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I have had more than a few encounters with loose dogs. In each instance I have had the good fortune of being the only one in range of the animal and have managed to extricate myself from the situation without harm and without doing harm to the animal. Now if I was outside with my nephews in one of those situations I would follow my local police chief's advice and "Put the animal down."

The logic in this situation is simple. When dealing with just myself and the animal I have only one threat and nothing else to focus on. With a child present My attention must now be divided between the threat and the child who may, while not knowing better, do something to cause the animal to escalate the situation. If you felt the need to protect your kid (such as when you kicked the animal to get its attention away from said child) then you would most likely be justified in putting the animal down. Personally if it comes down to an animal or one of my loved ones being injured then the animal is looking at a short but exciting life, and I will deal with the consequences after the fact.