My first use of pepper spray

Dogs are far more sensitive to ammonia than to OC. They may not like the smell of CS, but their alkali tears & mucous make CS all but useless on them.

We issue the Sabre Red law enforcement formulation... I've had uniformly good results with it. In every case, the naughty person quit doing what they were doing and gave up.
I have not used the stuff on dogs.
One of our sergeants worked for the city police, and they did regular raids on drug houses that frequently kept vicious dogs on the premisis
He said that had routinely used pepper spray on these and that the dogs would usually crawl under a table and just lay there....

The stuff does have an expiration date.. From the poor spray performance I'd suspect that was the case..

I heard a story a few months ago about a fellow hiking in the mountains in Alberta. He passed a group of what he thought were either German or Swiss tourists. They had bells strung all over them and each had a can of bear spray in a holster. The area is known for grizzlies.

He had gone a few yards past them, in the opposite direction, when he heard yelling and a bunch of commotion. He looks back and they are pointing at a bear that is at least a hundred yards away. All at once they unholster their bear spray and BEGIN SPRAYING EACH OTHER!! Of course they begin screaming and moaning. Some other tourists helped them down off the mountain. The guy wished he had a camera, it was the funniest thing he ever saw.

Maybe they thought it worked like bug repellent....

I was exposed, way too mild a term, like everyone else in the military at the time, to CN and CS tear gas.

It certainly got your attention, along with your breathing apparatus, your running nose, your burning eyes, and your drooling mouth.

Never want to be "exposed" to that again. I have a feeling that stuff might work.

Lol so much myth in this thread. GO SPRAY YOURSELF with some OC spray and then come back and tell us if it works or not

ColtPythonElite said:

Spray yourself in the face and report back.

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This!

Eldraque said:

Lol so much myth in this thread. GO SPRAY YOURSELF with some OC spray and then come back and tell us if it works or not

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It works but there are still plenty of instances where the person is pissed off and determined enough to push through it. Not going to post the video as its too graphic but the person OC'ed was still able to draw a weapon and shoot the officer who sprayed him.

Its better than nothing and will probably work on most people but its not 100%.

Not suprised if it doesn't work that well on dogs either to be honest given their high pain tolerance. Scaring them off with a big stick, shovel, etc... seems like a better option.

ColtPythonElite said:

Spray yourself in the face and report back.

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Been sprayed with OC, CS and OC/CS combined.

Now, you may have the experience of having seen any or all of those instantly incapacitate every single person hit with them.

That doesn't mean it's 100% effective. That'd be like trying to prove a negative.

But I've had the experience of NOT being stopped by them. That's plenty of evidence that they're not 100% effective. The last time I was sprayed, I took the can off of the user and beat him about the head and shoulders vigorously. I didn't notice the pain until the incident was over, and watery eyes don't impair your vision enough to prevent you from fighting.

Does it work most of the time? Sure. But be ready in case it doesn't.

Not all dogs will be affected by pepper spray regardless of brand. Carry an asp if dogs are of concern.

ugaarguy said:

Dogs are far more sensitive to ammonia than to OC.

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So the solution is to aim for the cat instead?

Dogs are far more sensitive to ammonia than to OC. They may not like the smell of CS, but their alkali tears & mucous make CS all but useless on them.

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Ah yes, I was waiting to see if someone mentioned ammonia water. I can confirm it is VERY powerful on dogs.

Lou

Ah yes, I was waiting to see if someone mentioned ammonia water. I can confirm it is VERY powerful on dogs.

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Wouldn't it blind the dog permanently?

The idea is to use a very small concentration of ammonia. Doesn't take much.

Interesting thread. I would never have guessed that pepper spray would not be effective on dogs.

leadcounsel said:

Garden hose. Dogs hate water!

Seriously, having been in training to use OC spray, and been sprayed myself, it's a debilitating miserable experience. I suspect you didn't get a 'hit' on the dogs.

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Try that on the standard poodle I had as a kid, and you'd have wished your garden hose was a flame thrower. Well, you might have thought that "after" he finished chewing on you.

Some dogs like water and have no fear of a hose.

I wonder why the OP didn't just call animal control? That or the flat of a long handled shovel upside the head. Both will work, one's faster and more effective, the other is slower and more politically correct. You figure out which is which.

This thread is a hoot. I am sitting in the chair peeing my shorts on some of these posts. First thread I have read front to back.

Wasp spray will stop a dog in his tracks!

Try Snausages. Dogs love them. You throw them in the opposite direction you want to go, and then slowly walk away.

http://snausages.com/

Most OC is just Texas Pete in a spray to me. I've used so much of it I think I might have developed a taste for it... all the dogs I ever sprayed with it just rolled around on the ground plowing the grass with their noses.... then they get up and sneeze a little...

OC is not the paralyzing spray gun magazines make it out to be, its more of a nuisance.

Most would agree that lead spray around 125 - 300 grains would be more effective on an aggressive human or animal that jeopardizes your life through its behavior. Dogs can be very, very scary. That said, If I was in a position of safety would advise just calling animal control.

ColtPythonElite said:

I have sprayed people and been sprayed. It certainly worked in my experiences. It is not 100%, though. Some people are hardly affected. I have seen training videos of those few but haven't encountered one yet.

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I have. Worked detainee ops and some of them were barely phased by the stuff. Having been sprayed myself, yeah it's miserable and will (generally) degrade performance but ultimatly it's just an irritant and may or may not stop somone. I don't put too much stock in it but I will say it's persistant, took alot longer to wear off than the NBC gas chamber did. Best I've seen was a whole fogger can pop off in the heat inside a guard tower (or so the idiot claimed), he was hating life.

I have seen a lot of pepper spray used in a correctional environment to see that it a very good and effective tool. For private use I think its use in animal control is a great idea. i do NOT like it as a defensive tool.

Pepper spray, my .02 worth ..........

Folks,

As a retired police officer, I've used a few cans of pepper spray in my tenure.

The one thing I learned, is that pepper spray only works under ideal circumstances. Indoors, probably not much draft, unless the air conditioning is on or a room fan is on, otherwise, Pepper spray is useless. Ladies, the little pepper spray on your key ring with your car keys, is USELESS. You would be better off throwing it at an attacker.

A better, more efficient method, is to buy a large can of wasp/hornet spray. Made for outdoors, very effective, 12-20 foot reach, and lethal as pepper spray. I know, sounds ridiculous, but it works. If you're backpacking and need to start a fire Asap, use the wasp spray and spray a short burst into your firewood, then pass a flame near the stream.........flame on! Not bad for $7.50!

Food for thought,

HV

Using Hornet/Wasp spray against an attacker is illegal. Against a dog? Might be illegal also.

Now, if it came down to a life or death scenario and that's all I had, then goferit.