Dog Self-Defense

Status
Not open for further replies.
I am a lifetime dog owner, and I consider myself a responsible one. I also know that occasionally, a dog can get away from the control of the most responsible dog owner. Most dog owners consider their family pet to be a part of the family, even though the law only sees them as property. In many places now, though, companion animals do have a higher legal status than livestock. Even with that being the case, if you decide to kill somebody's family pet, it should be as a very last resort, and very necessary after exhausting all other options. You may think its no different than rat or racoon, but to the dog's owner, you might as well be shooting his/her child, and he/she will carry that horror, and a hatred of you with him for life.

I have to say some of the posts in this thread are troubling, that people would be so quick to open fire on dog, and all the dangers that go with it for trivial reasons that could easily be resolved by knocking on the owner's door, or giving him a call.

Its one thing to have unwanted strays roaming your rural area, its quite another to kill the neighbor's pet for peeing on your lawn. It not only makes all gun owners look cruel and trigger happy. My child's dog got loose and got in the neighbors trash once. They treatened to shoot him. I went over, talked to them, wrote down my phone number, and told them things would go a lot better for both of us if they ever had a problem with our dog, if they just called me, and I would be happy to clean it up, and pay for any damages. If not I would be pressing for criminal and civil prosecution.

Carry a gun for dog fights is pretty foolish, if you've ever actually seen one. Not only is it impossible to shoot one without a very high probability of hitting the other, but but keeping track of what is beyond your fast moving target when you start popping off rounds is very dangerous to anyone anywhere near the situation. If that is your primary reason to carry a gun while walking your dog, I can't help but wonder about your attitide since you have passed up much more effective means not only at stopping the dog fight, but that won't have the danger of killing bystanders. Any mace or pepper spray will be far more effective at protection from animal encounters, and don't require accurracy. You won't risk killing your dog, the other dog, or your neighbors.

If you really want to shoot some dogs, take up coyote hunting, or unwanted rural ferals and strays.
 
TimSr said:
I am a lifetime dog owner, and I consider myself a responsible one. I also know that occasionally, a dog can get away from the control of the most responsible dog owner. Most dog owners consider their family pet to be a part of the family, even though the law only sees them as property. In many places now, though, companion animals do have a higher legal status than livestock. Even with that being the case, if you decide to kill somebody's family pet, it should be as a very last resort, and very necessary after exhausting all other options. You may think its no different than rat or racoon, but to the dog's owner, you might as well be shooting his/her child, and he/she will carry that horror, and a hatred of you with him for life.

I have to say some of the posts in this thread are troubling, that people would be so quick to open fire on dog, and all the dangers that go with it for trivial reasons that could easily be resolved by knocking on the owner's door, or giving him a call.

Its one thing to have unwanted strays roaming your rural area, its quite another to kill the neighbor's pet for peeing on your lawn. It not only makes all gun owners look cruel and trigger happy. My child's dog got loose and got in the neighbors trash once. They treatened to shoot him. I went over, talked to them, wrote down my phone number, and told them things would go a lot better for both of us if they ever had a problem with our dog, if they just called me, and I would be happy to clean it up, and pay for any damages. If not I would be pressing for criminal and civil prosecution.

Carry a gun for dog fights is pretty foolish, if you've ever actually seen one. Not only is it impossible to shoot one without a very high probability of hitting the other, but but keeping track of what is beyond your fast moving target when you start popping off rounds is very dangerous to anyone anywhere near the situation. If that is your primary reason to carry a gun while walking your dog, I can't help but wonder about your attitide since you have passed up much more effective means not only at stopping the dog fight, but that won't have the danger of killing bystanders. Any mace or pepper spray will be far more effective at protection from animal encounters, and don't require accurracy. You won't risk killing your dog, the other dog, or your neighbors.

If you really want to shoot some dogs, take up coyote hunting, or unwanted rural ferals and strays.
Click to expand...
Its one thing to have unwanted strays roaming your rural area, its quite another to kill the neighbor's pet for peeing on your lawn
Click to expand...

Did anyone insinuate that? I think we all know its not legal or right to kill a pet for its mere presence. What I'm gathering here is that its an attack were talking about...
 
"Carry a gun for dog fights is pretty foolish, if you've ever actually seen one."

I carry a firearm in case it's needed. Don't want to bore anyone with details [will be glad to provide such if you want] but I defended my two Jack Russells [on leash on my front walk] from a neighbor's 110lb., stone-cold killer blond Lab.

Rather than dispatch him with a couple of .357SIG rounds, I hit him as hard as I could betwixt the eyes when he charged me after savaging one of my dogs. His ghost attack was over...and when I called his owners ten minutes later, the clever bastard had climbed back into his cage underneath their back deck [or so they claimed].

If you think you can rely on pepper spray or a bucket of water or spray from a hose, you're a fool. Large canines don't think or react the way you might hope and they are not going to wait on you to choose a course of action.

"Not only is it impossible to shoot one without a very high probability of hitting the other, but but keeping track of what is beyond your fast moving target when you start popping off rounds is very dangerous to anyone anywhere near the situation."

You shouldn't project your lack of training and experience on the rest of us.
 
TimSr said:
I have to say some of the posts in this thread are troubling, that people would be so quick to open fire on dog, and all the dangers that go with it for trivial reasons that could easily be resolved by knocking on the owner's door, or giving him a call.
Click to expand...

While I understand what you're saying, I think you must also understand that these things can happen very quickly and you're not going to get a lot of time to debate the issue as the animal is doing its damage to ... whatever or whomever.
I don't think anyone is saying they "Want" to, just that they will when/if they have to.

Your point about there being some difficulty in targeting the right animal in a fight has some validity, but this will vary from one event to another .... and some credit should be given to the discretion and judgement of the members here to decide what force should be employed, and when.
 
I have to say some of the posts in this thread are troubling, that people would be so quick to open fire on dog, and all the dangers that go with it for trivial reasons that could easily be resolved by knocking on the owner's door, or giving him a call.
Click to expand...
Could you copy and paste the posts where anyone even insinuated such actions?

The ones I've seen are all in reference to a dog in the act of attacking a person or another animal
 
texasred777 said:
I filled out the form. He looked at it and handed it back to me. He said I didn't want to file a complaint against these people. I asked why. He said they were 'bad' people, even suspected of two murders.
Click to expand...

That is an angle one may want to consider.
Locally a young man was arrested after killing his neighbor with a shotgun after the neighbor killed his dog.
Obviously there are situations where it does not matter who the dog's owner is, but I'd avoid killing another man's dog in any case, unless it was absolutely the last resort. Legal problems could turn out to the the least of your worries.....
 
Rinnoh, this had been going on for several months. We had seen the gate at the front of the house opened for the dog to get out more than once. I saw the woman on her front porch one day while I was out in the yard. I asked her nicely to please keep her dog inside the fence. She said her dog never got out of the yard, even it the gate was left open. I told her that I had seen the dog several times and hollered at it when it was tearing up my trash. She called me a liar. I told her I didn't want trouble, but I intended to have this stopped. She said I'd better not cause any trouble and started cursing me.
I've never shot a dog before and don't intend to; but something like what was happening makes for drastic measure. Anyway, I didn't shoot the dog and the problem was solved. The old woman cussed me out several times after that. The daughter would try to talk to me when I was out in the yard. My wife talked to her a couple of times, but I didn't.
 
Both times I pulled my pistol on dogs. One was where my arm was in a sling and my wife and little older dog were in the road walking. The other was when I was in my front yard and a great dane charged. I knew I couldn't make it inside the house so I pulled my pistol and aimed. I guess the owner saw that and called the dog off before I fired. I really thought the dog had me.
 
If you think you can rely on pepper spray or a bucket of water or spray from a hose, you're a fool.
Click to expand...

Now, now.
You must have never tried them.
I have and they work just fine.
Pepper spray for sure, just make sure you have the wind at your back. :)
And assuming, of course, you just happen to have a garden hose or a bucket of water on you at the time.
But assuming, again, that this is all happening at your house, they are probably handy.
A well aimed garden hose up the snout will break up a bloody fight between two 100lb boxers, guaranteed.
Reattaching ears was more of a problem.
 
Whatever you do, after your neighbor's dog attacks yours, don't go back in your house, get your gun, go to your neighbor's house and shoot his dog inside his house. :eek:

There was a guy around here that just did that very thing. How he didn't end up getting shot himself, I don't know.

(actually the dog attacked his kid, but still)
 
It is hard to shoot one dog in a two dog fight. Odds are you will either hit the wrong dog, or end up hitting both.
Broom handles, pepper spray, water hose, lawn chair, etc would be my first reaction. If the dog turned on me then I'd have to protect myself with more force.

I say talk to your Sheriff and local police chief, and or a lawyer for better legal advise that pertains to your dwellings.


A little off, but my brother had permission to raise a coyote from a pup. The guy two doors down hated my dad. While my dad was at work the neighbor came running over to the house saying there was a wild animal fighting with my brother, and if she, my mom, had a gun. My mom gave him my dad's BAR .30-06, and he shot my brothers coyote with our dad's gun. To top that off he scratched the bluing on the barrel from the forks in the fence. Talk about a wild night at the house that night. Whew!
 
Last edited:
I was immediately and firmly told that if I fired a gun inside the city limits that I would be fined, possibly locked up.
Click to expand...
I was told something similar a number of years ago. I live in a typical neighborhood in a medium sized city in a gun-friendly state (Kentucky). There was a large dog (looked like a rottweiler mix) in my driveway that circled repeatedly, growled and acted aggressively when I went out to get the newspaper. I thought it might be rabid. We called animal control twice and got a "we'll check into it" response. Work and school for the kids were calling so I told my wife I would head toward my car and if it looked like it was going to attack, I would shoot the dog. She called 911 and, without asking me, mentioned what I said about shooting the dog. The 911 operator said I could be arrested for discharging a firearm inside city limits.

The call did result in an animal control officer showing up in short order. The dog was acting so weird that he called for backup. A neighbor down the street was an animal control officer and heard the call. When she responded, guess what -- it was her dog.

My daughter ended up being late for middle school. I felt really stupid explaining to the principal the reason -- not sure she really believed me even though she accepted it as an excused tardy.

Would they have arrested or cited me? I don't know. I do know that I would have fought tooth and toenail over it.
 
A well aimed garden hose up the snout will break up a bloody fight between two 100lb boxers, guaranteed.
Click to expand...
That's great if all the fights occur within easy reach of your hose
Realistcally, it's ridiculous to think it's a good strategy
 
Would they have arrested or cited me?

I don't know. I do know that I would have fought tooth and toenail over it.
Click to expand...
They probably would have since they were told you were planning to shoot the dog.

That's a very different scenario from simply going outside and being attacked
 
Snyper said:
That's great if all the fights occur within easy reach of your hose
Realistcally, it's ridiculous to think it's a good strategy
Click to expand...
Let us hope that hose is as effective on angry dog owner as it was on his/her doggie.
 
Last edited:
In the dim, dark distant past when the younger set had newspaper routes and delivered via bicycle, it was found that a plastic water pistol with formaldehyde was a guaranteed psychological tool for changing the mind of an attacking dog.

Or on people, for that matter...
 
If you do not feel like buying pepper spray buy a can of wasp and hornet spray which is advertised to go up to 20 feet. It WILL stop a dog I am sure.
Click to expand...
Wasp spray carries the potential for permanent blindness and poisoning one if not both dogs in the fight. Pepper spray was designed to be fast acting, and TEMPORAIRY.... I vote NO on spraying my dog or any other with something that could permanently damage his eyes or poison them. As for the people who think carrying a gun is overkill for dog protection, I can prove two documented cases here in SOuth Dakota of people being KILLED by dogs within the past six months. Considering our small population, that number is fairly significant and not something to be readily dismissed or scoffed at

http://www.argusleader.com/longform...pine-ridge-reservations-dog-attacks/25798271/


I'm pretty sure Julia would have used a gun had she had one, and jutifiably so. Still think carrying a gun for use against dogs is "foolish"?
 
Last edited:
TimSr said:
I have to say some of the posts in this thread are troubling, that people would be so quick to open fire on dog, and all the dangers that go with it for trivial reasons that could easily be resolved by knocking on the owner's door, or giving him a call.
Click to expand...

I am not a lifetime dog owner, had cats growing up but always preferred dogs. I pay attention to my neighbors and know which dogs are cared for and which are neglected. I know which neighbors let their dogs roam and not care if they come back or get killed by a car. And I know which ones will chase after their dogs if it gets loose. I mention this because I will not shoot just any dog because it is on my property. Most of the neighbor dogs are aggressive toward me, but I know which ones I would pepper spray if they got too close and which ones I would lure back to their homes.

The key instance where I came to this way of how I would handle neighbor dogs is when 5 or 6 neighbor dogs had another dog pinned against a chain link fence ripping it apart. The victim dog was a friendly dog from up the road who did nothing (I saw) to provoke the pack other than just walking from down the hill. The pack of dogs are rarely fed or cared for by their owners but the victim dog is a cherished hunting dog by his owner. I broke up this little dog fight by punching, kicking, and using the hilt of my knife against the attacking dogs. Victim dog took off like a shot with minor injuries considering. Point is I don't shoot or plan to shoot every angry dog that wanders on my yard.
 
Just happened to remember this. When I was in my early to mid teens, I had a mixed breed dog, about medium sized. I was out tramping through the fields and woods with my dog and a bb gun. Not really hunting, just out doing what I loved to do back then. I got thirsty and walked into the yard of a farmer. He saw me and opened the door, asked me what I wanted. I asked him if it would be ok for me and the dog to drink from his water hose. He said sure and came out talking to me. Suddenly his large dog came around the corner of the house and attacked my dog. The farmer yelled at the dog to no avail. He took the water hose from me began spraying the dogs. It did no good; so he started beating his dog with the hose to get it to stop. He hit the dog several times with the end of the hose before the dog quit fighting my dog. I was trying to get my dog away from his dog by stepping between them, but to no avail. I had put a leash on my dog's collar before I walked into the man's yard. No, his dog made no attempt to bite me. So, I'm not sure spraying a dog with water will always work.
 
Just like using a firearm, accuracy is what counts.
Spraying its butt won't help, it's just giving the mutt a bath.
But directly up its nose works wonders.
Good technique is everything. :)
 
Last edited:
Blade First, why didn't you just use your blade first?
 
"Blade First, why didn't you just use your blade first?" - Eb1

Don't be silly...a blade against a 110lb. Lab?! How old are you?

Against that dog with only seconds to react, I made sure that he wasn't going to injure me as badly as he wounded my wishbone Jack Russell. He charged me while I still had control of the leash for Darby in my left hand. I hit him right between the eyes with my right fist [with class ring on board] and he whimpered and retreated. Saved him a deserved death from a well-placed .357SIG shot through his brain pan.

Darby lived several months after the attack but never really recovered...and died in pain that our vet couldn't relieve. He was an incredibly brave member of the family...and he gave me enough reaction time to counteract the killer Lab attack.

"I say talk to your Sheriff and local police chief, and or a lawyer for better legal advise that pertains to your dwellings."

And I'd say your advice isn't worth a bucket of warm spit.

Here's my advice...move from whatever hell-hole you inhabit to a free state.

But, please...don't come to Tennessee. We don't have the time, money or patience to deal with inferior ideologies.
 
Blade First said:
"I say talk to your Sheriff and local police chief, and or a lawyer for better legal advise that pertains to your dwellings."

And I'd say your advice isn't worth a bucket of warm spit.
Click to expand...

I don't see why asking law enforcement is poor advice. Seems to me, not asking is bad advice. I didn't grow up in a "free state" as far as gun rights go. Never saw a gun until my late teens and anyone who had firearms was thought to be a criminal even if they were legal, which they all were. Concealed carry permits were limited to corrupt politicians or the richest business folk in the county. When I moved to a "free" state, I asked my local department as I stated earlier. A very useful conversation as they were well aware of the dog problem in my area, the animal control department of the force is understaffed and underfunded.
 
But directly up its nose works wonders.
Good technique is everything.
Click to expand...
So you say no one can shoot a dog in a fight due to all the motion, but you can spray water directly up his nose?

I'll take my chances with a contact shot to the right dog
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

T
  • Locked
Vicious dog @ large
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
TallPine
T
S
  • Locked
Shooting dog...
Replies
18
Views
869
Art Eatman
A
B
  • Locked
Defending property ?
Replies
13
Views
2K
Spats McGee
Spats McGee
S
  • Locked
Anyone think this Dog Attack Insurance sounds familiar....
Replies
10
Views
581
Penforhire
P
gamboolman
  • Locked
Harris County, Tx - District Attorney Will Not Answer Question Regarding Dogs ?
Replies
19
Views
1K
gamboolman
gamboolman
Back
Top