I deal with dogs on a daily basis, but I can't carry a firearm.

My rule of thumb is: if the dog has left it's property, and the owner has no control, all bets are off.

Whether I need to spray it, kick it, hit it with something solid, etc...

If the owner can't control the dog, then do whatever it takes. And I've had to use a baseball bat.

ASKSmith, I was hoping you would chime in. I can't imagine anyone having more experience with loose, uncontrolled dogs than you.

Do you recommend a particular brand of spray? My doc is nagging me about going for a walk every evening and dogs have been on my mind.

None of us is owed any explanation or justification.

To think or believe that is untrue, is the epitome of arrogance.

Or, as many of us old fuckers recall, minding one's own business, was (is) the order of the day.

Not my dog, not my neighborhood, not my business.

Let those to whom are affected, handle it.

(and sounds as if it was handled just fine).

quote:

Originally posted by arabiancowboy:

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
I've never met a 50lb dog I couldn't easily subdue just by laying on it or something.

Are you old(er), small(er), weak, crippled, or anything of the sort?

These aren't judgements, merely questions. Not everyone is the same, obviously.

But a lab mix? I dunno, man.. Were you genuinely afraid for you and your dog?

Ever seen dogs scuffle before? Even little ones are tougher than one might think.

You contradict yourself:
“Dogs are easy to subdue, just lay on it!” Followed by “even small dogs can fight hard and they’re tougher than you can imagine.”

So which is it?

No, it wasn't a contradiction at all. You've misunderstood what I wrote.

Being able to subdue one, for instance, has nearly nothing to do with how well one can handle or recover from or even survive actual injuries. Ergo, they are both generally easy to subdue or repel/etc without having to shoot them *and* in the event one gets injured (whether by another dog or anything else) they're really quite resilient.

Being a dog person, and having played around and rough housed with a shitload of dogs over the years, from little ones to big ones, I've experienced this phenomenon numerous times. Short of a trained Malligator or a Pit that's a fighting dog, or a rabid one I suppose, they just aren't very difficult to contain, subdue, or otherwise keep at bay.

It's a dog, a whopping 50lb lab mix in this case, not a T-Rex or even a Honey Badger. They don't have super strength like Chimps, breaking ones leg/etc would be trivial, and beyond their teeth they're pretty much harmless. Have you played with dogs much? Holding ones snout shut is almost trivial, and splaying out and simply avoiding their teeth is pretty easy.

But the central question and comments of mine were sincere and respectfully stated, and more based on the simple question that - was a 50lb dog really that scary to the OP?

Apparently so.

(shrug)