Dog Attack

[Old Shooter]

What if the aggressive dog is a pug? These absolute rules are a bad idea for a situation with so many variables.

No rule is absolute and variables can be infinite. I'd feel much better getting a bad infection or rabies from a pug than something bigger. Sure, if it's a poodle I can kick away, fine... if it persists it's probably going to go to doggie heaven. Have you ever seen how much pus comes out of dog bites? I have and repeat, I ain't going there if I can help it!!!

 

[kayak-man]

There's always the stun gun for those that worry about harming the dog. The problem is you need to touch the animal with it. Some say that the clicking noise is enough to scare them away at times.

A paramedic buddy of mine told me about a situation where there was an agressive dog at the scene, he called in some LEOs to deal with it, and they decided to taser the dog. It was effective only for as long as fido was getting zapped, and when the volts stopped coming, the dog didn't care.

I don't want to have to kill a dog, and if your taser/bearspray/stick/supersoaker-with-amonia works, fantastic! but if it doesn't, IMHO, then it would be prudent to have something sharp/pointy/goes-bang to back it up. I'm not trying to talk anybody out of bearspray/stungun, and I'm sure that the vast majority of the time, they would be effective. Its just for me, personnaly, I have more faith in a knife/stick/gun combo.

Chris "the Kayak-Man" Johnson

 

[kyletx1911]

21' rule applies to dogs too... if it is threatening, pull down on it, if it is charging hold your ground be at the ready and have it in the cross hairs and once it crosses the line then SSS,... been bit once, and never again!!!!! In packs the zone extends to 50' and the lead dog dies first....

my feelings are like yours i lost 6mos of life and never again i drive a gas truck,
so i am in the country areas all the time, a 1911 on the hip and one on the seat with the door open

 

[kyletx1911]

Amen, brother.

yep yep and it is worse for me because i have a phobia for dogs

 

[SSN Vet]

Our neighbor breeds Great Pyrenees and keeps them fenced in. They go ballistic whenever any one walks by and when they stand up their shoulders are at the top of the 4' chain link fence.

The owners a good guy and is responsible, but I'm just waiting for the day they come over the top.

Worst part is that my daughter wants to walk our Golden around the block.

I'm thinking it's time for her to learn how to use the pepper spray.

I've been toying with the idea of sinking a hanger bolt into a cue ball and mounting it to our Chuck It with a wing nut (making it removable).

It would look very similar to one of these.... and I think I could wreak some major havoc with it.

 

[wannasupra]

i'm glad that most people in this thread are saying "dog" not "pit". as a pit owner, i feel it's the upbringing that makes an animal violent, not necessarily the breed. the only difference the breed makes is the amount of damage the animal can do if it attacks.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

^^^ what he said!!

 

[NMGonzo]

in winter is not that much of a problem since i will have minimal injuries if the dog attacks the arm.

... and that will be the end of the dog.

Summer is going to be trickier ... I have been attacked by dogs and I also helped train attack dogs.

Fight ... hopefully I can get my knife out otherwise is punching the pooch.

 

[Cearbhall]

Well, this thread sure got my attention. There's a dog around the corner that barks all hours of the day and night. So Tuesday I'm working on my car, and this dog is out, charging at some workers down the street, and then it turn it's attention towards me. I went in the house and got my “Forntiersman” bear spray and went back to work on my car. Here comes the dog again, and up comes the can of spray, a big burst full in the dog's face. Gone Doggie!

Thing is, I haven't heard this mutt barking since. Maybe the spray did something to it's vocal cords.

 

[ryanrichmond]

Thing is, I haven't heard this mutt barking since. Maybe the spray did something to it's vocal cords.

Or maybe he just doesn't think of himself as such a badass anymore. You may have broken his spirits.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Some one mentions our kids: When I take a walk with my 12 year old daughter who is still under 80 pounds and under 5 foot tall with me all of my nice ness is gone out the door. When Daddy's baby girl with him the Dog dies and dies fast.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

i hear that lil kids are vulnerable and can seem prey. i worry more when its a group of dogs 3 or more especially can get real wild and wooly real fast

 

[altitude_19]

I was out walking with my girlfriend (NOW FIANCEE!) and her dog last summer. A barrel chested pitbull trotted out from around a house with that "Look! Dinner!" expression on his face. He was on a cable, but it wasn't anchored to anything. The lady friend did a great job of pulling her dog away from the brute while I was shouting and trying to get its attention. His owner came around the house at a lazy strolling pace, saw what was about to happen, and didn't seem to speed up. The pit had managed to veer right around me and was closing on my girlfriend's dog. I pulled up my shirt and indexed my revolver...that lit a fire under the owner and he all but DOVE on the animal's cable. We headed home and ordered pepperspray within 30 minutes. As a result of that little lesson, I'll mace a loose dog at the drop of a hat (statewide leash law here). Shooting it before anyone has been bitten just leaves the door WIDE open for legal trouble. Of course I carry the pepperspray WITH a gun, just in case it gets even nastier.

 

[Cosmoline]

I did a long winter hike yesterday on a a trail with many dogs. I had one run in which reminded me of this thread. A medium size mutt, off leash, comes around the corner, sees me and goes on alert with ears up. He starts walking in stealthy steps and his head in is a very aggressive posture. He's about ten yards away, but I realize he's not looking at me but something behind me. It's another dog about 30 yards distant, and they're giving each other stink eye. When I approach the aggressive dog and pat my knees he's very friendly and greets me, then switches back to the game of stink eye.

Point being, if I hadn't paid close attention and just assumed he was coming for me, I would have had a round or more discharged on a public trail in the city, a dead dog, an angry owner and the prospect of charges or a suit.

Sure, if it's a poodle I can kick away, fine... if it persists it's probably going to go to doggie heaven. Have you ever seen how much pus comes out of dog bites? I have and repeat, I ain't going there if I can help it!!!

Very little, in my experience. The bites I've had have included some painful ones during schutzhund (from errors on my part mostly) but the damage has primarily been crushing. The broken skin didn't seem unusually prone to infection. If a toy breed can actually break your skin, let alone cause a bad infection, there's something really wrong with your skin and immune system to begin with.

 

[kayak-man]

i'm glad that most people in this thread are saying "dog" not "pit".

One of my best friends has a pit - it was a rescue. Very sweet dog.

I find it kind of amusing that I've never had a problem with a pitbull, instead its the neighbors golden retriever that barks its head off when I walk by, and the dogs I run into usually - well I'm not sure of the breed, but they look to be more common pet type dogs.

Chris "the Kayak-Man" Johnson

 

[BLB68]

in winter is not that much of a problem since i will have minimal injuries if the dog attacks the arm.

Don't be too sure. When I was an MP, we had one of our dog handlers bring out his female Malanois to do some training with our platoon in the field.

One of our guys put on the sleeve and fired off some blanks from his rifle. The dog bit him hard enough that even with the sleeve on the guy had deep bruises and a little bleeding from the four canine hits.

That dog was all of 55 lbs.

Dogs don't just have their bite strength, they have their entire body weight plus their pretty darn impressive speed added to that.

As to the original question: Pepper spray, or maybe even the smaller sized bear spray is probably the best option. It's easier to make a hit with a good spray, it's very effective as a deterrent, and you have less legal hassles. Of course having a stout stick or a firearm for backup (or both) is not a bad idea either.

I wouldn't engage a dog with a pocket knife, though. You're going to want to keep his mouth full of knives off you, and an enraged dog isn't likely to respond to much less than a lethal knife wound. You're better off using both hands to wrestle the dog, or to yank him off his feet, which eliminates the base that a lot of his power comes from. If you're strong enough to snatch the dog off the ground and repeatedly slam it into something like a car or a telephone pole, you can take a lot of fight out of a dog.

 

[jerkface11]

Shooting it before anyone has been bitten just leaves the door WIDE open for legal trouble.

That's like saying you shouldn't shoot someone attacking with a knife till someone gets stabbed.

 

[altitude_19]

Perhaps I could have phrased it more effectively. What I meant was, you're less likely to end up in court over using non-lethals, than you are if you discharge a firearm. People get less uppity over pepperspray. For shooting a dog (especially if the owner saw it) they could claim the dog was friendly, wasn't acting menacing, never hurt anyone, etc (all claims that would be immediately dismissed if you have bitemarks to show). If the dog is sprayed, only has 30 minutes of discomfort, and is none the worse for wear afterwards, odds are much better the owner won't want to involve the police. Losing a pet makes people vengeful, and not having been bitten may lend credibility to their side of the story.

 

[SleazyRider]

Have a suggestion: Contact "cold steel special projects" & order a 42" sjambok. Learn how to properly use it & take with you on each amulatory outing. Is non-lethal, but that dog will wish it was dead when a stroke from that sjambok cuts across his back !!!! One of my buddys gave a rott and instant attitude adjustment with his. Dog ran off howling & peeing at the same time. Good non-lethal alternative to you .45 auto or .38 / .357 insurance policy.

Btw: The sjambok works really well also on two-legged gremlins, zombies, & vermin.

I ordered a 42 inch sjambok after reading your post, much to the amusement of my wife and family. Believe it or not, during the few days it took for the sjambok to arrive in the mail, my 59-year old cousin from New Jersey was viciously attacked by a pit bull as he walked his little dog. He held the dog over his head to keep him out of reach of the pit bull and, helplessly, the pit bull chewed up his legs. He's been hospitalized ever since.
I emphasized New Jersey because the right to defend oneself is prohibited there. Nobody but LEOs can carry. Walking a small dog seems to attract aggressive behavior in other dogs like a magnet. The sjambok appears to be a viable means of dealing with this problem.
Nobody is laughing at my proactive purchase of a sjambok anymore. Although I spend a great deal of time hiking and camping in some of the most remote wilderness areas in North America, I've always felt most vulnerable to animal attacks when walking my dog in my own neighborhood.

 

[lizziedog1]

There's a dog around the corner that barks all hours of the day and night.

Take a piece of bread, spread a thick glob of peanut butter on it and toss over the fence of the barking dog. The barking dog will be unable to bark for awhile.

 

[conw]

You're better off using both hands to wrestle the dog, or to yank him off his feet, which eliminates the base that a lot of his power comes from. If you're strong enough to snatch the dog off the ground and repeatedly slam it into something like a car or a telephone pole, you can take a lot of fight out of a dog.

This guy knows what he's talking about!

If you have a drivey dog yourself, you can play a speed/skill game that teaches you how fast you need to be, and what angles to approach a dog. I like to do it with my female pit. The dog doesn't actually attack you, but you tussle with it and grab the front legs. It turns into a game of tag, kind of. You can bring a tug into it, too. You dangle the tug enticingly, the dog jumps, and you reach out and sort of briefly grab a front leg. My pit will nip my hands playfully as I do this, and she's very fast. She isn't coming with aggression or intention to bite/hold, but it still is a nice little coordination developing drill.

 

[Observer]

I love dogs and have raised and trained Rotts and German Shepherds. You must control your animal or expect whatever happens.

 

[Observer]

The most effective way is to grab the skin on both sides of the jaws, so he can not bite, lift/raise slam the animal backward while bringing your knee up and thrusting into the sternum to crush the rib cage.

 

[GLOOB]

i feel it's the upbringing that makes an animal violent, not necessarily the breed. the only difference the breed makes is the amount of damage the animal can do if it attacks.

Completely wrong. Some breeds were bred for aggression. All dogs are individual cases, but certain breed are obviously more inclined to violence.

Also, you must take into account the size of the animal to determine likeliness of violence. Dogs are more likely to be aggressive to humans who are smaller or not much larger than the dog, itself.

A large dog bred for violence might be just peachy. But you're ultimately going to be responsible for it if/when it eats the neighbors poodle.

 

[Observer]

I have only ever been bitten by small dogs though. Lap dogs.