Dog attack - How would you handle?

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I've been bitten and threatened so often it wouldn't bother me a bit to shoot a threatening dog. But I want to buy Duke a bag of bacon-flavored treats.
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Yea I can’t be too upset that he’s super protective, even when my parents come over for a visit Duke still goes and leans against them and doesn’t allow them to get too close to my kids unless I give him the okay
 
I’ve had this happen to me on 3 different occasions, my dog leashed and controlled each time

It just so happens that my dog was a extremely aggressive GSD that was more than capable of taking on anything that came his way and laid a smack down on the other dog each time

The owners were apologetic after the heat of the moment , they knew they were wrong , and I’m sure they will have control of their dog from here on out

Realistically , anything you do is ultimately going to be taken out on the dog , which is just being a dog

If your dog does require vet attention then I don’t think it’s out of the question the ask for compensation for the cost of the vet bill , I know if my dog was the aggressor and the owners of the other dog didn’t feel it necessary to report my dog to local officials and put that on record that I’d happily pay the vet bill

At the end of the day , dogs will be dogs and shit does happen
 
It will , but believe or not , you open yourself up for federal charges.
There was a thread here a while back on the topic of using it if mace wasn't legal /available.
Misuse of a pesticide will put you in fed f*ck territory.
Wasp/hornet spray doesn’t work, it’s a myth. It certainly won’t stop someone immediately and if anything it’ll have more effect hours after it’s sprayed. Anyone who uses wasp/hornet spray instead of pepper spray is an f’n moron. And yes, you could be facing federal charges on top of everything else for using the product in a manner not intended.
 
Section 156. Any person may kill a dog which suddenly assaults him while he is peaceably standing, walking or riding outside the enclosure of its owner or keeper; and any person may kill a dog found out of the enclosure of its owner or keeper and not under his immediate care in the act of worrying, wounding or killing persons, live stock or fowls, and if any person shall kill or attempt to kill a dog so found, and in the act of worrying, wounding or killing persons, live stock or fowls, he shall not be held liable for cruelty to the dog unless it shall be shown that he intended to be cruel to the dog, or that he acted with a wanton and reckless disregard for the suffering of the dog. A person killing or wounding a dog under the conditions set out in this section shall promptly report to the owner, animal control officer or police officer such killing or wounding. Prompt killing of a wounded dog, or a prompt report to the owner or to a dog officer of the wounding of the dog, shall be considered evidence of sufficient regard for the suffering of the dog.



Long winded and hard to follow like many MA laws. How is this actually enforced? Do people get LTCs pulled for shooting an attacking dog?
It's not hard to follow at all, it's pretty clear to me the way I read it.

 
It's funny, but as an LTC holder and a generally big/strong guy (5'10", 220) in MA, I've never really concerned myself with the "less-than-lethal" stuff available to us. My wife normally carries mace, but didn't have it on her during our dog walk encounter.

I carry spray + knife 100% of the time I leave the house. Way more likely to need those than a gun.

If you're going to carry a gun, it makes sense to have something between fisticuffs and lethal force.
 
Wasp/hornet spray doesn’t work, it’s a myth. It certainly won’t stop someone immediately and if anything it’ll have more effect hours after it’s sprayed. Anyone who uses wasp/hornet spray instead of pepper spray is an f’n moron. And yes, you could be facing federal charges on top of everything else for using the product in a manner not intended.

Federal charges lol that’s a bit much. 🤣. Because it says that on the can? Do people go to federal prison when they spray gasoline on people trying to mug them while they’re pumping gas? 🤣

I agree otherwise I think it’s dumb idea….
 
Glad you and your wife are ok and your pooch isn’t too seriously hurt. I would have no problem you kicking, macing or shooting my dog if she did that. I love dogs as long as they are subservient or like my “dog” a big dumb golden that slobbers on you. Have a “real” dog have the thing under control at all times or expect it to be put down.
 
It's not hard to follow at all, it's pretty clear to me the way I read it.


if you pop a dog in mass you better have Neil Tassel or the very least, Keith Langer on speed dial. The only reason that guy walked is because his kid was bit by one of the dogs…. it makes the cops look bad if they try to prosecute him under that circumstance. if you talk to Keith he can probably tell you plenty of horror stories where people were railroaded trying to defend themselves against a shitty dog.
 
My wife and I were walking our dog last night when we were attacked by another dog. We usually walk to one of two conservation trails in the area, both within a mile of our house. On this particular evening, we were walking back from the trail on a public road (no sidewalks). We hear barking and my wife tells me to get ready as she sees a large German Shepard bearing down on us. The Shepard is obviously not under the verbal or physical control of it's owner and comes running out into the road where we are walking and immediately attacks our dog, a fixed female Pit Bull mix.

I had our dog on a leash and tried to restrain her as she is very aggressive at other aggressive dogs and was prepared to fight. Unfortunately this put my dog at a severe disadvantage as it limited her mobility. My wife tried to get between them to keep the Shepard at bay as did I, trying to keep our dog behind me. Of course the Shepard, being likely 100lb of muscle and teeth, had no problem getting close and managed to get a few bites in on our dog before she could respond. I shouted, lunged, and kicked at the other dog, which seemed to keep the fight from getting too bad.

While this is happening, one of the owners, the wife comes running out and is trying to restrain her dog, but isn't really successful. Then the husband shows up, sees me kicking at his dog and immediately shouts at me and prepares to throw down (hand cocked to throw a haymaker), which meant I now I had to take my eyes and attention off the German Shepard and get into a defensive stance in case this guy engages me. My wife is shouting at them to get control of their dog while he continues to circle to re-engage us.

Overall, a complete clusterfck. They finally managed to get control of their dog. We continued on to finish our walk. The wife was very apologetic and during the whole thing tried her best to get control of the dog. The husband was obviously not thinking straight, but apologized after. He was triggered by my kicking his dog, and at one point yelled at us because we had a pit bull... had zero understanding of what happened and that his dog initiated the attack in a public space while loose. Not to mention ignoring the fact that his male German Shepard was much bigger/heavier than our dog and obviously the aggressor.

We checked our dog at home. She was fine except for a 3 small puncture wounds, one on the face, and one on each rear leg. They bled for a bit, but eventually stopped. It didn't look like they needed stitches.

No one was hurt beside some superficial wounds on our dog (she never made a sound and managed to defend herself as she's a tough dog). No one died or went to jail, and I think we did about the best we could in that situation. Afterwards, I told my wife that I probably should have handed the leash off to her in order to be able to more successfully engage the German Shepard and later, the owner when he became aggressive (didn't expect that). I wasn't carrying concealed at the time, but had I been, I told her I would have shot the dog as soon as it engaged us. That dog could have easily killed her, killed our dog and was very much a threat to me. That would have opened a crap show of legal issues (this is MA so...). I would have been certainly within rights on a public road to defend my family against an aggressive and dangerous threat. There is no running away from a dog, so I don't think duty to retreat would be an issue.

Besides this dog, there are some other very aggressive German Shepherds in the area. From this point forward, I'm carrying when I'm walking. I was in gym shorts and a tshirt and didn't feel like carrying as we've never had an issue before. Obvious mistake on my part and we got lucky. Just goes to show how fast things can turn to crap when you least expect it.

WWYD?


As an aside, WTF is with crappy dog owners who don't leash their dog and have zero control over them? I can't count how many times I see dogs off leash on our walks, in our neighborhood running loose, etc. All of this would have been avoided had these owners kept their dog within a fence or on a leash/run.
I had some ass#@$$ that used to walk his two dogs unleashed on a trail I frequented with my dog. They attacked my dog on two occasions. My dog was on leash. On occassion number two I kicked the shit out of one of the dogs, pulled my knife and told the guy next time I kill his dogs. I wasn't kidding. I never saw him again. This guy was a known offender because I ran into another person there that had the same problem.
 
Federal charges lol that’s a bit much. 🤣. Because it says that on the can? Do people go to federal prison when they spray gasoline on people trying to mug them while they’re pumping gas? 🤣

I agree otherwise I think it’s dumb idea….
Do you have any idea what they’ll do to you if you pull the tag off the mattress? 🤣🤣🤣
 
Hahahahaha!
The mini poodle’s owner was properly licensed for the gun and no charges were brought, Pistone said. However, that owner was cited for failure to license the mini poodle.
 
As a delivery driver I was attacked by several dogs that got aggressive. I would just usually kick the shit out of them. Short of stabbing or shooting the dog a good soccer kick to the lower jaw wood make them turn. I also didn't hesitate. If it was within three feet and aggressive I just booted it hard in the head. I wasn't going to wait for the thing to latch onto my arm.

I know that people love dogs and don't want to hurt them don't want to see them get hurt but if you own an aggressive dog you can't control and it's off leash something's going to happen at some point. And just like people the dog doesn't have a right to attack anybody. So in the future if that happens and you're not carrying a weapon, and I mean really who wants to shoot or stab somebody's dog if they don't have to, just kick the thing in the f***ing head as hard as you can. Ribs are good too. The dog will be fine and if it's not, oh well it shouldn't have attacked anybody.
This is what my dad did to a charging dog, fortunate enough to see him coming and my dad 6’2” had the leg and boot on point and got in a toe to neck shot.

Then when I was 13 walking my dog on a lease. Neighbor hood guy had his dog unleased
My dog got in between me and the incoming dog
Now my dog was some sort of mutt mountain dog at about 125 lbs. he never once pulled on the lease. The other dog was white husky looking thing.
My dog stood his ground , he bowed his head and that husky dug into his thick fur/skin around the back of his head shoulder.
Then a howl/scream came feom that dog and a growl I never heard before from my dog.
He got a hell of a hold of that dogs upper front leg and just started tossing and turning.
Blood every where ….. that dog was down and out of the fight in seconds. The guy was loosing his shit screaming at me and seconds later my dad came out of no where did some crazy ass dad judo ( my dad did not know judo) basically closed lined the guy.
Lots of swears and my dad said stay down there with your dog or you wont get up again.
Lady yelling from here kitchen door “cops” on the way.
Police came this guy says my dog attacked him and his dog.
Well problem ( long before lease laws) is my dog was a townie. He roamed all over town had hang outs every where and even the police where familiar with our dog.
Then the cops notice Im holding a lease and the other guys dog no lease or collar.
That guy did try to sue us and his dog lost that leg.
Crazy day for me.
Our dog Charlie was a great dog never aggressive and was always watchful.
 
Went to the LGS this afternoon. Picked up a SOG pocket folding knife, more mace and a stun gun. Also ordered a tactical harness for the dog. I’ll be able to use the grab handle to maintain control without fighting with the leash and she’ll still be able to face her attacker and remain balanced and ready.

Did our usual route tonight with the dog, no issues. Brave dog didn’t hesitate to fight yesterday against a much bigger aggressor (she’s 63 lb when I weighed her today, opponent was easily 90lbs), she didn’t have a care today when we approached the area near yesterday’s encounter. They are pretty amazing creatures.

Feel much better knowing we have multiple less than lethal options to use if we have another dog issue from mace to a stun gun. Wife has to get her LTC to use the stun gun legally in MA, but she wanted to do that anyway. She can carry mace and the folding knife in the meantime. I’ll be carrying my G19 or HK45C from now on, no excuses.
 
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Have seen them at Target, Kohls & BJs. Last week had an incident at the BigY grocery store (wasn't a service dog). Lowes hase signage that says they're pet friendly, the last HD I want into said no pets other than service animals.
The last HD I went into a few years ago someone’s large dog got over-excited and started having explosive diarrhea while pacing around the check out area. They probably changed policy after that guy LOL.
 
Pepper spray all day long. I go nowhere without it. It also provides some measure of protection should one ultimately need to use a firearm, at least they’ve tried non lethal options.
 
The last HD I went into a few years ago someone’s large dog got over-excited and started having explosive diarrhea while pacing around the check out area. They probably changed policy after that guy LOL.
My office manager saw a dog peeing in a planter pot at HD (one w/ a plant in it), family made pretend they didn't see it.
 
I like dogs but I am getting real tired of their esteemed status in society today. At the end of the day a dog is a dog, not a "grand-dog" or a "fur baby". Is anybody else fed up with seeing dogs at restaurants, inside stores, etc.? Every other time I am hiking in the woods with my kids I need to scoop up my two year old and hold my four year old to the side of the trail when a stupid dog comes running up to us. Of course the owner always shouts "It's ok he's friendly!" Usually it's fine but one of these times he isn't going to be friendly.

Absolutely agree.

Last week I was on the Cape. Had a suite at a place in Yarmouth. 10:00pm the first night I hear a yapping from the room next door. I call the office to complain and I am told it is a "service" dog. I explain to the front desk that I am disabled and I know all about service dogs and a properly trained service dog is not a yapper. Te lady goes on to tell me she knows and they are limited in the questions they can ask or what they can do. I explain to the lady that I am not happy because I am spending $50 a night for someone to watch my dog and this is all BS.

I go next door and pound on the door and tell them to muzzle the dog. Lady opens the door holding one of those tiny BS yapping mutts that has a service dog vest on it. She starts to go on about the dog. I tell her it is all BS and that every time I hear the dog I'm going to bang on the door and make all kinds of noise etc. Next day I see them moving to a different room. The lady at the front desk says they complained that I threatened them so she moved them to the other side of the building.
 
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I like dogs but I am getting real tired of their esteemed status in society today. At the end of the day a dog is a dog, not a "grand-dog" or a "fur baby". Is anybody else fed up with seeing dogs at restaurants, inside stores, etc.? Every other time I am hiking in the woods with my kids I need to scoop up my two year old and hold my four year old to the side of the trail when a stupid dog comes running up to us. Of course the owner always shouts "It's ok he's friendly!" Usually it's fine but one of these times he isn't going to be friendly.
It's not usually about the dog it's the fact that the owner has an entitlement mentality..... if you start looking around this has creeped into virtually everything. These people do exactly the same things with their snotgobblers if they have them. I'm not talking like McDonald's or a grocery store where people have to bring children because they don't have a choice but there are people who dragged their terrorist window licker kids everywhere and then just let them go full retard.... dogs have become the 2nd tier "ferrari substitute" for entitlement mentality types. If you're having a really bad day you'll have a kid that's running around screaming their head off and a yippee dog both not under control of the owner..... 🤣
 
I run my dog run usually in Barre Falls Dam. Always off leash as that is legal, as I'm training the dog, and a licensed hunter, so on WMA land with the new law....its 100% legal for me to have the dog off leash, let it shit where it wants, (as long as Im away from parking area) and all that. Dog is always on a remote collar and under my control. If we are walking and see another person I've trained the dog to stop or come back to me and wait for a command/walk at heal.....until I get validation from that person that its OK to let the dog see them or sniff their dog. As that is what my dog usually just wants to stop and say Hi then go on about her business as my dog loves people and is very friendly and would not hurt anyone. But most of the time, she's running training in the woods, and she ignores people for the most part.

A lot of people don't understand the new law and think my dog needs to be on a leash, and honestly, when my dog is in the woods doing its thing and some douchebag goes out of their way to stop and tell me my dog needs to be on a leash......I'm getting f u c k i n g sick of it. Now I really get pissed off and give them a ration of shit. Like...."my dog is in the woods minding her own business.....why don't you do the same."

People say I'm wrong....so now..........I've gone to carrying copies of the new law in my pocket and handing it to them. Asking them at the same time, if they are paying use fees of walking on the
the WMA like I do with my hunting license fees. The answer is always no. And they look at me quizzically like I have three heads. So they leave educated and usually unhappy.

That all said, I carry bear spray for aggressive unleashed dogs......if my dog has been approached before by them and immediately goes back to my side, and if the dog follows she gets into protect her owner mode. If an aggressive dog comes running at me, my dog will growl and fight if the dog comes in too fast. Usually the growl is enough to deter the incoming dog. So far I've been lucky enough not to use the spray.
 
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The town I live in here in Alabama, there's no leash laws. If a bigger dog is attacking one of us, it gets shot. Same with anything else that would attack us. IMG_20220407_155113901.jpgIMG_20220531_021954486.jpgPeople around here understand this. I have 7 acres here that my dog runs on, supervised.
 
Honestly, when it comes to defending my life or the life of a loved one, I would take whatever action is necessary for defense and worry about the consequences later. If the necessary action involves deadly force, well, it is what it is. Hand me my citation for criminal court and see you there. At least I'll be alive to show up and answer the bullshit charges!
I would opt for the pepper spray , those cans of wasp spray are big , cumbersome and the damn spray tip falls off at the drop of a hat.
If it's all you got ok, but having to use that stuff weekly I'd go with a baseball bat first .
 
Federal charges lol that’s a bit much. 🤣. Because it says that on the can? Do people go to federal prison when they spray gasoline on people trying to mug them while they’re pumping gas? 🤣

I agree otherwise I think it’s dumb idea….

I'm not sure about the store bought stuff, but the stuff we use will blind the shit out of you , possibly permanently.
 
This happened to me twice in 2020. Twice while walking my dog we had an unleashed dog come running up barking and snarling in an aggressive manner. Twice I booted the hell out of the other dog, and twice I had big macho dudes come running up threatening me and yelling at me and then went off in a huff. My dog never got bit, macho dudes both backed down, and that was that. The second time the dude's daughters and wife got up in my face and video taped me as I left. One of them was kind of hot but I could tell she wasn't feeling it at that point so I didn't go for it.

It is unbelievable how people think their dog is the victim when you kick it as it is charging you and growling.
 
Taser... Pepper spray in close quarters can be almost as harmful to you. Besides, how did I get this far and there was no obligatory bang the wife, upper decker, and keys on the roof?

There's a state leash law in MA as well. Your dog on + their dog off = they're automatically at fault for whatever happens next.
 
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