so you shot a dog.. now what?

[gunsmith]

this is all well and good

lakes of fire notwithstanding, there are a lot of dogs in heaven, I know my old rottie/lab mix pepper is there....there are also cats in heaven, & I'm sure some rabbits made it in there too.

 

[74sharps]

I've not had this trouble while on foot. However, while on horseback I have encountered this. The law is clear on riders encountering dogs or bears for that matter. You have the right to use deadly force if you're in danger of loss of life or property. It would be wise to contact your local PD and get the info. from them (filing a report also helps to back you up if the dog owner freaks out and tries to take you to court for killing his sweet little bull mastiff). If of course you choose not to kill the dog, then there are other options, mace (if the winds right), rubber bullets, and who know what else. My point being, before you shoot a dog cover yourself by checking with the law. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Stand_Watie]

I've not had this trouble while on foot. However, while on horseback I have encountered this. The law is clear on riders encountering dogs or bears for that matter. You have the right to use deadly force if you're in danger of loss of life or property.

I'll opine that the reason for this is that a person on horseback (or a bicycle for that matter) presents a 'novelty' to dogs that feel they are 'defending their territory' that a person on foot doesn't. While you don't have the legal obligation to do so (certainly a dog off it's own property spooking your horse meets the legal definition of 'danger of loss of life'), if you can do it safely, I'd suggest trying the tactic which has worked on my dogs of turning your horse to face them and giving chase to the mutts. It might save the dog its life and you the hassle of killing a dog you'd rather not. To a dog a perception of leaving is a perception of weakness. A perception of attacking is a perception of strength. You might also find it gives your horse more confidence, and less nervousness around dogs. Horses don't like to have unseen and unknown things snapping about their heels, but something 1/20th their size directly in front of them rarely frightens them at all.