To go walking early alone with my dog?

[Catslovepies]

I walk my dog for an hour each morning from around 6-7am through the local streets, but now it's light out earlier I'd like to do something different. I live local to a beach with lots of trails through the sand dunes. If I were to walk my dog along those trails we wouldn't run into anyone else the whole time, as usually no one else gets there before around 8.

This area isn't really high crime or anything. Would you feel safe walking the trails alone so early? I'd have my phone with me and would tell someone where I was going. I've done it once before and it was amazing although a little bit spooky!

Yabu= too scary/dangerous
Yanbu = sounds fun, go for it!

Yabu I put a similar question out there on a YouTube vid last week and got called ridiculous London is safe blah blah blah but since then a woman has gone missing and it makes me wonder about the safety of our streets

I trained my dog for defence when I was younger. If you are worried, maybe find a trainer to show you how. Mine was trained on a word which isn't that common in normal conversation but meant "bad person". It had s and sh in it. Apparently that's good sounds.

It doesn't make dog more aggressive or anything, he was still uber friendly, unless I said the word and pointed. We had training ground close buy and they had a guy in the safety suit so the bites don't hurt. Maybe there is something like that here

@BetaSasquatch

Early morning is quite dodgy for sex attacks on strangers. If you have someone who is predatory by nature they are far more likely to seek someone out early morning as most people tend to avoid night time “feeling” safer in the morning.

In my line of work I’ve dealt with more sex attacks on women walking to work early in the morning, rather than nights out. Both urban and rural areas.

@IndiaMay

I wouldn't. The vast majority of sexual assaults happen between 6am and 10am in the morning. Not late at night like you would imagine

Yes, but it's still vanishingly rare.

Think how many thousands of people visit the beach every year, and then think of the number of sexual assaults that occur at the beach.

The number is tiny. It's not a risk that makes me want to curtail my life, that's for sure. I love my early morning dog walks and I rarely see anyone. It's lovely and peaceful and a great way to start the day.

I've just seen that the remains of Sarah Everard have been found and I cannot imagine the torment her bf, family and friends are going through. How do you come to terms with that?

What has shocked me is that I lived in the next road and would have taken exactly the same route along the road that dissects Clapham Common as far as Poynders Road and then continued towards clapham Park and my dsis home opposite our old school.

Perhaps she was known to him. We don’t know. It’s all a bit odd isn’t it?

@Malteser71

Perhaps she was known to him. We don’t know. It’s all a bit odd isn’t it?

....what’s that meant to mean? What is a “bit odd” about a sexually motivated stranger murder? What are you trying to imply here?

"I’ve spent a lot of my life working with offenders.

The vast majority of them were never up before 11am"

Yup.

Yes, I would
BUT

I’d let people know I’m going an when I’d be back

Not wear head phones so I could hear anyone else

Carry phone as well as rape alarm

I would. I do go out for walks and runs out in the countryside. Im not fearless, I do get a bit spooked sometimes, but I don't want my fears of something that is very unlikely to happen to restrict me. Going for a solo walk isn't reckless.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

I trained my dog for defence when I was younger. If you are worried, maybe find a trainer to show you how. Mine was trained on a word which isn't that common in normal conversation but meant "bad person". It had s and sh in it. Apparently that's good sounds.

It doesn't make dog more aggressive or anything, he was still uber friendly, unless I said the word and pointed. We had training ground close buy and they had a guy in the safety suit so the bites don't hurt. Maybe there is something like that here

I'd love to know what that word is. And what type of dog you have

I had ddog for 15 years and it never once occurred to me to feel scared when walking in remote places on my own, and he was tiny and wouldn’t have been any help if I’d got attacked.

Not saying bad things never happen but it’s easy to blow the dangers out of proportion. I remember learning in my degree that a child would have to sit on a wall for 10000 years before a paedophile came along and snatched them (based on the stats of how often this kind of crime actually happens). But the media would have you believe that if you let your 10 year old walk to the shop alone there’s a very high chance of something happening.

@scentedgeranium it was in my native language so it wouldn't really ring any bells. He was assumed husky/GS mix. Got him at 8 weeks as a rescue. Hard headed but loving bastard😁
He passed years ago.

I would. I live in a safe place too and love early morning walks. Not so much in winter but now it’s getting lighter absolutely. I don’t see anyone! A friend of mine thinks I’m mad going out alone first thing but it’s safe here and mornings are safer then late at night tbh so go for it.

Wouldn’t think twice about doing this. I run several times a week on country paths and in pre COVID times, go hillwalking by myself

I've also always walked dogs or ran alone in remote areas - it's never even crossed my mind not to. I used to go very early in the morning and actually grew to love walking in the dark - there's a certain sort of calmness about it and you get to see a really different side of places/the wildlife that live there.

[quote SchrodingersImmigrant]@scentedgeranium it was in my native language so it wouldn't really ring any bells. He was assumed husky/GS mix. Got him at 8 weeks as a rescue. Hard headed but loving bastard😁
He passed years ago.[/quote]
I think I might know the word then! Not sure my fluffy Golden retriever could be trained to attack physically but he does have a fierce bark -from behind the safety of the from door-

I think people are talking about two different things. There is countryside, and then there are parks/grassy areas within towns and cities. My risk assessment for these areas is totally different.

I stay in the countryside (near a small village in the Scottish Highlands) and I have never in my whole life thought twice about going out alone at any time of day or night. I don't take anything I could use as a weapon, and I don't take a phone because they don't work here.

I have lived in a Scottish city and if I wanted to walk in a park at night I would have taken a weapon AND talked to someone on the phone the whole time so someone knew where I was. I would be very alert, looking behind me, and would not wear headphones. When I say weapon, I mean heavy torch or similar, not a stun gun!

City parks are not countryside just because there's grass in them. But OP was asking about countryside, so my original response was based on that.

If the risk is moderate (city parks or quiets streets at night) I would do it anyway but take precautions. If the risk is tiny (proper countryside) I would do it without a second thought because I want to live my life in joy, not fear, and the reward from solo walking in the countryside is phenomenal.

@Malteser71 The police officer was returning from a 2 to 8 pm shift at the US Embassy, a few minutes drive from Clapham Common. She was talking to her bf on the phone part of the journey. The arrest was made following CCTV from a bus. The officer carried a warrant card and weapon as part of his duties as a protection officer.

Statistics show assault is v v v rare

Do carry any weapons statistics show these are often used against you
If you must, carry a can of water spray it would "blind " and disable an attacker for a few vital seconds but you know it's harmless if turned on you

@scentedgeranium I am sure he could. We had them at the training ground. The biggest event there was when newfoundland got loose during this denfense training. I had no idea person can run so fast in that safe suit🙈
Fond memories of that place😁

Oh. My. God. I've just realised it's been 20 years😳

I know assault is very rare, but for some reason I’m a bit “scared” to leave the house at the moment. Not scared per se, but just have absolutely no desire to walk anywhere after recent events. Hopefully I’ll get past it soon