Lethal force & Dogs

Its a common and entirely understandable reaction for anyone to try and protect their dog from attack. However, since aggressive animals generally take a dim view of anything interfering, they will often threaten or even attack you.

And if they do so, shoot them. You might get in a hassle in some places, (like downtown metro areas) but generally the law is on your side. And even a legal pain in the wallet it better than hospital bills and rabies injections.

Just my opinion.
 
County/City bans on some breeds

The cops shoot & kill vicious dogs all the time. However they're threatened personally.
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In certain Iowa counties, Pit-Bulls and Rottweilers, are banned and Animal control officers as well as LEO's, are authorized to shoot on the spot. A good friend of mine was an Animal control officer in one of these counties and he usually gave owners, 24hrs. to remove the dog. owners would just relocate the dog for a few days, waiting for the ACO to forget. My buddy played this game, better than the owners and the problem was soon resolved. ... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
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If you're worried about dogs, I might recommend a good pepper spray first, aside from legal questions of if you can shoot instead.

Not only can you possibly not kill a dog (which many of us would like to avoid if possible), if you do end up having to shoot it in self defense, having tried a less lethal option first may play out in your favor.
 
shortwave said:
955.28 Dog may be killed for certain acts - owner liable for damages.


...or a dog that chases, threatens, harasses, injures, or kills livestock, poultry, other domestic animal, or other animal, that is the property of another person, except a cat or another dog, can be killed
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So, it's legal to shoot a dog that is attacking other animals Except other dogs and cats? If a dog is attacking your Hamster you can kill it, but if he is attacking your house cat or poodle you cannot?
 
I hate shooting dogs, cats or any other thing I am not going to eat. But it has not stopped me in the past, and I do not think I will refrain in the future, if my life or livestock was in danger.

Here in Missouri you are liable for the damage caused by your dog.
But self-defense take priority over any animal.
 
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I walk a dog in an urban area every day. Over the years my dog and I have been aggressively approached, but not quite attacked, 3 or 4 times by pit bulls or other aggressive breeds, so I have thought about this question before. If you have even seen an aggressive dog on the attack, you know that they move around so quickly that even at a range of 2 feet, your gun shot might miss. A bullet could ricochet off the sidewalk, and hit who knows what. Therefore, I have opted to carry pepper spray, backed up by a large folding knife that I can open with one hand.
 
So, it's legal to shoot a dog that is attacking other animals Except other dogs and cats? If a dog is attacking your Hamster you can kill it, but if he is attacking your house cat or poodle you cannot?
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Correct sir. Crazy I know. I posted a couple years ago(just can't find the thread) about my neighbor shooting a dog that belonged to people that live down at the end of the road. Neighbor stepped out on his deck with g-daughter in his arms to find a dog in his trash can at end of porch. This had been an ongoing problem. Neighbor hollered at dog, dog stood his ground baring his teeth. Neighbor walked back in the house, grabbed pistol , came out and shot the dog dead. He then loaded dog in truck and dropped it in owners front yard. They took him to court and the judge asked neighbor if "the dog was attacking anyone or any other animals on the property"
Note the judge did not specify as to whether 'any other animals' meant dogs or cats.

Neighbor replied 'no' and was hit with fines and court costs of around $2000. Can't remember now the exact figure.

Add insult to injury, the dog owner had several dogs down there and none of them were licensed. Which the sheriff had noted in his report but it made no difference. And, there had been previous calls by other neighbors of the dog owners in the past on several of the dogs running loose and when someone would come out, the dog owner would deny ownership and said they were just strays.

They sure didn't deny ownership of the one my neighbor shot. Especially knowing they were going to collect a little money. But I'd lay you a large bet that if that same dog would have bit someone those same owners wouldn't have claimed that dog.
 
I have a right to protect my dog as property, and I don't believe I have an obligation to take the beast(s) on with my bear hands.

If, in the course of stopping an attack on my dog, I am threatened by the animal, then it is my life and limb that I am defending, not my dog's.

Aggressive animals often don't discern persons from animals in the heat of the confrontation. It is reasonable, in my view, to expect to be attacked getting in the way of an aggressive animal.

And what of multiple dogs? All things being equal, with one strong, determined man against a dog, I'm begin on the man. But TWO big dogs. Three?

I think the bar ought to be fairly low for justifying self defense against a marauding, unrestrained animal threatening a human and their property.
 
I think the bar ought to be fairly low for justifying self defense against a marauding, unrestrained animal threatening a human and their property.
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So do i.

Folks here often turn their unwanted dogs loose in rural areas where they maul livestock and pets. The Rotts, pit bulls and a couple other breeds are more than matches for coyotes and they survive for a time in the wild.

In SW Oklahoma the bar is very low and i like it that way. i've never heard of a deputy here questioning the shooting of a dog that attacked a person, pet or livestock.
 
I have a right to protect my dog as property, and I don't believe I have an obligation to take the beast(s) on with my bear hands.

If, in the course of stopping an attack on my dog, I am threatened by the animal, then it is my life and limb that I am defending, not my dog's.
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My thoughts as well. If my dog is being attacked, I would not feel obligated by law to sit back and let the dog fight continue. When I go to break the fight up and the attacking dog shows aggression towards me, then I have the right to defend myself.

IMO, our Ohio law is very screwed up as far as excluding dogs/cats from the list of animals that we owners can defend with lethal force if our dog/cat is being attacked. Especially on our own property.
 
In some rural areas I'm familiar with stray dogs are routinely shot just for trespassing. , not to mention for attacking. You wouldn't shoot a neighbors dog but others would not be questioned from anyone. I personally would not shoot anything except for defense or food. Cats are more tolerated around barns due to mice control.
 
Most communities have laws against discharging a firearm inside city limits. Of course, self-defense, if justified, trumps those laws. If my poor innocent beagle was being attacked, I'd have no concern about shooting the attacking beast. It ain't a homicide ... I walk my dog twice a day in a rural community with a leash law; we were once charged by three off-leash dogs and all I had with me was a 3-inch folder. Yelling and flapping my arms like Big Bird scared them off, but I was anticipating an unhappy outcome since one was a huge Shepherd ... If you don't care enough for your dog to secure him, you get what you get ...
 
In Texas you could not be charged for homicide. You ight get a charge of negligent discharge or even cruelty to an animal or such with a zealous prosecutor.


Here's an effective way to think about.

If an animal is attacking your dog
1. Can you drive that animal away with a good kick?
2. If no then that animal is sufficiently strong/big etc. then its likely a threat to you personally.

Thats my view. With current circumstances I am either walking a wiener dog along with an old but very large Caucasian mountain dog mix, or alternatively an ancient hospice mode wiener dog (about 1/100 a mile of an hour just outside the house). If animals are large enough to be a threat to the 90lb mountain dog then its definitely a threat to fat old me. Indeed, a major reason I have my CHL is due to a spat of attacks - including just walking out of our house - where pit bulls or bull dogs would appear and challenge or directly attack us. :mad:



Alternatively, if some dog is trying to attack the ancient wiener when i walk him alone, said wiener would be in my arms and if its that big its a serious threat.
 
I have a new rule about dogs. I like them, always have, but recent events have led me to new revelations. If an animal (dog) is Beagle size or bigger, I am taking no chances. As a younger man I always believed I could physically out smart a dog. Throw him into a tree, kick him with my strong legs, or an assumption as equally silly. My advise to anyone now would be to call the authorities (if possible) let them know of a possible dangerous animal, second, to stay away from the problem if possible, and last to protect myself first, if it moves twards me in an aggressive way.

I cannot list details because of possible legalities but my wife was just attacked by a dog twice the size of a Beagle. Her wounds are the most horrible thing I've ever seen. In some spots 3 inches wide and over one inch deep. The local hospital could not help her, she had to be taken to the trauma center hospital for surgery. She just had her second surgery on the same extremity. The attack happened so fast that even had I been there I may not have been fast enough to help, it's hard to say.

We have nothing against dogs, but we now realize just how dangerous a dog (animal) can be, and dangerous or questionable animals should never be left in a position to hurt a loved one, or yourself.

Once this all clears I would happy to post all the details for anyone interested, and assuming I'm not bound by an agreement of some sort.
 
I would like to point out that ANY BITE from a mammal could contain rabies.

The only sure way to know is to have the animal's brain available for examination.

What this means is that medical will STRONGLY insist you get rabies treatment, UNLESS it can be proven the animal was not infected.

Rabies is 100% fatal, eventually, and its a gruesome way to go. Treatment is survivable, rabies is not.
 
Very good point 44. Anytime you are bit by a dog it should be reported and medical attention should be given, even if it is only a minor bite. Any break in the skin is a problem. My friend who lives accross the street was out of state on vacation when a bat landed on his wife and bit her. Since the bat flew off she had to under go the rabies vacines. Not worth the risk.
 
Trouble must follow me. 99% of my posts are based on incidents in my life. Today was #998.:(
We took our Miniature Schnauzer to the vet for a 'nice' visit. His last two were pretty rough. As we left, I pointed to a huge Pit Bull several cars away being unloaded. Nice looking and well kept. Collared and leashed.
Well, before I got Snort to the car, the Pit broke it's collar and charged with
the couple right behind. Snort growled back and they took a moment to sniff as I reached for Snort's collar.
The Pit lunged for the neck and I grabbed the Pit by his scruff and jowls and kicked snort aside. (Btw, I have a torn rotator cuff I'm going in for tomorrow.Pain was about 18 of 10.) I was able to wrestly the dog away. Probably 90+ pounds.
The owner was able to drag the Pit away after I had it subdued and rope it's neck. Snort was unhurt.

Critique: In the 8-13 seconds from walking out the door to the end of the situation:
1. I had noticed the health and welfare of the Pit.
2. I had noticed the 'state of the other couple. Dressed nice, clean, and obviously caring as they went into the fray also.
3. Though he was literally crawling/climbing over me to help subdue his dog, I wasn't concerned because my wife is armed and had my back. His wife was almost in tears.
Summary:
I could have shot his dog and it would have been a good shoot. Been there, done that, within blocks of there, incidentally.
Points one and two about are what guided my first actions. Gunfire was on the list as a backup to beating the Pit with the Glock, if necessary.

If this had been an unleashed Pit, if the owner had been laughing at the impending end of Snort, and maybe even us, I would have gone directly to the last resort.
For those of you that haven't been there, I can tell you there is a clarity in life threatening situations you will never know until you need it. Practice and mindset come into play because if you have to stop and think about it during the incident, you will lose.

Wife summed it up and told the upset owners, "No harm, No foul".
 
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