Best Gun For Dog Attack

mrblenderson said:

I mean that I am not going to pull it out and start shooting unless it is my only option. In this specific instance, when I came outside he was on top of my dog so my first concern was getting control of him and getting him off my dog's neck. While I was holding him in a choke hold IF I HAD HAD A GUN ON ME I could have drawn it at that time and taken a contact shot to end the situation. I would not have drawn it and started shooting to get him off my dog.

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Thanks for the clarification. That makes more sense. When I see "last resort", a lot of times that means that it's the thing that is used after other things have been tried first. I, of course, did not mean that I would just draw and start shooting as I approached. I like my dog more than that.

A hot dog works well.

Obturation said:

Wouldn't you think that depends on the specific situation ?
I absolutely NEVER said to shoot a dog that's on top of a toddler.
Simply that any cartridge will do just fine to redirect or eliminate a dog threat.


Well, I guess there would be countless variables involved with the answer to that question . I would recommend if someone was loaded specifically for canine defense a proper projectile be selected. 44 magnum probably would be a poor choice. Although in my opinion overpenetration is blown way out of proportion , I've asked before if anyone could produce information with regards to civilian shootings where a projectile overpenetrated (not missed) the target and harmed a bystander- I've yet to get a relevant response .

And some underpenetrate , that's just how things go. Gel isn't intended to be a simulated flesh and bone body, simply a consistent media to measure performance of one cartridge to another. You can push your finger right up to the knuckle in gel without much trouble- you'd have to be the witch doctor from Indiana Jones to do that on a living critter.

I suppose the police that shoot dogs may disagree.
Every situation is different. If I had a Rottweiler 2 feet from me and ready to chomp my face, bullet beats hammer 100% of the time. Just the way it is. Dog on top of toddler, maybe not the best or maybe it still is. Too many variables to speculate.

I'm sure it would work fine. But so would just about anything with some mass to it.

Not trying to discredit you or doubt your knowledge or experience. But you take a simple 2 sentence post that answers the OPs question of "what guns best for dogs" with "any type will work" and you spin it to some scenario where I'm saying something unsafe or unreasonable . I didn't say to get a 500 mag and use it to shoot the Chihuahua off a kid. I only meant what I said, dogs aren't difficult to kill . we aren't talking kodiaks and cape buffalo .

Not sure why you took such issue with such a simple answer.

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Well your spot on = I think.

You might have left out the ONLY VARIABLE that matters = you have NO WAY to control where,when,and how close a dog attack might happen.

That being THE fact = shooting at 99% of the incidents will MOST LIKELY [ note wording ] result in either overpenetration AND OR a miss.

Have had to dispatch a few dogs [ and horses,pigs,possum,raccoon,skunks,deer,rats,cats,] I feel I have had enough experience to speak a bit on the subject.

Unless your shooting them in a cage ,you stand a MUCH BETTER cahnce of a bad thing happening.

And hitting a dog,at 30 miles an hour running at you is a real feat ,one that you need to get on video.

I carry a Colt Government Model and a Taurus 856 as a backup currently. I prefer a good SWC in a .38 ad opposed to a HP, a rottweiler that managed to bite my thigh had its snout "misplaced" fairly bad when the SWC went through him.... guess not all dogs go to heaven

Saw this recently & thought it was timely:

bdickens said:

Saw this recently & thought it was timely:

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GREAT VIDEO and one that backs up my often voiced opinion on this subject.

Too all who are not willing to watch this video.

Readers Digest version = NO GUN,dogs are PROPERTY and PROPERTY cannot be defended with a firearm.

AND if your round hits ANYONE but the attacking dog = the bill and possible charges are ALL on you.

Kudo's to the man who remembered he had a pocket knife,bet he gets a bigger one.

JohnKSa said:

Fortunately there were several adults present. If it had just been the girl and the mother by themselves, the outcome could have been much worse. If the dog had latched onto something more vital than an arm, the outcome could have been fatal. If there had been another dog or two, even with all the adults present, that would have been very bad.

An attack by a large dog is absolutely a very dangerous thing.

Some things from the video.

They had time to observe the dog and maybe react to it before it grabbed the girl, but none of them did. Had an adult noticed and turned toward the dog, that might have signaled to the dog that it wasn't attacking something that was totally vulnerable which could have caused it to be more cautious. Hard to say about that. But it would have at least given them a chance to prepare a little had they been paying a little more attention to their surroundings.

In that scenario, a knife was probably superior to a gun. It would have been very difficult to safely deploy a gun in the middle of everyone who was trying to get hands on the dog to separate it from its prey. A big knife that was easier to get to and deploy would have probably been better, but the guy did pretty well in terms of getting to it in the middle of a pretty stressful situation and getting it deployed. An impact weapon would have been hard to deploy in the middle of the scrum with the dog held in the air as it was. Pepper spray would have likely worked, but everyone would have gotten about the same dose as the dog given the dynamic and high-density situation.

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From the video the dog appeared like it was looking for someone to bite. The little girl indeed lucky have multiple adults around. Had she been alone, I hate to think that animal could have killed her.

If you happen to have one nearby, fire extinguishers work exceedingly well on dogs. I don’t know if it is the noise or the visual white cloud, but even trained guard dogs tend to scamper away when sprayed.

scaatylobo said:

GREAT VIDEO and one that backs up my often voiced opinion on this subject.

Too all who are not willing to watch this video.

Readers Digest version = NO GUN,dogs are PROPERTY and PROPERTY cannot be defended with a firearm.

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I'm a little confused about your summary. The adults in that video were defending a person, not property. Also, property can be defended with a firearm in many cases, just not usually from an attack by a human.

scaatylobo said:

That being THE fact = shooting at 99% of the incidents will MOST LIKELY [ note wording ] result in either overpenetration AND OR a miss.

Have had to dispatch a few dogs [ and horses,pigs,possum,raccoon,skunks,deer,rats,cats,] I feel I have had enough experience to speak a bit on the subject.

And hitting a dog,at 30 miles an hour running at you is a real feat ,one that you need to get on video.

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I'm writing from the viewpoint of someone who has been charged/attacked and a sidearm was needed to protect myself, very, very different than dispatching a few dogs.

My background is different than most as are my experiences, I'm just an average retired guy who lives in a very rural area on acreage, border county along the International Border. Before Arizona changed its law to requiring proper ID for employment, including businesses losing their business license upon second offense; there were a number of instances involving roving dog packs. Today, one can still hear sheep/goats bleating their painful death sounds that typically last for about 30-35 seconds.

I don't like killing animals, including hunting, one of those background things. You make excellent points on not knowing where or when a dog attack will happen, 30 miles per hour is about 45 feet per second...when "doggy" things go bad, they go bad in a flash.

One charge was a female pit bull that came out from mesquite brush at a full run as I was walking toward an on property pistol range. 1911s are popular here, the SO issues Colt 1911s in 45auto, as is 38Super...more popular on the other side of the Border. I often carry 1911s, havig trained, qualified and having history with the platform, both in 45 auto and the Super. In this instance, I was carrying a Colt 1911 in 38 Super, practice handload Zero 121gr, JHP ~1400fps...WSF powder IIRC, no exit from body. Of the times when I've needed to draw and shoot a 1911, I don't remember taking off the slide safety. One of the reasons for choosing 1911s is they are pointers and quick to first shot, in this case, one handed head shot, distance muzzle to head ~5 feet, DRT

The second and last charge to share, was a harrowing experience, one that vividly plays over in my head, involved 3 pit bulls surrounding a mutt terrier type. When the mutt began barking at a frenetic pace, it was obvious he was in a bad predicament. This not being my first rodeo, I drew a Colt 1911 in 45auto and it was in my hand as I went around home corner by the garage, the mutt was in the center of three pit bulls. Quickly, the center pit bull, growled, bared its fangs and hard charged. There was only enough time to partially bring the Colt up to engage, like the above encounter, no time for sights and I fired at the same time the right pit bull hit me in the groin area. Fortunately the muzzle blast caused the right pit bull to cease and run away.

It was a fatal, DRT hit through the center PB's left eye, major bleed out mouth and left ear. After determining the two surviving pit bulls had left the immediate area, I went back to where the center PB lay. Teeth were still bared, the 230gr Federal HST +P did what it was designed to do. Later on in time, upon examining the PB's skull, its jaw was totally broken and there were four cracks in the skull running from both its eye sockets to ear lobes. It was a heavy PB, the Mrs. thought at least 70lbs, it seemed like a ton as is it was dragged away from the house, buzzards and coyotes would have their feast.

Serveral things learned by these two, and others, was, no time for sights, one handed shots at very low angle engagements. Given a ~2ft distance between the muzzle and head on the second charge, the pit bull ran 10-12ft during the time it took me to raise an in hand 1911 to a ~30 degree hand angle shot. A serious and important mistake I made during the second example attack, my eyes forcused only on the center pit bull, excluding the right and left PBs. At the speed the second attack happened, I'm fairly certain a DA/SA pistol or DA revolver would have had the time to cycle and fire on target. This is someone who was issued .357mags back in the day. Without the first shot hit, three pit bulls at full speed would have engaged a guy in his 60s, life threatening injury or worse would have resulted.

I can't make a suggestion for platform or caliber, bullet choice design/construction being more important than caliber IMO. It's likely that some ammunition choices that meet FBI protocol will deflect off bone at very shallow angles.

Dog attack, for me, means an all out charge requiring DRT hits, best gun??? Many choices, strong side hip OWB, is fastest for one hand draw/shoot at very close distances. Back in the day, part of our POST quals, with .357mags was point shooting and from the hip, believe it is now called presentation.

Train wisely and use common sense, pit bull attacks on people are life changing events.

2zulu1 said:

I'm writing from the viewpoint of someone who has been charged/attacked and a sidearm was needed to protect myself, very, very different than dispatching a few dogs.

My background is different than most as are my experiences, I'm just an average retired guy who lives in a very rural area on acreage, border county along the International Border. Before Arizona changed its law to requiring proper ID for employment, including businesses losing their business license upon second offense; there were a number of instances involving roving dog packs. Today, one can still hear sheep/goats bleating their painful death sounds that typically last for about 30-35 seconds.

I don't like killing animals, including hunting, one of those background things. You make excellent points on not knowing where or when a dog attack will happen, 30 miles per hour is about 45 feet per second...when "doggy" things go bad, they go bad in a flash.

One charge was a female pit bull that came out from mesquite brush at a full run as I was walking toward an on property pistol range. 1911s are popular here, the SO issues Colt 1911s in 45auto, as is 38Super...more popular on the other side of the Border. I often carry 1911s, havig trained, qualified and having history with the platform, both in 45 auto and the Super. In this instance, I was carrying a Colt 1911 in 38 Super, practice handload Zero 121gr, JHP ~1400fps...WSF powder IIRC, no exit from body. Of the times when I've needed to draw and shoot a 1911, I don't remember taking off the slide safety. One of the reasons for choosing 1911s is they are pointers and quick to first shot, in this case, one handed head shot, distance muzzle to head ~5 feet, DRT

The second and last charge to share, was a harrowing experience, one that vividly plays over in my head, involved 3 pit bulls surrounding a mutt terrier type. When the mutt began barking at a frenetic pace, it was obvious he was in a bad predicament. This not being my first rodeo, I drew a Colt 1911 in 45auto and it was in my hand as I went around home corner by the garage, the mutt was in the center of three pit bulls. Quickly, the center pit bull, growled, bared its fangs and hard charged. There was only enough time to partially bring the Colt up to engage, like the above encounter, no time for sights and I fired at the same time the right pit bull hit me in the groin area. Fortunately the muzzle blast caused the right pit bull to cease and run away.

It was a fatal, DRT hit through the center PB's left eye, major bleed out mouth and left ear. After determining the two surviving pit bulls had left the immediate area, I went back to where the center PB lay. Teeth were still bared, the 230gr Federal HST +P did what it was designed to do. Later on in time, upon examining the PB's skull, its jaw was totally broken and there were four cracks in the skull running from both its eye sockets to ear lobes. It was a heavy PB, the Mrs. thought at least 70lbs, it seemed like a ton as is it was dragged away from the house, buzzards and coyotes would have their feast.

Serveral things learned by these two, and others, was, no time for sights, one handed shots at very low angle engagements. Given a ~2ft distance between the muzzle and head on the second charge, the pit bull ran 10-12ft during the time it took me to raise an in hand 1911 to a ~30 degree hand angle shot. A serious and important mistake I made during the second example attack, my eyes forcused only on the center pit bull, excluding the right and left PBs. At the speed the second attack happened, I'm fairly certain a DA/SA pistol or DA revolver would have had the time to cycle and fire on target. This is someone who was issued .357mags back in the day. Without the first shot hit, three pit bulls at full speed would have engaged a guy in his 60s, life threatening injury or worse would have resulted.

I can't make a suggestion for platform or caliber, bullet choice design/construction being more important than caliber IMO. It's likely that some ammunition choices that meet FBI protocol will deflect off bone at very shallow angles.

Dog attack, for me, means an all out charge requiring DRT hits, best gun??? Many choices, strong side hip OWB, is fastest for one hand draw/shoot at very close distances. Back in the day, part of our POST quals, with .357mags was point shooting and from the hip, believe it is now called presentation.

Train wisely and use common sense, pit bull attacks on people are life changing events.

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Unless I missed something ?.

None of your attacks & saves involved the HUGE possibility of there being innocent people or other animals in the zone ?.

I have had to dispatch dogs [ and other critters ] when I was an LEO [ some were not duty related ].

And I used many different rounds ,calibers,and guns.

Shotguns,semi auto pistol [ .40 S&W cal ] ,wheel guns in .44 mag & .357 mag.

All were instant stops as was the stop with a Taser [ one worked,one did not ].

But I was under the impression the OP wanted info as to IF there was a human or other dog in the action.

That was why I strongly object to a firearm as the likelyhood of hitting a non shoot target is very high.

i live in cal.so i carry pepper spray all the time.

How common are dog attacks anyway? Now I had dogs, stay or not, bark and growl at me but not very often tried to bite me. Now the video of the dangerous dog running down the sidewalk and trying to chew the little girls arm off, well carrying a pocket for such events if encountered. I have never even seen anything like that before in my life.

I strongly agree with other posters that a firearm is not the right solution most of the time due to the risk of bystanders.