Dog walking and personal security

[pippixox]

Is this an excuse for me to push for another GSD?! Been nearly two years since Harvey my GSD died and my collie and lab would be more likely to run away! The lab will bark at men in hats but is literally scared of his shadow and traffic so we don’t walk much in the dark!

I must admit it occasionally crosses my mind as we try to walk in quiet secluded areas, either me and just the dogs or me and double buggy with toddler and baby.
But I think your more likely to just get mugged for your money and phone then serious Luther/silent witness murder.

 

[meleeka]

I've been scared of the dark and had an irrational fear of being attacked most of my life, so I'm pretty good at pushing the monsters in my head out these days. In any case, I reckon the Westie would have a crack at taking on pretty much anyone

Same here. I wouldn’t go anywhere off road in the dark and there’s places I wouldn’t go at any time. My friend had an excellent point. The day time is just the same as the night. The only difference is you can see all the weirdos in the day.

 

[tda]

I saw this post last night but didn't open it as I had to take the dogs out later😁
Honestly, I could not live here if I was scared, we are quite remote, my dogs are mainly not friendly, which I don't mind as there is no use if they Tried to lick someone to death 😜
I too have my keys, and phone, might get a small alarm, but who's to hear it?

I don't watch anything like Luther/Silent Witness Etc

Edited to add, there are often single people walking round here without dogs , I keep out of their way, , but let the dogs bark a bit as they pass in the distance

 

[MotherOfChickens]

look, I love Luther-its lots if fun and bonkers but really nothing to get anyone scared about anything lol. if these types of things happened in RL, we would hear about it as the media loves to (try) and keep us terrified (just watch daytime TV if you don't believe me). The lottery type chance of someone being where I walk who's up to no good is not enough to prevent me from doing what I want. If I didn't walk my dogs in the dark they'd not get walked mid week november through to march. Even when I lived in Craigmillar (a mid-dodgy part of Edinburgh) I was up running my dog at 6am year round, Leith too.

 

[Clodagh]

I have always walked my dogs and not worried, not just now in the countryside but when I lived in villages and towns. My dogs are not stranger friendly, more stranger nueutral but would certainly bark hysterically at unexpected movement (a feed bag got blown into the hedge the other night and it got a proper telling off).
If I lived in a city nowadays I would probably have something on me but I am so inept I would probably spray myself.

 

[PapaverFollis]

I've wandered around Leith, in the dark, on my own, drunk as a skunk a few times and not had bother. Lol. Still. I wouldn't recommend it.

It's people that you know that you need to be scared of! Statistically anyway. Having said that I do tend to avoid people out and about and keep my wits about me. I'm more worried about finding a body in the woods than becoming a body in the woods though.

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I'm more worried about finding a body in the woods than becoming a body in the woods though.

that happened on a dog walking route at my work a couple of years ago-the dog walker in front of me found him, quite the shock and very tragic.

 

[islander]

I think where I live is known as safer than most (a small community and the weirdos are well known), although when I visit the UK I am reminded to be more careful. The Lab would bark and leap if anyone went for me here. I don`t walk the dogs in the dark, no need to, and they don`t enjoy it then anyway. Try always to have my mobile with me in case I fall or something dire, or need to get help for an upturned sheep etc.

 

[Karran]

I hate it this time of year, my morning and after work walks are in a badly lit park but it's the only chance to allow Mrs Spaniel off lead if it's a non-yard day (share horse) or agility class day and I'm seemingly the only dog-walker who believes dogs need daily walks....
A couple of times I've had the local chavs suddenly loom out of bushes at us, mostly as surprised as I am to see us despite Mrs Spaniel's hi-viz and flashy led collar.
There is a gym at the entrance of the park and it's been held up a few times and this time of year seems to be ideal for setting motorbikes alight.
I must be the only person glad when it's cold/wet as only the most hard core are out then, but until the daylight comes I feel incredibly vulnerable.
Mornings are better but I'm excited about every bit of extra daylight!!

 

[JFTDWS]

I think I frighten more people out and about at night than could possibly frighten me. If I'm running, I thunder about like an elephant doing a fun run, and on the rare occasions I meet people, I tend to squawk dementedly. I've had a few people turn tail and flee before me that way. If I'm just walking, it's the opposite - I go into stealth mode and suddenly loom out of the dark at them. Also know from experience that the dog - though usually a total pudding - will get between me and an aggressor and growl like it's dinner time for his inner Wolf.

 

[dogatemysalad]

I walk my dogs through isolated woodland and by lakes where it's not unusual to meet migrants camping in the woods or walking across the fields from the motorway. I generally walk briskly, make eye contact , smile and wish them a good morning. Its surprisingly effective at restoring normality to a situation where a lone woman meets a group of young men. Other than that, I take different routes at different times to avoid a set routine.

 

[HashRouge]

It never occurred to me that people might be feel anxious dog walking. Not having a dog myself, it just isn't something that had occurred to me! Then I started working for an SJ rider who kept his horses on his parents' 500 acre farm. His Mum used to take her dogs on long walks round the fields and told me that she had got a Rottweiler because she thought it would make her feel safer when out walking the dogs (there were several footpaths over their land). However, their Rottweiler turned out to be a soft friendly lump, who was usually about 100m behind her owner and the other dogs. So my boss's Mum decided to upgrade her security dog system...and bought a boerboel

 

[Blazingsaddles]

Since owning my GSD x Mali, my confidence when walking alone in the dark has soared....😄

 

[MrsMozart]

Two Rotties and a GSD, so not really an issue. The fact that they'd all merely lick and ask for tummy tickles is academic. Admittedly I only walk two of them at a time, but any combination is likely to keep folk at bay from just a looks POV.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

Well I live in the middle of nowhere and consequently walk my dogs in the middle of nowhere, so not a huge chance of weirdos and undesirables walking miles from civilization looking for me. Both dogs would be absolutely useless to defend me, poor gorgeous puppy farm reared lab is frightened of every rustle in the hedgerow if she strays too far from my side, little rescue Patterdale would be far too busy hunting to give a damn if someone was ripping my throat out. After all she knows her way home and OH would still feed her, so my demise not of great concern to her I would guess

The safest I ever felt, anywhere, no matter who crossed my path was when I used to walk with my (several!) collies, IMO the most protective and pro active defenders of their owners you can own. I have had many breeds over the years but a collie will literally die rather than see someone hurt you IMO

 

[Keith_Beef]

I do Israeli Krav Maga (a no holes barred self defence system), feel pretty confident that I could do some damage if I needed to. I’ll also often hold a key between my fingers knuckle duster style if I feel a bit uncomfortable.

Now I know a quite a few Israelis, and when we discussed Krav Maga they never mentioned that aspect of it...

I think a really powerful torch is a good self-defence device, and is also useful for other tasks and is definitely not on any of the stupidly pointless and ignorant lists of "offensive weapons" that the government issues either as laws or as "guidance".

Get something with a mode that comes on super-bright, then drops down to just very bright. You dazzle your attacker with the super-bright mode, then use the very bright mode to either incapacitate your attacker, or to light your way as you escape.

As a bonus, those bright modes generate quite a bit of heat (between the heat of the LEDs and of the discharging battery), so it doubles up as a handwarmer.

 

[cbmcts]

I walk a 55kg dog who is ridiculously over protective. Despite excellent recall he cannot go off lead anywhere that I don't have a clear line of sight and definitely not in the dark. If someone appears out of nowhere (around a bend, from behind a bush) he immediately squares up and I have no doubt that he would have anyone that went for me. He also feels the need to protect me from the lawnmower and pressure cooker he gets between me and them and pushes me away...he doesn't feel the need to protect OH from them though!

The dog I felt safest walking though was a JRT bitch. If she saw anybody that she didn't like the look of - behaving oddly, skulking about, trying to hide, even body language, she hated drunks for instance - she would come back to me and growl in their direction. Many times I changed the direction I was going because she flagged up someone I hadn't seen. She also taught my at the time young rottie to do the same. I have no doubt that both of them would have died to protect me and mine without ever been aggressive day to day. On the other hand, I also had another JRT at the time who would have run to save herself and to hell with me!

 

[Rowreach]

Now I know a quite a few Israelis, and when we discussed Krav Maga they never mentioned that aspect of it...

I think a really powerful torch is a good self-defence device, and is also useful for other tasks and is definitely not on any of the stupidly pointless and ignorant lists of "offensive weapons" that the government issues either as laws or as "guidance".

Get something with a mode that comes on super-bright, then drops down to just very bright. You dazzle your attacker with the super-bright mode, then use the very bright mode to either incapacitate your attacker, or to light your way as you escape.

As a bonus, those bright modes generate quite a bit of heat (between the heat of the LEDs and of the discharging battery), so it doubles up as a handwarmer.

I was wondering why it needed to have a powerful beam if you were going to bop someone over the head with it

 

[Mule]

I hate it this time of year, my morning and after work walks are in a badly lit park but it's the only chance to allow Mrs Spaniel off lead if it's a non-yard day (share horse) or agility class day and I'm seemingly the only dog-walker who believes dogs need daily walks....
A couple of times I've had the local chavs suddenly loom out of bushes at us, mostly as surprised as I am to see us despite Mrs Spaniel's hi-viz and flashy led collar.
There is a gym at the entrance of the park and it's been held up a few times and this time of year seems to be ideal for setting motorbikes alight.
I must be the only person glad when it's cold/wet as only the most hard core are out then, but until the daylight comes I feel incredibly vulnerable.
Mornings are better but I'm excited about every bit of extra daylight!!

A friend of mine feels the same about the cold and the rain. She used to live in an estate with a gun crime problem. She used to use rain as an opportunity to go for a walk. In her words the rain 'washes the scum off the streets'

 

[MotherOfChickens]

In her words the rain 'washes the scum off the streets'

Taxi Driver flashback.

 

[CorvusCorax]

I was wondering why it needed to have a powerful beam if you were going to bop someone over the head with it

Some of the 5.11 TMTs and the larger Maglites would make an excellent cosh We have a Maglite that needed a battery long ago but is still kept behind the front door for potential bopping purposes, it's massive.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Some of the 5.11 TMTs and the larger Maglites would make an excellent cosh We have a Maglite that needed a battery long ago but is still kept behind the front door for potential bopping purposes, it's massive.

Those old Maglites that took four or five D-cell batteries make excellent improvised cudgels, apparently... There is a model that takes six D-cells, but it's a bit unwieldy.

I have a Fenix torch that I use as light on my bicycle. It has a nice range of power settings, strobe and SOS morse code, takes an orange traffic wand attachment, and has crenellations around the lens. Officially, crenellations like that are so that you can't place the torch standing on end, turned on high power, without knowing it: because of the crenellations, you see the light. Unofficially, those crenellations are known as "DNA harvesters".

 

[CorvusCorax]

I think ours is the 6D one, my mum lives up a mountain/we had frequent power cuts so I've become a bit of a torch fetishist lol

 

[Sprout]

I walk on my own , all over The Forest, and I must admit I have never worried about any danger. That said, my 2 Swissies and Collie would look and sound formidable if they felt I was in danger. I do always carry my phone though.

 

[twiggy2]

It's never occurred to me, I walk at anytime day or night wherever I happen to be, I also wild camp and have a history of holidaying alone in my van, I am still unharmed and unattached. I would not want to live my life fearing what may be.

 

[paddy555]

I don't fear for my own safety walking my dog but I would fear for the other parties if anyone came near to attack me. My shepherd who is walked on a lead would be on his hind legs and giving them hell. I feel totally safe when he is around.

I used to take my first GSD to training classes many years ago which were held in the red light district of a not very nice part of a city. I had no fear walking back to the car park in the dark. If anyone had touched either me or her precious landrover I hate to think what she would have done.

 

[Tinkerbee]

Due to my job I'm used to ME being the weirdo skulking about in woodland at 3am, or sitting and staring at empty, long abandoned houses of an evening...emerging from ponds carrying loads of bamboo canes.... so my evening dog walks are the least of my worries. That said, I do listen to a lot of true crime podcasts, and am now even more of the "pepper spray first, ask questions later" mindset, although I have no pepper spray...just usually hefty keys/torch/fingers for eye gouging...lol!

 

[alibali]

Some of the 5.11 TMTs and the larger Maglites would make an excellent cosh We have a Maglite that needed a battery long ago but is still kept behind the front door for potential bopping purposes, it's massive.

Snap CC! Right down to the needing a battery for the last decade!

Nearest I ever came to getting mugged was crossing an unlit Glaswegian car park in my late teens. I was approached by two unsavoury type men, one started to circle round behind me the other stepped into my path. I held my head up looked the one in front of me in the eye said "Excuse me please" and kept walking. He stepped out of my way and I kept up the same brisk place until I got to the relative safety of the street. I think he was just so surprised his body reacted and stepped out the way before his brain engaged!

Never look like a victim with your head down scuttling along scared, have your head up and make confident not aggressive eye contact. If you look like you might well put up a fight hopefully any potential mugger will go looking for an easier target. I have also employed my mobile phone if I feel uncomfortable in a situation though I usually actually do phone a friend and give them my location/description of the person/vehicle and keep them on the phone until I'm feeling safer, I've only ever had to do it twice. I also use the key knuckle duster in my pocket, I find it helps with the first point of looking more confident than your are feeling!

Edited to add - despite all the above if any attacker was just looking to steal from me I would immediately hand over anything and everything they wanted. There is nothing in the world I possess that is worth risking my life and limb to try to protect (living creatures excepted). On the other hand if my or my familys physical safety was threatened my response would be as immediate, explosive and violent as possible and target any soft spot with any means available, punch/kick/knee/elbow/scratch/bite/gouge/headbut...….

 

[Moobli]

i have never felt unsafe in my village but after reading a very scary book last week, i chickened out from walking in the fields when it was dark and just walked round the roads and on the edge of the playing field....i am now ok as the book ended well with the baddies in prison and the heroine and more importantly, her dog were safe......its strange how a book can make you feel more vulnerable..

Ooh which book? I love a good thriller.

 

[Moobli]

I live on a sparsely populated shooting estate, surrounded by other sparsely populated shooting estates, and so don't worry at all about wandering around in the night (or day time) and the only person I have ever met on my nightly wanders was one of the gamekeepers. Having GSDs definitely helps though and even when I have lived in towns I have walked alone in the dark with my dogs in winter and never been overly concerned.