When walking or running, how do you handle dogs that are not behind a fence, not chained and don't seem to have an owner anywhere around?
I have a major phobia of big dogs that seems to have gotten worse the older I get. When I try to walk, I'm constantly looking over my shoulder to make sure a big dog is not coming in my direction. Its not that I don't like dogs...I have 3 of my own...but, they are all under 10 pounds. The big dogs are the ones that scare me as I dont think I could keep them off of me if they decided to attack. What if I'm too close to their property? or maybe they just won't like something about me or they may feel threatened for some reason? I've just heard so many stories the last few years of children getting attacked while walking home for school, etc. It seems like everytime I get my nerve up to walk around my neighborhood, I see a big dog running loose. What do you do if you see a stray dog? I turn around and walk as fast as I can back to the house...praying the whole time that they dont come after me! Do you just keep walking? Is there any way to protect myself if the dog attacks...like pepper spray or something. I definitely do not want to harm a dog in any way, but I really would like to walk with assurance that I can protect myself if anything were to happen.
I used to run 5 miles a day and never worried. I'd love to be able to run again some day...and not only on the treadmill!