Loose dogs while jogging

It's not only the people who are in danger, either. Working at a vet's, I never met an owner of a dog who'd been hit by a car who thought their dog would run out in traffic. I heard, "He always stayed right with me," or "She never did that before!"

It only takes once.

On the other hand, I have known a lot of ridiculously well trained dogs. I know the kind of training behind getting your dog therapy certified. It's incredible. And herding dogs... Sheep trials amaze me. I'm in awe of the dedication that goes into that level of obedience.

. I respond based on how I read the dog (having a lot of experience helps here). In all cases, it's best if you STOP RUNNING. Dogs chase running people. So stop running. Don't make prolonged eye contact. You can try a firm NO or Go Home. Actually works sometimes! Then slowly walk away backwards, so you can see the dog.

Good advice, that has worked best for me too in most cases. There is one large mixed breed dog on my long run route that almost bit my training partner even after following the above advice. For him I went to D*ck's Sporting Goods and bought some dog mace. I also have a permit to carry but at this point I think that would be overkill...so, the next time we ran by the dog wasn't out. Then, the time after that it was out, BUT this tiny little pug who is obviously the pack BOSS showed up out of nowhere and ran in front of the bigger dog that had been trying to bite us and STOPPED HIM! If I could speak dog I'm pretty sure that little guy gave him a good *kitten* chewing about chasing us.

So I have yet to see how my dog mace works, but that's ok!

I'm not seeing these "generalizations."

It's normal, and smart, for people to be cautious around dogs they don't know. It's normal to be annoyed if dogs are required to be on a leash and aren't. No one is saying all dogs are bad.

I think I'm a great driver, and think I could very easily drive and talk on the cell phone. I've done it. I didn't wreck my car. But now that it's illegal in my state to drive and talk, I don't answer the phone while I'm driving.

Just wanted to clarify that I had already excused working and sport from being out in front, obviously working dogs are off lead and under control or they wouldn't be working dogs. And yeah pretty much all the dogs I'm talking about would make excellent plow horses. I used to skate w/my dogs, they knew harness meant in front lead meant heal. If you have a big dog, you HAVE to have control. Most of the "alpha" training that I did involved little more than posture, vocal tone and redirection, that's all it took to get their attention. Since I had gaze hounds i.e. Great Danes, I also taught them hand signals, (which can be taught to any dog) which they were naturally cued to. I had my dogs trained to spit out a steak if I told them to, all by command and they learned that command by me asking for the object and if they didn't give it I'd reach in their mouths and grab it.

I stand by my statement, if they are in front of you you have no real control. Pulling deffinately equates to in front of you. By your side slightly in front of your is by your side, not in front.

Before I begin, let me apologize to the OP for this thread going slightly off-topic. The original topic was a question for advice on the best way to defend onesself against stray or otherwise uncontrolled dogs while out running...

Okay, that being said, allow me to shed some light on my background. I grew up with parents that raised Dobermans. One of the most gentle breeds of dogs I've even known. Very family oriented and kid-friendly. Very protective of their 'property' too; be it the bed of the pick-up, or the 2 acres we owned (only 1 acre was fenced in). We had many children on our street that knew Hannah and Rex by name and could easily come up and pet them. The street we lived on was out in the country and had five houses on it. Each of our neighbors had a dog or two, but Hannah and Rex kinda protected the whole street and all the dogs there too. However, even though our dobies protected the street, they knew damn well they couldn't leave the unfenced front yard without permission. They would sit in the front yard and watch cows and sheep and horses and squirrels and rabbits and cats walk by without even a second glance. Sure, we had a couple tomcats that got into fights and Hannah and Rex were allowed to rush to their defense and chase off the stray cat. However, once they had the cat a safe distance from the house, we could always recall them. Luckily for us, we lived on that dirt road where traffic was at a minimum. However, anytime we went into the city with the dogs, they both had a leash on and stayed in the heel position on my parents.

I've been in the military for 6 years now as a law enforcement patrolman with 3 of those years as a canine handler. I'll tell you as a handler one of the things that worries me most is stray dogs. I know many of the dogs on this installation, some even by name, but there isn't a single one I wouldn't hesitate to shoot if it came at me or my partner while we were on patrol. We have leash laws here, and military members STILL think that it's okay to walk around with their 'perfectly behaved' collie off-lead in the heel position. Let me tell you, when your collie sees my German Shephard and my boy gives her a deep bark in challenge, most dogs have a choice between fight or flight when they're not in their yard. So, what does you Collie do? It doesn't have to be a Collie, either. I've just seen herding dogs as the most popular choice for going off lead. Most dogs will respond to the challenge with a challenge of their own. They see the sidewalk as public property, not my partner's property, and feel it's okay to challenge his authority. In dog terms, this is completely acceptible. He's just another dog, a stanger, and they don't know who is the boss of that particular stretch of sidewalk. Still, the owners always, ALWAYS, tell me that they've had this dog for years and years and she's never done this before (run up to a strange dog without obeying the recall).

I've owned a Husky for a little over 2 years now. He listens very well and recalls on command. He knows his place during walks, but still gets a little ahead of himself. Still, he pulls and fights my command when other large dogs are in sight. I strongly believe he just wants to play, but I know it's best for the owners of all dogs in question to make that decision. He can come off very intimidating to someone who doesn't know him or doesn't know anything about the gentle nature of Huskies. He's very forward with his friendliness and always comes at you at a dead run simply to lick your hand. He won't jump on most people unless they entice him, and even then he prefers to 'bunny hop' just in case he'll get in trouble. However, he never leaves the fenced-in part of our yard without his leash.

In order to maintain the physical fitness level required for my job, I have to run. With the knowledge I have about dogs and the amount of times I've caught our working dogs in aggression training, I feel I'm a bit safer than most while out running when there are unleashed dogs about. This does not excuse those animals' owners from the fact that there are leash laws and they're breaking them. If a dog is out running with their owner off-lead, then I tend to feel a bit safer. Two reasons for this, one-if the dog attacks me, I know who to sue and two-if the dog attacks me, I have more confidence in that owners ability to help me get it off me than if I were by myself. However, I think the OP and most people on this thread are talking about stray dogs. I don't meen like mangy, filthy, stray dogs without an owner. I meen the kind that jumped the fence or dug under it, or the dogs that took off out the front door while their owner was bringing in the groceries.

Most domesticated dogs see humans as an extension of their pack, and strange humans as just another dog, albeit a funny-looking dog, still a dog nonetheless. So, it's entirely natural for a dog without an owner present to want to challenge the new guy and establish a pecking order in this 'new' pack he has encountered. Further, while you're running, you're even more vulnerable to both attack and looking like a prey animal to the dog. With your heart rate up and your breathing challenged by the stress of the run, you loose your fine motor skills, making it harder for you to defend yourself. The dogs wolfish instincts tell it this. When you're running, you look like prey, and the inner-wolf wants to give chase. What does a wolf do with the things it's chasing once it catches them? it kills and eats them. The dogs basic instincts tell it to do this...

While you may think that Fulffy is an innocent and cuddly little CareBear of adorableness and fluffiness. You're mistaken. You take one look at a German Shepherd and you know where he came from. Look at a pomeranian and tell me if you see it's inner wolf. Do the same with a Chihuahua and a Jack Russell. Where's their inner-wolves? You may not see them, but they're there. Every dog breed was bred for a specific purpose and most were intended to work in some way or another. Bulldogs fought bulls. Terriers hunted foxes. the Shepherding breeds like the Malinois, German Shepherd and Collie were bred to herd cattle and protect the herd from wolves and coyotes. What does every dog breed have in common other than a common ancestor? The fact that their original breeding was meant for work and most of the time that work involved some kind of predatory instinct.

So, dog owners, ask yourself, do you think it's a fair assessment to give someone the guilt-trip for not being comfortable with a dog who's off-leash? ESPECIALLY when that dog doesn't have an owner in sight? So, how about we stop with the bickering back and forth and acknowledge that dogs CAN be scary to some people; people with bad experiences or lack the knowledge of how to approach a dog. Nonetheless, a dog of any shape and size can be dangerous and should be treated with the respect it deserves, from both the owners and passersby. Think about it.


/rant
Again, sorry to OP for this going a bit off-topic...

And to the woman with the "brilliant" collie... I really couldn't give two hoots how many medals your dog has won, whether it can do backflips with a frisbee while barking answers to mental arythmetics...

If you're not in a position to place a lead on your own dog because, in your own words, "he doesn't like it", that's pretty poor....

HOWEVER... I am not like that and my dog does not behave like that... there fore I don't like to be judged by those standards.

I had a very well trained dog and had total recall on her. I had a cat also and they lived very peacefully together since she was a puppy. At the age of 10, my dog killed my cat in my house while I was in the next room. Good thing it wasn't a baby.

Backinthenines, if you think your dog will never make a mistake and always be at your heel, you are sadly mistaking. All living being is spotanious at one time or another. Every dog is in a bad mood at some point in their day, in their life.

My point exactly, accidents happen and dogs do have a mind of their own.

Yes so what is your point???

Of course your responsibility as a dog owner is to manage your animal to ensure the safety of others, just as your responsibility as a driver is that you drive in a manner that prevents harm to others.

That's why I keep saying there is a bit difference between the woman I mentioned this morning, who had zero control of her dog, and myself and my dog.

It's the difference between a driver with a licence and insurance and driving experience - and some idiot without a licence, driving uninsured and not having a clue...

I never said that I have a crystal ball and know that nothing will ever happen. You can't say that with anything. If that were the criteria we would never do anything in life!!! But "innocent until proven guilty" please.

The dog is well trained and has as yet never hurt a fly. Furthermore we have insurance which would cover any health care costs in the unlikely event of an accident. What more do you expect of people? Not to have pets?

I often meet joggers/runners when I am out with my dogs. My boy is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier so they don’t have a great reputation but I can guarantee you my boy wouldn’t harm a fly I leave him off lead as to be honest he is more interested in finding the next suitable tree or bit of high grass to wee on than anyone jogging by… Its when they stop to fuss over him he will give them lots of attention but if they ignore them he couldn’t care less… being a ‘trained’ (as in I go to dog training classes) I am well aware of my dogs body language and other dogs but I do understand your fear and I am all for muzzling a dog in public who HAS bitten and/or showing aggressive signs to people/other dogs. Definitely report it to the local police though.

To be truthful, I am more concerned about a little yappy dogs being off lead than a 'terrifying' Rottie or GSD or pitbull (illegal here).

NC is a real issue with small dogs and for whatever reason, people don't think they do not have to train 'Fufu the Fluffy Cloud Dog' like they do 'Rambo the Great and Potentially Murderous Pitbull.'

Around here people let their big dogs off the lead and I have never been nervous of them for a second. Little yappy dogs? I stay the heck away!

KCB I think you are correct. I swear I've seen a statistic on dog bites that shows that people are bitten more often by small dogs than by big dogs. 'Dangerous' dogs, I think, only get their bad name because the media sensationalizes what they do. If that were turned around on the wee little dogs, I have a feeling you'd see many more banned toy breeds because of their aggression.

I'll try to find you all a link.