problem's not the dogs. The problem is you.
If dogs are aggressive with you it's because they are detecting something. I've been walking twice a day (averaging four miles) for the last ten years. (Ever since I had to quit running). I come across 3-5 dogs a day. In all that time I've never stepped in dog crap or had a dog get aggressive. Well, that's not quite true. I did have a little yapper charge at me ONCE about 5 years ago. Carry dog treats. You'll soon have dogs wagging their tails and licking their chops when they see you. They'll remember you forever after having gotten that first treat. The problem's not the dogs. The problem is you.
OP’s rant makes no sense to me. He needs to decide if it’s dog walkers or dogs that bug him. Dogs exist and will poop whether or not they are owned and walked by humans. At least if walked by humans, many of them will be law abiding and pick up after their pets.
Dogs never seem to be unfriendly to me either. Maybe OP carries a stink or they can otherwise detect his sissypussy fear and latent hatred of dogs.
Dogs to me are like little kids. They are uniformly cute no matter how they look, evoke the cuddle instinct in you, are capable of no wrong, are highly dependent on their human family for their well being, and easily become best friends with new people.
Dog walkers seem to be everywhere, from the most remote trail path to busy main roads and they are always getting in the way, or worse the dog gets aggressive. I live in the UK so we don't have wide roads and big open spaces and half of the population don't work, so there are guaranteed to be dog walkers around at all times of the day. It's got to the point now where I will only run along a small handful of roads or areas. Ages ago when I went to a local park a religious woman was complaining to dog walkers that they shouldn't be there because they are unclean and I can see where she is coming from. They crap everywhere, attack birds and try to bite. I'm sick of them.
A few trumpstyle arrests would help. Here the US and A its illegal to have dog off leash in a lot of places and people just ignore it. Put them in the pokey for a few days.
I hate how so many either don't have their dog on a leash or have it on one of those extendable 20' leashes. You would think they would at least have their head on a swivel to look out for people approaching by foot or on bike to rein in their dog.
At least the UK bans dangerous dog breeds so you don't have to deal with pitbulls. What does it tell you about the American public that pitbulls aren't just accepted but are one of the most popular breeds?
I appreciate areas that disallow dogs because a good percentage of dog walkers ignore leash rules and laws.
Torrey Pines Preserve in San Diego doesn't allow dogs and the rangers actually enforce this rule. Its pleasant to run there - when its not crowded. I've rarely seen anywhere else that does not allow dogs actually enforcing their rules.
You even have to deal with dogs when you go to the store or restaurants these days.
I have never been bothered by a cat being walked by a person, leashed or not though.
Get over yourself. This really cramps your style and impacts your training?
Freaking love dogs and while their walkers can be a flakey bunch and should always pickup after them, the pups need their exercise too. I love running with mine.
I've had a few sketchy encounters with dogs over the last couple decades of running, but nothing serious. Certainly they dont bother me enough to restrict my running to just a few roads/areas. That's preposterous.
There was someone who used to bring their dog on a single track trail and the stupid mutt would run all over the place and trip runners. The same bad owner would get complaints when the off leash dog would go run up and eat picknickers food, drinks and general shoit behavior.
There's a biiutch near me who brings her dog to the track. Despite large "NO DOG ALLOWED" signs she does it anyways, goes off leash and then throws balls across the track so the dog jumps in front of you when running 5 min miles or faster. Well after giving her the gears many times I just ran my interval into her.
Dogs and their owners are trash. People who need them for emotion support have serious issues and should seek therapy. Get an emotional support stuffy - cheaper and less of a pain on others.
I can't properly express how feeble I think dog owners are, and how obnoxious I think the whole culture around dog ownership is.
When they violate ordinances or don't take responsibility for their dog's actions I treat the owners like sh*t and don't feel bad about it.
If a dog puts itself in a position where it could hurt me in any way I kick it and I don't feel bad about it. And if(when) the owner defends the dog verbally or physically I respond with an equal or greater offensive action.
I'm petty and my actions don't solve anything but at least they get the message: I dislike you bc you have a dog, I think I'm better than you, and I'm not afraid to back it up.
If dogs are aggressive with you it's because they are detecting something. I've been walking twice a day (averaging four miles) for the last ten years. (Ever since I had to quit running). I come across 3-5 dogs a day. In all that time I've never stepped in dog crap or had a dog get aggressive. Well, that's not quite true. I did have a little yapper charge at me ONCE about 5 years ago. Carry dog treats. You'll soon have dogs wagging their tails and licking their chops when they see you. They'll remember you forever after having gotten that first treat. The problem's not the dogs. The problem is you.
Yes dogs are detecting that people are running and running (or quicker travel) is more likely to trigger aggression in dogs.
It's totally ridiculous to suggest that people attacked/bitten by aggressive dogs are to blame because they are doing something improper that the dog is detecting to trigger the attack. People are not doing anything wrong by running, cycling or walking in a public space that should make them responsible for being attacked by a dog.
99.999% of dog attacks are the result of dog owner negligence, normally not having full control of their leashed dog in a public area.
This old guy 79 poster probably has not had any dogs be aggressive with him in 10 years because he is walking not running. And he is probably not walking very fast if he is 79 -years-old.
I have been attacked and bitten (blood drawn) five times in my life by loose domestic dogs. Three times when running, once while bike riding, once walking.
I generally like dogs and have owned dogs. I do a side business where I dog and housesit for people when they travel, and have cared for over 70 different dogs doing that. I know how to react around friendly and aggressive dogs I encounter and could have been bitten many other times.
There was nothing I could have done to avoid being bitten by those aggressive dogs except perhaps if I never left my house those days.