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! :)

Your swearing and shouting was a bot over the top, but understandable.
Whereas she sounds like a total twat.
So my verdict would be....YANBU.

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)
Dog owners are the ones in charge of their dogs though (well, I use the term loosely) and they have a brain (well…)

I'm a runner and a dog owner, and I am ALWAYS the one who moves out of everyone's way when I see them coming - everyone else seems to be in their own world!

When still living in London, I was running once, and a stupid woman was letting her dog bound around off lead on a busy path. As ever I moved first, but of course it gave chase when I jogged past. She just watched. I ran off, but when I did a 180 to run home, same dog did it again and she still said nothing to the dog. This time I let rip at her. And I love dogs, I have two. That's not even relevant. People need to learn to use leads!

In the north east, it is easier as you have large woodland to run in, but I still always encounter people like this if I am in smaller parks. Dogs off lead still happens all the time. (I always say they should only be offlead in dedicated, enclosed areas, like we hire open spaces for our dogs for about £10/hr) You also get a lot of people who block the entrances and exits to the paths, chatting, which is really inconsiderate.

In summary - I love dogs, hate most owners because they're inconsiderate and incompetent. And you might feel bad about yelling but you WERE almost hurt. And at least you recognise it's not the dog at fault!

Sometime ago I got into a minor shouting match with a woman whose dogs were not under control when I was cycling:
Me- keep your dogs under control
Her- we were here first

I've just remembered another one, she opened her car door and the dog raced out narrowly avoiding my bike:
Me- your dog nearly knocked me off my bike
Her- tries to reprimand me for not helping her catch her dog.

There a just no standards in Britain any more. Shouting and swearing over such a small incident is ridiculous, it perhaps warranted a small shake of the head.
The decline of civility and decorum is very real.

Don't worry about it - dog owner's behaviour was entirely unreasonable. Your swearing and shouting can be partly excused by the fact you were probably in a bit of shock at the encounter! Not fully excused though - but in your shoes, I'd own the fact you told a stupid person some truths! If I'd been a witness, I'd have been cheering you on. Hopefully you've made them think twice and saved someone else/another dog a painful encounter!

Why are they like this 😅
I was bitten on my leg and knocked off my bike by a loose Border Collie when I was 7 years old. The owners came running and tried to gaslight me and my parents that I had just scraped my leg on the pedals...

I do feel for you. I think there's a general problem with dogs that is being highlighted in the media these days about being out of control, like you describe. Also a staffie is a powerful dog that could do a lot of damage if it turned aggressive. Then there are more reported cases of people being killed by dangerous dogs. So I think there's a bit of an anti-dog movement generally gaining ground. I love animals but I'm getting a bit hacked off by dogs and their irresponsible owners too. The problem is owners and their dogs, or anyone for that matter, isn't necessarily going to react in the sensible, empathetic way we would all like them to should you clash with them in public. Once you start a fight they are more likely to get defensive and aggressive themselves. That said, she left the park so maybe you did get your point across.

My dog is taught to move to the side of the path closes to where I am, stop and wait for either runners of cycles, its just manners.

In other words, you are a responsible dog owner. The one with the Staffy is not.

I think the OP was mild in her response.

Unfortunately there are many many inconsiderate c**ts out there OP.

I’ve been in the park with my dog before, who was off lead.
A man came running along the path, I called my dog to me, he came, we carried on walking but then my dog kind of wondered in to the path of the runner, causing him to stop.

I moved my dog back out of the way by his collar, and said ‘oh sorry’ to the runner, who threw his arms up in annoyance before carrying on. At that stage I called after him ‘actually I’m not. It’s a shared space’

Like someone said above, my dog could easily have been a toddler, and these things happen.

I’d say 9 times out of 10 when I’m out and about, whether walking alone, with the dog, running, etc, people meander and get in my way, or just stop in front of me with no awareness.

it’s not a big deal, and it’s all part of being in a public space.

What happened between her dog and the other dog is for the other dog owner to deal with, not you.

You're lucky you're not complaining about cats.

This is unfortunate. I can see why you’re annoyed she didn’t apologise but equally turning around and shouting and swearing is a big over reaction, on balance I think your behaviour was worse. I’d just try to put it behind you.

We were both shouting and she was giving as good as she got, but that's no excuse, I know. I shouldn't have lowered myself to that standard - but it's done now

Doesn't an identical thread to this happen every single week on MN?

You'd think OP would just read a few of the previous ones and get her "you go gurrrrrl" validation from them

She was giving as good as she got because you went back to have a go at her.

I always take the pragmatic approach when it comes to protecting my own health and safety and slow/ or stop until the hazard, the dog, has passed by, (obviously I'll then have to say hi to the dog). No amount of shouting and swearing is going to help fix a broken hip! I do this when running or cycling with or without my dog.

Likewise I wouldn't run close past a horse even when I have just as much of a 'right' to be using the path/bridalway as a horse, becasue that would be stupid!

Dog owner privilege, a sub set of middle-class privilege.

Guardian to a very reactive GSD X Staffy here! YANBU at all in my opinion🙂
It sounds like you're approaching this with a clear mind and you're acknowledging that the dog is not at fault which I totally respect.
Dogs get a lot of flack on here but most people fail to acknowledge that they rely on us, and we need to make sure they're being trained and looked after properly.

I'm also of the very firm belief that if your dog is not trained correctly and doesn't have the recall skills then he/she should be on a lead indefinitely, just like mine is. He reactive, not friendly and does not have the recall, so he doesn't leave my side and doesn't go anywhere unsupervised, for not only the safety of others, but his safety too.

It's good you confronted her, because now she might be more careful next time and the next person she would have done it to would likely be 'non-confrontational ' and not say anything to her. You took one for the team.

It's not fair for runners like OP to have to break their stride because someone refuses to use a lead.

No human should ever have to go out of their way to accommodate other people’s dogs. They’re dogs fgs. Just dogs.

I think you’ll find you’re a jogger, not a runner.

That sounds like an upsetting incident (but you didn’t actually fall over or get hurt?), but you really didn’t need to go back and have it out with her - save your energy. Look where you ended up: shouting and swearing in public, not a good look.