Running and dogs...

[northstar]

Ok,

You're running through the neighborhood, and a front door opens and a dog comes bolting after you, barking and snarling ferociously and coming dangerously close to tripping you up or worse. What do you do?

I had this encounter this morning and found myself yelling "GET YOUR DOG!" at the owner. I was scared and getting ready to kick if I had to.

It wasn't a big dog, but it wasn't a little dog, either. What do you do?

I know, I shouldn't kick, but cripes.

[Tri Girl]

Scary!!!
DH is a mailman and he has always told me to stop dead in my tracks, turn sideways facing the dog (so you can side kick it if necessary)- put your dukes (arms) up in a boxing motion - stomp your foot and scream in a deep/firm voice "git" or "go". It's always worked for him on his route, but hopefully I'll never have to find out if it works for me.

Sorry you were caught so off guard- can be very startling.

[KSH]

I have had this happen while running before.

I stopped running, so the chase wasn't on. I turned and yelled "NO! BAD DOG" very loudly at the dog. Then I squirted water at it.

Once it backed away I started to walk off, while keeping an eye on it. I started running when it had left the area.

[Skierchickie]

Like KSH said, squirting them in the face with water, and standing my ground has always worked for me - it takes them by surprise. A lot of dogs chase you because they think you are running from them, so if you turn the tables on them they'll back down. Of course, that is just the dogs I've encountered, which doesn't mean they'll all behave that way. I'm sure there are some out there that are just plain mean, I just haven't run into them. We used to live on a road that had 3 houses within about 1/2 mile, all with anywhere from 2 to 5 dogs. Try riding past that! The little ones at the first house would alert the big ones, alerting the ones at the next two places, all of whom would be waiting for me! I'd try to get to the first house as quietly as possible, moving as fast as I possibly could. They were mostly really nice dogs, but I was game to them when I was on my bike. When I run, I usually have to pet all the dogs I meet anyway, but if I meet an aggressive one, I stop and show I'm not afraid (which also means he doesn't perceive me as running away from him).

Hopefully the owner of the dog that came at you will think about what happened and learn from it.

[northstar]

Scary!!!
DH is a mailman and he has always told me to stop dead in my tracks, turn sideways facing the dog (so you can side kick it if necessary)- put your dukes (arms) up in a boxing motion - stomp your foot and scream in a deep/firm voice "git" or "go". It's always worked for him on his route, but hopefully I'll never have to find out if it works for me.

Sorry you were caught so off guard- can be very startling.

That sounds doable...my runs are really short so I don't carry water. But once I up the distances, I will keep the squirting option open.

[HappyAnika]

As the others said, stop, so that you are not an object to be chased. A couple of "dog language" things: Don't lean forward toward/over the dog, this is an aggressive position which could invite attach from an aggressive dog. Stand straight up tall, a dominant position (which is different than aggressive). Even more effective than yelling "NO" is to growl low and loud at the dog. Think about the noises dogs make when they are fighting, or even the little grunts an older dog makes at a puppy who is annoying it. Its a deep gutteral sound that means "NO" in dog language. If you have water, accompany the growl with a squirt, this mimicks the jaw snap that dogs do to one another, which means "back off". This will work for most dogs. To be honest if a really aggressive or trained attack dog comes at you, there may not be much you can do. And really, as the guardian of two large dogs, if one of them ran up to someone aggressively and the person kicked them, I would totally understand. Don't feel bad, it's a self preservation instinct.

[Jolt]

I haven't had any aggressive dogs chase me (except for one little terrier type once, but he wasn't very threatening) but I have had dogs run after me as I run by. That's just a normal instinct. What I've done is stop, face the dog and sternly say "go home!" and if the dog doesn't begin moving in the other direction I've actually chased it back to its yard, and this has worked every time I've done it. Then I just continue on my way. I also carry pepper spray that I am prepared to use if a dog is truly aggressive (really, it's more for aggressive PEOPLE that I carry it, but it is useful in either case). That said, I'm not sure that chasing the dog is such a good idea if it is behaving aggressively.