I am a runner. Have been for a while. I run to clear my head, keep fit and melt away any anxieties floating through my veins. But there is a relatively new phenomenon, a source of dread and anxiety that arises during my runs: the free roaming dog.
These are dogs that are sitting or walking on their own property, wearing a collar (seemingly an "electric fence" collar), alert to all that passes them by. However, sometimes these dogs see a runner (me) in the distance and will start galloping in my direction. And oftentimes, all I see in my peripheral vision is a dog running at me. Until, of course, it stops short at the end of the property, to avoid the electric current I suppose.
But how am I to know that the dog will stop? Simply because it is trained to stop and doesn't want the shock or whatever terrible sensation the dog hopes to avoid, how on earth does anyone know what a dog will do every single time? I don't trust electric fences and feel owners who want to take advantage of the comforts they offer should at the very least keep them in their backyard, away from passersby, runners, children, other dogs.
I have joked that one day I might experience some kind of heart failure when one of these loose dogs in their front yard, comes charging at me. Sure, the animal might stop at the property line, but what will it matter at that point? I've considered arming myself with a canine mace or something of that sort, but really don't want to take that measure. I love dogs, but not ones that don't know me and simply want to protect their property, home and family, at any cost, like jumping through an electric fence.
These are dogs that are sitting or walking on their own property, wearing a collar (seemingly an "electric fence" collar), alert to all that passes them by. However, sometimes these dogs see a runner (me) in the distance and will start galloping in my direction. And oftentimes, all I see in my peripheral vision is a dog running at me. Until, of course, it stops short at the end of the property, to avoid the electric current I suppose.
But how am I to know that the dog will stop? Simply because it is trained to stop and doesn't want the shock or whatever terrible sensation the dog hopes to avoid, how on earth does anyone know what a dog will do every single time? I don't trust electric fences and feel owners who want to take advantage of the comforts they offer should at the very least keep them in their backyard, away from passersby, runners, children, other dogs.
I have joked that one day I might experience some kind of heart failure when one of these loose dogs in their front yard, comes charging at me. Sure, the animal might stop at the property line, but what will it matter at that point? I've considered arming myself with a canine mace or something of that sort, but really don't want to take that measure. I love dogs, but not ones that don't know me and simply want to protect their property, home and family, at any cost, like jumping through an electric fence.
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