Taking out a dog

[sjfcontrol]

A dog attacking me is the same as a human attacking me, except that my ability to effectively communicate STOP! to a dog is probably less than a human. So once a dog starts an attack, you may already be past the point of no return as far as defending yourself.

Sounds like you slept through the "Non-Violent Dispute Resolution with Non-Humans" part of the class!

[i8godzilla]

Please use pepper spray. I love dogs and they generally really mean no harm. If the pepper spray doesn't work, THEN shoot the dog. If you don't believe that pepper spray before bullets is a good idea, then I invite you to google for "Harold Fish". He sure wishes that he had pepper spray! Stay safe out there.

Did Harold Fish shoot a dog? I thought he shot a dog owner and was prosecuted because he used "too much gun"...........

[PUCKER]

Not a dog whisperer but I've had a few dogs, all large breeds, some of them the "I'll tear your neck off kind" and some "come here so I can kiss you to death" kind (that's my current one, Samson, 178 pound Great Dane). I've had the chance to interact with some bad dogs (who maybe do need to be put down) and so far my own body language/posture/actions, etc. have kept them at bay. As an example, a known biter was charging my wife, I went into Alpha dog mode not only with voice (STOP!! GET DOWN!! etc..) but also with body language...the result was the dog cowered down and backed off. The owners (nice folks but they get too emtionally tied to bad dogs, ie - they are the last stop before it's time to put them down) have a history of taking in trouble/rescue dogs, and where they are (a marina, we have to walk past them to get to our boat), it's a bad area to have them (5 dogs too!). Of course, your mileage may vary, use your head, don't come back here telling me how you got bit because your "aplha dogged" a bad dog, hey, you had your gun, right?

[A-R]

A dog attacking me is the same as a human attacking me, except that my ability to effectively communicate STOP! to a dog is probably less than a human. So once a dog starts an attack, you may already be past the point of no return as far as defending yourself.

Sounds like you slept through the "Non-Violent Dispute Resolution with Non-Humans" part of the class!

I was taking a "cat nap"

[drjoker]

My question for those who use pepper spray for dogs, at what point is a dog worthy of a spray but not worthy of deadly force to repel an attack? At what point is this intermediate line crossed?

Yeah, I used to bike everywhere until I got run over by some illegal with no insurance (that's a story for another day). Sometimes, a dog would run after me while viciously barking. Short legged dogs are ignored because I can bicycle faster. A pit bull or doberman cannot be outrunned if I'm going uphill or if there's a stoplight. In that case, I''ve jumped off my bike and put it between me and the dog, yelling, "Stop. Sit. Down!" Then, I look them in the eye and slowly back away. After I've put enough distance between me and the dog, then I'll bike away.

I've never used my pepper spray, even though I've drawn it several times. However, I've never felt the need to draw my gun on a dog, even an attacking pit bull. Dogs generally are territorial, so after you've left their territory, they'll turn around and not attack you. I generally put my bike between me and the dog. Then, I'll back away slowly until I'm outside their territory. If you're not on a bike, then use a cane or umbrella.

[witchdoctor575]

new story to share about dog attacks. A class mate told me today that her daughter was attacked by her grandfathers dog. They girls father shot the dog. Bad part is that this was the second biting incident with that animal and the 6yr old paid the price for granddad's ignorance. Poor baby has bites on her back, shoulder and face. So spare all the bleeding heart crap about feeling for aggressive dogs and only using pepper spray. Because sooner or later, a dog that is aggressive to humans will bite/attack and usually a child is a victim because of their smaller size.

[Jumping Frog]

Back to one aspect of the original question:

This got me thinking, what if the dog attacked us? Would that be a case to pull and shoot? I know Rick Perry got off on his coyote shooting but he is higher on the food chain than us little “common “ people.

When I have seen this topic discussed before, sometimes people get confused between the standards for lethal force required for self defense from a human, versus self defense with a dog. There is no requirement for a reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury when it comes to dogs. Dogs are not humans.

As far as Rick Perry, or anyone else, killing an attacking dog is legal under Texas law:

Sec. 822.013. DOGS OR COYOTES THAT ATTACK ANIMALS. (a) A dog or coyote that is attacking, is about to attack, or has recently attacked livestock, domestic animals, or fowls may be killed by:

(1) any person witnessing the attack ; or

(2) the attacked animal's owner or a person acting on behalf of the owner if the owner or person has knowledge of the attack.

(b) A person who kills a dog or coyote as provided by this section is not liable for damages to the owner, keeper, or person in control of the dog or coyote.

[lonewolf]

Came close to putting a dog down today. Out walking with the wife and our 40 lb pooch (on her short leash) when I spied a LARGE German shepherd at a house in the middle of the block behind us. I told the wife to keep walking slowly with our dog (who hadn't seen the shepherd). The dog saw us and came running fast and low. I used my "serious" voice and commanded the dog to stop loudly. He skidded to a halt. My wife had stopped as well. I told her just to keep going slowly and I would take care of this. The shepherd moved toward us again, and I stayed between him and the wife and our dog, who were just going out of sight around the corner. Again I told him to stop/stay. Not a real happy pooch. When I got home, the wife asked if I was armed (of course) and if I would have shot the dog had it attacked (of course.) Fortunately I didn't have to, and all is well. So far. Now to get the people to understand that there are laws in this area about the dogs being leashed unless contained in a fenced area.....

I still have a scar on my side from a shepherd when I was young (8 or so...) The little girl that owned the dog (Hondo) said I shouldn't have run and that he just wanted to play. The teeth I saw didn't look very playful. Then or now.....