Minimum caliber for dog protection

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Theres a sptg gds store here in town, they have bear spray for sale, large container. On the outside pkg, it states "more powerful than police pepper spray". Now I don't know, I've never sniffed much PD pepper spray, but the capsicum pepper listed is 200% hotter than any other on the market, 35% more than what the PD's carry. I sure wouldn't want to spray any of my pup's with it.
 
Several years ago I was in the shower when my then 10 y.o. son came running into the bathroom. He was yelling that the neighbor's dog (pit) had dug a hole under the fence and was in our yard, attacking our German Shepherd. He said his mom, my wife, was out back trying to seperate them by spraying with water from the hose. It wasn't working.
I got out of the shower, grabbed the can of pepper spray from my duty belt, handed it to him, as I was still naked, and told him to take it to his mother. I put on a pair of pants, grabbed my P220 .45 and headed out the door.
When I got there the Pit was scrambling back to his own yard, through the hole he had dug under the fence. Our shepherd was pawing at his face. You could see the red pepper spray on his fur. My wife had sprayed them both, and they both immediately went their sepperate ways.
 
Some great experience here. It seems that the least macho solution is often best: Pepper spray, hornet spray, or an air horn. It's even harder to miss with an air horn than pepper spray.

Hornet spray is usually in a damned big can. Too big for jogging. So pepper spray it is. Even against some wind, I think it would go far enough to do the trick. Remember, their noses are a million times more sensitive than ours, and their ears are too.
 
The bear peper cans are really mean with long reach. Even for personal/home defense. More powerfull and still manageable in size. I am not an expert but I read a good article about this in a magazine.
 
Um, no. I don't trust pepper spray to reliably stop humans, I'm not going to depend on it to stop a dog I am seriously afraid of.

I've been chased by enough dogs in my life to know the difference between loud ones and dangerous ones. If a dog is serious enough and big enough to be a significant threat, it will likely weigh 50 lbs or more. If it is dangerous enough that I need to use deadly force to put it down, I won't assume that little bullets will work any more than I would assume that little bullets would stop a human attacker. If the threat is not grave, it isn't worth shooting at all.

As for this talk about not shooting a dog because you will anger the owner, the owner better not ever allow their animal to become a threat. In this state, animals are a strict liability. The owner is responsible for everything their dog does. Train them and control them. If you had control of them, no one would find it necessary to shoot them in the first place.
 
Google "dog repellent spray". There are specific repellents used for dogs carried by postal workers, etc. Dogs don't have tear ducts so tear gas doesn't work on them. A spray bottle of household ammonia works too as a homemade option and if the wind is in the wrong direction won't be as hard on you as pepper spray.
 
Shoot my dog and you better be prepared to shoot me because you got one hell of a beating coming.

And I can't afford to pay your medical bills, so keep that in mind too.
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Um, if your dog's off its leash, snarling/being aggressive/threatening my family, and has managed to make its way onto my 5 acres, it's gonna get shot. Although unless it's in the process of attacking me, I'll probably walk inside and grab the pump shotgun instead instead of drawing my CCW. Dogs are not people and the considerations that apply to people don't apply to dogs. I'm not going to let aggressive/dangerous dogs roam my property, they get shot. Period.

If your dog is friendly and just lost, I'll just put him in the laundry room and figure out who his owner is.

Off my property things get trickier. If there are so many aggressive dogs in your neighborhood that you have to plan to shoot them, how about investing in a decent treadmill?
 
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To answer the original question: I think the .32 H&R or the .38 Special would be fine (obviously enough to kill a dog). However, to further answer the question, my minimum choice would be a .22 LR revolver. My perferred minimum would be a .22 Magnum revolver. Those are my thoughts.;)
 
I am an old man now. More than 40 years ago I was staioned in Berlin. East Germans maintained trained dogs between the concertina and the Belin Wall. We trained once a week on killing dogs, armed and unarmed. I went to work for the Post Office when I got out of the Army and retired after 35 years. Pepper spray, oil of capscium was required carry for every delivery person and it didn't always work. At my age I now have a CC in 38 special. 12ounces in weight and a lot of rounds in practice. Any time an animal attacks you report it to police. If you have to kill or injure someones pet, find a lawyer and offer to sue in Civil court. I have never seen any one continue to complain of an injured or dead dog when they are charged as maintaing a vicious animal facing court awarded financial penalties. All you need to do is find a shark lawyer and offer him a percentage of all damages awarded for stress, anxiety, pain and suffering.

blindhari
 
20 ga. bangstick. That should do the trick--would look like a hiking staff!

On second thought, how about a lighter and a can of hair spray--Is that burnt dog hair I smell?
 
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Strykervet said:
Roger that. Shoot my dog and you better be prepared to shoot me because you got one hell of a beating coming.

And I can't afford to pay your medical bills, so keep that in mind too.
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In the situation where I had to shoot a dog, it was on my property, had already threatened my wife, and was threatening me. I gave it every chance to leave my property. Instead, it came after me.

If a dog is on my property acting that badly, I'm going to shoot it. If the owner then comes onto my property to give me 'one hell of a beating', then the owner is dumber than the dog because I am very prepared to shoot anyone who comes onto my property with the intent to do me grievious bodily harm.

And don't worry, there won't be any medical bills. :)
 
When I was a kid I made my own dog spray. It was 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% ammonia. It worked once - not a large study, I know.

I lived on a country road, I had only one direction to jog. The dog I hit with the spray never bothered me again and the dog didn't seem to have any lasting ill effects either.

I wouldn't count on an air horn. My dog is nearly deaf.

I would recommend pepper spray for most encounters. It's really hard to tell a true attack from the regular turf spats most domestic dogs are prone to. The problem is, though, it's usually too late once you're certain.

I think dog owners should be held a whole lot more accountable.
 
PedalBiker said:
When I was a kid I made my own dog spray. It was 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% ammonia. It worked once - not a large study, I know.

I lived on a country road, I had only one direction to jog. The dog I hit with the spray never bothered me again and the dog didn't seem to have any lasting ill effects either.

I wouldn't count on an air horn. My dog is nearly deaf.

I would recommend pepper spray for most encounters. It's really hard to tell a true attack from the regular turf spats most domestic dogs are prone to. The problem is, though, it's usually too late once you're certain.

I think dog owners should be held a whole lot more accountable.
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I ran cross-country in high school and college, and never carried any kind of weapon. The few times I was harrassed by dogs, I would pick up a stick, face the dog and slowly back out of the situation. If I was running in an area where I had been harrassed by dogs before, I'd pick up a stick before I got there, just to be ready.

Not the best of defense plans, but it was the best I could come up with at the time. Today, I can't run anymore, but I do ride a bike. Fortunately, it's a lot easier to carry a firearm while riding a bike (if you wear baggy shorts). :cool:
 
Had a co-worker say one time he had a stray dog that was a problem at his house. Said, "he shot it 19 times with a 9MM, 9mms are no good." I don't think caliber had a lot to do with it.

I grew up in a rural farming community where just about everybody had a .22 rifle or pistol in their truck. They did whatever we needed ~ from strays to raccoons to coyotes raiding the chicken house.

When we would kill hogs and put up meat ~ yep, out came the .22.

Even got a friend who is a wildlife officer who uses a .22 to kill feral hogs.


Minimum caliber ~ I'd say .22. Are there better ~ yep. Whats most important is being able to hit with whatever you have.
 
ADKWOODSMAN, you mentioned a "20 ga. bangstick." Is that like what the undersea divers use against sharks? I've always wondered about those. Are they commercially available? What about legality... Seems like it might be considered the ultimate sawed off shotgun by the police, but it's an interesting idea.
 
Shoot my dog and you better be prepared to shoot me because you got one hell of a beating coming.

And I can't afford to pay your medical bills, so keep that in mind too.
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Statements like make dog owners and gun owners look bad. You dog does not have the right to murder someone just because it's your dog.
 
And you dont have the right to murder someone's dog because it barks at you, steps on your land while lost, or gives you nightmares at bedtime. Call animal control.
 
Around here, it is USUALLY a Pit Bull and although I have never had to shoot one yet....I feel confident I would get by with the two calibers I carry, .45acp and .357mag. I would not feel confident with anything under 38spl +p or at least 9mm or .40 because the Pits that attack here are either fighting dogs, or so abused they act like attack dogs.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Strykervet View Post
Roger that. Shoot my dog and you better be prepared to shoot me because you got one hell of a beating coming.

And I can't afford to pay your medical bills, so keep that in mind too.
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In the situation where I had to shoot a dog, it was on my property, had already threatened my wife, and was threatening me. I gave it every chance to leave my property. Instead, it came after me.

If a dog is on my property acting that badly, I'm going to shoot it. If the owner then comes onto my property to give me 'one hell of a beating', then the owner is dumber than the dog because I am very prepared to shoot anyone who comes onto my property with the intent to do me grievious bodily harm.

And don't worry, there won't be any medical bills. PcolaDawg
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Well stated!!! I'm not inclined to take beatings. Giving somebody "one hell of a beating" is an easier statement to make on the internet than to follow through with in real life.

This thread is getting way off track.
 
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sadly I have had to shoot a few dogs.

Mostly it was on the farm...chicken killers. I was a teen and the only gun I usually had with me was my JC Higgens 22 rifle. I can tell you that even a good shot will not drop a medium size dog.

More to the point of the OP I was hiking with my dog and had a German Shepherd come blasting out of the scrub with no warning. It didn't attack me, it attacked my dog. He was so quick that if he had come after me there is no way that I could have cleared leather.

Big sucker...a truly beautiful animal. He had my dog down and was mauling him pretty good. I couldn't chance a head shot due to its proximity to my dog. Had no choice but to shoot it in the mid section, at an angle.

357 magnum ripped right through the animal. Made a yelp and collapsed.

My dog scrambled out and ran to me. Even with the thick hair around the neck he was bleeding profusely. Because my dog needed medical attention I didn't get to investigate the Shepherds wounds.

After the vet was through shaving and stitching my dog I went back. By then the vultures had the torso ripped apart. There was a collar but no tags.

The coat was not in too bad of shape so I don't know if it was a feral or someone's pet.

The whole thing sucked.

Lessons learned?

a blitz attack is darned near impossible to defend

357 works well on small animals, although overpenetration needs to be considered

carry your gun where you can get it quickly
 
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