Why do people get mad when you get upset that they're dangerous dog it is running freely off of a leash is charging at your

I got bit in the leg by a huge dog off a leash while warming up for a college Xc race. My quad was bleeding. The owner must have known her dog was aggressive, because when the dog was charging at me full speed she was screaming for it to stop. Many dog owners don’t even do that. They think you would like it if the dog jumps up on you. They think it’s cute and assume you think it’s cute having every dog ruin your run. Dogs are animals and cant be faulted. Owners are terrible.
If one of my kids ran at you with a golf club screaming and trying to trip you up every time you ran by you’d think me a bad parent. Dog owners think kids are annoying but their dog is an absolute pleasure for all to behold.

I don't carry while running because I'd be afraid I'd put two in the dog and one in the owner.

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December's foggy freeze wrote:

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December's foggy freeze wrote:

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Rastagrammarian wrote:

Its not that they can't here you, its that they can probably tell your the kind of person that doesn't know the difference between their and they're.

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But unlike you, Rastagrammarian, and that insulting butthead claiming to be a Harvard grad a few weeks ago, most posters here manage the difference between [i]its[/u] and [i]it's[/u] properly.

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Yet your additional misuse of [i]here[/u] makes me wonder if you purposely "erred."

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My #1 kid got tore up by a pit bull this season. People got a ticket by police.

I have been chased by many dogs myself. Never a pit. I just kick them regardless. The owners usually are worse than the dogs.

We had an incident a couple weeks ago at a local park. It is specifically forbidden to have unleashed dogs on the trail. There are signs all over the place, yet there was a woman out there with three dogs unleashed. My wife of course can't keep her mouth shut so she had to say "Leashes" as we ran by (and the dogs started following us of course).

The woman started cussing us out and giving the standard "They've never bitten anyone." I tried to explain that it doesn't matter, the rules are leashes on this trail, she cursed us out again so I called the ranger, but she took off before he got there.

What I don't understand is the apologists who will use the argument "they are just dogs and don't know better" or "my dogs never bit anyone" as a reason that it is ok to not use a leash. That and speeding must have the most rabid defenders for breaking the law.

Rule 1 = always run with cell phone. Call it in, or PRETEND to call it in. You can also take photo of perp owner, and the threat that your brother-in-law is a lawyer.
Rule 2 = encourage the dog to chase you.................for miles and miles and miles. When he turns back, you chase HIM.
Rule 3 = raise to full height with arms fully extended. It stops them in their tracks. Heard this works on lions also.

It is a real problem on single track trails. The dogs of course run far ahead of their owners, so you are stuck waiting for them to go by. You can try to run straight through and you have a very good chance of getting bit because the dog will go into protective mode.

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Inconsiderate people wrote:

Today while running at a 6 minute pace, and a man was running along with his dangerous pit bull, 15 yards ahead of him. As I zoomed by him, his big pit bull started following me and charging at my legs. It was not a little dog, but a large pit pull. I had to brake strides a few times. At this point the guy was 50 yards back. I started yelling ," get your dog". He started shouting that the dog was harmless. He began to get an attitude. Now it was 25 degrees with a good wind, so he probably thought no one would be out, but he is clearly wrong. Why do people think I should not be mad that his big pit bull is trying to take out my legs, or most importantly that I should trust that his big Pit Bull is friendly. Many people have been mauled by friendly dogs.

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There is a complete madness in the dog owner community that all dogs are angels and incapable of doing any harm. There was recently a fatal mauling when two pits devoured their owner when she took them on a walk. The “dog behavior expert” was quoted by the local news as saying that the dogs probably did not get enough exercise.
All dogs bite. My sweet border collie bit me when I tried to pull her away from my old dog’s senior diet wet food. It was not a break the skin bite. She just instinctively puts her teeth on you to try to heard you when she is excited despite being an incredibly smart and well trained dog.
People who let their dogs off leash think that they have cured their dog from being a dog. But that is impossible. Biting is a part of any dog’s instincts. All dogs can and will bite under the right circumstances.
My favorite off leash encounter was when two couples were walking SEVEN dogs off leash on a wooded trail at the local park. I came running up in the other direction and stopped short of all the dogs. I told them they needed to keep the dogs on a leash. They said the dogs are all friendly. I said how am I supposed to know that? They had no answer.

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Inconsiderate people wrote:

Today while running at a 6 minute pace, and a man was running along with his dangerous pit bull, 15 yards ahead of him. As I zoomed by him, his big pit bull started following me and charging at my legs. It was not a little dog, but a large pit pull. I had to brake strides a few times. At this point the guy was 50 yards back. I started yelling ," get your dog". He started shouting that the dog was harmless. He began to get an attitude. Now it was 25 degrees with a good wind, so he probably thought no one would be out, but he is clearly wrong. Why do people think I should not be mad that his big pit bull is trying to take out my legs, or most importantly that I should trust that his big Pit Bull is friendly. Many people have been mauled by friendly dogs.

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The thing that kills me is that all of these problems ultimately stem from dog owners' laziness. It takes two minutes to put a dog on a leash (which, by the way, is the law in some states). But the majority of owners can't be bothered to do it, which ultimately ruins parks and trails for everyone. I used to run on some nice trails in Massachusetts called Noanet Woodlands. Beautiful place -- used to be one of my favorite spots in the world. But so many people walk with unleashed dogs there that is has become unrunnable. I legitimately had to get a series of rabies shots because a loose dog there bit me and the owner did not have his dogs vaccinated.

I am only about 110 pounds and some unleashed dogs that come running at me while I'm out on the trails weigh almost as much as I do. Fortunately it has been a long time since one has been aggressive or menacing. Most of them are super excited and want to play or run with me. Often, they jump on me. I've been knocked down or nearly been knocked down numerous times by happy large dogs that are nearly as big as I am. One playfully jumped at me with its forelegs going right into my stomach -- it was like being punched.

Invariably, the owners say "Oh, s/he's friendly!"

Yes, well, that's obvious, but your friendly dog still hurt me. Keep it on a leash.

It also ticks me off when the owners yell at the dog for jumping on me. Hey, stupid owner. The dog is just being a dog. Control it and maybe it won't "be bad".

I broke my right ankle on 1st September after falling over an extendable dog lead whilst doing a tempo run. The owner basically blamed me whilst her and the dog continued on and I dragged myself back home in agony

People who hate other people and love dogs are sociopaths and misfits. Dog owners are defensive about their dogs . I don't get into confrontations with the owners as they are the type who are also rageaholics and likely to carry a gun too. Rightly or wrongly I don't want to get shot, bitten or be in a car wreck so I avoid confrontation. If you are a female you should carry mace anyway, if you have regular run-ins with dogs off leashes that act aggressively you should also carry bear spray or the like.

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Precious Roy wrote:

There is a complete madness in the dog owner community that all dogs are angels and incapable of doing any harm. There was recently a fatal mauling when two pits devoured their owner when she took them on a walk. The “dog behavior expert” was quoted by the local news as saying that the dogs probably did not get enough exercise.
All dogs bite. My sweet border collie bit me when I tried to pull her away from my old dog’s senior diet wet food. It was not a break the skin bite. She just instinctively puts her teeth on you to try to heard you when she is excited despite being an incredibly smart and well trained dog.
People who let their dogs off leash think that they have cured their dog from being a dog. But that is impossible. Biting is a part of any dog’s instincts. All dogs can and will bite under the right circumstances.
My favorite off leash encounter was when two couples were walking SEVEN dogs off leash on a wooded trail at the local park. I came running up in the other direction and stopped short of all the dogs. I told them they needed to keep the dogs on a leash. They said the dogs are all friendly. I said how am I supposed to know that? They had no answer.

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Mobile,Alabama.

Even when I tell my girlfriend about other people’s dogs attacking me, she gets defensive on their behalf. “They don’t mean to hurt you.” Uh well they’re barking at me and chasing me so I don’t want to risk it. Just keep them on a leash unless they’re legitimately really well behaved.

I’ve had this lots of times. With the bigger wilder dogs I usually say something to the owner along the lines of “this is why they invented leashes”, or “the sign at the entrance clearly says dogs must be on a leash”

I was visiting a friend at his lake house and stated I was going to head out for a run. He handed me a can of bear spray, saying "Trust me. You never know with dogs out in the country." He had a few encounters on rural runs in the past apparently. Reluctantly, I took the can. Sure enough, not 1 mile into the run, a large unleashed pit bull is charging towards me. I sprayed him when he was about 3 feet away and it looked like he hit a wall. In that 5 mile run, I had to use it on 2 more unleashed pit bulls. I will never run again in a rural setting without it.