When dogs attack...less than lethal force used

S

spacemanspiff

New member
Take a few moments to see this situation in your minds eye, and contemplate the possible consequences.

11:45pm, Saturday night. Dark outside. Cloudy, so no moonlight. You have stepped out of your home and are headed to your vehicle. Your arms are full, your eyes slowly adjusting enough to make your way.
You hear something, rustling on top of the fallen leaves. An animal, no doubt, and headed towards you quickly! Without having time to empty your arms, you get your flashlight up and illuminate a medium sized black Collie. A dog you've never seen before, must be a neighbors dog, or abandoned.
You are irritated, and get more so as the dog bellows out its bark, and growls as it lunges towards you. You yell for it to 'get back! stupid dog! go home!' But it won't budge, and keeps inching closer. You have your gun, but also less than lethal options, such as pepper spray.
You give the dog one last chance to go away, yelling at it more. Doesn't work, so you give a short burst in the dogs face, and it finally runs off. You can now get in your vehicle.

This happened to me last saturday. Except the story continues. I woke up Sunday afternoon, and went up to talk to Hans, my roommate. He says "You missed the fun last night! I heard you yelling at Fuzzy, my ex wifes dog that got loose and came back to the only home he knows."
I said "oh crap, that wasnt a stray? is he alright?"
"Yeah, the dog is fine, but when I let Fuzzy inside i petted him for a bit, and then I went to take a leak before going to bed. Just as I'm about to fall asleep I notice theres a LOT of warmth going on on my boys, as that spray started kicking in. I was in the shower for 2 hours trying to get it cleaned off and cooled down. I called Ken and all he could do is laugh. The more water I used the worse the burning got!"

I was busting up laughing, felt bad that my buddy had to go through that suffering and pain, but dang that was funny!
 
Im still laughing at that one. You should have heard Hans whimpering, especially when I told him amputation is the only cure :)

WildsocruelAlaska ™
 
spacemanspiff said:
You have your gun, but also less than lethal options, such as pepper spray.
Click to expand...

Clearly, the moral of this story is that lethal force would have saved your buddy's jewels. :)
 
This story is too funny. Good call on the less lethal route. Good thing you had the pepper spray, could have been grim if you didn't. I don't hate dogs by no means, but too many stories and cases have occured where there was a loose dog that approaches a stranger and attacks relentlessly. If I was faced with your situation I would have hopefuly had time to draw and fire a warning shot to the ground to frighten the dog in hopes it would retreat before taking a more grave approach. This is deff a good example why to carry pepper spray along with being concealed. Holy cow....2 hrs of scrubbing the fellas after already prepaired to go to bed ahaahahha.....ouch. Good to hear things worked out.

*edit to add* gotta give you props for being able to keep your wits about you, especialy for being half blind from the lighting adjustment and the lack of free hand/s.
 
To be honest, the only reason I had the spray on me is that I was on my way to work at the bar. Spray is the best tool we can use in that environment. Any other time, and I wouldnt have had that. Course, any other time, and my hands wouldnt have been full either.
I think I'm going to get a expandable baton and keep that in my truck as well.
 
Good thing you had the pepper spray,
Click to expand...
that is good about pepper spray. I have read many things in here about this stuff. I think i am going to get some,for when i am out hiking and for all around
 
yea

Have to second that. Pepper or OC spray is a great thing to have. Also, it doesn't constitute a "deadly weapon" like a baton, in Texas anyway. I work as an armed security guard, so I have the full array on the belt and I prefer the OC over anythig else I have available. I'm sure many LEO's would agree. We would much rather spray than have to shoot...

also, a brief caution: stay away from MACE branded products from what I have been told. Side effects may include asphyxiation...doesn't sound like something I wanna carry. I carry Freeze, or First Defense.
 
Last edited:
OC spray

What is this stuff....:confused:
Funny that you mention Mace. I have many friends in LE.
One day one of them decided to show me what Mace is about.Being a firefighter i was to eager to learn. He sprayed some in a bag,(WOW) iCould not beileve it,that was the worst thing i have ever been around. :eek:
 
google it

oleoresin capsicum...I really can't give many details more than what I got in cert. class. It is a safer, all organic alternative to MACE, etc. It has the potential to incapacitate for up to 45 minutes. Causes pain in all mucous membranes and sensitive skin. Causes seizures and swelling around eyes (non permanent damage) making it painful and nearly impossible to open the eyes. Some cases of use report nausea as well.
 
seen pepper spray work once ..Had a E.M.S call at the police dept. they pepper sprayed someone . When we came in ,it took about 5 min, and all the firefighters and others started having nose problems(polite for Snot). the officers forgot to say anything.It Was A SITE TO BEHOLD..We All were crying :D
 
yeah

by the way, it takes a good thirty minutes to ventilate a room that spray has been used in. I carry different types depending on my environment. Clubs, hotels, etc I carry a stream spray or a gel. In more open areas, I carry a cone spray. In a closed area, I want to concentrate my fire on one or a few people without "collateral damage." People have apparently been sued for OC'ing undeserving persons. In a more open area, I am not concerned about hitting others, so a wider spray is more appropriate...
 
Mace may cause Asphyxiation? Yikes! Wouldn't want that around me either. OC may cause seizers? Wow! Better than having to kill them I guess.

I heard of a story a few years ago about some chick going to class with her newly bought/received mace/pepper spray/ OC(I'm not sure which one it was) She was all too excited about her new keychain toy and decided to play with it in class. She held it in her hand under her desk/table, deactivated the safty and spirted alittle bit out and decided not to play with it anymore. Thinking nothing of it after about 10 mins everyone around her started coughing except her. Eventualy the whole class started coughing and/or gagging so the class was evacuated and class was canceled. Funny how something so little can pack such a nastey punch to the nervous system.

Does anyone know if those taser guns are legal and if so are they available? The only people I've seen with them are LE so just wondering if they are available to the general public.
 
...

Mace may cause Asphyxiation?
Click to expand...

This is apparently on the warning label.
OC may cause seizers?
Click to expand...

Only of ocular muscles, makes it nearly impossible to open eyes.

Wow! Better than having to kill them I guess.
Click to expand...

Usually so, for both the perp and your bank account after the legal system is done with it.

I heard of a story a few years ago about some chick going to class with her newly bought/received mace/pepper spray/ OC(I'm not sure which one it was) She was all too excited about her new keychain toy and decided to play with it in class. She held it in her hand under her desk/table, deactivated the safty and spirted alittle bit out and decided not to play with it anymore. Thinking nothing of it after about 10 mins everyone around her started coughing except her. Eventualy the whole class started coughing and/or gagging so the class was evacuated and class was canceled. Funny how something so little can pack such a nastey punch to the nervous system.
Click to expand...

Wow...she could get in SERIOUS trouble for that. Imagine all those counts of assault.

Does anyone know if those taser guns are legal and if so are they available? The only people I've seen with them are LE so just wondering if they are available to the general public.
Click to expand...

They apparently are in Texas, even around hippie Austin. I saw them at Academy the other day. I am pretty sure they do not pack the same punch, but they sure are the type with the neat little gas cartridges and wires. Not like the stun guns that everyone over 18 can buy.
 
Sabre Red, best spray I've come across. Cone or stream, we don't deploy it in the bar. Probably the only reason we would is to stop a brawl that we can't control.
We had to get certified two weeks ago. Sadly (or not so sadly!) when it came to my turn, the can was nearly empty so I only got half of what everyone else got. Two others got more than necessary for the qualification, so i guess it all evens out in the end.
 
My question is does spray work on all incidents involving dogs--or even if spray is recommended.

We had another case of some idiot letting his pit bulls run loose, and a woman got attacked. Fortunately a driver stopped and ran the dogs off.

(Get this, the owners of the dogs drove up, gathered their dogs, and let the woman go without treatment. Law enforcement is looking for the vehicle.)

However, would spray work on a dog in the midst of an attack? I have two little mutts that could easily be killed if a pit bull snapped their necks. Now, I have no problem shooting a hollowpoint into the skull of an attacking pit bull, but let's be real.

Could a civilian hold steady with dogs and blood flying all over? Would a spray even work if the adrenaline was up?
 
Good question. Years ago, before I started carrying a pistol, I had the big can of bear spray that I used when I walked to and from work. I used it on numerous stray dogs, and its success rate did seem to vary. Sometimes it made the dogs more aggressive, sometimes nothing happened, sometimes the dog would run away yelping.
One pitbull did sneeze it off in about ten seconds and came back for more.
I wouldn't trust just spray, its a valuable option, but have something else on hand. An asp is a good idea, beat the dog down if you have to.
 
Spiff, pick me up an ASP too, that may work against my attack trained Akita, SWMBO.

WilddiditellyashegothernosepiercedAlaska ™
 
Actually,

spray has been proven to not be 100% effective against pests of either 2 or 4-legged variety. In the cases where it does nto stop a dog, a rowdy pit for example, it SHOULD give you enough time to draw a weapon. This is not a guarantee of any sort. Bear mace has also been proven to be ineffective against dogs on occasion. Same applies to humans. Certain situations make the spray less effective. Does not mean they do not feel the pain, just can work through it longer. An ASP might be a good back-up plan,m but why buy it when you can carry something that looks less like a weapon, a cane or something?
 
Would an ASP not be considerd a concealed weapn? I'm not sure the legality of carrying one, maybe in the open on your belt or something then it wouldn't be concealed?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top