K9 Threat

My wife and I were out walking our 7y/o golden (Sobe) last night around 8pm, when all of the sudden... He hunched down to poop. Damn it, I'm the one who has to clean it up. So, I hand the leash to my wife, pull the plastic bag from my pocket and begin to remove his feces... :puke:

Just as I've got the stinky load 95% contained, my wife says in a concerned voice, "Um, we have a problem". I stand up and look to see what she's talking about as I tie off the bag to hopefully kill the stench.. I see our dog pulling slightly at the leash, and notice what my wife is talking about: a lager dog half a block down who escaped form it's handler. The dog stood tall and alert as it watched us, then sprang into a run at full speed, barking, leash trailing behind it.

My wife hands me the leash cause she can't hold our dog back if he pulls hard, "You have to take him". I drop the bag on the ground and grab both hand loops on the leash so I've got a good handle on him. I notice a younger guy running behind the loose dog, arms loaded with grocery bags. In that instant, while awaiting the snarling black lab, I had pity on this guy who is dropping stuff he had just purchased while running in flip flops.. I swear time slowed down to where I noticed these things.. Odd..

As the dog got within 10 feet of us I freed up my right hand without even really thinking about it. My XD40sc was on my right hip, but I never went for it, as the situation didn't quite call for it... Yet. I was impressed with how my brain subconsciously made my right hand available to perform the draw if required. My wife stayed to my right side, and slightly behind me as the black lab came up to intercept our dog. The two dogs instantly freaked out at each other, the black lab snapping at our dog. I stood over Sobe, in a fashion that he was tightly squeezed between my legs so that he couldn't bounce around frantically. I think this maneuver made the black lab less inclined to go after our dog, but continued light strikes of gnashing teeth - and I think he managed a decent nip to Sobe's tail. If there's one thing that set's Sobe off, it's messing with his tail. :comeandgetsome:

In the end, I didn't even really focus on the aide of my XD since the situation didn't escalate to the possibility of myself or my wife being injured. Had the black lab gone for the wife I surely would've crapped my pants and hopefully found a clear shot.. at the dog, not her of course :redface:. Or just 'accidentally' let Sobe go.. You know he'd be a terror defending his mom.. Anyways, I don't know exactly what I've have done in the event that the dog went for my wife, but I'm glad he didn't. I don't want to have to shoot a dog.. Besides, he was a really good looking black lab.

The black lab's owner finally caught up, mind you this whole thing took maybe a minute or two, and got control of his dog. We were caught off guard by his question, "Are you guys OK?".. Seemed odd coming from a 17y/o looking kid with loaded Shopko bags spilling all over the sidewalk. Good for him, we both appreciated his attitude and concern, and could tell he was sorry about his dog breaking loose. We said we were fine, and no harm no foul. He said that the house we were in front of (the lawn that our dog decided to duke on), was his house. Great choice Sobe.. You know how they get though, they'll hunker down and let you drag them cause they're committed to the business once they've decided to do it.

Anyways.. I'm bored at work, figured perhaps this could be a fun read to kill 5 minutes for someone stuck at a desk.. :)

-Jason

Glad everything turned out ok!

I can't shoot a dog... people are okay, but not a dog.

i have a joggers pepper spray attached to the leash handle and it goes with us when we walk the dog...itll stop a dog dead in their tracks and i will not hesitate to use it even in front of an owner if i have to...

a couple of months ago i was walking our dog early in the morning and we passed by a yard near the end of the street with a dog lying under a tree...the dog was pretty calm and watched as we walked by...after we passed the dog began to charge us...i could see he was tethered but had no idea whether it would hold and began to back across the street, reel in my dog and arm the pepper spray....the dog made a good 50 feet to the road edge before the leash flipped him over backward then he fought at leash still trying to get at us...the leash held fast and the pepper spray wasnt deployed...the owner received a citation that day from animal control...had a kid been anywhere near the edge of the road they would have been torn to shreds....

anothe neighbor has a beautiful german shepard that he loves to let wander in the yard untethered...on another walk it followed my dog and i down the entire edge of 2 yards with a low growl and aggressive stance until i got within earshot of the owner and in a very firm voice told him to control his dog or he was gonna carry him home...pepper spray was armed and i had my right hand on the draw..this one was close...

i will not hesitate to dispatch a dog in the event i feel threatened by one....my father who loved dogs more than anyone and trained a champion hunter for us was attacked by a loose guard dog at a marina once and took several stitches to his strong arm and neck when fortunately the owner was close by enough to stop the dog before it killed my dad...he was never the same around dogs after that...

and after i'm done with the dog i'll make sure the owner faces every possible charge there is for putting me, my family and their dog into a situation like that...

Wasp Spray.

My wife and I both have some pretty mean OC spray.. with a hint of tear gas. ;)

I'll make sure atleast one of us is armed with spray for our dog walks.

I had a few trailery people that rented a home two houses down from me. At one time they had 5 pit bull mix dogs. They got out one time when they werent home. We were sitting on the front porch when two of them backed my wife and I into our carport. We have a door that leads into our kitchen in the carport but it was locked. I pull my sigma out and get ready to shoot the dogs as there was no where to go! Right at that moment the owner pulls up, and calls the dogs. They run to him and he apologized saying he was going crazy looking for the dogs.

No hard feelings, he saw me with the pistol in hand when he pulled up. So I told him I was getting ready to protect ourselves from his dogs. Its not a pleasant feeling not being able to escape a threat.

Its also a senario I often play in my head. I often wonder what the legal consequences of shooting a threatening dog would be if any?

I have been encountered by a few dogs while serving warrants and a other situations,

1. I was walking between two houses on a narrow path and saw two pits tied at the back. I walked passed a window and called back to my partner, the dogs rounded the corner, and started toward me. I drew my XD (duty weapon at the time) and started backing up, never fired a shot, luckily I spotted the rope.

2. Walked around a car where a pit mix was laying, he snapped at my crotch, really bad feeling, I drew down and the owner came out, he said "you can put that away now" I told him to control his dog.

3. I was working a security gig and went to shu the dog away that was routing in the garbage, it turned and showed teeth and I had nothing but a flash II. SCARY!!

Now if I go to the back door of a house, my OC is out and ready.

Glad you're all ok.

Jason

Thanks again all for the reminder about OC spray.

Well done OP.

Glad you didn't need to fire. I have a simple rule I live by in respect to dogs while I'm walking/jogging in our neighborhood. I'm a fairly big guy (6'5", 220 pounds) and if the dog is small enough to kick about 5-10 feet, then I won't draw my gun (think little-annoying-pea-brain-grandma-owned-mix of some sort). If the dog is too big to kick and I can tell by the speed and tenacity of the oncoming dog that it's going to get inside 10-15 feet, I'm putting the front dot of my PF9 right on that dog's head. Pretty simple. Dogs are supposed to be on leashes, period. Once they are off that leash and are threatening me, then my health (no matter how minor the injury) becomes way more important than any animal. Your scenario is unique in that you saw the owner running wildly after the dog who had just escaped, but still, mess with me (or my family) and it's off to the doggy cemetary for you.

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Originally Posted by Beretta

Its also a senario I often play in my head. I often wonder what the legal consequences of shooting a threatening dog would be if any?

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the legal consequences are to the owner of the pet...they can be fined and/or imprisoned for allowing the animal to be out of their control and a threat to you....

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Originally Posted by SAMI

In the end, I didn't even really focus on the aide of my XD since the situation didn't escalate to the possibility of myself or my wife being injured. Had the black lab gone for the wife I surely would've crapped my pants and hopefully found a clear shot.. at the dog, not her of course :redface:.
-Jason

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Every dog owner should carry pepper spray, it will stop any dog in their tracks.

Shooting an attacking dog will get you in trouble, at least here in Minnesota.

I'm glad it all ended well.

Stay safe.

I have used pepper spray against 2 unleashed husky-type dogs.

You do have to put yourself...and your dog...at more risk than with a gun. That said, I still highly recommend it.

In my case, the dogs were already fighting...there was no other owner in sight and those dogs came and attacked my dog, who was with me.

I had to time it right, grab my dog's collar to take him out of the fight, and immediately put my hand down into the gap and spray the other dogs.

It did work and my dog and I still got a little of it. But it required me to be very very close to the action to get the job done.

a pepper spray that shoots a stream or a foam may be a better choice for that reason...it can be directed a bit better and does not fog as much...

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Originally Posted by bladenbullet

the legal consequences are to the owner of the pet...they can be fined and/or imprisoned for allowing the animal to be out of their control and a threat to you....

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Thanks Blade!

Glad to hear that. Id just hate to find myself infront of a bleeding heart animal loving jury. Im all for the humane treatment of animals. Just sometimes the welfare of animals gets placed before that of people.