April 2016 Running Challenge

@Stoshew71 - We're not entirely sure what happened. She was found in their yard, a short distance from the fence line. She either went under the fence and was in their yard, or their dog grabbed her under the fence and pulled her through. Knowing both dogs, I think the second option is more likely.

A little history: I know that Maggie was not aggressive. She was a stray, and instantly got along with every dog and person she ever met. Very friendly. We were able to integrate her into our herd of mongrels with zero effort (including everything from Pekingese to German Shepherds and Pitbulls).

The neighbor dog (it's a rottweiler), on the other hand, has previously reached through the fence (they have 4"x4" field fencing--which she can get her head completely through) and attacked our pet goose that was grazing nearby. We had to put him down due to the extensive injuries.

The neighbor dog has also previously attacked one of their own dogs and almost severed its paw. There are 6 dogs in their backyard that get almost zero attention. The rottweiler is the only aggressive one, and she was the only one that participated in the attack against Maggie (she was covered in blood, all the others were clean).

In our dogs' area, which encompasses the yard in front of our house, we used 2"x4" horse fence to protect our dogs from theirs, and to keep the little dogs from going through the fence. Their dogs come over every morning as soon as they are let out of their kennels and snarl and bark at our dogs while running the fence line. Previously, I just considered it annoying, but it's clearly gone too far...

We requested that the neighbors get rid of the problem dog. They have agreed to no longer allow her free reign of their yard. They will either contain her in a smaller fenced area away from our property line or will get rid of her. For now, she is kenneled 24/7 until they can decide on a long term solution. They are also building a privacy fence along the property line that intersects with our dogs' area and house to help prevent the dogs from coming over and bothering us, though that is no longer an issue with the rottweiler locked up. They did also offer to pay for us to get another dog or puppy in her stead, but we declined. We do have 6 dogs still, after all, thanks to the steady stream of strays.

ETA: We are friendly with the neighbors in question. We just have a problem with the rottweiler...I know they feel as horrible about the situation as we do. And the neighbors adored Maggie (they will feed our dogs and take them outside on the rare occasions when we go out of town and leave them home). Of all our dogs, Maggie was definitely their favorite.

@ceciliaslater really sorry to hear about your dog!

@MNLittleFinn are you taking anything with you on your runs to deter animals should one take an interest in you? I used to take bear spray and an air horn with me when running at the cottage. We had three bear encounters just on my road one season. It's worth having something with you just in case. I also used to have a little personal alarm that was small and would just tuck into a pocket, that would work to scare something away.

It snowed a bunch here overnight, so it was a treadmill run for me today. I don't mind running in snow but I would have had to take my youngest in a jogging stroller and it doesn't work well in snow and ice.

Also my jogging stroller is 7 years old and starting to rust and squeak, the brakes no longer work. Anyone have any suggestions for a new one?

4/3- 5 miles
4/4 - 3.5 miles
8.5/60

WhatMeRunning wrote: »

@instantmartian - Congrats on the PR time! And on the ITB pain going away so quickly.

Thanks, and thanks!

ceciliaslater wrote: »

@Stoshew71 - We're not entirely sure what happened. She was found in their yard, a short distance from the fence line. She either went under the fence and was in their yard, or their dog grabbed her under the fence and pulled her through. Knowing both dogs, I think the second option is more likely.

A little history: I know that Maggie was not aggressive. She was a stray, and instantly got along with every dog and person she ever met. Very friendly. We were able to integrate her into our herd of mongrels with zero effort (including everything from Pekingese to German Shepherds and Pitbulls).

The neighbor dog (it's a rottweiler), on the other hand, has previously reached through the fence (they have 4"x4" field fencing--which she can get her head completely through) and attacked our pet goose that was grazing nearby. We had to put him down due to the extensive injuries.

The neighbor dog has also previously attacked one of their own dogs and almost severed its paw. There are 6 dogs in their backyard that get almost zero attention. The rottweiler is the only aggressive one, and she was the only one that participated in the attack against Maggie (she was covered in blood, all the others were clean).

In our dogs' area, which encompasses the yard in front of our house, we used 2"x4" horse fence to protect our dogs from theirs, and to keep the little dogs from going through the fence. Their dogs come over every morning as soon as they are let out of their kennels and snarl and bark at our dogs while running the fence line. Previously, I just considered it annoying, but it's clearly gone too far...

We requested that the neighbors get rid of the problem dog. They have agreed to no longer allow her free reign of their yard. They will either contain her in a smaller fenced area away from our property line or will get rid of her. For now, she is kenneled 24/7 until they can decide on a long term solution. They are also building a privacy fence along the property line that intersects with our dogs' area and house to help prevent the dogs from coming over and bothering us, though that is no longer an issue with the rottweiler locked up. They did also offer to pay for us to get another dog or puppy in her stead, but we declined. We do have 6 dogs still, after all, thanks to the steady stream of strays.

ETA: We are friendly with the neighbors in question. We just have a problem with the rottweiler...I know they feel as horrible about the situation as we do. And the neighbors adored Maggie (they will feed our dogs and take them outside on the rare occasions when we go out of town and leave them home). Of all our dogs, Maggie was definitely their favorite.

I know you said you are friendly with your neighbors, but maybe a call to the local animal control or police is in order. What happened to Maggie is awful. To have it happen again to another one of your pets, one of their other dogs, or god forbid, one of you or a child would be 10 times worse.

skippygirlsmom wrote: »

I felt so bad and the doctor said when they have no fever and seem fine (except when they are throwing up duh), you just don't realize they are really that sick.

As parents - there is no worse feeling in the world than knowing your kid is feeling bad, and feeling helpless to do much about it. I know, there's also a tinge of "kid, what were you thinking, not following instructions", but that's nothing compared to the heart-hurt for your kids. Sorry for Skip and sorrier for you!

WhatMeRunning wrote: »

@9voice9 - It could be possible that you need to work the other way. Perhaps 11:16 is your training pace and maybe you could run a 10k faster?

That's what I was thinking too.

01-Apr: 0.00 miles but 4.42 miles (walk)
02-Apr: 6.63 miles
03-Apr: <Life Day>
04-Apr: 8.11 miles
05-Apr:
06-Apr:
07-Apr:
08-Apr:
09-Apr:
10-Apr: <Life Day>
11-Apr:
12-Apr:
13-Apr:
14-Apr:
15-Apr:
16-Apr:
17-Apr: <Life Day>
18-Apr:
19-Apr:
20-Apr:
21-Apr:
22-Apr:
23-Apr:
24-Apr: <Life Day>
25-Apr:
26-Apr:
27-Apr:
28-Apr:
29-Apr:
30-Apr:

Upcoming Races:
09-Apr: No Excuse for Child Abuse (Central Ga Tech) OR
Perry Dogwood Festival 5K (Perry HS X-Country team)
16-Apr: Running for Ronald 10K or 15K, Macon, GA
23-Apr: Christ School 5K OR
Taylor County Race for Literacy 5K
04-Jul: Peachtree Road Race 10K, Atlanta, GA



@WhatMeRunning, @MNLittleFinn: thanks for the responses. I guess I was hoping for a magic formula that would let me be easier, not smart folks who know that I needed a kick in the *kitten*.

@9voice9 Do you or have you trained with a heart rate monitor? McMillan calculators are good approximations, but they aren't spot on for everyone. If your heart rate is in the proper zone when you are running @ 11:16, then that is probably a good pace for you (and, yeah, it's likely that you might be able to push a little more out of that 10K ) However, if your heart rate is too high at 11:16, then you can, and should, really concentrate on slowing it down to get it into the right zone. Of course, finding the right zones for you takes a little work as well.