Dogs and pepper spray

M

MicroBalrog

New member
My mother is a mailwoman. She delivers mail in an area with lots of dogs, particularly rottweilers and the like. This results in 2 things:

a)A lot of owners let their dogs (yup, rottweilers) wander around unleashed.

b)Dogs hate me or Mom, so leashed dogs start barking their lungs off whe they smell us approach.

Several people got mauled by these dogs recently in the neigborhood, including one little who died.

I want Mom to get pepperspray. Anybody with suggestions as to brand, method of carry, etc?
 
Let your mom know that pepper spray is not a guarantee that she will not be mauled. Pepper spray works on some dogs, and not on others. It seems to be an inidividual response, on a dog by dog basis. It would seem to me that the local postmaster would be able to suspend mail delivery to the house with the aggressive animal until the dog is contained and unable to hurt the carrier. This happnes inmy neck of the woods once or twice a year. People don't like to have to go to the post office to pick up their mail, so they usually resolve the matter with a dog-pen.

If your state allows, get her a 10% or better concentration of OC and carry it in a belt holster, on the opposite side of her mail pouch so she can access it in an emergency. Note that some states do not allow that strong a concentration. Michigan, for example, forbids a person from carrying more than 2%, which is highly effective against people, but may be lacking against a vicious animal.

Good luck!
 
IamnotaNUT

You are right, and that is what is done here, however, I worry more about those wandering "unleashed dogs". Also, I've heard that a Rottweiler type thing can sometimes display unexpected aggression.
 
Guess I'll have to totally disagree with IamnotaNUT. While nothing should be considered 100%, OC has a very high success rate on dogs. Several years ago, a major police dept issued chemical agents for the 1st time so it was chosen as a test case to see how how effective it was. In over 200 reported dog related events, it worked on all of them. Against humans, it was 93%. On a seperate but related note, the concentration % has nothing to do with effectiveness which is measured by SHU's (Scoville heat units). The higher concentration means that it will take longer for the effects to wear off. I'm certified by five different OC programs but I carry Fox-Labs which is 2% and 5.3 million SHU's.
 
If you can get pepper spray sent in from the U.S. you might want to get the type designed to deter bears. It is very powerful stuff. www.cabelas.com has some.

Whatever you/she gets, make sure to get two cans and practice with one of them. It will be imperative for the operator of the spray to understand its strengths and weaknesses, and for said operator to ALWAYS be aware of wind direction when employing the spray. If the operator sprays into the wind, and they get hit with their own spray, they will find it very difficult to see/breathe/think which will leave them helpless in front of the attacker two legged or four.

Few dogs are by nature good or bad. But rarely do bad people have good dogs. If the dogs are running loose and undiciplined they should be rounded up, and if no one can rehabilitate them, they should be shot. In front of the owner whenever possible.

As some mother and father found out, dogs can quite easily kill children or even adults. The status quo on unruly dogs in your particular case is completely unacceptable. If the owners/authorities won't do anything, then you and your neighbors should either round up the dogs (and find them suitable homes), or club them in the head with a pick-axe handle (the dogs, not necessarily the owners).

No one loves dogs more than I do, but I cannot abide people who take something designed by God to be such an asset and comfort to humanity, and turn it into a roaming cur that is nothing but a liability.

Get those mutts under cotrol before another human life is destroyed. Do it today. You won't regret it.
 
USPS employees should be able to get spray from their employer. My mother (retired) use to be issued spray. OC does work pretty well on dogs (environmental factors withstanding, such as wind, terrain).
 
The only time I ever used the pepper I carried while working security at a supermarket strip mall, the dog took a 5 second stream of new police standard issue OC right in the face, mouth, nose and eyes. He stopped, looked at me, licked his chops thoroughly and otherwise took no notice; he seemed to find it tasty! :eek:

He was a stray that had wandered into the store and I was trying to herd him out when he flattened his ears, crouched and growled at me. That's when I used the OC.

He calmed down and (using my sidehandle baton to direct him a bit) I managed to get him close enough to the doors that he finally ran out and down the sidewalk.

I must say the complete lack of desired response was dismaying; I have had no confidence in OC since.
 
I must say the complete lack of desired response was dismaying; I have had no confidence in OC since.



He calmed down and (using my sidehandle baton to direct him a bit) I managed to get him close enough to the doors that he finally ran out and down the sidewalk.
Click to expand...


Actually, that's the response the spray typically generates. It's like flipping a switch on aggression.
 
Hmmm. He didn't calm down immediately, but he did stop growling long enough to enjoy the flavor, or so it appeared. He was still pretty panicky, but did decide to move away rather than fight, which was all I wanted.

I did expect more of a pain response, actually - in humans, that's supposed to be the effect. I've gotten some on my skin (a cap came off and some leaked through my shirt above my belt one night - NOT pleasant!) I expect had I gotten a faceful I'd have been rolling on the floor whining and rubbing my face, which was what I expected from the dog.

Really, he seemed to be enjoying the flavor, not distressed at all. :confused:
 
I've seen several dogs sprayed. Only one displayed the response you were looking for. The others gave the predicted (by training manual/manufactures info) response, immediate reduction in aggression. One of the first dogs I saw sprayed had it's lips curled back exposing it's teeth and leap to attack. A stream of OC hit it letter perfect in the face. It stopped and it's lips dropped over it's gums and the head hung down. It seemed like someone had just flipped a switch on it's overt aggression. The other dogs I saw sprayed displayed a similar response, loosing interest in attacking.
 
Back in the days of my youth I was a meter reader for Southern California Edison company. One day I entered a back yard to read the meter and while doing so was approached by a large doberman male. When he got to within about ten feet of me I hit the panic button and nailed him with my OC spray. He stopped immediately, spread his legs, and pissed on the ground. I was later told that dobermans typically approach rather quietly and then really go to work on the unsuspecting victem. I told the home owner and got the hell out of there. Since that time I've rather favored pepper spray!
 
Quartus, it is relevant. Israel Postal Authority employees do get issued with pepper spray. So was Mom. But it was half a year past expiration date. :D
 
to the people in mighigan or to where ever else it might be illegal for a civilian to carry higher than 2% spray, I would suggest that you check out Freeze Plus P. It's 1% cs and 1% oc. While this seems awful weak it isn't. The cs plays off the oc and makes it 20 times worse.
 
A buddy of mine is PD and he entered an apartment complex only to find himself confronted by the tenant's irate dog. He doused it with OC, it lunched to attack him, but ran off after he drop kicked it across the hall. OC is ok, but a good old fashioned size 12 does the trick every time.
 
My only experience with spraying a dog got me 15 stitches in my butt.
I did not use pepper or OC so that may be why.
I used an aerosol pesticide called Orthene 280. I have been sprayed with pepper and spent time in an Army CS chamber, and sprayed in the face with Orthene before.
The peper spray just disoriented me pretty much, the CS burned and I think I coughed up a lung, but the Orthene dropped me to the ground in total pain it felt like somebody had shoved their thumb up to the 3rd knuckle into my eyes.
I would think that a dog would have a similar sensation but I am no expert. Since all it did for me was irritate the holy hell out of an already pissed off Pit/Boxer mix
 
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