Shooting to Defend Your Dog?

[imatt]

I heard some say attacking dogs are not much of a threat. Its not that infrequent that some pit bull or other such breeds running loose will bring down a child or elderly person. I can recall several news events where some child or older person was killed here in South Carolina by stray dogs.

I don't believe the scope of the original post covered Animal attacks on a person - it was another pet attacking their pet.

If someone fires their weapon inside city limits to stop another animal from attacking your pet, you're most likely in a whole heap of trouble. If the animal begins to attack you, everything changes.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[tegemu]

How do you know whether the dog will attack your dog or you. I think it could be considered self defense.

[Pro2A]

If the dog is aggresive towards my dog, chances are it might be aggresive towards me too. I would say it could be justifiable if you felt your life was in danger. Your dog just happened to be there with you. Again, its one of those situtions I'd have to be there before I could tell you what I'd do.

[cdwolf]

It depends on the dog!!
If your poodle is attacked by a jack russell and you shoot a 20lb dog you should expect trouble!! once the dog gets, say over 60lbs growling then you may be ok
There are few breeds that would stand there and fight after a kick to the ribs.
Pitbull, chow, doberman , a few rare breed fighters.
But most would call it a day, there pack animals there born to be submissive!!

[paulbb]

Yes, I was a little off subject. I appologize. But here is a recent and local newsevent where police shoot a purse snatcher after the theft used a knife on a police dog loosed to subdue the theft. Deputies: Man Shot After Stabbing K-9 - Greenville News Story - WYFF Greenville

[Redneck Repairs]

In Colorado the killing of the dog would likely be legal because

Colorado Revised Statutes 33-3-106-3 Excessive damage - permit to take wildlife - harassment by dogs states: "Nothing in this section shall make it unlawful to trap, kill, or otherwise dispose of bears, mountain lions, or dogs in situations when it is necessary to prevent them from inflicting death or injury to livestock or human life and additionally, in the case of dogs, when it is necessary to prevent them from inflicting death or injury to big game other than bear or mountain lion and to small game, birds, and mammals. The division may bring a civil action against the owner of any dog inflicting death or injury to any big game other than bear or mountain lion and to small game, birds, and mammals for the value of each game animal injured or killed."

However i am not sure how good an affirmative defense that would be for the charge of discharging a firearm where prohibited ( such as a municipality ) . So imho you would be ok on killing a vicious animal but might be in trouble for shooting a gun in town .

[utf59]

I had a problem (in FL) with a neighbor's dog attacking our dog. I was unarmed at the time (pre-CWP and dog and I were running) so I had to fight the pit bull off bare-handed (our dog is pretty passive).

I called the sheriff's office and was told the following (this goes back a few years, so it may have changed). If both dogs are off the leash and on public property (such as a street) the fight is between the dogs. If my dog is on the leash or in my yard, I can do anything to the attacking dog to get him to stop except discharge a firearm within 300 feet of a dwelling, including my own. Naturally, if the dog is attacking a human, all bets are off.

I don't know what the mix of state vs. county ordinances was. I do know that when I called the sheriff's office and asked the question, they gave me a number straight to the particular deputy who apparently was the expert on this kind of situation.

I thought over that exact problem a lot when I was going through the process of getting my CWP. When walking the dog where we live now, I keep him on a fairly short leash so he can't reach the road from the sidewalk or get into various other types of trouble. If a dog is heading our way who seems bent on attack, it will be difficult to be sure whether he's after me or the dog. But now in a more suburban setting, there is the issue of what's beyond the dog in case I miss. That's why I spend some of my time at the range shooting with my strong hand while holding something in my weak hand to simulate the leash.

But yes, I would absolutely kill another dog to protect my own.

[Redneck Repairs]

it will be difficult to be sure whether he's after me or the dog.

IMHO the attacking dog is always after you rather than your pet . If you need to drop the leash to establish a safe, accurate two handed grip to fire the straight line to where YOU ( and your pet ) were standing will establish that lol . Of course one would want to get the leash back in hand as fast as possible so that ones dog would not become either a safety issue for motorists or a public nuisance .

[Bark'n]

The dog would have to be an immediate threat to YOU as well as your dog in order to legally shoot it... are you catching on here?

Like, I tried to break up the fight and the dog turned on ME.

[imatt]

The dog would have to be an immediate threat to YOU as well as your dog in order to legally shoot it... are you catching on here?

Like, I tried to break up the fight and the dog turned on ME.

Unfortunately there are many in this thread that just don't get this concept. Sounds like they need to review the law. As much as it sucks, if you shoot a dog from 20 feet away that's attacking your pet, you'll most likely be found completely in the wrong.


Laws aside, you should be able to defend your pets, but most states don't allow what - on this board - would be seen as "an appropriate plan of action."


Be careful out there. It's not worth losing your RIGHT to defend yourself and your family because you shot someone else's pet.

[artz]

I carry a knife that will perform the job silently on my end...

[mrhutch]

i just have a little puffball dog that would hide behind me the minute it thought the other dog was after it, so i would be able to shoot the offending dog in self defense as it would have to go through me to get my dog. and i HAVE fired at a coyote in my backyard with a .22 rifle while it was stalking my dog out on her lead, but it was a downhill shot into a creek bottom, so the there was a good, safe backstop.

[macy8]

If my dogs are in harms way from a malicious (or careless for that matter) psycho or a wild beast, it will have to work itself out in court/with the coroner. Canines transcend "property" in my book, and I'd take/give a bullet for 'em.

[Airborne Falcon]

I've never seen a dog fight that I could not break-up either by kicking the snot out of one of them or by picking something up and lowering the boom on him.

Dogs rarely, rarely will attack to kill immediately ... you usually have time to react by grabbing something or kicking. If you kick, and then he bites you, then imho, if you feel you are in danger at that point, you have grounds to shoot ... but that would be drastic imho and I have never had it happen in years of rescuing some pretty big, mean, dogs.

Another alternative is to use some sort of pepper spray and if he has latched onto your dog, just lean down and give him a good shot straight up the nostrils.

At our compound, where we have at times upwards of fifty or sixty rescues, we use ammonia in a spray bottle to break-up fights.

I would have a hard hard hard time justifying shooting one unless there was absolutely no other choice and I was already pretty bloodied.

[papanewguinea]

I don’t believe anyone on this forum would have any problem shooting a dog if they felt it was a danger to them or their family. I also know that many of you have dogs that are not just pets, but members of your family. So what would you do if you were out walking your dog and a bigger, more powerful and very aggressive dog attacks him? You do not recognize the dog and his owner is nowhere in sight. And despite whatever breed you happen to have, you quickly conclude that your dog doesn’t stand a chance.

Coming late to this thread, but this happened to a friend in TX. He has CHL and killed the dog. When the law arrived, he told them what had happened.
'So, the dog attacked you, Sir ...'
'No, it attacked my dog, and I just -'
'So, the dog attacked you, Sir ...'
'No, not me, my d-'
'So, the dog attacked you, Sir ...'

... after the third time, he got the drift!!