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! :)

Cool your jets there. Its a perfectly valid comment.

You get people claiming they leave the bag and pick it up on the way back and bin it.

Although many of them are left it for the Magic Dog Shit Pixie to clear, he apparently likes the challenge of climbing into bramble bushes.

So the dog was on a lead but you went back a minute or so later just to pick a fight basically. I think most people would have been a bit funny with you at that point. Next time just leave it

That's a silly thing to say. The OP is clear that the dog itself wasn't at fault.

I think it's basic common sense, if you see a runner coming towards you, to put your dog on a lead. But many dog owners IME don't seem to apply or have any basic common sense.
I'd have been annoyed and possibly sworn too, especially if I were shaken up by nearly being tripped up. I don't think you should feel contrite at all.

Yeah I know, it's not my proudest moment. I've just had so many incidents lately that I think this one just pushed me over the edge. Lesson learnt

Basic rule if thumb, if you see a dog on a lead nearby, you put your dog on a lead, so the dog owner was at fault straight away,

I'm a runner out in the countryside and I NEVER run past a dog, whether it's on the lead or not. A lot of dogs will chase anything that moves, some will attack anything coming towards them at speed and other just get nervous and bark. Even if the dog is on the lead you don't know that the owner can hold it if it suddenly decides that running looks fun and it wants to join in.

So I would say you WNBU because you were scared, but also say that you really shouldn't run around dogs (which I know makes running hard if you are in a park), because even on-lead dogs will react.

My dog doesn't like people running towards her and will bark hysterically to warn me that I'm about to be murdered, which is why I keep her on the lead if people are about. But she's an idiot anyway.

Isn't it possible that there are so many threads on this because it just happens so often? People getting tripped up by dogs while running is just a very common occurrence. I know someone who almost had a really bad accident because the owner had a long lead and was standing on the grass on one side of a shared path and the dog was on the other side of the path and the biker got entangled in the lead that they hadn't seen. And then they got yelled at by the dog owner.

I don't blame the dogs obviously. Just the entitled owners.

I totally understand where you are coming from. I’m a dog owner and a runner. I slow when I approach dogs and prepare that they may dash in front of me or jump up but as long as the owner apologises or makes at least some effort to get them under control I don’t mind. I’ll give the dog a quick pet , smile at the owner and carry on. What I do mind is the entitled wank buckets who dont give a damn and pretend I’m not even there while there huge dog is trying to jump all over me . Grrrrrr .

I’m a dog owner and a runner. I would put my dogs on a lead around runners and other dogs. My dogs are not remotely aggressive but they are large and boisterous and that alone can be intimidating for other dogs.

I absolutely would not trust them not to knock a runner over!

in short, her dog should have been on a lead and you should not have had a need to “look where you’re going”!

I think it's more possible that a lot of MNetters when they're bored, just want to start a thread that'll get a lot of replies, and most people will agree with them.

That's where the 'Am I being unreasonable' comes in, even though the majority of OPs know full well they're not (mostly).

I wonder what subject will be overdone in 2027?

We might see a return to BF/FF threads, or P&C parking. Now that'd be a blast from the past.

P&C still happens every five minutes 🤣 I think this year we had a lot of school readiness ones.

Dog owner here, the dog should have been on a lead. I step aside and make mine sit to let runners go on thin paths too, as an ex runner I think it’s the right thing to do. People with their dogs off leads piss me off.

If I wanted a thread where everyone agreed with me, I probably wouldn't have included the bits where I admitted I lost my temper and swore 😂 I was genuinely asking whether I'd overreacted by going back and confronting her.

My dog is older now and wouldn't be a nuisance to a jogger but he could be when younger and I always stop when a jogger approach just so he doesn't leap after a squirrel or something.

I don't think you were at fault here and I get your annoyance. Bottomline is we all have to share the paths and if everyone can be respectful of others that would be fine but of course a utopia

Dog owners- be aware of your surroundings and look out for joggers, walkers and cyclists
Joggers and cyclists - don't approach dog walkers silently and fast from behind and scare them. happens all the time. I get they try and overtake as quickly and silently as possible but I would prefer if I knew they were coming and get hold of my dog as he can get spooked just as myself

It does sound like a mountain out of a molehill - no human or dog was actually hurt - although I understand how you feel discombulated after a shouting match that's out of character for you.

People can be really defensive about their dogs/kids/partners! Even when they know they're in the wrong. Try to just forget about this one.

Being a grown adult and asking if you were unreasonable to start shouting and swearing at someone in public, is surely even more disingenuous.

I have a dog but still find it hard not to get incensed by anti-social owners almost daily. A sizeable % of dog encounters on our walks are challenging - always dogs off lead and owners who act like them charging at and jumping all over me / my kids / my dog is nothing to do with them. I guess that’s the 25% of folks who say you’re being unreasonable, but you definitely aren’t. I’m not even going to blame you for swearing - being polite to them definitely doesn’t get any traction. It’s like a whole chuck of society now gives sweet FA about anyone else and, yes, it rightfully makes you angry if you are doing your best to coexist in a considerate way - as you clearly were by looking ahead and moving over. YANBU.

Since being bitten on the inner thigh by a dog whilst out jogging, I run with a walking stick in my hand. Funny how the prospect of having their dog whacked makes the owners grab the dog and pull it out of the way.

I don't think it's disingenuous at all. I know shouting and swearing wasn't a great way to handle it, I've said that myself. What I was unsure about was whether people thought my initial annoyance and decision to challenge her were unreasonable given that I'd deliberately moved over, her dog nearly took me off my feet, and she then told me it was my fault.
I'm quite capable of recognising that I didn't handle the confrontation perfectly while still thinking the situation that led to it was unreasonable.

I saw an older Mum with a girl about 12 using a parent and child space in their people carrier. I said "It's a parent and child space, not a gran and teen space". She told me to fuck off, was I being unreasonable?

When I'm out running, I work on the assumption that dogs and children are going to step out in front of me and that I'm the one with a brain (compared to dogs and children) so I think it's my responsibility to avoid collisions. This is particularly around dogs as a runner suddenly appearing can scare/surprise a dog so it may well do something unpredictable.

I'm also a dog owner and it really pisses me off that a lot of runners make no effort to consider pedestrians (with or without a dog). If you want to maintain pace and run without distractions, I'd avoid situations where dogs and children are running around freely.

You lost your temper, therfore you are in the wrong.

@dustabsorber - I hope you are just another keyboard warrior out for some controversy.

first post nails it

Too many dog owners believe that the world should revolve around their creature.
I don't run much these days but I like to cycle, I have recently found a really good cycle route which is right next to a fast road, there are rarely any dogs and they are never off lead.
It's like paradise.