Four-Legged Threats

[shurshot]

Often, I'll carry my Ruger .41 BH, or a .380, .38 snub or a .45 if I am out walking on the road. What I carry depends upon the season and clothing, as I conceal my weapon. I have met a TON of dogs, pittbulls, Rotty's, Dobermans, junk-yard mutts, some quite aggressive, and never even considered drawing my weapon. When I carry, dogs are not my primary concern. I would hate to hurt or kill someones pet if it could be avoided.

All the dogs I have met on the road ARE pets. The collars are a dead give away. Perhaps I have just been lucky. When you walk in front of a driveway, the dogs think YOU are the threat and or on their turf, thus they bark, and approach. The vast majority of the dogs are just saying hello, and although barking and coming towards you, they are not getting ready to bite. I have found (pehaps I have been lucky), that a loud, deep, command voice yell "HEY", or "HI", stops them, even the aggressive ones that act like Cujo. Dogs sense fear. Don't show fear. Use a command voice and keep on moving.

If you don't have a command voice, or have difficulty concealing your fear, instead of Pepper Spraying the dog and getting it's owner all riled up, or shooting it(!), why not carry a few doggy treats or a cookie or two in your coat pocket? Toss it to the dog and keep moving. A bag of meat flavored dog cookies is quite a bit cheaper than a civil lawsuit (if you shoot the dog), or a trip to the hospital (if the dog bites and or mauls you), or the hassle of dealing with the police if you Pepper Spray it and the owner files a complaint. Plus, the next time you walk by, the dog will remember you as a "Friend". Just don't forget the cookies!

After reading a few of these previous posts, I'm glad some of you folks don't live in my neighborhood, because I'm afraid you would end up blasting my neighbors dogs to hell when you don't need to...LOL!

 

[hangglider]

Shurshot I agree with you almost 100%. The first elemental command that every owner teaches their dog is "sit." If you yell this loud enough, most dogs will stop dead in their tracks. I've used this dozens of times on dogs charging me and it has worked every time. I also crouch a bit--they tend to be more aggressive towards a larger target I've found.

My opinion is that it is fairly easy to tell between dogs that are trained specifically to attack (though in most areas I believe it is illegal to do that and not have 100% control and warning signs at all times). These dogs will growl, bare their fangs with gums drawn back and hackles raised the moment they see you and rush you without slowing down as they get near. A "challenger" dog will almost always slow their charge down as they get near to see what you're about. I have a watch dog that behaves this way--though he is never out of my control off my property and has never attacked and bitten anyone or any other dog (without being attacked first).

I think it is fair to defend yourself with a weapon if you are fairly certain that you are about to be harmed--and make no mistake that certain breeds specifically trained to do so can maim or kill fairly quickly. Being a dog-lover myself, I would hestitate before dispatching a dog unless I was certain of the imminence of serious injury, just as I would before shooting a human.

My biggest fear is how I would respond if somebody shot or seriously harmed one of MY dogs--they are my kids and I feel just as defensive of my dogs as I do of any human family members. In general, I find dogs have more admirable qualities than most humans. When they go wrong, it's almost always because of their human owners. I live in Maine part of the year, and despite ordinances that dogs remain on leash under control of the owner when off their property in most towns--that law is widely ignored by many owners of the "let them be free" camp. These people in general do not care neither about their dogs nor what consequences their dogs inflict on their neighbors. Behind almost every trouble dog there is a scumbag human.

 

[farmerboy]

I'm a dog lover like anyone else. Have two outside dogs running loose on about two acres surrounding our house in the country but they have a game fence so cannot get out. That said, I think alittle different. At a dog coming towards me like he is fixing to attack, the command I give him is a bang bang bang. In his yard, my yard or public. I went to a call about two months ago , dispatch said man and women were fighting inside a house with a knife. As I arrived and fixing to enter the door a pitbull dog came out and was growling at me from about ten yards away. I grabbed my pistol and was fixing to drop him and he just quit and went to other end of house. Then entered and broke up parties. But I would lose no sleep over shooting your dog, my dog or nobody's dog to prevent a maul or even an attempt. If theyre aggressive to me with a gun they'll be agressive to an infant or a woman without one on many occasions.

 

[Kimbertron]

This is a subject i have given a lot of thought to since friday. Friday afternoon
I left work and was heading to my fiances house, I entered through the garage as usual and there was a god there I had never seen before. I thought it was odd but there are 4 people living in he house and just assumed one of them had gotten a new dog. It just watched me walked through the garage and when I went to grab a drink from the refrigerator that was in the garage on the way in the dog latched on to my right hand.

The dog (which was some sort of pit bull mix i learned later) dragged me to the ground and started biting my leg and back side as I was trying to get my gun that i carry everyday. I wasn't able to grip the gun do to the damage to my hand so i dropped it. At that time after maybe a minute at the most (felt like an hour) people in the house heard what was going on and pulled the dog off me.

I will save the gruesome pictures but this is what I am in now until I can get the tendons in my hand surgically repaired on Wednesday.



The owner of this dog was the friend of my fiances roommate and thought he would "train" this dog to be a guard dog. The dog was wagging his tail after his owner got him. I 100% do not blame the dog for this, I own 5 large dogs and one fluff ball and the owner/ "trainer" is at fault.

I honestly not sure what there is to learn from this as far as tactics go but it just shows you don't ever really know what a strangers dog is going to act like. Maybe I have become too trusting of dogs as a dog lover and need some advice for the future.

 

[hangglider]

Very unfortunate--your friend and the owner, IMO, are liable for what the dog did and should at the least be fully prepared to pay for all care, lost wages, etc. I wish you a speedy recovery and am glad you came through this with your basic love of dogs intact.

Many people have dogs and treat owning them like having goldfish--they think as long as they feed them and let them run free every now and then that is taking care of them. Many breeds have special attention needs that other breeds don't. Shepherds and pits need special attack/aggression control and training--otherwise they can turn even on the "home pack." Golden retrievers and labs are in general gentle and loving animals around children. Collies and huskies need constant room to run. The owners need to be prepared to meet those special needs--they are responsible one way or another for how their pets behave. I believe that's why you see so many dogs running wild--and are either shot, hit by cars or end up at the local animal rescue with a high probability of euthanasia. It turns out that dogs are more care than many people can or are willing to provide. It is pitiful--and a major reason why I tend to be cynical of human behavior when it comes to dogs.

Pits and pit mixes--while often affectionate to their owners--are notorious for vicious attack instincts and that I believe is a major reason for their popularity. I think there should be "dangerous breed permits" as a precondition for owning a breed like that.

 

[BlackFeather]

The owner of this dog was the friend of my fiances roommate and thought he would "train" this dog to be a guard dog. The dog was wagging his tail after his owner got him. I 100% do not blame the dog for this, I own 5 large dogs and one fluff ball and the owner/ "trainer" is at fault.

I honestly not sure what there is to learn from this as far as tactics go but it just shows you don't ever really know what a strangers dog is going to act like. Maybe I have become too trusting of dogs as a dog lover and need some advice for the future.

I'm sorry this happened to you, and I agree it was the owners fault. I could completely understand going for a weapon in such an attack. I think I'd have done the same.

Was your other hand injured in any way?

 

[Kimbertron]

Pits and pit mixes--while often affectionate to their owners--are notorious for vicious attack instincts and that I believe is a major reason for their popularity. I think there should be "dangerous breed permits" as a precondition for owning a breed like that.

The more it is being looked into the more it seems the owner trained this dog to be aggressive on purpose... and them brought him to someone else's home.
My fiance had arrived only minutes before me and was asking them about why there was a dog locked in the garage. Needless to say i will be contacting a lawyer.

I'm sorry this happened to you, and I agree it was the owners fault. I could completely understand going for a weapon in such an attack. I think I'd have done the same.

Was your other hand injured in any way?

My left hand was not injured but after i dropped my gun i was really just trying to protect my vital spots and kicking him away. Thankfully i was wearing ski pants because of the cold which prevented some injury. As bad as it was it could have been worse though, if no one heard it or if it was summer and i wasn't wearing so many layers.