Dogs and Personal Protection

[A/C Guy]

Here is the key to the answer

I got to wondering because the wife turned almost turned the dog on a random stalker yesterday

The law considers the threat and disparity of force. Your wife is at a disadvantage to the stalker due to women are generally weaker than men and usually smaller than their attacker. The use of a dog for self defense would be considered reasonable. If a man that is 6'2", 245 lbs, used his dog against an unarmed person that is 5'7", 150 lbs, then it would not be reasonable because the 6'2" guy normally would not be in life threatening danger from the smaller person. Same is true for using a firearm, knife, baseball bat, etc.

 

[BlueTrain]

Don't make up your mind before reading all the threads here about defending yourself against attacking dogs.

 

[MTT TL]

For the record the man was about 40 pounds heavier and several inches taller than the wife. This made him slightly smaller than the dog, at least in weight.

IT seems to be over now but he was definitely following her around for a time. She did take to carrying much more studiously. The whole situation was bizarre as she is not the type to attract a stalker. Not that she isn't good looking, she just isn't the type to attract a stalker.

 

[output]

I would automatically assume there would be more legal implications if she were out in public and deployed the dog or the dog bit because the guy crossed some boundaries. Especially if the dog bit and there were no witnesses…etc. He/said, she/said is never a good scenario especially for the dog.

On the other hand, if the guy is on your property and you have a sign posted I would assume that you would be a little more protected by the law. I train dogs and have trained protection dogs that are not just “dogs” they are our companions and part of the family. With that said if I have to I will deploy my dogs in a heartbeat; if they had not already picked up on the possible threat and alarmed.

My dogs are much more protective when alone with my girlfriend, they will bite but they are also trained to sound or ‘bark’ on command. Even if your dog is not protection trained I would invest some time and effort into training him/her to bark on command even if he/she won’t bite. I don’t know many people that have enough courage to walkup on a barking dog even a small/medium size dog. Often protection training is not needed…barking dogs can be extremely intimidating. Just ask a mailman

I am sorry I can’t answer the question as related to the legal aspects of the dog biting.

 

[JWK1107]

Don't ever count on the dog to defend you. Count on yourself and your own proficiency with a firearm.

 

[tet4]

I would think letting a dog off leash to attack someone is a very, very bad idea, unless they had a gun on you. If they are out of reach of your dog on leash, then they aren't an immediate threat (unless gun, etc). Plus, dogs generally make for poor attack weapons unless they are trained professionally. Great alarms and deterrents, but I wouldn't bet my life on an attack dog. If she is getting stalked, she should carry a gun. After all, the guy will just wait until the dog isn't there, and then make his move.

 

[MTT TL]

We have not seen crazy stalker dude in about a month so we think/ hope he moved on.

We figure if the dog had bit the man in question there would have been no legal backlash since he was no longer authorized to be on the grounds, and we had reported the issue with him previously. So he would be trespassing and possibly stalking.

The dog is a sweetheart. Just don't mess with his momma. He could become uncontrollable and that would be very bad if he were mad at you.