it happens when you least expect it.

[dirt_j00]

seriously, you want a shotgun, a Rifle or even Pepperfoam when you have to face a dog, not a handgun.

I dare say that most posters on the board don't carry any of those 3 items on their person when walking around the house/yard. But I would bet a large portion do carry a handgun most all the time.

Granted, if attacked by ANYTHING (dog, bear, BG, zombie), I would rather have a shotgun - but you have to use what you have on you.

Also, you seem to underestimate the abilities of a grown man (esp. one with a handgun) when defending his life/family.

 

[qwert65]

To the OP, Speaking as a veterinarian( 1 yr left) that dog was not showing aggressive behavior, he wouldn't of been sniffing around he'd be waiting by the door for you to come out(esp. a dobbie they tend to be determined) I second both expvideos, and hankthetank's posts
That said I support your right to shoot animals on your property.

Little Bigman, If the dogs decide to tangle with an animal tougher then them It's called natural selection. Baiting would be if he had some steaks laying out to attract the dogs. While the mule was probably the aggressor he was just defending his territory which the dogs were intruding on.

 

[expvideo]

Pulse,
A dog also has to be touching you to hurt you. So that means that you are going to be close enough to hit your target. We're all intelligent beings that can understand that as long as you don't let the dog get ahold of your throat, he's not going to take you down before you can shoot him. Being bitten is far from fun, but it's not deadly unless he gets your throat. Cover your throat if you are that concerned. You can take 1-2 seconds of biting while you shoot the dog. It's not going to kill you.

Besides, if you try to shoot the dog while it is lunging toward you, the worst you can do is miss, which will most likely scare the dog away anyway from the noise.

Jesus! It's just a dog! Some people just need to grow up and have some balls. We're on the top of the food chain and we carry guns. Take a second to realize that a gun is to protect your life, not prevent you from ever getting a scratch.

 

[twoclones]

Any dog that is human aggressive should immediately be put down.

While many would fight tooth and nail against this attitude, I am 100% in agreement. There is not enough room in this world for me and a dog who would bite a human. If my dog bit you, I'd shoot her myself.

That said; I have zero fear of dogs, barking or not. Standing your ground is all the defense one needs 99.99% of the time. No chance of a doberman chasing me into a shed on my property.

 

[texas bulldog]

hankdatank,

my dogs haven't ever gotten out, and i have four of them. while i will agree with you that there are some uber-reactionary posters in every dog thread that comes up here, i do think that it is absolutely true that responsible dog ownership includes containing your dogs in a way that prevents them from getting out and roaming the neighborhood. there is no way for you to know what will happen when they get out of their normal environment unsupervised, but i can assure you that whatever it is will be your responsibility.

just sayin...

 

[Little_Bigman]

Baiting would be if he had some steaks laying out to attract the dogs.

The mule WAS the bait

Again, if the dog is a nuisance or a threat on your land, kill it. But don't go out of your way to make the death needlessly painful and don't entice the dog onto your property and then kill it.

I think the above is perfectly reasonable

 

[dirt_j00]

The mule WAS the bait

^-my new sig

You really think that having a mule on your land is "enticing" dogs to come mess with it?

If so, somebody better get the word out to several states-worth of farmers.

 

[texas bulldog]

he let the mule out to protect his property from the dogs the same as i might let my dog out to protect the property from thugs. mules are often used to protect other livestock. it's what they do (one of the things, anyway). he just let it serve its intended purpose so that he wouldn't have to shoot the dogs. less legal hassle, and he doesn't have to keep an ever-watchful eye out for vicious dogs on his property.

i see absolutely no problem with this. sorry.

 

[qwert65]

littlebigman, what if he released the mule into a herd of sheep?, or if he used a tough goat with horns(I've seen them kill dogs) or a 8yr old with a 22? The dogs attacking an animal that is stronger then them and losing is natural selection( choosing a "strong" moose if you will)

If having an innocous prey animal on your land is baiting then you need to consult a dictionary

 

[Duke of Doubt]

Leash laws are enforced around here.

Serious fines accrue to the jerk who lets his animal wander the neighborhood, and more to the point, the owner has to pay all sorts of boarding fees and for expensive and probably painful tests on the animal at the shelter after it is apprehended -- and the locals LOVE to call Animal Control on loose dogs.

Two bites and the animal is destroyed, at the owner's expense.

Criminal charges can eventually be laid on the owner, for keeping a dangerous animal.

I've met a few dogs over the years that I liked. I even prevented one from being destroyed. But the things have little place in an urban environment other than for the amusement of the owner. They make about as much sense in a city as pet ostriches.

 

[Claude Clay]

Pulse--

given how "mutch" you know about dogs and their behaviour;

and how "mutch" i know about flying helicoptors;

likely we will not survive today

 

[expvideo]

I let my dog out to protect the world from mules.

 

[fatelk]

1. Dogs are inhumanly fast in full run.
2. Dogs are mutch mutch smaller then Humans.
3. Dogs are mutch more Agile then any Human can possiblly be during a full speed run.
4. (bigger) Dogs can jump you from ~5 meters and easy reach you in flight.

and now, even if you hit, "handguns are handguns", _all_ the carry Calibers are underpowered.

in the unlikly Case that you actualy hit the charging dog once or even twice, you will need a Solid hit on the CNS or hit and break one of the Bones in the legs.
Dogs are tough that can function even with severe injurys.
a lungshot that only damages one chamber is not going to stop a dog.
a Gutshot will let the dog maul you in to little pieces before he dies.
a shot in the legs that does not break a Bone will only slow him down a bit.

Wow, are you all talking about dogs, or some new hybrid mutant breed of Grizzly/Wolverine? I know some breeds are quite tough, but really?

I don't really have a dog in this fight (pun intended, but really, I don't own a dog), but last year some new neighbors have a big dog that would lunge against our backyard fence, growling very viciously and scaring my two young kids. I would not let them out there alone because I thought he just might be able to jump the fence if he really wanted to.

These neighbors are rather different from myself, not the type that would even wave back when you say hi. They definitely live a different lifestyle.
I did finally go over and talk to them. I was very polite and explained that the dog was scaring my children. To their credit, they have been very good about it, even putting up another wire fence inside of their fence so he can't lunge at our fence. They did tell me what a "sweet, harmless baby" he is.

I have no doubt that dog would have mauled someone had he gotten through the fence, and I have no doubt that a cylinder full of .357 hollow points would stop him, if my kids were in danger (if nobody was in immediate danger, I would just call the police).
When I was a kid, my dad broke a baseball bat over the back of a stray dog that was in our yard at night on top of our collie. It didn't kill it, but it sure sent it into a limping retreat.

 

[davemcf89]

Dogs get loose - it's an accident. It doesn't sound like this guy's dog is loose all the time (one month earlier doesn't make a pattern), and he sounded embarrassed as hell to be chasing it down. Brandishing a gun and threatening the guy while he's trying to resolve the problem just makes you look like a douchebag. I know what he felt like chasing his dog down, because I've been there with our female pitbull once. Luckily I live in a neighborhood where all the neighbors see us walking her, playing with her in the yard, etc. and know that she's not going to scare them into hiding inside a shed. To want to shoot a dog just because it's in your yard is ridiculous. A gun should be used as a final option, not the first. Oh yeah, it was your second choice because you hid inside your shed first.

 

[Claude Clay]

King G

in Ohio it is not just your political machine that is going to the dogs.....

 

[Justin]

This has pretty much gone off-topic.