AIBU for losing my temper with a dog owner while out running?

[GE237]

I was out running in the park today and saw a woman approaching with her Staffy. I could see them coming well in advance, so I deliberately moved over to the right hand side of the path to give them plenty of space. She was on the left hand side.
Her dog was off the lead and, as I ran past, it suddenly ran across towards me and nearly took my legs out. It then went running after/at another dog nearby.
I appreciate that the dog itself isn't at fault and I wasn't annoyed at the dog. I had actually made a conscious effort to give them plenty of room because I could see them coming. What annoyed me was that the owner made no apparent effort to keep the dog out of my path, and when I nearly went flying she didn't seem particularly concerned.
I carried on running but was pretty annoyed, so I turned around and went back to speak to her. I said, “Is that dog on a lead now?” She showed me the lead with a bit of an attitude.
I said, “Good, because he nearly tripped me over and he went for that other dog.”
She then said that the other dog had actually gone for hers and that I hadn't been watching where I was going.
This is where I lost my temper. We ended up having a bit of a shouting match and I did swear, which I accept wasn't my finest moment.
From what I saw, I didn't think the other dog had gone for hers. The other woman actually turned around and went back the other way to leave the park, which made me think she was trying to remove herself and her dog from the situation.
I'm not claiming I handled the confrontation perfectly and I definitely got more angry than I needed to. I'm actually feeling a bit guilty now because I don't like upsetting people.
But at the same time, I feel like I had made plenty of space for them, her dog was off lead and nearly caused me to fall, and rather than just saying “sorry”, she blamed me for not watching where I was going.
AIBU to think she was being unreasonable, or did I overreact by turning around and confronting her? I am a terrible over thinker and I'm sure you're all just going to tell me to forget about it! :)

AIBU to think she was being unreasonable, or did I overreact by turning around and confronting her? I am a terrible over thinker and I'm sure you're all just going to tell me to forget about it! :)

All of this, I think! She was being unreasonable and should have acted faster when her dog nearly tripped you and went for the other dog. Also, confronting her wasn't an issue but you did allow yourself to let the argument get heated when it didn't need to. A case of two wrongs making a bigger wrong.

And for the last bit - let it go, it's in the past and there's nothing you can do about it now. Maybe you've planted a seed in the mind of the Staffy owner to put their dog on a lead next time - or maybe they'll continue to be ignorant to it. Who knows?

You'll barely remember the episode in a day or two so crack on and don't let it get to you :).

You're being unreasonable to dwell on this, annoying as it is.
So many problems would be solved if people had to keep their dogs on leashes in parks.My local park also has an equestrian aspect so it's a nightmare when you have dog owners with dogs off lead.
I'm really having to work on my temper in reaction to driving incidents so it may be useful to reflect on how to maintain your cool in these circumstances and certainly don't curse.I

Both unreasonable, not a big deal though. Just let it go

@TheCoolHare thanks for replying! Yes agreed and fully hold my hands up that it escalated and got heated. It was her pure ignorance and attitude followed up by playing the victim card that got to me. A simple, "sorry about that" would have done the trick!
Will try to crack on with my day as you said and let it all blow over!

You’ll get plenty of support on here. Mumsnetters love a dog hating thread.

As a runner I can't abide the fur baby brigade who make no effort to control their precious pooches when out in public. Like you, I'm courteous when out running. I stop and make room for people. I make sure people can hear me when I'm approaching from behind etc etc. But there are utter knobheads out there who think their dog's needs to roam freely trumps all. I've been tripped, jumped at etc. Even had my ankles nipped by a Lhasa Apso.

So I get it. They are annoying as fuck and can frankly get in the bin.

But... I do think you should have just let it go and carried on. It's only wound you up further and I guarantee the owner won't change her behaviour in response so it was all a bit pointless.

Hope you have a better run next time OP!

Well, the shouting and swearing bit certainly wasn’t reasonable.

She obviously should have had her dog under control and you weren’t wrong to point that out, but you behaved badly otherwise.

Fault on both sides imo! I think dogs should be kept on leads on paths. Let them off in (dog-appropriate) fields, fine, but when you're back on the path, clip them back on. But I know I'm often in the minority with that.

But I also think you should slow down when passing people on paths, too. It can be quite intimidating to have a runner charge at you! I've had runners and cyclists (mostly cyclists, to be fair 😆) knock into, or nearly knock into, me/my children because they didn't want to slow their pace etc.

And you should definitely not go back and confront someone who you've already passed, if only for your own safety - you're risking a blunt retaliation!

This again?

Unless there are two sweary park runners being almost 'taken out' by dogs, I feel like I read this a couple of weeks ago.

Come to think of it, it's possible as 2026 has been the year of the dog thread.

And like most of the others, I'd say it's pretty obvious you're not being unreasonable, apart from the shouting and swearing.

Noooo not my intention in the slightest! I love dogs, it's just their bloody owners that need training!

I’m a runner and I just assume when passing off-lead dogs that they may come over or pass in front of me so I kind of slow down. Ideally obviously everyone does exactly what they’re supposed to do but that isn’t always the case in real life! Sometimes it’s just better for your own blood pressure if you just kind of prepare for these things and it’s a bonus if it doesn’t happen. Slowing down for a few seconds is not the end of the world! Kids etc can be quite unpredictable too and I don’t want to injure myself or them so I am hyper aware of their movements and adjust my pace accordingly.

@takealettermsjones agreeing with you 100% on slowing down. I'm always courteous when out running and very aware of who and what is around me. It's not my path and I know that. I moved to my side of the path and I was at more of a jogging speed at this point so I was far from charging haha

Also just to make it clear, I wasn't initially going to confront her after the first incident, but if you read my post, her dog then went on to charge at another dog who was on a lead - twice. That responsible dog owner then turned around to leave the park which I thought was unfair

Walking with a dog is a bit like walking with a toddler; they can be unpredictable and they can respond perversely to attempts to control them. Some think that the answer is to put them on leads, and some think that a dog (and a toddler) needs the freedom to explore. You can't control that narrative and you won't change anyone's opinion; you can only control your own actions.

When I'm running or riding a bike somewhere where there are dogs or small children then I am extremely cautious.

obviously the dog owner was in the wrong, nobody (not even dog owners on here) will disagree with you there.

It's really kind of you to understand that it wasnt the dog's fault (they are reliant on inwers to teach them how to behave, manage them, understand their thresholds and step in accordingly before anything happens etc).

I understand why you went back to confront the woman, in reality it was bever going to change her mind ir attitude but I understand why you did it.

I run and have this too. The worst one was when I was recovering from an injury. I ran past a dog on a lead and it unexpectedly lunged at me when I was passing, I automatically tried to get away from it, twisted awkwardly and landed badly on my injured leg.

Also been nipped at, chased, had dogs run into my path and sometimes bark, and once the owner clearly through her dog was so adorable it should be allowed to do whatever it wanted including trying to jump up on me.

I started off being very fond of dogs but the attitude of some owners is awful. As evidenced by all the dog shit on the paths too, some of it very attractively bagged and hung from trees or bushes.

Bloody dogs should be on a lead anywhere outdoors.
A friend told me he ran back to find a dog walker who made a similair issue for him & his passive dog.
Srupod bloody ignorant ppl

I understood @Walkingwithlions comment to mean that the thread will soon descend into "dogs should not be in public at all" type extremism as can often happen on MN dog related threads.

Not that s/he sides with the owner in this example.

Why do they do this??! It would be better to leave it on the ground, surely, where at least it would have a chance at biodegrading or being washed away in the rain. If anyone is brave enough to admit they have ever done the bag-in-tree thing 😅 please, please explain it to me!

How slow were you running that you were still close enough to turn round and argue with her after witnessing all that? Did you watch and then come back to confront her?

Yes, you've just reminded me to hide this. Zzzz

Cue one of the most divisive subjects here.
Honestly just let it go. I feel myself getting anxious already and have not even read the thread.

Not unreasonable. I love dogs but most of their owners are idiots. I’ve been chased by dogs when out running with little to no recall and friends of mine have even been bitten because the dogs get all overexcited and start running/chasing.

@ToKittyornottoKitty not that slow hahaha. I should have explained better, the path in this section of the park makes a small loop and has a large grass area in the middle, so once I had ran past her I could then see what was happening on the grass with the two dogs and I turned around and crossed over the grass to approach her