To have become terrified of dog walks

[GoneToday]

I absolutely adore my dogs and walks are (or were) the highlight of my day.
I walk them in a variety of lovely
places - very rurally, semi rural and also in large parks. I’ve walked dogs my whole life.
I mostly walk alone as I don’t live locally to any dog owning friends and I work shifts so it’s not easy to arrange regular dog walking friends as my times vary.
The last couple of weeks I’ve began to feel very uneasy on dog walks, the trees and fields that used to feel peaceful and beautiful have begun to feel ominous and almost foreboding.
I know there has been a poor missing woman who has vanished from a dog walk, plus a local sex attack in a very ‘safe and quiet’ village field in daylight.
However, I have heard horror stories before and although I’ve felt awful for the individual I’ve never felt personally under much threat.
My dogs are small, soft dogs and are no way physically protecting. I feel at my whits end.
I’m not prone to drama or excessive anxiety but Aibu to feel that dog walking as a lone female is not safe?
Maybe IABU, I just can’t shake the feeling and it’s genuinely ruining my life which sounds dramatic but I don’t know what to do with my dogs now as I spend walks feeling scared. I do have complex trauma history but that was decades ago and I’ve walked dogs happily for years since then.
Any thoughts welcome.

I agree that self defence is no use. My partner weighs the same as me but when I tried to nick a sweet of him the other day i physically couldn’t move his arm 1 inch. It’s crazy how much stronger men are. My dog is small and loves everyone. I walk in busy areas alone but do long country walks with someone. It’s such a shame we have to worry about it

@Couperi Lynne and Meghan Russell
I had to Google- Feel utterly sick.
Yes, I do remember the case, beyond horrible.
It makes one wish we could be properly armed for self defence.
Mum used to say when I was a child“If one meets a real maniac, there isn’t much you can do- But maniacs are quite rare”

Michael Ryan &c No reasoning with people like this.

I can only hope they would should the worst happen. Knowing my luck they'd run off and hide!

I was a child when it happened yet I think about it nearly every time I'm walking my dogs alone. Just an horrendously sad thing to happen.

I sometimes think how vulnerable I am.. but don't want to give up my beautiful dog walks for a tiny chance. Is there anywhere to buy pepper spray?

I feel so sad for that dog walkers daughters 😢 how can it be good news.

I would never walk alone in an isolated spot. You're too much at risk.

@Couperi I wish I’d not Googled
The little I read was sickening.
Women and children are vulnerable.

Regarding dogs, I would hope their significant body mass, and the fact that there are two of them would be a deterrent.

I used to walk my older 2 to school via our local woods. It was just lovely very quiet and peaceful until the Russell murders.

We stopped that day and I never felt confers or walking them again in the woods. Will only take my grandson now if accompanied.

Bastard men

It would be illegal to carry that under the Firearms Act Section 5. On a different subject however, it is always good for grooming to have a handbag sized can of Elnet on you so you can always look your best. 😏

I have to walk my dog, when there is no one else around, especially other dogs.

I try and vary the time and route I walk, I dont wear headphones, if I do a late night walk (after midnight) I try and dress as much as I can to hide any identifying features, (big coat, hat covering my hair etc) I have my phone to hand.

I have had a couple of uncomfortable encounters, including being followed, a week or so back, so I do try and keep my wits about me as much as I can.

I would much rather be paranoid and safe, then a statistic in violent crimes against women

I walk on my own, early evenings, but I only go into the woods in summer as there are more people around. I can be horribly anxious about all sorts of other things but you have to put certain things into perspective I think. I would feel so cooped up if I didn't walk. But I do shudder when I hear stories on the news. The poor lady in Ireland last year for example.

There was that poor woman in Surrey who was attacked by the dog she was walking as well, so it’s not even just other people.

SIGH...I voted "Unreasonable," but only because your fears are out of proportion to statistics, and are now interfering with your normal life. Your emotions are your emotions, and your feeling are always valid, even when unfounded. Is there someone in your area, a professional, that you could speak with about this? It sounds as if it coulc be the very early stages of agoraphobia, which can leave you totally housebound. The earlier things like this are addressed, the easier they are to overcome.

My aunt used to carry deodorant and a lighter. She demonstrated it to me once. The noise alone scared the crap out of me.

I'm rural and just a few side streets in the village have street lights so I used to drive my dog down to the village for his evening walks in the winter. I'm widowed and live alone and older and always carried an alarm, a whistle, and a permanent paint spray plus my phone.

Of course men worry, they can get set upon or mugged and do.

Look at Stephen Lawrence for one at the bus stop.

Bah. Guess so.

Some years ago, on a relatively busy local road, a young woman was dragged into a car after getting off a bus and unfortunately murdered. The crime was spotted by a following car but she was found too late. This was in the early evening, horrifying. Since then, I have definitely felt more nervous when dog walking.

It's nuts that Pepper spray is considered a ''Firearm'' in UK..After I was attacked, an American friend offered to send me some, and I had to decline.
{I have walked through dodgy parts of town with a can of hairspray in my hand as a younger person}

Statistically young men are more at risk from other young men.
Damilola Taylor, Stephen Lawrence, Marlon Thomas.

I feel the same particularly since the Julia James murder, I know statistically it’s highly unlikely to happen but I bet most women at some point in their life have been made to feel vulnerable or under threat from men whilst out alone, I’ve had men follow me in my car whilst driving at night and tried to run me off the road (this was back in the eighties when I was young and no mobiles), walking in a town centre at night a group of men in a car tried to accost me, I’ve been flashed at out walking my dog in the past couple of years, phoned the police who were beyond disinterested, those are just a few, I could list more unsettling events, I was just fortunate they didn’t develop into anything more serious, so yes it’s unlikely we will be killed but I think it’s very likely we will feel justifiably intimidated by men whilst out alone.

Hardcore! 😆

This occurred to me last year at 7am when I saw a man in the Forrest , no dog .. walking in jeans ( who goes for a rural walk in jeans - odd to me) - he made me feel quite strange

Consider posting on local fb page for walking buddies

This is legal ... to use on rogue dogs ;) www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk/p/9551082/walk-easy-we331-bouncer-personal-attack-deterrent---wea-we331.html

Do you wear a dog bag. I live rural. I got caught out and ended up going through the woods in the dark. The other option was the country lane which is twinned with Silverstone race track! I have a heavy solid torch in my bag. There are things you can legally have in your bag that you can use to defend yourself. Some spray for example.