I have a huge pet peeve with unleashed animals

Jxnsmma

OP does NOT live in town. She lives in the country. Whole different set of rules here.

As a woman, if you see a bunch of "gang-type" guys down an alley way would you run down there or steer clear for your safety because you are scared? SAME thing. You are afraid of the big dogs and thats where they LIVE. Run elsewhere.

I live in the country too and have all of one gravel road that runs near my property. That is where I go to do my thing, if I cant do it in my yard. Either that or I have to go on a 4 lane highway where people are driving 70 miles an hour... Down that one gravel road is Jack the dog, who comes running out after me whether I am riding my bike with my 3 year old, jogging or riding my horse. NONE of which are safe to do on the highway.... I know where he lives and expect him to come running out with his owners screaming at him along the way. The last time I was riding my horse and he ran out the owner was freaking out about how my horse was going to hurt him!!!! Next time I hope he comes a little closer, takes a nip at my horses leg and gets a hoof in the face. That'll learn him. Had another dog farther out follow me down the road for 4 miles. His owner saw him leave the yard, told me he wouldnt follow us for long, didnt call him back and then had the nerve to come find us with the car and give me crap for not bringing her dog back... SCUSE ME?! Cereal?

TheWiseCat

Some people on here need to read Dogs 101. If you throw things at a dog or shoot it with something you will only serve to create what you hate. While I agree every runner walker should carry some thing to protect them selves they also need to acquaint themselves with dog body language and behavior. My daughter carries a small air horn. It usually shuts the dogs down and gets the owners attention, She carries a legal spray if that does not work and a few other tricks up her sleeve. She always has her dog with her that is more likely to create curiosity for other dogs so she has a lot of experience with this. For people who say, why should I learn their behavior I say, it's a hazard of your sport without a doubt. You would not lift with out learning the ins and outs and how to stay safe, how is this different, because there will always be bad out of control owners, it's just a fact of life. I have 5 dogs they all are off leash in my yard with me close by. They know not to step on the road with out my release. They will run with a runner right to the edge of my yard but not step on the street. I can guarantee that if I caught someone throwing something at them or shooting at them. The last thing you would be worried about would be my dogs. There are better solutions.

My solution is that responsible pet owners will keep their pets on a leash or in the confines of their property. Being a multiple pet owner, I know that different pets will exhibit differing signals. They have their own unique personalities and their intentions aren't always clear to all who see. I'm not going to carry a horn, fly swatter, spray bottle, pepper spray... and every device for every interpreted graduated level of risk. If a person will not properly control their pet, then I'll do whatever I deem necessary to protect myself and others if it appears there is danger. As a responsible pet owner, I wouldn't let my animals off my property without a leash because I don't want them getting hit by a car or whatever else. Hell there are people who will abuse and provoke an animal, then call the cops to report an attack. When you let your pet run free off your property, you open up unlimited dangers.

HotMummyMission

Best post ever on my fitness pal WINNER woop woop hahahaha xxxxx

BflSaberfan

OP does NOT live in town. She lives in the country. Whole different set of rules here.

As a woman, if you see a bunch of "gang-type" guys down an alley way would you run down there or steer clear for your safety because you are scared? SAME thing. You are afraid of the big dogs and thats where they LIVE. Run elsewhere.

I live in the country too and have all of one gravel road that runs near my property. That is where I go to do my thing, if I cant do it in my yard. Either that or I have to go on a 4 lane highway where people are driving 70 miles an hour... Down that one gravel road is Jack the dog, who comes running out after me whether I am riding my bike with my 3 year old, jogging or riding my horse. NONE of which are safe to do on the highway.... I know where he lives and expect him to come running out with his owners screaming at him along the way. The last time I was riding my horse and he ran out the owner was freaking out about how my horse was going to hurt him!!!! Next time I hope he comes a little closer, takes a nip at my horses leg and gets a hoof in the face. That'll learn him. Had another dog farther out follow me down the road for 4 miles. His owner saw him leave the yard, told me he wouldnt follow us for long, didnt call him back and then had the nerve to come find us with the car and give me crap for not bringing her dog back... SCUSE ME?! Cereal?

When I was chased a few weeks ago by 2 dogs the owner came out and was yelling at me because I was running, if I had been walking his dogs wouldn't have chased me and therefore, all my fault.

fayeonherway

My dog was attacked by an unleashed dog on a busy public trail in February. We did not see the dog coming..it came up from behind and chomped down on my dogs hind area. Thank goodness there were two runners coming up from behind that scrambled to help me by prying the other dog off my dog. The owner of the dog was running towards us 'calling' her dog with the leash in her hand. I have 17 lb Westie. The dog that attacked her was a 80 lb plus mix. My dog was on a leash, she did not 'egg' the other dog on because she never saw it. I didn't see the dog and only knew something was off when I heard the high pitch whelp. It was the most traumatic experience I've been through in my 32 years. The sound of my dog screaming mixed in with all the blood. I thought it was the end of my dog; she is the closest thing I have to family. It was a late Saturday afternoon, so it was extremely difficult to find an animal hospital or vet open. Luckily I found one a couple of miles away and they were able to treat my dog. I her in for a check up this past Tuesday and she has healed nicely.

So many owners leave their dog off leash on the urban/suburban trails and the city won't or can't enforce it. I guess they will the day someone's child gets badly bitten. Every dog owner thinks it will never be their dog, or they have such awesome control of an off leash dog. It took me a while to take my dog back out because of that happened. It is a beautiful 5 mile walk that she loved. I count at least 5 off leash dog running ahead of or off to the side of their owners. Now I walk with a giant stick and any dog that comes remotely near me or my dog is getting whacked. I don't care who you are or how 'friendly' your dog is. I don't know you, I don't know your dog and I will protect what is mine.

Jxnsmma

I have people like you where I live hahah I have my2 big dogs and let them off on our dog walk area and al the runners have something to say or pull a face .... It's a dog walking area you can run anywhere stop friggin crying and run somewhere Else simple! My baby's need exercise an there more important than you sorry there off a leash because there safe . If they bite then you have a case but your just being a grump I'm afraid

Is this real life?

Sure is

I wasn't really sure because my third grader spells better than you do.

Can you tell me what's misspelt my love

*my two
*all
*babies
*and
*they're
*they're
*they're
*you're

And Punctuation.

You forgot *misspelled

Your Welcome...

HotMummyMission

I have people like you where I live hahah I have my2 big dogs and let them off on our dog walk area and al the runners have something to say or pull a face .... It's a dog walking area you can run anywhere stop friggin crying and run somewhere Else simple! My baby's need exercise an there more important than you sorry there off a leash because there safe . If they bite then you have a case but your just being a grump I'm afraid

Is this real life?

Sure is

I wasn't really sure because my third grader spells better than you do.

Can you tell me what's misspelt my love

*my two
*all
*babies
*and
*they're
*they're
*they're
*you're

And Punctuation.

You forgot *misspelled

Your Welcome...

Whey heyy you go girl

paleirishmother

Pets are my pet peeve.

Iron_Maiden

This is littered with brilliance only rivaled by Mensa. :noway:

Jxnsmma

I should also mention that I have a 130lb rotti who wouldnt hurt a fly. He loves going to open leash dog parks and socializing with other dogs and people. He is a gentle giant who loves everyone and wouldnt hurt a fly. But he is still either in In my yard, my house or in his dog run, even though I live in the country. I would hate to ever see him hit by a car.

Like one chickie who was on my friends list a while back who posted about how horrible the person was that ran over her cat in the street. She didnt like my response that if her cat wasnt on the street it would still be alive and in her arms. Deleted me. Truth hurts.

Illona88

People should learn to read a dog's body language to see if it's trying to play with you or if it is aggressive. You'll find that it's 99.99% playing.
So many people in this thread are saying just to shoot or pepperspray the dogs. What the hell? Educate yourself.


In the countryside it is perfectly normal to have the animals roaming free. In my village they even have herds of cows roaming free. If you don't like it, go back to the city.

sullus

I have people like you where I live hahah I have my2 big dogs and let them off on our dog walk area and al the runners have something to say or pull a face .... It's a dog walking area you can run anywhere stop friggin crying and run somewhere Else simple! My baby's need exercise an there more important than you sorry there off a leash because there safe . If they bite then you have a case but your just being a grump I'm afraid

Is this real life?

Sure is

I wasn't really sure because my third grader spells better than you do.

Can you tell me what's misspelt my love

*my two
*all
*babies
*and
*they're
*they're
*they're
*you're

And Punctuation.

You forgot *misspelled

Your Welcome...

Awwwww, niggler, please.

Due to some of the poster's usage and phrasing, I suspect she's not using American English, and therefore, misspelt is not incorrect.

Misspelled is the past tense of misspell (he misspelled the word)

Misspelt is an adjective (the word was misspelt)

When speaking English English, anyway.

this1bigdog

some of the problem is people don't train their animals and that sux. . .but...

I think a lot of the problem is that you aren't trained. ..
try learning to defend yourself and you won't be scared of dogs, goats, rabbits, or hell even people. . .
just saying "don't be a victim" things are only scary if you can't kick their *kitten*!

MFPfriend

I had my dog in the yard playing fetch when a walker with a dog came by this morning. My dog is young (thus dumb), and ran to greet them before I realized they were there. The walker started hitting him with a walking stick and then said, "You should have that damn dog on a leash." To which I replied, "We're outside playing fetch our yard. He lives here, you don't, and he's not left outside unsupervised. Call the cops or don't walk here anymore."

THE END.

Was the walker in your yard or the sidewalk/street? A coworker of mine use to let her puppy play in the yard, until he got hit by a car and died. She doesn't do that with her new dogs any more.

They were walking in the middle of the street (my street dead ends into a park; however, there's no access to the park via my street). Normally he's not allowed in the front yard because it's not fenced, but I was trying to get some plants in the ground before work along the walkway. My neighborhood is really tight-knit, we all know each other, our dogs all play together etc., so it wasn't unreasonable for Hugo to think his behavior was acceptable. It wasn't acceptable behavior on his part, and I quickly recalled him.

Wait, in the first quote you were playing fetch, then in the second quote you were gardening?
... sounds fishy.

fayeonherway

People should learn to read a dog's body language to see if it's trying to play with you or if it is aggressive. You'll find that it's 99.99% playing.
So many people in this thread are saying just to shoot or pepperspray the dogs. What the hell? Educate yourself.


In the countryside it is perfectly normal to have the animals roaming free. In my village they even have herds of cows roaming free. If you don't like it, go back to the city.

The dog that attacked my dog came up from behind! Please advise how I was supposed to read body language? When it has it mouth wrapped around my dog's hind legs?

What's wrong with being responsible dog owners? Leash your dogs unless they are on your property. Even then if I am on the 'public' side walk and your dog comes charging, I'm defending myself how I see fit.

fitfreakymom

OP does NOT live in town. She lives in the country. Whole different set of rules here.

As a woman, if you see a bunch of "gang-type" guys down an alley way would you run down there or steer clear for your safety because you are scared? SAME thing. You are afraid of the big dogs and thats where they LIVE. Run elsewhere.

I live in the country too and have all of one gravel road that runs near my property. That is where I go to do my thing, if I cant do it in my yard. Either that or I have to go on a 4 lane highway where people are driving 70 miles an hour... Down that one gravel road is Jack the dog, who comes running out after me whether I am riding my bike with my 3 year old, jogging or riding my horse. NONE of which are safe to do on the highway.... I know where he lives and expect him to come running out with his owners screaming at him along the way. The last time I was riding my horse and he ran out the owner was freaking out about how my horse was going to hurt him!!!! Next time I hope he comes a little closer, takes a nip at my horses leg and gets a hoof in the face. That'll learn him. Had another dog farther out follow me down the road for 4 miles. His owner saw him leave the yard, told me he wouldnt follow us for long, didnt call him back and then had the nerve to come find us with the car and give me crap for not bringing her dog back... SCUSE ME?! Cereal?

When I was chased a few weeks ago by 2 dogs the owner came out and was yelling at me because I was running, if I had been walking his dogs wouldn't have chased me and therefore, all my fault.

I walked past someones house with a beagle I was looking after and they had the nerve to tell me I was taking a risk walking past their house with a dog because their dog does not like other dogs, that is when I found out about land ownership and rights so the next time it happens and their dog leave the property to try to attack us I will call the township on them.

Rbacchiega

The issue isn't with leashes, it is with manners and training. My dogs are almost always off leash, and they are better behaved than most confined animals.

This. Any dog I've ever owned has been trained since a pup that it doesn't leave the yard unless its with me. I can take my current pup (well, he's 7, but I call him a pup) Dexter to an off leash park here in the city and he still wont go more than 20 feet ahead without turning around and running back. Has never chased someone jogging on their own or with another dog. Dex is a Wheaton Terrier and looks like a teddy bear so I'm not sure if people would get scared of him running with them (if he did it) but I used to have 2 Cane Corsos....they looked mean but were 100+lb lap dogs. Still, they were trained the same way, they didn't leave my side unless I told them to go for a run, and even then they would turn back and run back to me.

Long story short, it's about the dogs training (or lack thereof). Same thing with people who hold grudges against dogs because of their breed. (Another thread all together I'd imagine)

And to the person suggesting shooting the dog with an airsoft gun or pepper spray.....you can't be serious. If the OP is that upset about being chased a noise maker of some sort (think bear horn etc) would do the trick. No need to be so extreme.

Jxnsmma

I have an unleashed animal in my pants. Feel free to tame it.

Gonna see a pic of it with an airsoft wound on here soon? LOL!

TyFit08

When I was a child my mother and I were walking home from the grocery store. A man was pulling out of his driveway and before he had a chance to get out of his car and lock his gate, his two very large german shepherds ran through the gate and chased us. I was terrified. My mother had a jug of milk and a container or orange juice and had to hit the dogs with them to get them to back off. In the meantime, I almost ran into a busy street out of fear to get away from them.

To this day I am still afraid of dogs, especially large ones. I always cross the street when I see a pit bull, rockwilder, doberman or german shepherd. I get that pet owners love their dogs, but some just don't realize that everyone doesn't share that feeling. I don't want to play with your dog. I don't care how friendly you say he is. I have no way of knowing that. Approaching me is considered a threat in my mind, so I'd rather you keep your dog away.

Leash laws exist for a reason. To protect the public, to protect your animal, other animals and you from liability. The owners that disregard this are rude and irresponsible. I was at an area in the city that is filled with restaurants and shops. Cars are not allowed to drive through, so there is a lot of pedestrian traffic especially on summer days. There were hundreds of people at the cafes, walking around or sitting on the benches. A woman with a large dog was playing fetch in this area. This dog was running through the crowd with no regard of the families or children that were in between him and his ball. I said something to the owner and she got smart back at me. These are the dog owners, that give responsible dog owners a bad name.

There is a dog park at the a park in my neighborhood where dogs can run unleashed, but many owners choose to let their dogs run free throughout the entire park. When I run I have to worry if this dog will come after me. Once I hit a dog with my car because it was unleashed and I didn't see it coming. The dog was fine, but unfortunately the front bumper of my new car did not. And guess what the owner didn't have any money to help with my expenses. I think all the OP and many of us ask is that animal owners be responsible and considerate of others. Leash your animals or keep them on your property.

WDEvy

I do keep my dog on a leash when outside. That said... Are you people for real with your pepper spray and shooting dogs?! What the actual **** is wrong with you?!?!?! I would sue you for all you have if you shot my dog!