A knife for the wife.

Carrying a knife is fine but her first line of defense should be a stout pepper spray. Pepper spray can be used at a safer distance and certainly beats the heck out of trying to stab a dog that is wildly snapping at you.
 
Last edited:
Your honesty considering killing the dog in defence? IMO your likely to get shot as well or start a neighbourhood feud. Go through the right channels anonymously and involve some sort of authority's.
 
Sir ; if it's a fixed blade you're after how about a Cold Steel Tai Pan dagger ? 13" overall and a sturdy design. Fairly affordable
 
Well this may not be big enough, but I gave my girl a tufflite. It'd pink, but very sturdy and like part of your hand. I don't know why, but even with its small size I see it ad a very tactical little knife. She lost it tho. :( re-friggin-diculas!

Edit: OK on second thought strong pepper spray definately.
 
Sharp_Canadian said:
Your honesty considering killing the dog in defence? IMO your likely to get shot as well or start a neighbourhood feud. Go through the right channels anonymously and involve some sort of authority's.
Click to expand...

Yeah, let a dog maul you so that you don't offend it's owner >_>
While you're being mauled, call the authorities and plead for them to help you. That's the Canadian Way!! :P
 
Sharp_Canadian said:
Go through the right channels anonymously and involve some sort of authority's.
Click to expand...

I went through proper channels...who did nothing.
Thankfully I then went and got the spray, which worked when the dog got out the loose gate that the lazy (criminally lazy) city officials did nothing about.

A few months later, the drug dealer who was living in that rooming house moved away, along with his vicious jerk of a dog.
 
You def. want some range when dealing with any animal attack and bear spray with a good cone pattern would def. fit the bill. Just be aware that with any chemical deterrent you will get a little of it too and it could make egress difficult
 
Rasco said:
Yeah, let a dog maul you so that you don't offend it's owner >_>
While you're being mauled, call the authorities and plead for them to help you. That's the Canadian Way!! :P
Click to expand...

Lol I in no way said go let your self be attacked. I just know round here you shoot someone's dog you have your self a whole new problem. He doesn't know the owners by the sounds of it you don't know it's not some banger house.
 
Sharp_Canadian said:
Lol I in no way said go let your self be attacked. I just know round here you shoot someone's dog you have your self a whole new problem. He doesn't know the owners by the sounds of it you don't know it's not some banger house.
Click to expand...

In the US as well, anytime someone uses lethal force, whether that be on an animal or a person, the usage of force often creates its own problem here too. And that applies to both private citizens and LEOs. So that isn't just where you are at. Unfortunately, we often see in society that people use lethal force in a fashion that is not always appropriate for the situation, and even justifiable force comes with it's own issues.

More on a legal and psychological perspective than an ethical perspective, if someone can safely escape an attack situation with minimal use of force, they should. While I am not saying people should put themselves at extreme risk if the use of lethal force is what is needed for safety, I am saying that minimizing the amount of force used (when safely possible) is often beneficial for the victim as well.

And it is worth noting one other thing. Using a knife on another living person or living animal...that is a traumatizing experience with tremendous repercussions.
 
pnsxyr said:
In the US as well, anytime someone uses lethal force, whether that be on an animal or a person, the usage of force often creates its own problem here too. And that applies to both private citizens and LEOs. So that isn't just where you are at. Unfortunately, we often see in society that people use lethal force in a fashion that is not always appropriate for the situation, and even justifiable force comes with it's own issues.

More on a legal and psychological perspective than an ethical perspective, if someone can safely escape an attack situation with minimal use of force, they should. While I am not saying people should put themselves at extreme risk if the use of lethal force is what is needed for safety, I am saying that minimizing the amount of force used (when safely possible) is often beneficial for the victim as well.

And it is worth noting one other thing. Using a knife on another living person or living animal...that is a traumatizing experience with tremendous repercussions.
Click to expand...

This is excellent logic and I agree. Unfortunately situations don't always allow for such thoughtful reflection.
 
I would go +1 (+50?) on the spray, gun (if you could talk her into it), scoobie snacks (actually not a bad idea), anything to keep the distance.

Knives are OK as a tool which has self defense uses but, logistics and tactics aside, I would hate to think of my lady tangling up close with a dog. She could win decisively and get hurt bad.

If no gun then ...

1. Throw Scoobie snacks and retreat accessing dinosaur spray.
2. If approached further use spray while raising walking stick to look bigger.
3. Etc., etc.

You should be contacting authorities now. We had a nasty, big, barking dog my daughter had to walk past every day which ultimately bit her. She was on the sidewalk. I politely contacted the owner and he blithely apologized. Not to be nasty, but just to feel better I contacted the Animal Control folks. He was required to test his dog for rabies, quarantine it, and test it again. He ultimately got rid of the dog.
 
From a purely physical standpoint... if a dog is coming at you, it's generally going to be mouth first, right? And a knife in your hand effectively extends your reach by what, 4 to 8 inches perhaps? ... So you're effectively talking about trying to put your hand closer to the dog's mouth, right? The dog that has planned out this altercation more than you, has taken the lead, may have faster reflexes, and definitely has sharp teeth and powerful jaws. Sounds like a terrible idea. At worst, you miss and have offered up a tender forearm (with all those tendons that make your fingers work) for mauling (and as something to hold on to, to keep you from disengaging). At "best", you've done serious bloody damage to the dog and now have upset owners and authorities to deal with, who may tend to look at you as the bad guy in the situation. It may also not be legal in your area to walk around carrying the kinds/sizes of fixed blades that have been mentioned.

The advice of "check what the local mail delivery folks use" sounds like a seriously good idea (I'd check with a few, to get a consensus). An experienced dog trainer (especially for security or other working dogs) might have some useful insight into how to appear more like an alpha animal and less like dinner or a chew toy (no, it shouldn't be on you to have to do this, but it may be helpful anyway). Short of that, some sort of pepper spray and/or walking stick would give you longer range and less lethal options (a dog might also recognize a stick being waved as an impediment to reaching you, and thus a reason to break off, where something small and shiny in your hand likely wouldn't register the same way). And as someone already said, if you can run away and then later file a complaint / take legal action, that's clearly the best option.
 
The best tool I have seen for dealing with dogs is a hickory stick long enough to give you some reach. One good thump and most dogs will lose interest. Or pepper spray. I walk with a hickory stockman's cane - 1 1/2 in. thick. There really is nothing like a good piece of hickory.
 
Okay, guys. LOOOOONG weekend, but here's the update.

Friday we went to the Army surplus store and picked up a couple of cans of mace. 1 for her purse, and a small one for her keychain. We also looked at the knives and she walked away with a S&W spring assist. A little smaller than I would like, but she seems to like the feel of it.

http://www.bladeops.com/Smith-Wesson-Black-Ops-Spring-Assist-Knife-Smok-p/swblop3r.htm

Spent the better part of Saturday doing some basic knife drills together. Just working on her draw and practicing some stance, slashing, and stabbing on some boxes in the backyard for shtf scenarios.

I also called animal control, and I've seen their truck roaming the neighborhood over the weekend. Not sure if they picked up anything yet though.

We've also taken to walking the dogs earlier and taking them through the park rather than just around the neighborhood.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top