Mean dog (Read 1337 times)

Trent


Good Bad & The Monkey

    I recommend that you stop and talk to the owner and ask that she introduce you to the dog so that the dog is familiar with you
    Yeah, I don't think that is gonna work for everybody...and for them, if it does, it won't end well...
    When I'm running, I hate dog owners with the fury of a thousand suns. When I'm biking, I hate them even more.
    JakeKnight


      Again, my perspective is somewhat different because I come from a place where it's commonplace to have dogs off-leash, both in their yards and out walking them too. We even have a couple of dogs that sleep in the middle of Main Street. But don't hate all of us dog-owners, when you're running or any other time.
      While I'm violating every rule of the Society to End Comet Topics (SECT) by responding, let me just say: I love dogs. I have three of them. I don't fear dogs. Any dogs. At all. And when Mangy the Mastiff comes bounding towards me and covers me with slobber, I don't really mind at all. I actually like it. But when I get done with my tongue-bath, I tend to tongue-lash the owner. Or throw heavy things. For three reasons: 1) Almost every time - maybe every single time - there is a serious (or fatal) mauling, the owner will say: "but she had never shown signs of aggression!" And they're probably telling the truth, too. But that assurance isn't going to help the victim. Or you, when you lose your house and all your stuff, or try to sleep at night knowing what your negligence caused. On the plus side, this kind of thinking keeps lawyers in business. Their kids need to go to college, too. 2) Some people do fear dogs. I may think its a silly fear, but its real. My fiancee is one of those people, and she frankly won't run with me in our neighborhood because of big, friendly dogs. When they come running out, its not funny. It's crying and hysterics and breaking my ribs because she's hiding behind me and squeezing so tight. If the dog belongs to you, you aren't going to like me. Your dog and I will be just fine. 3) For lots of reasons, most related to # 1 and # 2 up there, almost every place has leash laws. It's possible that you live in an area that does not. I don't know. But here, there are specific laws. I run in parks where there are signs everywhere ... yet every day, at least one dog owner will have their dog off a leash. And call me crazy, but it annoys the piss out of me when people don't have the common courtesy to obey clearly written laws designed to promote safety and simple respect. So back to you: is it legal to have your dogs off a leash? Or illegal? If its illegal - why does "commonplace" matter? Legal or not, if it were your wife or child jogging by somebody's house, and they got hurt or worse - would "they never showed signs of aggression" make you feel better? And here's the question I always want to ask: is it really so hard to train your dogs or take the basic steps necessary to keep them on your property? Even if its legal, this seems like just basic courtesy to me. Not to mention the sad fact that its usually the dogs who pay the price for being allowed to run free. My next door neighbor's was run over by car. Had he obeyed the law, the dog would still be alive. Sweet puppy, too. And this wasn't flak. I'm just curious. Apparently I have to start including emoticons out here, so: Yes

      E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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      seeEricaRun


      Awesome

        Trent, I knew I liked you. Smile Erica - not all dog owners are poop-heads!!
        I don't disagree in theory, but in reality, I'll cross the street to go around even leashed dogs. I am so f-ing tired of being chased, barked at, growled at, and threatened. YOU may think you know what your dog is going to do when it gets to me, but I have no idea, and I've had enough bad run-ins in a non-leash-law area (and leash-law areas if you include being bitten by friends' dogs) to have an only slightly milder fear of strange dogs than what JK's wife experiences. What's particularly awesome is, if the owner happens to be around, or paying attention, when they laugh off the fact that their dog just bolted at me, or is snarling and drooling at me. "Oh, don't worry, Fluffy just wants to play." Apparently with my severed head. It's been my experience that they bite so fast that I've had no way to see it coming in order to defend myself. It's as scary as it is painful, so I prefer to stay as far as away as possible, and I'd prefer that their owners would afford me the courtesy of not allowing their dog to run at me, even while on-leash, but I'd also prefer to have 2:30 marathon PR. Both seem to have the same likelihood of occurring. So yes, thanks to more than a few poor owners, I fear dogs when I run, and I hate their owners, because I have no idea in advance if they are "poop-heads." In just about anything else, I'd give them the benefit of the doubt, but not in this.
        zoom-zoom


        rectumdamnnearkilledem

          Not to mention the sad fact that its usually the dogs who pay the price for being allowed to run free. My next door neighbor's was run over by car. Had he obeyed the law, the dog would still be alive. Sweet puppy, too.
          This actually concerns me more than any potential risk of aggression from a dog. There used to be a very sweet, young boxer on one of my regular running routes. She would always come out and run with me for a little ways, all the while I would encourage her to go home. Her home was on a fairly quiet stretch of road where the speed limit is 55, but people often drive much faster. I haven't seen that pup in a year or more--I have a feeling she met a bad end, which is sad. Leash laws are as much to protect the animals as they are to protect potential human victims of a dog attack.

          Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

          remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

               ~ Sarah Kay


          Best Present Ever

            As someone who also lives in a rural area, I'll point out that rural areas often don't have leash laws. In the area of Virginia where I live, if a dog bites a person animal control will get involved or if a dog harms livestock, animal control will get involved. Having dogs running loose, though, isn't illegal at all, even if it is annoying. There are routes I avoid because of dogs.
            xor


              So yes, I fear dogs, and I hate their owners.
              I've read this thread, and I understand the fear well. I occasionally run with a very accomplished trail runner from the area... and she's petrified of dogs. Sometimes we run together so she'll have company in case the random country dog freaks her out (or worse). I'm also a dog owner. A responsible one. This response makes me sad as hell. And that's for real. "I hate everybody who X" is a sad state. No matter what population we're talking about, there's always a minority doing things which makes the majority look bad (example: bike riders in the city who cut me off while I'm running or daredevil in front of me while I'm driving), but I surely wouldn't blindly walk into a group of people I barely know declaring I HATE ALL OF YOU, DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL. Jeez. Edited to add: when I grabbed the quote above, it was a standalone thing at the end of a post, so it held its own context. It has been modified since, several times, and I believe I understand the author's points. And I still say: Jeez.

               

              JakeKnight


                This actually concerns me more than any potential risk of aggression from a dog. There used to be a very sweet, young boxer on one of my regular running routes. She would always come out and run with me for a little ways, all the while I would encourage her to go home. Her home was on a fairly quiet stretch of road where the speed limit is 55, but people often drive much faster. I haven't seen that pup in a year or more--I have a feeling she met a bad end, which is sad. Leash laws are as much to protect the animals as they are to protect potential human victims of a dog attack.
                Yup. My only really bad experience with an off-dog leash - in an area with very strict leash laws - came when I was 16 years old. And I hit the poor thing with my car. A little poodle. It was traumatic. The dog lived, but it was horrible. I'm holding the thing in my arms in a rainstorm, blood dribbling out of its mouth, its whole body shaking. Now want to hear the part that will make your blood boil? I found out it wasn't the first time. I was the second person to hit that dog, and its owners still didn't care enough to buy a freakin' leash or just put it in the house. But wait. There's more. Care to guess what happened six months later? Yep. And poor little Mitzy (maybe Muffy?) didn't survive number three.

                E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
                -----------------------------

                  Some people do fear dogs. I may think its a silly fear, but its real.
                  TOTALLY agree. Most people are scared of at least something...whether it be dogs, spiders or the dark. One of my best friends is terrified of cats. I'll heartily admit I'm scared of fish and things that swim in rivers/lakes/oceans. They'll eat my legs. Bottom line, whether I think my dog is nice or not, as an owner I need to be responsible. Just like people with cats need to be responsible. And people who have annoying children.
                  "If you run 100 miles a week, you can eat anything you want - Why? Because (a) you'll burn all the calories you consume, (b) you deserve it, and (c) you'll be injured soon and back on a restricted diet anyway." ~ Don Kardong
                  JakeKnight


                    I like turtles.

                    E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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                      Some people do fear dogs. I may think its a silly fear, but its real. :
                      I am one of those people and does my heart rate skyrocket when a dog comes running. It has yet to keep me from running, but sometimes I make my husband bike past a certain house while I am running if I see their dog is out.
                      hairbag27


                        I've been bitten by three dogs in my lifetime. Only one of them still roams this earth.
                        seeEricaRun


                        Awesome

                          I like turtles.
                          Even snapping turtles?
                          Trent


                          Good Bad & The Monkey

                            So yes, thanks to more than a few poor owners, I fear dogs when I run, and I hate their owners, because I have no idea in advance if they are "poop-heads."
                            Out of curiosity, what kind of medicine to you plan to practice? And: you must be in medical school at Harvard.


                            #artbydmcbride

                              I like turtles.
                              Mine will chase you down!

                               

                              Runners run

                              C-R


                                I like turtles.
                                Is this from your yard or Scouts? Just another reason for turtle leash laws.


                                "He conquers who endures" - Persius
                                "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel

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