Who here carries for dog defense?

[Cosmoline]

. . . between my miniature dachshund and my small terrier.

You can't stop a dog fight. They will not let go. My two little devils caused us to break a door frame and a lamp, and to literally rip a phone cord apart in the middle. Neither dog was hurt, but two people had bruises.

Years ago, my gentle Lab attacked an Irish Setter. I pounded him solidly with a 6-foot 2x4 with zero effect.

If it looks like a dog is about to eat my child, the nice little doggie goes down.

Male dogs are pretty well protected for dog fighting, but human hands are not! I had to learn that the hard way. To break up a dog fight you pick them up by their tails and pull them apart.

For defending against aggressive dogs or just to keep them away from my own dog on walks I use a walking stick. Hard strikes to the nose and head usually do the trick. Definately follow a reach-throw-row-go pattern. Use a pole before you use a knife. Never run away.

Handguns are dicey, since deploying them in close quarters in the middle of a dog attack you run the risk of hitting the person you're tring to protect. Plus, dogs with their blood up are amazingly tough animals and can survive multiple handgun hits long enough to do some real damage.

 

[cookekdjr]

concern about dogs is what is most likely to eventually get me to start carrying. right now, my primary anti-dog tool is a pair of steel toed boots. i'm pretty confident that i can dissuade or kill a dog with them; however, that sorta requires that i not be the one the dog is after.

Pauli, when I was 15, my uncle's pit bull decided it would be fun to chew my feet. We were in the front yard, my uncle and parents were in the back yard, and could not see or hear what was going on.
The foot chewing hurt. I had really strong legs, I thought I could handle it. I told the dog to stop, when he didn't I started kicking him flush in the face. No effect on him at all, he kept biting.
I started kicking with all my might; so hard, in fact, that his head would snap back violently. All of which was great fun to him, as he started barking playfully as he took more and more bites at my feet.
The barking must have alerted my uncle. He came around front and scolded his dog, who left.
My feet were sore and bruised where he had bitten me, but I had no serious injuries. My toes and striking surfaces on my feet were also sore where I'd kicked the dog, and my legs ached from all the kicking I'd done.
All that is to say, kicking a bulldog into submission is alot easier said than done...
-David

 

[crofrog]

I don't want to pick on Thefabulousfink , but fink's suggestion hit a sore spot with me: the "have a tool to cover every degree in the continuum of force" advocates. To satisfy some you have to carry:
a gun
ASP baton
lead-filled sap
taser
pepper spray
kubotan
combat light
harsh language

I don't think you should carry all that, but what's the saying. When all you have is a hammer everything start's to look like nails.

I personally carry a baton, knife, mace, and surefire. The baton is the only thing I really notice at all when I'm carring it, and if for some reason I wanted to make my kit smaller it would be the frist to go. My knife and flashlight get used regularly for day-to-day task. The mace is useful to have if you view the body as a set of system's to be attacked, and the flashlight is nice for reseting an OODA loop as well as looking at poetinal attackers and letting them know you see them. They also weight next to nothing and require almost no space.

The baton has been used by me to stop someone from mugging me, and in fact the way he had charged me one might have had problems aruging the use of lethal force in court.

So maybe you don't need to carry a whole bat belt, but something like mace is very useful, and well if you don't see the utility in a knife and flashlight I can't help you.

C'mon folks, I'm already going out of my way to get the snubbie outta the bedside safe. Also, if I wanted to wear a Bat Belt, I'd become a superhero on nights/weekends and buy a new set of pyjamas & a cape for my costume.

If you see putting your gun as going out of your way. I guess you don't value defending yourself and your family that greatly. Hopefully you won't be in a situation that requires a different level of force than shooting some one.

Chris

 

[roo_ster]

Bat Belt/Pudgey Pockets

I personally carry a baton, knife, mace, and surefire.

I assume that a wallet of some sort and keys also accompany your person? Maybe a cell phone, too? Sir, I suspect you suffer from either Bat Belt or the related malady, Pudgey Pockets. Thankfully, neither is fatal and both are curable, given an appropriate 12-step program.

The mace is useful to have if you view the body as a set of system's to be attacked, and the flashlight is nice for reseting an OODA loop as well as looking at poetinal attackers and letting them know you see them. They also weight next to nothing and require almost no space.

I am not so confident in the chemical sprays, foams, & gasses as you appear to be. I have had all three up in my face and, while not enjoyable, they were not incapacitating. (CS, some sort of "Mace," and OC).

All the sprays have the disadvantage of super short range. If you can hit the BG/BD with the spray, they can lay hands/paws on you. I will admit, however, that they are better than harsh language.

Weight & volume of the usual 2x 123 cell Surefire is less than a firearm, but more than the wallet I carry. The same can be said for even the smallest & least useful of the sprays/foams/gas dispensers.

The baton has been used by me to stop someone from mugging me, and in fact the way he had charged me one might have had problems aruging the use of lethal force in court.

IANAL, but I'm thinkin' that a baton to the melon qualifies as lethal force in many locales, though maybe not in MD?

So maybe you don't need to carry a whole bat belt, but something like mace is very useful, and well if you don't see the utility in a knife and flashlight I can't help you.

I don't find the sprays worth their weight/volume. A knife & a light can be useful, no doubt. When walking in the early AM, I also have my Surefire 6P with me. (It would be a G2, but my wife commandeered that one for her uses. My wife knows quality lights, yessiree.)

I don't recall requesting your help. If I were to do so, I would either shout, "Help! Help!" or squeal in terror like a little girl.

If you see putting your gun as going out of your way. I guess you don't value defending yourself and your family that greatly. Hopefully you won't be in a situation that requires a different level of force than shooting some one.

It doesn't matter how I see it. It just is. Since we have a toddler in the house, all firearms are locked up. Opening the end table door, punching in the code into the quick access safe, retrieving a weapon, shutting the safe's hatch, and utilizing appropriate carry methods/gear is going out of one's way.

With regard to what I value, I would refer you to the last line in my 04JAN2006, 14:18CST post in this thread.

Last, I have found it necessary to apply differing levels of force without the benefit of defensive/offensive regalia in the past, so am I not totally without options other than "wail like a banshee" and "apply .357mag to COM."