Walking stick for canids

I used to run into a rural ranching area. Carried a .38 snubnose on a belt under my shirt. Small ranches in a treed canyon area leading into mountains. Lots of coyotes and mountain lions and everyone had big dogs.never had a problem with wildlife. The ranch dogs would pack up and were my biggest problem. After a couple incidents that 4 dogs threatening to attack got way to close I got a 4' peice of 1" eucaliptis stick which I harvested from my land. The drawn gun never scared the dogs but they seemed to recognize the stick as a threat. The dogs would still come out and bark but they never came as close to me after that. That staff would definately have killed a dog with a full swing to the head. Fortuneately it never went there and I never had to shoot a neighbourhood dog.

I went with 4' because i could run with it holding it in the center with either hand. If I were walking I would go longer put a crutch tip on one end an use it as a walking staff.

I think a walking stick would be a good idea. Something sturdy like a shovel or rake handle. Where I live there are coyotes and foxes but I don't worry much about them. Only if they are rabid are they a threat to humans. Dogs are more dangerous.

Go classic with a blackthorn.

A fox? Pretend it's a football and kick it over the street light.

I won't say it's never happened but I've never seen an adult coyote that was stupid enough to approach a human being. The ones that are get weeded out pretty quickly.

Heard a retired postman (walked a route with the big leather bag) say he carried a sharpened stick and pointed the stick at the dog while it watched him, said he never got bit or chased; barked at a lot tho....

Check here for some discrete ideas for adding a handle and a tip to a walking stick.

https://www.etsy.com/market/walking...ns7DY38NqpQhZJy5CFsDrmDRoCIyYQAvD_BwEYkvrx2gM

When there were aggressive dogs on my jogging route I carried an antique ox goad. It worked for poking or swinging.

PWC said:

Heard a retired postman (walked a route with the big leather bag) say he carried a sharpened stick and pointed the stick at the dog while it watched him, said he never got bit or chased; barked at a lot tho....

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“Walk softly and carry a big stick.”

That’s our “guard” dog, Ruger, peeking around the corner.
I don’t remember what kind of digging tool this handle is supposed to be used on, but I found it at Ace Hardware - along with the rubber cap I installed on the end. On my exercise hikes down to Marsh Creek (2 miles) and back, I wear thru one of those rubber caps every summer, but they only cost a couple of bucks apiece.
At any rate, we have plenty of coyotes (and far too many mountain lions) around here. They always run away as soon as they see us though. On the other hand, I don’t know how many large, farm and ranch dogs I’ve had charge a hundred yards down a driveway to yell at me for trespassing on “their” section of a public road.
I also carry pepper spray and a handgun (usually my Taurus 32 H&R revolver) on my exercise hikes. All I ever had to do though when those farm and ranch dogs come charging down their driveways is “show” them my big stick by tapping the end of it on the asphalt and yelling, “HEY!”
The dogs just stop, then stand there and moan in frustration as I walk on by. I do keep an eye on the dogs until I get a little way down the road, because every once in a while, one of those son-of-a-guns will try to sneak around behind me. So far though, they’ve been unsuccessful in their sneaky “come in from behind” tactics, and that seems to frustrate them even more.
I’ve told this story before on THR. One morning when I was out on my exercise hike, a County Sherriff’s Deputy was driving by. When he got beside me, he rolled down his window and asked, “Is that big staff for hiking or dogs?” “Yes,” I said. The Deputy just laughed and drove away.

I've trained a lot with blunt impact weapons and am not super impressed. The short version is that, very generally, if they are long and heavy enough to do real damage, they are slow, and if they're light and short enough to be used quickly, it's hard to cause real damage with them.

Videos I have seen of people using clubs, staffs, etc. against dogs are unimpressive. It seems the best they can manage, in general, is a stalemate - better than nothing, but not ideal.

I personally would want something with an edge or point, which of course brings us firmly into "weapon" territory - many places don't even allow things like sword canes, spears, etc., so you might as well just bring a gun.

I did once know an old fellow who was legally prevented from carrying just about any kind of weapon, but still wanted to take his walks in an area known for dogs and coyotes. He fashioned a broom handle with a long nail at one end and carried a small bag with a bit of trash in it as a cover story.

Pepper spray

I'd make it silver tipped, to avoid the lycanthropy don't ya know.

Barry the Bear said:

I already carry a gun, I am surrounded by neighborhoods and don't want to shoot if I can help it. It's not about workplace carry

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.308 Norma said:

I also carry pepper spray and a handgun (usually my Taurus 32 H&R revolver) on my exercise hikes. All I ever had to do though when those farm and ranch dogs come charging down their driveways is “show” them my big stick by tapping the end of it on the asphalt and yelling, “HEY!”

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As I said in my post (#10), I too carry a gun, AND pepper spray on my exercise hikes. The "big stick" is more for intimidation of the overly protective farm and ranch dogs we have around here that don't know the difference between their owner's driveways and the public road I walk on.
I'd shoot one of those dogs if I ever felt that threatened by one, or if it ever laid a tooth on me or my wife. I'd rather not shoot someone's dog though. I'd rather just keep on doing what I have been doing for many years - which is just showing confused dogs that run a hundred yards down their owner's driveways to yell at me, that I have the means to protect myself if necessary.

Second the Blackthorn walking stick.

It's will be an actual walking aid.
Will not "scare the straights" on sight.
Will stash by your desk well enough.

But, mostly because it lets you get "inside" canid "decision loops." Canid vision is optimized for movement. Their predation is typically aimed at "reachable" areas, which are often legs for taller prey. The stick is a much better leg to have bitten than one's own gams. If the canid reflexively clamps down, the stick lets you hold them off (ever felt a dog grab a stick harder because you are pulling on it). You can then lean over and become much "bigger" to the canid, which may reconsider the attack.

Since almost all dogs are going to engage in a dominance negotiation before biting you. . . a stick is preferable to a pistol. The dog isn't scared of being shot; he is scared of being smacked or poked with a 5' stick.

Usually they change their tone as soon as they notice it, from 'chase!' to 'aren't I tough because you're walking away! bork bork!'

Here's a defense against dogs that I heard about years ago - and confirmed with my local mail carrier... One of the best dog defenses is a simple umbrella, carried in furled position. If a dog gets aggressive and comes toward you simply snapping open the umbrella and keeping it between you and the animal works very well... Puts an aggressive dog right off of its stride... and best of all it's not likely to be viewed as a weapon by anyone at all...

How about a stun baton? 1,000,000 volts should get their attention.

Coyote3855 said:

Go classic with a blackthorn.

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This is the way. ^^^



I’ve had trouble with a particular pair of dogs on several occasions. The lab barks and growls aggressively while in front, and the healer tries to get around behind me for unacceptable reasons. Often I find just sticking the point of the stick in their face throws them off enough to reconsider.

Though I did flip out the one time and took off after them. I’d had enough.

I’ve got oak, Rowan, and blackthorns there. The blackthorn is the most practical and very light weight.

there’s a Hazel stick in there two, but it’s light weight enough I only use it in the house when my back goes out on me.

Get pne pf the German walking sticks or canes. Germany has not controlled rabies as eell as the US, and Volksmarching (walking on the woods) is a big past time.

Thier staffs/canes have metal tips, not really sharp, but sharp enough to get your attention, and will dispatch a rabid squirrl, rabbit, or dog.

With a metal tip it is only good for "off road" walking. I brought back 2 canes but have replaced the tips with rubber for mall walking. Look on the web.

Not a stick, but when I used to ride a road bicycle on a regular basis, I quickly started carrying two water bottles, one filled with ammonia water for aggressive off leash dogs. A quick squirt in their general direction usually convinced them to give up the chase. The determined ones got a second squirt as close to their noses as possible. I never had to go to a third squirt on the same dog.