Dogs terrify me and my fear interrupts my run! Any advice?

[JaoJao]

There is one thing that I will never overcome and I feel it may interrupt my runs at some stage on this programme.. my fear of dogs. I have always disliked dogs, no bad experience specifically, I am petite a small frame and I feel that they are almost as big as I am so I would lose in a fight. When I run I would prefer to run in my local parks but if I see a dog not on a lead I will avoid it at all costs and that may mean turning back, finding a different route or abandoning my plans. Dogs on a lead I am fine with and some obviously docile ones are fine too. It’s the ones running wild that terrify me and they always run towards me when they see me, it’s terrifying!!! Any advice.

[cheryl_couch_tatty Graduate]

You poor thing! There are alot of irresponsible dog owners out there who think everyone should think their dog running towards them is a delight. Alot of dogs will run towards a runner too, usually curious but you have to be careful. I used to meet a runner who would always slow to a walk whenever he saw a dog off the lead which usually stopped the dogs interest.

I wonder if you have any running tracks or something close by that are enclosed so dogs can't get in. We have one at our park which is great.

It's not very fair on you but other than a treadmill I don't know what else to suggest.

[JaoJao in reply to cheryl_couch_tatty]

Thank you for your kind words, it means a lotxx

[cheryl_couch_tatty Graduate in reply to JaoJao]

Good luck, I hope you find a way to resolve it.

[Hidden]

This is very tricky as in the park or on the beach you will inevitably meet dogs off the lead and not all of them will be well trained. If you can run on pavements, you will meet dogs on leads, which might help as you can be confident that they are restrained.

The alternative, longer term approach would be to overcome your fear with a programme of systematic desensitisation. In which you gradually confront your fears. Do you have any friends with dogs who might let you practice?

[JaoJao in reply to Hidden]

Oh that could also be something I look into, I have been thinking about confronting the fear too at some point.

[GoogleMe Graduate]

There is a difference between working with a fear that you know is significant and will take a long time to overcome (to a practical point - and let's face it, it is not inappropriate to be cautious) and a fear that you decide you will never overcome.

I think you may be underestimating how well you are coping - after all you've got started with the programme and have a fair few runs under your belt now. Your fear is not stopping you from getting out there. You also have some strategies up your sleeve - I see it as a positive that you can decide to turn back or go a different route and I think it hasn't happened yet that you've actually abandoned a session because you've seen a dog?

I have a fear of dogs issue - not for me but Google my dog who runs with me. She wasn't fearful before, no incident, and some dogs she loves, but she will randomly halt if there's a dog in the distance and these days I can't rely on her catching up with me eventually - she's been known to disappear back to the car. I run in lots of different places but I tend to avoid the peak dog walking times and routes, and choose places where it is easy to eg detour onto a different forest ride if I spot the combination of another dog and her stopping. Failing that I put her on the lead to get past (You can't really put yourself on a lead! Although it is possible that a human running companion would help?)

[JaoJao in reply to GoogleMe]

You are absolutely right, my fear hasn’t stopped me getting out for my runs, haha, I’m doing better than I thought then! And yes I am lucky I can adapt my runs if I see doom ahead. I could stick to the pavements as I do midweek. Your story is so interesting, see I never thought dogs would fear other dogs. As a dog owner, what might the peak times be for dog walking?

[GoogleMe Graduate in reply to JaoJao]

It probably varies from place to place but 4-6pm and 7-9am. There's even a variation in the types of dogs you get out at different times I reckon!

[JaoJao in reply to GoogleMe]

So on my run this evening I went to the local parks and there were very few dogs around. One was on a lead, another was being held in its owners arms and another was running around happily but too small for me to get anxious. So I lucked out this evening. I think 6.30pm is a decent time weekdays as most people are coming back from work or getting dinner at that time.

[JaoJao in reply to GoogleMe]

Also like the name of your dog, Google! X

[GoogleMe Graduate in reply to JaoJao]

Thank you - she's a Welsh Springer Spaniel and my son chose it as she's a search engine.

[JaoJao in reply to GoogleMe]

Haha that’s brilliant! Where are you on your C25K journey? What week?

[GoogleMe Graduate in reply to JaoJao]

I'm nearly seven years on from graduating... still running regularly.

[JaoJao in reply to GoogleMe]

That’s brilliant, thank you for supporting the newbies then!

[JaoJao]

Last night was a lovely evening run in the park and there were many people walking their dogs along the way. Most of them had them on leads. Yay for dogs on leads! X

[JaoJao]

What I have found over the last few weeks is that I am so zoned out with my c25k run and music playlist that I can ignore the dogs a little bit more! Also I noticed there are lots of responsible and smart dog owners about which is nice 🙏 They are mindful of their dog when people are approaching! Xx

[JaoJao]

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread, as the weeks have gone on I’ve managed to zone out so much with the running and playlists that I don’t even pay attention to the dogs in the park. Luckily there are many responsible dog owners around and although I don’t think my dog phobia has been cured, it’s certainly improved as part of c25k. And if there are dogs are Park Run, I think I would be able to handle it!

[Sisters-in-law]

Look up desensitisation online. Devise yourself a programme! It can work.

[JaoJao]

I just wanted to report that 7 months of running and my fear of dogs has lowered, and I owe it to running. I no longer turn back when I see a dog, i can run past a dog as close as 3 metres away and I owe this all to my running. I still have a dog phobia but it’s remarkably better than it was 👍