Getting chased by a dog during my run...

Lemongrab1

I have. I tried to ignore it in the hopes that it was just a regular insane dog with a noise fetish, but nope, it would NOT be ignored.
So it ran around my legs, fake-nipped at my knees and generally sabotaged my workout.
I kind of wanted to punch it in its crazy anti-cardio face, but I love dogs, even ones that are like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

tapirfrog

On a perfectly nice run I was chased -- and cornered -- by two dogs once. The only way I could keep them a couple of feet away from me was to flail my keys at them like a weapon. When I swiped left, the dog on the right would start coming forward, and I'd have to swipe back again (whereupon the dog on the left would come forward). The owner stood in her doorway and watched. I did not have my phone with me or I'd have called 911 ... on the owner, not the dogs.

After that, I carried pepper spray. Be sure to practice with it when you get it. I was surprised to see that it comes out in a liquid stream, not a cloud.

Oh, and I'm a dog owner. If my dog got out and chased someone I'd fully expect to have the cops in my front yard, and I'd deserve it.

lauraleighsm

I've had a neighbor's dog "join" me on a run, and everyone kept looking at me like, helloooo your dog is not on a leash. I can't trying to explain that it wasn't my dog as I ran, but finally I put him in my car and drive him home. He's always out (I think the owner is getting senile) but now I avoid the house!

lauraleighsm

I have. I tried to ignore it in the hopes that it was just a regular insane dog with a noise fetish, but nope, it would NOT be ignored.
So it ran around my legs, fake-nipped at my knees and generally sabotaged my workout.
I kind of wanted to punch it in its crazy anti-cardio face, but I love dogs, even ones that are like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

Hahahahaha! Best comment ever!

fuzzieme

Do you remember which house was the dog's? You might want to drop by and let the owner know what happened. Just say in a nice way, "Hey, I was running the other day and your dog got out and started chasing me for a quarter mile. I just wanted to let you know because a) that really scared me as I don't know your dog and b) that's unsafe for the dog." Just be pleasant, the owner might have no idea what happened. If it would make you feel more at ease you can ask to meet the dog, or just get a general gauge on its temperament from the owner.

I'm sorry that happened to you! As a dog owner myself, I would like to know if my dog was getting out at all, especially if she was chasing people.

This Just go to the house and be very polite. It sounds like the dog is usually controlled better if you've never seen him before, it may have been a once off. If the dog was going to bite you, it would have, my guess is he's just a hyper dog. Explain what happened and mention for the dog's safety as well as yours, and they should appreciate that and do their best to prevent it happening again

jlemoore

I carry pepper spray for this reason.

Personally, I do this. Especially if you don't live in the best neighborhood. There was a woman out for her morning jog that was killed by an agressive dog in my neighborhood.

aaroncirilo

if you carried a water bottle if they get really close spray them... i bike (20 mile commute) and the water freaks them out for some reason.

TheRealParisLove

A little off topic, but if your music is so loud that you have to remove your headphones to hear a dog barking, it is too loud for running on a road (near traffic). Perhaps consider getting the headphones that work through bone conductivity and not ear buds that block surrounding sounds.

*I've never worn earbuds while exercising near roads. I've known way too many people who have been struck by cars because they were completely unaware the cars were in the road.

mathjulz

I had it happen a couple of times. If you make eye contact, it can be seen as aggressive, and running might encourage them to chase, so I generally slow to a walk and look down and sideways (where I can see them out of my peripheral) which is more submissive to a dog. (Dogs generally want to show that they are the "top" or alpha and acting submissive satisfies this, so they don't feel the need to attack). It's worked so far except for one little dog that ran out of the house and actually bit my heel - no skin broken but it hurt!

I actually had a pit bull follow me once. I was a little nervous at first, since they are big dogs, but he stopped and watched me and then, as I started running again, decided to run along side me. He followed me the rest of my run (about 4 miles) and was actually really good natured. Wish I could have kept him (I pit bulls!!) but we couldn't at the time so we had to call animal control to come pick him up.

But, even as a dog owner and lover, I am cautious when a strange dog runs up to me. You never know. And, if you know what house the dog came from, and it happens more than once, I would suggest talking to the owners. It's irresponsible for them to let the dog run out like that, and if the dog steps off the property, is in violation of most city's leash laws (at least here, might be worth looking into).

ldrosophila

Stop running for sure...prey runs. When I've had dogs try to attack my dogs I've had luck with standing up tall growling, and snarling at them telling them they were bad dogs. They've run off before biting my dogs.

Mamanf

I have. I tried to ignore it in the hopes that it was just a regular insane dog with a noise fetish, but nope, it would NOT be ignored.
So it ran around my legs, fake-nipped at my knees and generally sabotaged my workout.
I kind of wanted to punch it in its crazy anti-cardio face, but I love dogs, even ones that are like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.

Hahahahaha! Best comment ever!

I thought the same thing haha.

Just for info- here is the ASPCA link on dog chasing runners: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/dogs-chasing-runners

Like I said running away from a chasing dog will just incite it into carrying on chasing, whether out of aggression (predator/prey) or out of playfulness. My father is a dog handler and always taught us to either stand our ground or calmly walk away. Unfortunately despite growing up around Malinois and knowing the tricks and tips, I know that if I was being chased by a growling, barking not happy dog, I would panic a little particularly since I always run with my 1 year old. I hope the owner made sure the dog doesn't get loose again.
Oh and I like the comment about the headphones. Of course to each his own but I don't run with headphones own for safety reason . And being a military wife, I also have been told that I am not allowed to run on base with headphones on (I guess some airmen stepped up in front of a vehicle while running because he didn't hear it coming, one would think he could have used his eyes to check before crossing the road but hey... we're talking about the AF ;-p

smiley13000

This happens to me too! It freaks me out! On my run I encounter four "patches" of dogs. The first one is a house with only one dog.... Most of the time. I think they just got a second dog. And they are not little dogs! I think one of them is a German shepherd mix and the other one is big enough to come up to a little higher than my knees. THEN the next house (it comes right after the other house with evil dogs, but it's on the other side of the road). They JUST got more dogs. They used to have a ton of little minion dogs, but they all got run over -_- hense why the are so evil. They chase EVERYTHING! So then the next house has one German shepherd. Normally he's pretty good. He's never chased me. I just keep eye contact with him the whole time. Then the next house... Oh my! The next house! This house is bad! There are 3 big dogs and 4 little terrier-like dogs. They are even more evil than the second house's dogs! I was running one day, and I was so scared by them that I literally ran into their neighbors yard to try to not let the dogs see me. (Bad choice. They saw me and started chasing -_-) Whenever I go by that house, I normally yell at the dogs to go home and sprint as fast as I can.
Don't take me wrong! I'm a dog lover and I have three of my own, but it worries me when all these dogs chase me! They are not nice! I really do worry that they will start biting my legs or feet!
As far as advise, I have no clue. Normally I just sprint past every house I know has dogs. I've actually recently been told that this is not a good technic... So.. Maybe that's why all the dogs in my town like chasing me. I don't know. Thanks for posting this!

LorinaLynn

Dogs have a natural instinct to chase things that are running, so I would stop runnng and just walk and completely ignore the dog. Like the other poster said, most dogs are not agressive and would never hurt you, it's just fun to chase things that are running.

This. I stop running. Most dog lose interest in chasing when it's not fun anymore.

lilRicki

I had a great dane follow me once. I didn't realize he was there until he put his wet nose in my hand. I turned around and damn near died. He acted like I'M the one that scared HIM. So in my panicked state I snapped my fingers, and in a very stern voice I said "COME ON" and continued with my exercise. He followed me for a bit, realizing I wasn't taking any BS, and when I continued to ignore him, he trotted off. This was at 3am in a small town (nobody in site), so I had zero help lol. Thank god the Dane was still young and dumb or I'd be "pooched" :laugh:

Cherimoose

Just a comment about pepper sprays. If you haven't used one before, buy 2, so you can practice with one outside and see how it behaves (distance, spray volume, mist vs. stream). Don't want any unexpected surprises during game time.
Those little keychain sized units have 1 or 2 one-second sprays - that's it. And they don't spray very far. Fortunately they sell bigger cans..

johnwhitent

This is too funny! The here advice ranges from run faster to stop running. Well, most of my runs are on trails in the woods, so the only dogs that chase me are the two I take with me. But I am chased virtually every bike ride, usually by several different dogs, and I do occasionally run on the road and encounter dogs as well. (I live in a rural area, where loose dogs are considered a freedom protected by the Constitution). I have learned a few things. One, dogs are highly territorial. Most leave me alone as soon as I pass their territory (yard). On the bike I give them a yell, which stops many of them. Others halt at the squirt of a water bottle. I was recently chased by twelve pit bull's from the same yard. I gave a loud yell (Stop!) and most of them stopped. Most of the rest stopped at the end of their yard. Two continued and I was able to stop one with a squirt from my water bottle, and the last one finally just gave up as I accelerated away. Glad it wasn't uphill! I worry more when running because it is harder to accelerate away. When running often times I turn towards the dog, yell, walk towards it, and treat it as if it were my own dog, which always seems to confuse them. I have yet to be bitten. However I did hit one on my bike, which caused a hard crash resulting a concussion, scrapes and bruises, and a broken helmet. I hit him square in the side as he ran out in front of me (growling)That one laid in wait for me and caught me totally by surprise. Unfortunately I think the dog died from injuries. I pass there regularly and his two buddies are still in the yard, but I haven't seen him since the accident. But in many years of riding and running that is the only bad incident that I have had, so I don't refrain from activity because of the risk.

lorigem

On a perfectly nice run I was chased -- and cornered -- by two dogs once. The only way I could keep them a couple of feet away from me was to flail my keys at them like a weapon. When I swiped left, the dog on the right would start coming forward, and I'd have to swipe back again (whereupon the dog on the left would come forward). The owner stood in her doorway and watched. I did not have my phone with me or I'd have called 911 ... on the owner, not the dogs.

After that, I carried pepper spray. Be sure to practice with it when you get it. I was surprised to see that it comes out in a liquid stream, not a cloud.

Oh, and I'm a dog owner. If my dog got out and chased someone I'd fully expect to have the cops in my front yard, and I'd deserve it.

Wow - and the owner just watched? I would've punched her out after the dogs were squared away.

Some frightening stories here. I, too, was almost attacked by a pack of German Shepherds when I was walking my puppy. One dog leaped over a fence and ran full force toward us. I stopped in fear - guess I panicked. The owner loudly shouted a command and the dog stopped dead in its tracks only feet away from me. Scared the shizz out of me.

ckspores1018

This has happened to me multiple times with the same house/dog. I've never been bitten by this dog but I know it has attacked other neighbors and their dogs. The owners are awful pet parents. I usually avoid walking my dogs or running by their house all together but if I have to run by I carry a small vial of dog repellent I got from my vet. If it does chase me I slow to a walk and completely ignore it (no eye contact, no talking to it, etc). Eventually it gives up and leaves me alone. I've only had to spray it once when it was nipping at the tips of my gloves. The owners were pissed but tough crap. Control your dog. If you had time to watch me spray him, you had time to come out and get him before it happened.

I'm a dog owner and I hate it when people don't control their animals but accidents do happen so I tend to be pretty forgiving. If you've never seen the dog before it is likely the owners probably keep pretty good tabs on him and it won't be something you'll repeat often.

I've found it often the smaller dogs that are most aggressive and willing to bite a human. I have no proof of that; just anecdotal evidence from my own experience.

HKHAN1982

This is why I hate walking/running outside and prefer to do my cardio in the gym. I'm TERRIFIED of dogs, esp dog owners who don't like to keep their dogs on a leash or care if their dog chases others. A neighbor's dog was running to me while I was on a walk once. I yelled to her to please call her dog back and she got pissed and called me a *****. I couldn't believe it. Her dog wasn't on a leash and running towards me and she had the nerve to cuss at me. When the dog finally ran back to her, I told the lady she needed to watch her language and walked away. She was a neighbor otherwise I would have called the cops. I try my best not to take that route if I can help it but I think I will get a pepper spray just in case. Another time a dog came running towards me and my kids as we were walking to the park. He stopped 2 feet away from my toddler's stroller. Luckily I tried to stay calm and screamed to the owner who was like 100 yds away to call him back. He did and luckily the dog listened, but that was the end of my walk. It's scary, esp when the owners are so careless. I would walk more outside if it wasn't for this dog problem.

jenifr818

There's a loose dog on my block that sees me running and runs with me.... never barks or anything, just jogs alongside me for a mile and then goes off on his own. Everyone assumes he's mine and yells at me for not using a leash. I'd bring him home but I don't even know which house he lives in, just know it's in my area somewhere. No tags or anything. Friendliest little thing on the planet. I worry he's going to get hit or attacked by a much larger dog some day. Irresponsible pet parents like his irritate me to no end.

Regarding attacking dogs, I carry a weapon on my runs for protection against human attackers, but the idea of using it on an animal makes me sick to my stomach, so I've thought about getting pepper spray for that instance. Thankfully, never had to use it.