Another run, another dog tale

Slogger Jogger

My run this morning brought me along a length of trail c. 1k long between 2 busy roads. Ran past an old man who told me his dog was up ahead. Came across said dog and a lean fit looking boxer dog who proceeded to run alongside me, excitedly nipping at my heels. Made me a bit nervous as I didn't know whether he was just playful or was he going to go for a full on bite. We were out of sight of the owner at this stage and I was thinking, feck, I'll have to jog back to this dude to bring his dog back to him, despite the fact that my running route was the way I was originally running. I ran on a bit more hoping the dog would get fed up and look for his owner. No such luck and at this stage we exited the trail and encountered the road. Dog nearly kills himself running on front of car. Dog had no road savvy at all. Car driver looking at me and hooting horn as if to say get your dog under control. Sorry not my dog! There was no option now but to run back up the trail to deliver dog back to his owner. Met him and he was apologetic when I told him what had happened. Put dog on lead so I could continue my run as intended. Its all very well having your dog off a lead but you need to be able to get your dog under control quickly when you need to. Yer man's dog could have come a cropper. As a runner you shouldn't have to be responsible for someone else's dog.

dna_leri

You were too helpful.
Do you think the owner will keep him on the leash the next time?

rom

Best thing to do is keep on going. hard lesson for dog owner but might give the dog a few more years of life in the long run if its kept on a lead as a result of spending loads of time seaching for it. I know my parents dog used to be let off the lead when going for a walk. he went missing a few times and now he is always on a lead when out. So bringing the dog back is not helping you or the dog as the dog will have another opertunity to get knocked down tomorrow or the next day. Dogs don't have road sence. They don't learn the safe cross code. What happens is that they get hit by a car or nearly knocked down a few times before they learn.

Cartman78

Had a similar experience (minus the nipping) about a year ago...an odd looking dog (possibly a boxer-Jack Russell mix:eek:) came storming out of a house after me barking.

The owner was mowing the lawn and didn't seem to bothered one way or the other. Anyway it was clear the dog was all bark and no bite so I just kept motoring on and ended up with a canine running buddy for 10k

I run past the house on a regular-ish basis but no sign of him since. I often wonder what the owners thought that evening when their dog turned up knackered at the front gate. He fell off the pace a bit around 8k, deffo needed to work on his stamina

Chartsengrafs

Cartman78 wrote: »

Had a similar experience (minus the nipping) about a year ago...an odd looking dog (possibly a boxer-Jack Russell mix:eek:) came storming out of a house after me barking.

The owner was mowing the lawn and didn't seem to bothered one way or the other. Anyway it was clear the dog was all bark and no bite so I just kept motoring on and ended up with a canine running buddy for 10k

I run past the house on a regular-ish basis but no sign of him since. I often wonder what the owners thought that evening when their dog turned up knackered at the front gate. He fell off the pace a bit around 8k, deffo needed to work on his stamina

Yeah similar thing happened me during a tri once, dog followed me coming off the swim (Highland terrier if I'm not mistaken), kept with me on the bike. Was very impressed with his bike handling skills in fact. He totally blew up though on the run after 6k, clearly started out too fast. Live and learn I guess.

Slogger Jogger

dna_leri wrote: »

You were too helpful.
Do you think the owner will keep him on the leash the next time?

I figured I'd no alternative. If I continued my run without returning along the trail with the dog either of 2 things would have happened. 1. Dog would have had or caused an accident or 2. Dog would have followed me all the way home which would have been a hassle later.

The man seemed sound enough, so hopefully lesson learned.

ger664

I think you did the right thing all round. The nipping @ the heels would worry me, I carry water mostly and a good squirt aimed at their snots always seems to do the trick in getting them to lose interest in you.

nerraw1111

Fair slogger, that was very nice of you. I had a boxer for 12 years so have a soft spot for them. They're great dogs but can be a bit thick at times. They're renowned for being playful and great with kids.

Generally well behaved but on occasion will do something slightly bonkers and out of the blue like this. Did the right thing bringing it back to owner. Hopefully owner will learn from this.

JJJJNR

Friend of mines dog followed a runner all the way to rathfarnham from Laragh one day... gas.. I had a vicious dog attack me one day and had to kick it in the nose (more than just a tap) to defend myself, I waited till the last second to see if he was going to bite and actually got him with his mouth open ready to take a bite.

I have no issue telling people they should have their dogs on a leash.

robinph

You guys must be giving off some kind of pheromones to attract dogs so that they want to run along for distance with you. I hate dogs, but once they have got over the initial surprise of a robinph running at them along a path they never show any interest in joining me for the rest of the run. Bit of barking and running to start with, but just as I'm about to try and figure out which foot to use on them they run the other way.

If they did run with me, without getting in my way, I'd have just kept going.

John_Rambo

Nice owner, warned you the dog was ahead.

Nice dog, dopey, but over friendly.

Nice runner, saw the dog was out of it's depth and jogged it back to the owner.

TFBubendorfer

I once "acquired" a dog 2 miles into an 11-mile out-and-back run. Which means that I passed the house again after 9 miles (7 for the dog), but for some reason he did not go home but went on to follow me all the way to my own home. The cheeky thing even tried to get into my house when I opened the door!

He was still in our driveway an hour later when I went to work. He did get home eventually, because I kept seeing him plenty more times. He did join me on a few more occasions following that, but I think he had learned a lesson. He always turned back for home after a mile or so.

It helps that the roads I run on are basically deserted in the morning.

ThisRegard

I just can't keep going if a dog follows me, I'd feel too bad if the dog is at risk of getting lost.

ergonomics

Cartman78 wrote: »

Had a similar experience (minus the nipping) about a year ago...an odd looking dog (possibly a boxer-Jack Russell mix:eek:) came storming out of a house after me barking.

The owner was mowing the lawn and didn't seem to bothered one way or the other. Anyway it was clear the dog was all bark and no bite so I just kept motoring on and ended up with a canine running buddy for 10k

I run past the house on a regular-ish basis but no sign of him since. I often wonder what the owners thought that evening when their dog turned up knackered at the front gate. He fell off the pace a bit around 8k, deffo needed to work on his stamina

I had a similar experience except I was cycling, and fast. The dog had often tried to follow me on walks before but I had shooed him home. This time I figured I'd be so fast he'd soon give up. Nope. The poor thing followed me for 12km.

Mind you, he hasn't followed me since.

pmcd22

have a good few. last trip over 10km, i had 3 dogs to contend with. First one was a small terrrier one. On a run before, he came out and had a few little bites at my heals. There was children there so I didn't do much. This run though, he came out with no kid in sight, just as he went in for another bite i gave him a boot. Just as i gave him a tap, a young one just came out to call him.

Then a few km in, your looking down a long straight. There you see a big black lab barking hard and im thinking why the hell im runnging towards this but said feck it. Nothing came of it, just barking

Final 2km from home. i had a firgroll in my pocket, a dog started to follow me so i threw it the other way and began to tackle a hill. My slowness was the downfall here. after a km, i just looked back and there he was chilling along behind me, nice and quiet. I gave him a big shout to go home and off he went.

Every run now seems to have some dog coming out but that is to be expected on real country roads.

kwalshe

I had 3 dogs run out of their gardens at me today going mental, I was brickking it but just kept going. Funny thing when I downloaded my data and there was 3 spikes in my HR's by about 15bpm, mutts messing up my data!!
Anyway what do people do in general, water squirt sound good but I wonder is there anything else I could do?

Pherekydes

kwalshe wrote: »

Anyway what do people do in general, water squirt sound good but I wonder is there anything else I could do?

Learn an anti-dog martial art, like Shu Shih Tzu. :pac:


It's the Stella Artois...

thetonynator

A dog jumped at me this morning on my run, tried to bite my leg then but only got the shorts. Felt like kicking him only I was afraid if I stopped my timewould be a few seconds slower. :cool:

lway

kwalshe wrote: »

I had 3 dogs run out of their gardens at me today going mental, I was brickking it but just kept going. Funny thing when I downloaded my data and there was 3 spikes in my HR's by about 15bpm, mutts messing up my data!!
Anyway what do people do in general, water squirt sound good but I wonder is there anything else I could do?

I guess it depends on the size of the dogs and how brave you are but I had three (admittedly small) dogs run out of a garden yapping at me, I stopped and turned around and walked towards them and they backed off into their garden still yapping.

On a similar note I have to admit to shoulder charging a fat kid who wouldn't get out of my way the other day . Him and two friends were walking towards me so I went to the outside of the path nearest the road, he did move in a bit but not enough for me to get through (at pace) so we bumped shoulders. He screeched like a girl then yelled the C word at me but I kept on going as I was on for a good time.

John_Rambo

lway wrote: »

I guess it depends on the size of the dogs and how brave you are but I had three (admittedly small) dogs run out of a garden yapping at me, I stopped and turned around and walked towards them and they backed off into their garden still yapping

The dogs think they are chasing you off their "property", they feel great when a runner "runs away" because of their ferocity! What you did was challenge them and they backed down. They usually will, it's all bluster and noise with dogs 95% of the time, you proved that. The dogs that bite usually don't give a warning!

(Your attitude to an overweight kid, shoulder charging him because he didn't move out of your way enough for your liking stinks. As a grown man, you should have more sense. I hope you didn't hurt him and I hope, (only) for your sake his folks don't catch up with you.)

robinph

John_Rambo wrote: »

lway wrote: »

I guess it depends on the size of the dogs and how brave you are but I had three (admittedly small) dogs run out of a garden yapping at me, I stopped and turned around and walked towards them and they backed off into their garden still yapping

The dogs think they are chasing you off their "property", they feel great when a runner "runs away" because of their ferocity! What you did was challenge them and they backed down. They usually will, it's all bluster and noise with dogs 95% of the time, you proved that. The dogs that bite usually don't give a warning!

(Your attitude to an overweight kid, shoulder charging him because he didn't move out of your way enough for your liking stinks. As a grown man, you should have more sense. I hope you didn't hurt him and I hope, (only) for your sake his folks don't catch up with you.)

How is the action towards the kids any different to that towards the dogs?

If the kid is willing to play chicken with me then they have to be prepared to loose if I decide I'd rather not play chicken with the cars in the road just to let the kid win.

Duke Fame

Been lucky with dogs never got a bite but chased etc 100s of times.

The bit that gets me is the owners saying

"He wont bite you" or "hes only playing"

That gets on my tits

John_Rambo

Duke Fame wrote: »

"He wont bite you" or "hes only playing"

That gets on my tits

Why? They are obviously telling the truth if you have been chases hundreds of times and never once been bitten!

robinph

John_Rambo wrote: »

Why? They are obviously telling the truth if you have been chases hundreds of times and never once been bitten!

I don't care if the owner thinks it's playing, that is the owners job to play with the creature. If something comes chasing after me shouting and screaming at the top of their voice and bearing their teeth and trying to bite my ankles then I'd consider it a hostile act and respond accordingly.

Murta

John_Rambo wrote: »

Why? They are obviously telling the truth if you have been chases hundreds of times and never once been bitten!

Mmm, I've been biten by Jack Russel whos owner insisted "he doesn't bite". Luckly, the dumb mutt was unable to bite thru trouser leg material.

John_Rambo

robinph wrote: »

If something comes chasing after me shouting and screaming at the top of their voice and bearing their teeth and trying to bite my ankles then I'd consider it a hostile act and respond accordingly.

Fair enough... Teeth bared and all. Luckily never has happened to me. I'v had the barking chasers alright. Doesn't really bother me. Last week I had a fox burst from cover about two metres away from me. I got a fright then.

Git101

On a run I was met by a beagle and a terrier running towards me barking their heads off. A good shout sent the beagle running into a nearby house but the terrier was a bit more persistant. I'd met this lovely dog before when I had to stop an interval to deal with him. I stopped to face the dog, no way was I going to keep running and offer him a nice juicy heel to chew on, shouting "go away like a good dog" or words to that effect. He kept barking and doing that terrier dance, I kept facing him and suggesting to him to go home.
The front door of a nearby house opened and a bloke called the dog in, the dog was very reluctant to go but eventually listened to his "master".

I was turning to continue on my way when yer man said " He wouldn't go near you"
Jaysus, I saw red "he did go near me, I had to stop my run because of him"
Yer man tell me again the the dog wouldn't go near anyone.
I suggested that he should keep his dog off the public road and under control and I was just turning to leave whe he tells me "Sure you're the only one he chases" :rolleyes: Arrrrr

The thick eejit couldn't understand why I was annoyed about his dog chasing me.
I told him that I would help with the dogs training if he ran at me again. I haven't had a problem with that dog since.

Lucifer-0

A dog ran across me a few weeks ago on a trail, could have caused serious injury, I was pissed off, I noticed the owners grabbed him when they seen me on the way back, should have been on a lead.

My house mate was telling me someone from his running club was running a trail recently with his granddaughter. A dog ran at him and caused him to break his leg. The owner got the dog and left him there on the ground with a broken leg. He had to crawl back to the car, disgraceful stuff.

Duke Fame

John_Rambo wrote: »

Why? They are obviously telling the truth if you have been chases hundreds of times and never once been bitten!

It still gets on my tits the truth or not

robinph

Lucifer-0 wrote: »

A dog ran across me a few weeks ago on a trail, could have caused serious injury, I was pissed off, I noticed the owners grabbed him when they seen me on the way back, should have been on a lead.

My house mate was telling me someone from his running club was running a trail recently with his granddaughter. A dog ran at him and caused him to break his leg. The owner got the dog and left him there on the ground with a broken leg. He had to crawl back to the car, disgraceful stuff.

One of the kids was bitten by a dog on one of our club runs during the summer, owner and dog made a swift exit though because they know that if identified the dog is as good as dead.

The animal causing a broken leg may not have got such a severe sentence if identified, but that will have been what was running through their owners mind when they made the swift departure.

Lucifer-0

robinph wrote: »

One of the kids was bitten by a dog on one of our club runs during the summer, owner and dog made a swift exit though because they know that if identified the dog is as good as dead.

The animal causing a broken leg may not have got such a severe sentence if identified, but that will have been what was running through their owners mind when they made the swift departure.

Probably.

Apparently he's one of 11 or so people who've ran every Dublin Marathon, but now he has this awful leg break to deal with, hopefully he makes a recovery for next year.

opus

I was doing one of those easy loop walks with a friend near Dungarvan on Sunday as a bit of recovery from the half-marathon in Waterford, when two small terriers came bounding out of a house with bared teeth as we walked past on the public road but kept their distance when I gave a roar at them.

On the way back I expected something similar but we'd got slightly past the house when they heard us again, I heard them barking as they ran out from the back garden & then a car came round a bend doing a fair bit of speed, well I won't paint the picture of what happened. Needless to say the car didn't stop and sped off into the distance

Hopefully the owner will take better care of the remaining dog and keep their gate closed so they don't dash out onto the road every-time anyone walks past.

lway

John_Rambo wrote: »

(Your attitude to an overweight kid, shoulder charging him because he didn't move out of your way enough for your liking stinks. As a grown man, you should have more sense. I hope you didn't hurt him and I hope, (only) for your sake his folks don't catch up with you.)

It wasn't that he didn't move enough for my liking, it was that he didn't move enough for both of our safety. I doubt it hurt him, certainly didn't knock him off balance and i'd love to meet his parents as his choice of vocabulary was disgusting and i'm sure they wouldn't be happy about that, I certainly wouldn't if it was one of my kids.

John_Rambo wrote: »

The dogs think they are chasing you off their "property", they feel great when a runner "runs away" because of their ferocity! What you did was challenge them and they backed down. They usually will, it's all bluster and noise with dogs 95% of the time, you proved that. The dogs that bite usually don't give a warning!

Agree completely with you here, I remember watching a program following a Postman on his rounds going into gardens with dogs and he ignored the loudest ones who were all noise. But having been bitten once by a sneaky dog it's the quiet ones you have to watch. Figuring out what type a particular dog is while he is running up behind you is the hard part.

Clearlier

lway wrote: »

It wasn't that he didn't move enough for my liking, it was that he didn't move enough for both of our safety. I doubt it hurt him, certainly didn't knock him off balance and i'd love to meet his parents as his choice of vocabulary was disgusting and i'm sure they wouldn't be happy about that, I certainly wouldn't if it was one of my kids.

I'm guessing that you put an embarrassed smiley face on your original post because you didn't intend to hit him? It's obviously not a good idea for anybody to run into somebody else when running not least because you could end up with an injury.

A good rule of thumb is that all other things being equal the fastest moving entity gives way. If a cyclist is coming at me I expect them to get out of the way and similarly when I'm running on the roads in the New Forest over here you get the odd idiot driver going too fast and taking over the road (the roads are narrow enough to scare you witless if they pass at even 30mph), if they don't slow when they see me I move into the middle of the road so that they have to either knock me down or slow down (so far anyway they've all slowed down).

RacoonQueen

If people are walking in a group and taking up the entire footpath though, they should move into single file to give your somewhere to go that's not the road. Unreal the amount of people that just stay 3 or 4 abreast and don't get out of your way - even when you're walking. Do they expect you to jump over them?

I wouldn't run through them, I'll usually go around but usually with a "f*ck sake, ignorant bastards/cows" comment to go with it.

robinph

RacoonQueen wrote: »

If people are walking in a group and taking up the entire footpath though, they should move into single file to give your somewhere to go that's not the road. Unreal the amount of people that just stay 3 or 4 abreast and don't get out of your way - even when you're walking. Do they expect you to jump over them?

I wouldn't run through them, I'll usually go around but usually with a "f*ck sake, ignorant bastards/cows" comment to go with it.

If you have enough time to notice that they are about to be so ignorant, then just coming to a stop in the middle of the path in front of them should make the point as well without requiring any shoulder barging.

Will slow down your run though so unlikely that any of us would ever do that.

Pherekydes

With any large group [of teens, it's always teens, isn't it?] I slow right down and worm my way right through the middle, even running or walking between kids talking face to face, repeatedly saying, a la Richard Hammond, "Sorry, sorry".


Dogs I avoid like the plague. For some reason, they like how I taste.