Many modern EDC flashlights have a strobe function, that is intended to disorient an attacker. Does the strobe have any effect on a charging dog?

I have tried it on a dog when I was policing, and it had no effect, but I’ve also seen pepper spray not work on a dog that was killing another dog in a dogfight I disrupted. Full can in the nose,mouth and eyes…pit bull just kept on shaking the other dog. My partner whacked it in the head with a large fire extinguisher and that didn’t work either.

My kid uses my light to aggravate my german shepard and it doesn’t bother him…of course “Rock” is kind of a lunkhead.

I wouldn’t even think that carrying a streamlight would deter an aggressive dog. When I’m out walking, I carry a can of OC and a pistol. There’s a large dog behind a wooden fence near me that runs into the fence trying to get out at anyone who walks by. This is near the mailboxes and it’s only a matter of time before it does get thru or over the fence.

I have a 1900 lm flashlight for the backyard in both beam and flood. Strobes as well. Dogs are completely unphased. GSDs

I don't think the strobe will have a meaningful effect on any being intent on doing you harm, 2 or 4 legs. It might be a deterrent before hand, but I think the window of usefulness is probably incredibly small.

Makes it look as if it's moving in slow motion.

IF you want to break up a dog fight there's only one way.....

^^^ Damn brother, I just lift their hind legs… They’ll always turn around to see what the fuck is going on.

Can’t speak for Pitbulls however…

Maybe the epileptic dogs ?

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I have tried it on a dog when I was policing, and it had no effect, but I’ve also seen pepper spray not work on a dog that was killing another dog in a dogfight I disrupted. Full can in the nose,mouth and eyes…pit bull just kept on shaking the other dog. My partner whacked it in the head with a large fire extinguisher and that didn’t work either.

A veterinarian can explain it better, but the short answer is that the canine olfactory system just doesn't react to oleoresin capsicum like a human.

No effect observed here. I also find no increase in effectiveness against people versus a good, bright, well-aimed white light, especially when you consider that the strobe effect can work both ways. If you've got a bright enough light to make somebody close or shield your eyes, the result is superior to any carnival effect from the light.

quote:

Originally posted by snoris:

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I have tried it on a dog when I was policing, and it had no effect, but I’ve also seen pepper spray not work on a dog that was killing another dog in a dogfight I disrupted. Full can in the nose,mouth and eyes…pit bull just kept on shaking the other dog. My partner whacked it in the head with a large fire extinguisher and that didn’t work either.

A veterinarian can explain it better, but the short answer is that the canine olfactory system just doesn't react to oleoresin capsicum like a human.

357SIG to the noggin fixed it. My LT asked my why I shot it, and I told him it had just killed a smaller dog and was jacked up from fighting,all the attempts to stop it, and that since we were in the middle of a neighborhood with small kids wandering freerange like kids in the hood do at two AM, I wouldn’t have felt right knowing that I could have prevented the dog killing a kid and didn’t do it.

/drift

That's pretty significant fact to learn. I wonder if bear spray is the same product, or different ingredients that might work on a canine.

I have one German Shepherd who is a little different than the “regular” GSDs. He is half bear half GSD and half cat. he’s a double-coated long hair and thick as a brick with paws as large is my feet. A physical beast at 20 months.

He eats Carolina reaper sauce like it’s no big deal. It’s on my eggs every morning and it fell on the floor and he loves it. Other dogs not so much. (It took me a while to build up a tolerance.)

I should suppose that the dog is also half goat since he will eat almost anything that resembles food, or not. lol

Love ‘em. 100 pounds and he does the GSD pounce paws when he walks. When he throws down a play bow… It’s a thing a beauty. So fun and playful in such a big dog. Lastly, when he runs he looks like a low-rider because his fur is so long. (One of his grandfathers was the 2018, 2019 IGP champion in Nurenberg Germany. It’s not uncommon for those dogs to prance a bit.)

Strobe light no but a laser will drive them crazy trying to catch it.

 
Thank-you for the replies.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:



When he throws down a play bow… It’s a thing a beauty. So fun and playful in such a big dog.

Had a seventy five pound Boxer. I would look at her and suddenly crouch down a little bit. She did the same
and it was game on, wrestle time. Had the thick two sided rope, and it was tug of war for a half hour!
I was the only one she could chew on my hands, very gently. Never my wife or children. I miss her so much.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
That's pretty significant fact to learn. I wonder if bear spray is the same product, or different ingredients that might work on a canine.

Bear spray is the same stuff, the police OC spray I carried was 0.02% Bear spray is 2% big difference

quote:

Originally posted by snoris:

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I have tried it on a dog when I was policing, and it had no effect, but I’ve also seen pepper spray not work on a dog that was killing another dog in a dogfight I disrupted. Full can in the nose,mouth and eyes…pit bull just kept on shaking the other dog. My partner whacked it in the head with a large fire extinguisher and that didn’t work either.

A veterinarian can explain it better, but the short answer is that the canine olfactory system just doesn't react to oleoresin capsicum like a human.

I discovered that when a couple of pit bulls attacked my lab while we were on a walk years ago. I was a few feet from a busy major thoroughfare at the time, so I couldn't shoot the dogs. We were fortunate to get our dog out of there with minor injuries.

Now I carry an ASP baton when I walk our dog.

Bear sprays, OC spray and tear gas work by causing inflammation and irritation of the TRPA receptor sites. It's been said that dogs have fewer/no/different TRPA receptors in their mucous membranes vs humans. Hence, they do not respond to the stimulus as badly because the stimulus is not as bad for them. I cannot testify that this is completely accurate, but they definitely don't have the same severe response as we do.

One other observation I might posit is that dogs don't have the emotional baggage associated with much of these sprays that people carry. You see someone break out the bear spray, you're immediately stressed or on edge, looking to flee, afraid, etc. Dogs just see it as a little irritant on their way to getting the job done, whatever that might look like. Just my .02.

On the flashlight strobe, it's much like the other thread about a fixed light on a long firearm. Gives them something to aim for through the haze...