to want to jog in a dogs off lead zone but not have them follow me?

[FieldJogger]

sorry another dog one, see quite a few lately. i like to jog daily in a nature reserve trail and it is a dogs off lead zone between certain points, which is fine and i do like dogs. the issue i have is a lot of them run with me sniffing etc and some don't even attempt to call them away, some do and they don't listen etc etc

a man called out this morning to ask me to stop so his dog would stop chasing and this has i admit never happened in the times i have been but i did and i told him that im entitled to run and if his dog cant be called away he should be on a lead and he got annoyed telling me to "not jog in a fucking dogs off lead zone". i then just continued and his dog kept following but soon stopped and turned around.

who is actually wrong here?

If a dog is following you, turn around and shout back off, loudly. Stand your ground and don't move. The dog won't know what tf just happened and will stand there confused.

It will probably remember you and won't bother trying to follow you again.

So what if it was a child chasing an adult runner, running circles around them and potentially causing an accident? Surely the owner/parent should stop them and get them to give the other person some space? Or should runners limit themselves to child free areas?

Obviously, which the dog owner was trying to do. I don't really understand your point, it's not like the owner was standing idly by (which does happen sometimes! Speaking as a dog owner who get annoyed when bad owners don't stop their dog 'playing' with my dog who doesn't want to play). Dogs are much faster than children and have less grasp of language, so it can take a minute to get on top of the situation. Also I think runners generally plan their route to avoid most people tbh, not like they run in circles round a play park.

It's the dog owners' problem. They should have control of their dogs, the most basic control is to come when called.

Ignore the dogs following you. It's the owners' problem, not yours.

My dog chases runners, he is friendly but is a large intimidating looking breed. For this reason I use a long line rather than him coming completely off lead. He has excellent recall in all other circumstances but for me it's not worth the risk. Just because dogs can be off lead, doesn't mean they should be off lead

From the OP:

he got annoyed telling me to "not jog in a fucking dogs off lead zone"

Doesn't sound much like this is an owner who acknowledges he is in the wrong and is trying to keep his dog under control. And the fact that dogs are faster and it may take longer to get them under control is a reason to use a lead (even in a lead free area) if you think your dog may not follow instructions rather than expect everyone else to adjust their non threatening, non dangerous and very reasonable behaviour.

This.

But if you are fortunate enough to be in an area where they have specific zones, then stay in the dog-free or dog-on-lead zone.

YANBU.

The recall of so many dogs in non-existent and the number of entitled owners is on the increase.

Normally I roll my eyes a bit at MN dog threads but after my last 2 rides I'd say I'm starting to come round to it.

Perfectly used to dogs playfully chasing me on my bike but on the last ride but one I was approaching someone along a busy shared footpath in epping forest and their dog started going crazy, barking, growling, and it being a Ridgeback the woman was having a fair bit of trouble getting it under control. I wasn't willing to cycle past so I stopped and of course the dog went extra ballistic, then the woman started shouting at me for scaring her dog. Eventually she managed to get it under control and I went past, she said something shitty about cyclists ruining her walk and I asked her if she was hunting lions.

Anyway yesterday, in Surrey hills, riding in the forest and there was a lady with 2 dogs off lead ahead of us, we let her know we were approaching and she called the smaller dog close and her large XL type bully just stopped in the middle of the path, we gave the dog plenty of space and all three rode past but as I went past the dog started barking and chasing me, and snapping by my feet, going by the way the woman reacted when the dog didn't recall she obviously didn't think this was going to end well and she was clearly panicking quite a bit but luckily the dog broke off on call number 5 or 6.

I do really like dogs, they don't scare me, and I have had bull terrier breeds before (including and would have again but I've never had a dog off lead that wouldn't recall instantly. If they didn't have instant recall then they stayed on lead in public and the kind of on lead behaviour from the Ridgeback, is the kind of behaviour that would see a dog of mine banished to 2am trips to the dog park for the foreseeable

There's too many people who are accepting of poor behaviour. "oh but he's a dog, doing what dogs do" is lazy madness. Loads of people just aren't cut out for owning one and consequently we're ending up with an unfortunate number of delinquent dogs running about

You are not being unreasonable but as a fellow runner, if I have to pass a dog I will slow to a walk, simply because it is in a dogs nature to chase things. And I do this whether the dog is on a lead or not, I do not want dogs jumping up at me or chasing me, no matter how "friendly" they are.
Those saying we should not run anywhere where dogs are allowed off the lead, where the hell are we supposed to run in this country?? There are very few areas where dogs have to be on the lead, especially if you live rurally. We have a couple nature reserves here where dogs have to be on lead (which would need me running 5miles to get to them) and some fields full of livestock (that I would walk through anyway). But with most of the footpaths and bridleways there is always a risk of off lead dogs (and the owners that can't/won't control them).
And please those of you that think that having your dog on a long or extendable lead means you have more control, think again, those leads are a real tripping hazard. Especially the extendable ones that are virtually invisible until you're on top of them

Anyone who let's their dog chase people is a terrible owner. The law says under control. It does not matter if its an off lead zone it still needs to be under control.

Yup and from the OP i told him that im entitled to run and if his dog cant be called away he should be on a lead . I'm willing to bet OP didn't speak to him in a calm and rational manner first. I'm not saying either of these people were perfect, they were both partly in the wrong. I'm not even going to sit and argue with you, as PP have commented dogs aren't born with impeccable recall, it needs to be trained and in the process mistakes will happen. The owner identified the problem (moving target), tried to resolve it (asking moving target to stop) and recalled their dog. No real harm was done.

I don’t think you can prevent them following you at all, but yanbu to expect not to have to stop. That’s just ridiculous. I agrée dogs need to be on leads anywhere if they can’t be called backZ

It’s not a “dogs off lead zone regardless of whether they can be called back”, it’s a “dogs off leave if they can be called back”. That’s because dogs must always be under control in a public place. A dogs off lead area just means they don’t have to be on a lead.

i then just continued and his dog kept following

So even when it had been noted that the dog wasn’t under control, the owner kept him off lead? This isn’t a responsible dog owner and the OP shouldn’t need to run elsewhere to avoid people like him.

I don't think OP was complaining about the dog following her. She was complaining about the man trying to get her to stop running in order for his dog to stop following her. She's quite correct in that it's a him problem not a her problem.

Unfortunately if its sn off lead zone there is nothing you can do.
You shouldn't let it affect your run though (unless in danger)
The big problem is there is too many dog friendly nature areas and not enough dog free.

For every green space that dogs can use there should be at least one where people can run, play football, picnic in peace

When I lived in Switzerland the default was dogs on leads everywhere and specific areas for dogs off leads. Much easier to avoid the problem dogs and their owners.

You'd have to be a real dick to not stop jogging for a minute so someone could catch up to their dog. We all owe each other some common decency.

As someone with a lifelong commitment to dogs, owners should have them under control and trained to recall when off the lead. But you are being utterly ridiculous complaining about off lead dogs when you are choosing to jog in an area where dogs are off lead and you know that this happens because you go there frequently!!!! Cos like, if you don't like it there are plenty of places you could run where there aren't dogs off lead. SO you are just being goady - here and there. Your choice to run there. Make a different choice.

And I hope you're not one of the coughing and spluttering/ spitting joggers. They really pee me off!

I'd invest in a pair of over-ear noise cancelling headphones and carry on running.

@FieldJogger I'd ask you to stop running if you came across me and my reactive dog out on a walk and she would be on lead! Totally unfair of you not to stop running. My dog would be massively fright if you ran past her.

I was once told off for having a picnic in a park by the owner of a dog who had trampled through my picnic and eaten several things. Instead of apologising they told me off for having a picnic. It wasn’t a dog park it was just a normal park. Some dog owners are so entitled and find a way to blame anyone but themselves for their dogs poor behaviour. You did nothing wrong. If a dog can’t be recalled it should not be off lead.

But that's on you to manage your reactive dog, and make adjustments to your walks to accomodate your dogs issues, not impose unfair expectations on other users of the space you're walking your dog. OP has as much right, if not more as a human being, to be out running in public, than your dog does to be in that same public space with nobody running near it.
Human rights trump animal rights, if your dog is scared of people running by, then you need to train it out of her, or take her to quiter places/places specifically designated for dogs where there won't be runners or joggers. It may be inconvenient for you, but surely it's in the best interests of your dog, even if it means an early morning/late night walk, or going further afield to a dog park/quieter area.

On my local social media there is currently a very unhappy dog owner who dog ate a family’s chocolate cake and had to have her stomach pumped. Anyone who suggests that the dog should have been under control or on a lead is instantly shot down by sympathetic dog owners. There really are a lot of irresponsible dog owners about.