There once was a former US Army MP that had a HUGE female German Shepherd. Very intimidating to say the least. On an evenings' jaunt the leash broke, and said dog moved into a yard about 10 feet. The new (that day) neighbor across the street suddenly arrived on scene with a handful of plastic .380 to save the day. The MP thought the helpful man was an attacker, and screwed a compact .45 into the fellow's ear. At this point, the German Shepherd was laying on her back being petted by a three year old, and a five year old.

Moral of the story......

Make DAMN SURE the owner isn't going to defend himself, his dog, or his neighborhood kids when considering taking hasty action against a dog.


Made for one hell of a tense situation for all but the GSD and the kids.

+1 on you can't hit a charging dog in any particular spot with a handgun. I shoot target pistol, and when I was shooting in the mid 270's wouldn't have been able to reliably make that shot much past 50 feet if it was standing still. Charging I'd be lucky to hit the dog at all.

From what I understand, a handgun bullet can ricochet off a human's head at shallow angles. I would expect the same could happen with a dog's. That, and the relatively small size of a dog's head, makes a head shot a lousy choice for self defense IMO. If I were armed and attacked by a large dog, I'd have one arm trying to keep it off my throat while I was putting bullets into its chest. A contact shot through the lungs with a full load .38 is going to do a lot of damage. I'd expect the exiting round to be potentially lethal, too...would seem to be a rare good use for Glasers.

From a distance? You'd want a rifle. A handgun is a defensive weapon.

Sounds to me like your vet's given you good advice on how to put down a sick or injured dog, but not good for self defense. If you're talking about something else, consider that some people place more value on their dogs than some people do their family members, and react accordingly, for what it's worth.

Latest update: The sheriff's office was dragging their feet so I called park commissioner and actually was able to talk to him for twenty minutes. He gave me his cell phone number and told me if something like this ever happens again I should call him directly and he'd personally drag the appropriate LEO's to the scene. Hopefully he's not just blowing smoke.

-Blast

Mine may not be a popular response, but I'd have shot the dogs. Especially if there were kids in danger.

I love dogs more than just about anyone I've ever met, but at the end of the day they are animals. I value my life, the life of my own child, or even a stranger's child more than the life of a dog which is attacking or acting aggressively in this type of situation.

Good that you persisted, Blast. As important as his assurance on future response is knowing that the incident is on record.

If others fall victim to those dogs (whose owner is putting them at risk) or other dogs in that area, then your earlier report will have established a pattern.

Susan -- bear spray has a range of 30 feet. It could make a lasting impression on the neighbor's dog.

And on the neighbor.

Follow up with a "Thank you for your time and attention to my complaint" in writing. Once the paper trail is started...well, you know the rest.

Despite the way I've had to handle animals at work, I would suggest that you contact an attorney before resorting to a .38. The attorney can CC the appropriate LE agency, and the local animal control agency, and get things moving easier than you having to explain shooting a neighbors dog.

Okay, here comes the cruelty to animals hit for the week:

For persistently problem animals (be they dogs, cats, racoons, bears, even flies), nothing is more effective at neutralizing them than a good laser hit on their retinas. You can get laser pointers now that have enough power to instantly do permanent damage to any animal's vision. I've even immobilized rabbits in gardens with them, to the point I could walk right up to them and grab them by the ears.

If you want to permanently solve a nuisance dog problem without leaving behind any trace of the attack, I can't think of a better solution than that. It might be more expensive than pepper spray, but you'll only have to do it once per animal.

Okay, bring on the flames folks.

Ben:

NO need for flaming, it is your opinion and a soltion that works. Doesn't mean we have to agree with it but it works.