Do you treat your pets like children? If so.....

[alphonso]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/15/te ... latestnews" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[speedsix]

...the statistics, stories, and pictures here will awaken anyone who cares to look at them...family pets can turn deadly...

http://www.dogsbite.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[VMI77]

I've lived in a trailer park. I've lived in the city. I've lived in a suburban condo and a suburban house. I've lived in the woods. I've lived in a somewhat palatial estate with much acreage.

I have never lived anywhere where someone's mismanaged dog didn't cause me grief or fear or both.

If a dog crosses my property line I am judge, jury, parole officer, and executioner as I see fit.

Love your dog? Buy a fence...

Wow, I'm glad you're not my neighbor --no doubt better for both of us. In my neighborhood you'd be killing a lot of dogs. In every single case where I've found a dog wandering the neighborhood, the dog was in a fenced yard and had gotten out when a yard crew negligently left the gate open while the owner was at work.

Ah, you misunderstood. I didn't say I shoot dogs on sight. Poodles, labs, retreivers, mutts, and many other friendly looking pooches have all gotten a free pass for visiting at our house. Ocassionally they get a bowl of water and some food and a call to their owner if they have a tag. I did shoot an angry pit bull a couple of years ago after it came into our backyard and growled at my wife. I bet you would have shot him too if he threatened someone in your family...

I wasn't there so I can't judge that particular situation, however, I would only shoot a dog as a last resort, and my wife would be very upset with me if I killed a dog for growling at her. I would do everything I could to avoid killing a dog, but yes, I would defend as necessary against an actual attack.

[speedsix]

...the "or is about to attack" part was included by someone who understood how fast an animal can move when he stops growling...I'm not NEARLY that fast...I'll shoot at growl...

[VMI77]

...the "or is about to attack" part was included by someone who understood how fast an animal can move when he stops growling...I'm not NEARLY that fast...I'll shoot at growl...

Yes, I realize that, and what I'm saying is I'll risk being attacked before shooting, even if that means I might get hurt, rather than assume a growling dog is going to attack. I've been growled at numerous times by dogs and never been attacked, so I'd have killed a lot of dogs if I shot them for just growling. But part of the decision to shoot is judgement --dogs show various signs when they growl...growling itself doesn't indicate an imminent attack.....dogs also growl when they're scared, as a warning, and if you read these signs you can usually tell the difference. Dogs are also very sensitive to physical indicators from humans, from facial movement to tone of voice.

[gremlinschl]

Plus pointing a weapon at a growling dog might actually illicit an attack vs the dog backing down. The dogs fight vs flight response is similar to humans. Just my 2¢.

[johnson0317]

I don't know. Maybe my two Bassett Hounds are different, but when they see my gun come out for any reason, they shy away. They are not normally afraid of anything I do, but they seem to instinctually know that the gun is dangerous.

RJ

[Dave2]

Plus pointing a weapon at a growling dog might actually illicit an attack vs the dog backing down. The dogs fight vs flight response is similar to humans. Just my 2¢.

How would the dog know what it is?

[VMI77]

Plus pointing a weapon at a growling dog might actually illicit an attack vs the dog backing down. The dogs fight vs flight response is similar to humans. Just my 2¢.

How would the dog know what it is?

They may not "know" what it is, but dogs can read micro expressions on human faces, so they might well see in your expression that you intend harm, without understanding exactly what.

[markthenewf]

Let me preface this with the fact that I am a current dog owner and have been around them for the majority of my life. Soooooo.......

I don't know why I read these posts. There's nothing that ticks me off more than someone whining and crying over poor pooch having a bad day because they're to stupid to know that the animal should never be out of the owners control. That means keep 'em inside, fenced/penned in, or on a leash/lead. It ain't rocket science.

Feel free to flame me, but after all the stories of dog attacks and one on my family, I've pretty much had it with loose animals and folks that just don't get it. Also, if it was me/family/dog being attacked on my property I'd put the attacker down via 45ACP, knife, stick, brick, or whatever I could get my hands on. I'd then proceed to call the cops and find a lawyer happy to sue you into next year. I've had this conversation with one neighbor and lo-and-behold, their rottweiler has stopped running loose.