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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have carried on running?

718 replies

OdettySpaghetti · 02/10/2021 08:06

Went for a run this morning. Ran past a couple of women with offlead dogs (cockapoo and a frenchie) which chased me as I passed them. They were not aggressive, more like running alongside me. The owners shouted of them but the dogs ignored them and carried on following me. I kept on running - before long we (me and dogs!) we’re quite a distance from the owners who were miles behind shouting and running (in a fashion) after us. I ran my usual route, off this path and into a wooded cut through, dogs still by my side. I’m getting pissed off at this point as I know I’m coming to a road and will need to stop so the owners can get their dogs. Sure enough I come to the road and stop. The dogs stop too and just start sniffing around but because we’re now close to a road I feel I have to take the dogs back before they dart across it so I head back the way I came, fuming that this has messed my run up. When the owners catch up one says “if you’d just stopped running we could have got them ages ago!” I replied that their dogs are not my responsibility to which they replied “no need to take them close to a main road though is there? Where is your common sense?” So livid now I say “get your fucking dogs under control, next time I don’t stop at the road”.

AIbU to have not wanted to mess my run up?

OP posts:
waybill · 02/10/2021 11:41

I once got berated by a woman when I opened the gate of a playground so dd and I could leave. Her dog shot out and ran off up the high street. She was screaming at me that it would be all my fault if her dog got run over, while all I was thinking was WTF was your dog doing running round loose in a kiddies' playground in the first place?

You did the right thing, OP. Hopefully those stupid people will now either train their dogs properly, or keep them on a lead.

Reallyimeanreally2022 · 02/10/2021 11:42

@NotReallyTheVicar

I worked at a country park with a wild deer herd. There were strict rules about where dogs could and could not be allowed off lead and they always should be under control or recall. Many visitors simply could not grasp the idea that any dog however well behaved normally was likley to chase a deer if it saw one running. It was incredible the number of times I heard, "my dog woudn't harm them, anyway he's not fast enough to catch one". Again they did not comprehend that the stress of the chase is enough to kill them or cause them to abort. They may have loved their dogs but they had no respect for these magnificent wild creatures.
Exactly. Exactly!
viques · 02/10/2021 11:42

If the dogs don’t have good recall they shouldn’t be off lead. Doesn’t matter what the interesting diversion is you should be able to get your dog back.

Brindisi32 · 02/10/2021 11:42

Yanbu. It’s their dog, their responsibility. Whilst out walking, I’ve had quite a few dogs who were off lead charging up to me, growling or jumping up and the owners were not too fussed. If I spot a dog and owner who look dodgy I try to head off on a different track.

HarlanPepper · 02/10/2021 11:43

Their dogs, their responsibility... but, I'm a runner, and when this happens I do always stop. It's just easier all round.

Reallyimeanreally2022 · 02/10/2021 11:44

@tickledtiger

I’d have run their dogs back to them.

Also in my experience dogs running “with” you can end up getting excited and biting you so be careful if you’re the owner OR the runner as some people don’t react well to this.

If your dog is potentially going to bite a runner

FGS don’t let it off the bloody lead

HereticFanjo · 02/10/2021 11:44

Yanbu.

CandidaAlbicans2 · 02/10/2021 11:44

YANBU to be pissed off with being followed by dogs, and with their crappy owners, and I can understand you wanting to make a point. However, you made the situation more difficult and long-lived by not stopping sooner when it was obvious the owners wouldn't be able to keep up. If it were me in your position I would've stopped as soon as it was obvious the dogs had no recall, allowed the owners to get them, then told them off.

LuluJakey1 · 02/10/2021 11:45

[quote sunflowerdaisies]@EarringsandLipstick lots of things aren't our responsibility but we do because we are decent people. [/quote]
This

hangrylady · 02/10/2021 11:48

Yes they were in the wrong, their dogs should have been on the lead and it was an inconvenience to you but small annoyances happen all the time and you should probably learn to deal with them better without being arsey. I don't have a dog but I would have stopped so they could get them on the lead.

noprofessional · 02/10/2021 11:49

Yanbu but my dog is trained better so I haven't encountered this problem. I'd be mortified if she did this to a runner.

Joystir59 · 02/10/2021 11:54

You should have stopped running asap and give them a chance to catch their dogs into the lead. You were an unhelpful arsehole.

purplesequins · 02/10/2021 11:58

@Joystir59

You should have stopped running asap and give them a chance to catch their dogs into the lead. You were an unhelpful arsehole.
the dog owners should have had their pets under close control as per the law. if they had, this never would have happened.
Macncheeseballs · 02/10/2021 12:01

Maybe when all you dog owners start picking up your poo then maybe I might change my attitude

WorryMcGee · 02/10/2021 12:02

As a runner who also owns dogs, if the owner can’t reliably call the dog back it shouldn’t be off a lead. I love dogs but can’t stand them running up to me barking when I’m running (especially little ones that get under your feet/go for your ankles)

Fatarseflanagan09 · 02/10/2021 12:03

I totally agree that dog owners are responsible for their dogs behaviour, I've had dogs run towards me and it can be frightening, my dog is kept on a lead in public places because he thinks everyone wants to play, I've also been knocked off my feet on a public pathway by a cyclist, I've been pushed aside by runners who seem to think that they own the local woods, the next time I get jostled out of the way by self important wankers like this I'll push them over on to their arses.

JerkintheMerkin · 02/10/2021 12:05

I'd have kept running to infinity and beyond. Not my dog, not my problem.

BoredZelda · 02/10/2021 12:13

I agree dogs should have good recall, but I think the OP was BU to get so angry and aggressive and not to stop sooner.

Why should she? What is it that makes what she was doing less important than what the dog walkers were doing?

HoppingPavlova · 02/10/2021 12:13

chaosrabbitland - ‘you are in the same league with the op , she created a situation that didnt even need to happen’

Nope, I’ll fix that for you. The dog owners created a situation that didn’t need to happen when they allowed dogs that could not be controlled off leash.

BoredZelda · 02/10/2021 12:14

you should probably learn to deal with them better without being arsey

Yes, yes, she should just quiet down and not make a fuss, like a good girl.

SueSaid · 02/10/2021 12:16

@HarlanPepper

Their dogs, their responsibility... but, I'm a runner, and when this happens I do always stop. It's just easier all round.
This.

Absolutely their responsibility and stupid dog owners drive me mad to but fgs why carry on running just stop for 5 secs in the first place and bark a snotty 'keep your dogs under control' without a silly point scoring chase. Jesus.

cakewench · 02/10/2021 12:22

YANBU, if their dogs don't recall it's their problem, not yours. I actually quite liked your response. I see someone calling it arsey but I think that was called for given their comments leading up to it (essentially blaming you!!)

deadleaves · 02/10/2021 12:26

Its this attitude that has caused me to really hate dog owners. Its really easy: if, for whatever reason, you have failed to train your dog how to behave in public, then keep it on the lead. Or just don't get a dog if you can't put in the work to train it.

I'm sorry I would have kept running because the years of bad experiences of dog and their ineffective dog control have utterly worn my patience. Learn to control your dog or prepare to lose it!

stuckinagut · 02/10/2021 12:30

Yes, technically it's not your job to shepherd others people's pets back to them, or consider their safety, but I wouldn't run with strange dogs next to me. I have carried on walking with strange dogs just following but they usually turn around at some point and return to their owners.

What absolutely boils my blood is when a strange dog approaches and actively gets in your way or jumps all over you, so you physically have to stop, and wait for the bloody thing to go away or the owner finally retrieves it, and then the goddam owner praises it in some way, reinforcing the idea that the dog has a right to interrupt other people just minding their own business. Oh and people who don't reprimand their dogs for barking and growling at people just walking along, which is an actual antisocial offence if you ask the police.

Auroreforet · 02/10/2021 12:37

@icedcoffees

You're right that it's not your responsibility to control her dogs, but sometimes it's nice to just do the right thing.

Would it really have hurt you to stop for two minutes while she leashed her dogs?

You’re not a runner are you? My dh would be so cross if he had to stop his run because of people who can’t control their dogs.

Last year@OdettySpaghetti I was walking my dog on her lead when another dog decided to follow.
The owners were calling the dog back but it kept following us. When the owners caught up they were really annoyed with me for not stopping with my dog. No recognition of their useless control.