I've had it with dogs and their owners

In all the years that I've been running, uncontrolled dogs have never been so bad.

I trail run to get away from people, towns, traffic and everything associated with them. So when I'm out in the middle of nowhere, minding my own business and someone's bloody dog decides it wants me to stop running, what the hell am I supposed to do? The law is clear:

Any dog is dangerously out of control if:

• it injures a person, or
• it behaves in a way that makes a person worried that it might injure them.

The law applies everywhere the general public is allowed to go and anywhere your dog goes where it is not supposed to be.

In other words, if your dog bares it's teeth, barks and runs at me, it's dangerously out of control. I have no interest in whether it's "just having fun" or is "just a big softie" if it bares it's teeth then as far as I'm concerned it's about to bite and I will defend myself.

I'm tired of having obnoxious owners tell me that I'd better not hit their dog, just after they've had a go at me. What the hell do I have to do to escape from these bloody people and their pests? Maybe I should just carry some mace spray, that'd work on the dogs and their owner.