Dogs are jealous of runners

I realized something new. Dogs are jealous of runners.

Where I live; the rural, no traffic lights, can run an 50 mile ultra and not use the same road twice, have "corn field emergencies" with no one around to notice, see way more cows than cars; boonies I have the opportunity to not only run without the interruption of traffic light or cars but also participate in a sometimes enjoyable sport of taunting the local canine population.

Okay, before anyone jumps on the animal rights soap box, I don't taunt them. They do it to themselves. Hey, I can't help that I am free to run where ever I want and they are chained or invisible fenced or sheriffed by a human owner. I mean, I can't tell you the number of dogs that get seriously upset with me flaunting my freedom as I jog by them each day. I know that it's not that they want to try and bite me. They just get so jealous that I can run so happily down the road and they can not. That has got to be the reason they come at me with such fury as if they want to rip off my leg. Which would not be conductive to my increased running efforts at all!

And. Their owners. They all seem to think that I must like the extra pass time of flaunting my freedom to their lovely canine companions. It is the rare owner who acknowledges that their little fluffy or Rex or Killer has decided to become my bandit training partner for a quarter mile. And when they do notice all the barking and my repeated attempts to train their four-legged friend to sit or stay they often yell to me, "...don't worry he doesn't bite!"

Now, I don't want to complain too much. I really have to thank all those dogs along my runnig routes. (Who, by the way, never seem to remember me from one day to the next) I often get some decent speed workouts in thanks to a little extra incentive from the friendly neighborhood fidos. And who doesn't want to be faster, right?!