A Sydney man says off-leash dogs have become a problem in the community after he was chased by three terriers while out for his regular run at the Greenlink Rotary Park Trail.

Allan MacLeod was jogging on the trail a couple of weeks ago when he came upon a couple walking their three terriers off-leash. MacLeod said the dogs started barking when they saw him, then all three chased him.

"I decide to stop. But when I do stop, the one that I had run past came up from behind and jumped up and bit me close to my hip," he told CBC News.

MacLeod said the pants he was wearing offered him some protection and the bite didn't break his skin. He believes the bite could have been worse if he had been wearing his normal running shorts.

"It did hurt, but it wasn't a huge dog so it's not going to rip the muscle or anything like that," he said.

"One of the first things I thought about was a small child getting bit on the face or the neck or something, where there is open skin. That dog would have caused trouble."

MacLeod did not say whether he'd file a complaint about the incident.

Rick Fraser, a bylaw enforcement officer for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, said dogs are supposed to be leashed while on public property. He said off-leash dogs are a problem on several walking trails and open fields in the area.

"We still receive complaints of individuals who walk their dogs off-leash in the Baille Ard area," said Fraser.

"We are getting some complaints about individuals who have their dog roaming off-leash at large in the soccer field in that area as well."

Fraser said people who see dogs running loose should complain to the SPCA.

Animal control officers are patrolling sports fields and parks. The fine for having a dog off-leash is $265.