I like asking when I’m looking for that kind of information.
You mean, like upside down on the undersurface of the pavement, plowing through packed soil and gravel? Dodging buried utilities?
Bold strategy, Cotton.
I think animosity might be too strong a word, but I find it disconcerting that no one thinks it’s worth having a conversation with the dog owner (which wasn’t even an option in the poll), and more than half would ignore her or tell her off. I’m glad none of you (to the best of my knowledge) live in my neighborhood.
What do you know about her that we don’t know?
Ahem, post 7.
I missed that. So it’s 2 of us.
The moment this event happened was NOT the time to stop and have a quiet convo with the lady.
Maybe go by her house in a day or two, say hi and asked would it help if you made friends with dog.
It’s still a roll of the dice but you’re on more even ground and not hitting your running stride.
Perhaps not, but it is certainly not unreasonable to politely gather enough information to do that as you are walking by. (e.g. “can we meet at the coffee shop on the corner in half an hour to talk about how to keep us all safe going forward?”)
I had occasion a few years ago to sit in on a couple of sessions of our county dog court, which operates under the aegis of the county animal control, and bite cases were not treated very seriously for “just a bite” as distinct from a serious injury. This leniency seems (in our case) to depend on the attitude of the head of animal control, which at the time was a person who owned a dog-care facility, and so (in my opinion) was prejudiced in favor of pets and their owners. I’m also not sure if decisions of this “court” could be appealed. Probably they could, most people didn’t.
I can readily understand why a reasonable person might make the effort and spec the time to do this.
Might you understand why a reasonable person might not?
It’s a completely unreasonable request, but if it’s already happening and there is a risk she might lose control of the dog and it might chase and possibly bite you, I would say it’s sensible to walk and tell her it’s an unreasonable request.
If her dog gets agitated around giraffes and you’re out riding your giraffe, it’s fair to say she might not have been able to anticipate it, but runners are not uncommon in residential areas.
Try post #2.
Ok 3. Out of the 151 people who voted in the poll.
Not from the information given in the OP. I would assume that most reasonable people wouldn’t want to risk harm coming to either of the humans involved or to the dog. There is nothing in the OP to indicate that this is a repeat occurrence and not a one-off based on the situation both people found themselves in.
If it’s a repeat occurrence it’s an unreasonable request. If the incident in the OP is the first time it happened it is not unreasonable to ask someone to avoid a situation that might cause them harm in the moment. Neither of those things can be determined without talking to the dog walker about it.
The fact that the woman shouted “my dog tries to chase anything running”, plus the ubiquity of urban runners, IMO pretty much guarantees this is a repeat occurrence.
If the question were “could the dog owner be cited,” then I agree it’s more of an open question. But a civil suit is different, and if a person gets bitten and sues, they are getting paid.
If I regularly saw this woman, then maybe? But I was a couple miles away from my house and I run different routes all the time, so I don’t expect this will be a regular encounter.
I don’t see much animosity here, with the exception of one or two internet tough guys.
But I’m a little surprised that over half the respondents say they would keep running. Is that really what you’d do, or is that just what you feel is your right to do?
I certainly feel like I shouldn’t have to stop, but the reality is that the best options – control your dog, train your dog, don’t walk your dog here – are not on the table. Like @Stanislaus said above, are you really going to keep running and end up with an upset woman, an upset dog, and a potential injury?
I initially didn’t know but in reality probably yeah. At first I thought - be nice.
Not mainly because I think the woman is unreasonable but because she is being irrational. My “running” is not something that is going to set off any animal’s prey drive, even a very poorly trained reactive dog’s, especially from 50 feet away. A stranger yelling at me to do something that I consider irrational? I’m going to ignore just like I’d ignore a person shouting on a street corner. Despite some thread interactions here to the contrary, I try to avoid dealing with irrational people when possible!
Reality is that if my “running” is enough to trigger the dog and she is incapable of controlling it, then that dog would have long ago run off. Too many rabbits, squirrels, feral cats, raccoons, bicyclists, cars, and much faster runners than me about the place.
Wadya mean ‘can’t tell another’? I think we should be REQUIRED to advise & confuse our fellow travelers whenever possible. To say nothing of the dog.
Good thing you didn’t have to ask her for proof of her own rabies booster…
Here’s what my dog has to say: I’m anxious, so my my person watches me closely and makes sure to keep me at a distance from anything/body who might spook me. He also makes me wear a harness when we run, which I reluctantly agree to. As long as you give this dog a few feet of space you’re doing your part.
I agree with Jack.