Dogs loose in the woods-your opinion?

[Rick Marchand]

With that 1% if the dog does lay teeth on you? Stab em and they WILL let go...it doesn't have to be a lethal strike even.

Not always true.... I am certain of that.


98% of the time, 63% of all statistics are made up on the spot... with the other 37% having a 50% chance of being 75% accurate.

 

[C_Kyle]

You guys are out of your minds...friggin armchair dog murderers.

IF somebody killed my dog for barking and getting within 'lethal range' they'd better be willing to kill me too, cause I would abosultely LOSE IT. My dog barks, but would never bite anyone. We let my friends 2 yr old ride her like a horse. And my two nephews have grown up tormenting her. However, she will bark and may look threatening. If she walks up to you and throw a few barks you guys are saying you'd bash her head in with a walking stick?

Thank god I don't live in the continental US

You guys are a bunch of sick sick people.

Oh, all you guys that have hurt dogs to defend your own dogs...try watching the dog whisperer sometime The dog absolutely do feed off your own emotion. When you see a dog coming down the trail at you, and you tighten the leash, tense your body up and act worried. Guess what your dog is gonna do? emulate its pack leader, you. Guess what happens when two strange dogs meet and one is tensed up and worried? I dont blame you that have had to use force to physically break up a fight.

Question: Do you believe it's OK for your dog to approach someone unknown, off-leash and within contact range, and bark at them?

 

[kr1]

With that 1% if the dog does lay teeth on you? Stab em and they WILL let go...it doesn't have to be a lethal strike even.

Good point.

How about this. I will stop stabbing it when I can't reach it with my knife??
That seems to make sense to me. If its close enough to reach with my knife, and its just bite me, I think I would still consider it a threat. Just sayin.

Oh, and as a sidenote. I have little concern what the owners attempted response would be and my suggestion would be to be very careful. I don't want to hurt or kill a dog but if the threat raised to that level I suspect I'll be more hopped up on adrenalin then you so you might be wise to approach the situation with a more docile approach rather than make me think the threat level has increased.

 

[evbouret]

I should have just bit my tongue....

yes, i do take my dog UNLEASHED on crowded trails and she doesn't bark at anyone. She doesn't even pay attention to the other people on the trail. All I get is requests to pet her, which she totally enjoys. But she HAS barked at people before, be it a strange hat, funny shoes, whatever else it takes to set a dog off. Now, she's 7 years old and i KNOW FOR A FACT she wouldn't bite anyone. The only instance I could imagine her biting someone is if they cornered and tried to catch her. She's a little skittish. The bite however would be a defensive nip and never an aggresive attack.

Now, when she does bark at that one person a year or whatever, her hackles do stand up, she does growl.

Hell, maybe its just better I shoot her myself....

 

[dawsonbob]

Way back when, I learned that the only thing known about a man with a weapon is the weapon. You don't know him; you don't know his intentions; the only thing you do know is that he has a weapon and is displaying that weapon. A prudent man must assume that if an unknown man is displaying a weapon, he intends to use it. It's far better to react to that weapon and do what's necessary, than to assume that he really means to buy you an ice cream cone.

The same goes for dogs: if an unknown dog charges you while displaying his weapon (teeth), you would be well advised to react to the weapon displayed, than to think the dog is cuddly and playful.

If, on the other hand, a little pooch comes up peacefully, wagging his tail and looking for a pat on the head, you should respond appropriately to that, too: pet the pooch, and go on your way. I would hope that most of us can tell the difference between the two kinds of dogs.

 

[dipbait]

Way back when, I learned that the only thing known about a man with a weapon is the weapon. You don't know him; you don't know his intentions; the only thing you do know is that he has a weapon and is displaying that weapon. A prudent man must assume that if an unknown man is displaying a weapon, he intends to use it. It's far better to react to that weapon and do what's necessary, than to assume that he really means to buy you an ice cream cone.

The same goes for dogs: if an unknown dog charges you while displaying his weapon (teeth), you would be well advised to react to the weapon displayed, than to think the dog is cuddly and playful.

If, on the other hand, a little pooch comes up peacefully, wagging his tail and looking for a pat on the head, you should respond appropriately to that, too: pet the pooch, and go on your way. I would hope that most of us can tell the difference between the two kinds of dogs.

I would hope so too, but I am sincerely shocked by this thread.

 

[Bigfattyt]

Ok dog lovers, don't get angry with me, but I am fed up with having to fend off packs of dogs. I stopped walking down my own pivate road because there is a pack of aggressive dogs, some of them pitbulls, at the end of my road. The owner has even been taken to court for her wild dogs after they bit a neighor's boy, but the behavior continues. So I must drive over to the other side of this island to walk the nature trails at the local regional park. I have on occasion been harrassed by dogs that other walkers brought with them. Just yesterday, a woman was riding in a golf cart on the hiking trail and her poodle was yapping at me as she passed. But I can take that. At least she kept the dog under control. Please, dog lovers, control your animals. Keep them on a leash in public areas. That's what I do when I walk my daughter's dog. It's just common courtesy.

Pit's and other large aggressive breeds harassing you on your own lane is cause for bullets. Seriously. Or take your gun and a very very stout walking stick and beat the sh*# out of those dogs.

I have been attacked by a German Sheppard which was my own fault. It was an actual attack dog, and I was baby sitting it for a bit. Not hurt at all.

I have been attacked on the head by a Boxer, again my fault. I was looking at her puppies (a neighbor friend's dog).

I have been bitten by my own dog (as a puppy playing with a toy, went for the toy and I moved it and cut my hand open with sharp little puppy teeth. again my fault, no problem).

My brother just the other day got attacked by a dog off it's leash on a contract job. Bit his arm open, and he had to go to the urgent care.

In the city if your dog is not on a leash you are not being smart. Most places if you dog bites some one it is your liability.

However, too many kids and adults have been mauled and killed by packs or individual pits or rotties, or Sheppards etc for there to be any doubt about being able to defend your self against them.

If one comes at me or my wife or kids looking aggressive it is shoot first and ask questions later. I am not waiting for the actual bite to make that decision.

Out on the hike with a barking snarling charging dog, it is shoot first and then hopefully I won't have to shoot the owner coming at me as well.

That happened down in Arizona just a little while ago. Man coming out of the woods (I think he was late 60's). He sees this nasty snarling snapping rottie charging him. He pulls out his gun and shouts for the owner to control his dog. The owner does nothing, not even a voice command to stop the dog. The hiker puts a shot in the ground when the dog comes too close which sends it running. Then the mentally unstable owner, who has been convicted of several assaults comes charging screaming he is going to kill the hiker. A 10mm to the chest convinces him otherwise, and he dies. The hiker, a retired school teacher that has never had a brush with the law gets convicted of murder. Because no one would be carrying a 10mm if he was not intent on murdering some one.....right? That is how the prosecution played it. The gun was way to powerful for any legitimate use!


All likely could have been avoided if the dog had been on a leash.


Edit:

I left out about 10 more dog attacks that I have personally experienced. My neighbor had a nasty dog that literally ate their own son's face. I don't know how many times I had heard "He would never hurt our own kids" that dog was a menace, and they always kept it behind a large fence, or leashed. But were just positive it would never hurt their own kids. Now my friend is missing quite a bit of face. He will probably always get stares fore the rest of his life. His dad was also bitten when he tried to pull his own "beloved" dog off the son the dog was killing.

 

[teacher]

Tough question.............

I guess it would be good to remember not everyone loves your dog as much as you do.

If he runs at someone and they perceive a threat... he may get a poor outcome. It would be hard to blame that person since you had not controlled your dog.

Just my .02

 

[kr1]

If, on the other hand, a little pooch comes up peacefully, wagging his tail and looking for a pat on the head, you should respond appropriately to that, too: pet the pooch, and go on your way. I would hope that most of us can tell the difference between the two kinds of dogs.

I agree and while I find it annoying that people think I should let their dog jump on me, that is not the "threat" I think that most are talking about.

I have never been aggresive to the dog that runs up with that stupid look on its face and a wagging tail. It is exactly the ones you are talking about. The barred teeth and growl with head down. Very aggressive behaviour and I should not need to worry about it. Especially when walking with my wife or children. Nor should anyone else. I said before, I don't care if the dog is on or off leash if it is under your control. That is what I care about. If it is under your control you shouldn't let it run up to anyone under any condition unless they express an interest in meeting your dog. Any other meeting is asking for trouble because it might end badly. I am not sure why it is so hard for some dog owners to understand this.

 

[fespo276]

My two cents.

I do not want to interact, on any level, with anybody-else's animal. Period. I don't want to pet it, talk to it, or play with it.

Should I have to?

Nice. Mean. It does not matter.

I would not tolerate another human getting in my personal space. Why should I have to tolerate it from an animal?

 

[evbouret]

Out on the hike with a barking snarling charging dog, it is shoot first and then hopefully I won't have to shoot the owner coming at me as well.

You better be willing to fight to the death with the owner, because a lot of people would go absolutely ballistic if you shot at their dog for being a friggin good guard dog.

That happened down in Arizona just a little while ago. Man coming out of the woods (I think he was late 60's). He sees this nasty snarling snapping rottie charging him. He pulls out his gun and shouts for the owner to control his dog. The owner does nothing, not even a voice command to stop the dog. The hiker puts a shot in the ground when the dog comes too close which sends it running. Then the mentally unstable owner, who has been convicted of several assaults comes charging screaming he is going to kill the hiker. A 10mm to the chest convinces him otherwise, and he dies. The hiker, a retired school teacher that has never had a brush with the law gets convicted of murder. Because no one would be carrying a 10mm if he was not intent on murdering some one.....right? That is how the prosecution played it. The gun was way to powerful for any legitimate use!


All likely could have been avoided if the dog had been on a leash.

I believe this all happened in the parking lot before he even got on the trail. I believe I got in this same squabble on that thread.

Basically: If I hear someone come up and my dog walks up and barks at them, then I hear gun shots. I'm going to run up there and will probably yell some threatening things. Does this mean I'm going to do them? I believe he was unarmed as well?

Oh crap, too late, we'll never know because I have a bunch of 10mm slugs in my chest. Another case of preemptive strikes that I do not support or believe in.

 

[teacher]

Pit's and other large aggressive breeds harassing you on your own lane is cause for bullets. Seriously. Or take your gun and a very very stout walking stick and beat the sh*# out of those dogs.
~~~~~~~~~~~
In the city if your dog is not on a leash you are not being smart. Most places if you dog bites some one it is your liability.

However, too many kids and adults have been mauled and killed by packs or individual pits or rotties, or Sheppards etc for there to be any doubt about being able to defend your self against them.

If one comes at me or my wife or kids looking aggressive it is shoot first and ask questions later. I am not waiting for the actual bite to make that decision.

Out on the hike with a barking snarling charging dog, it is shoot first and then hopefully I won't have to shoot the owner coming at me as well.

+1

That happened down in Arizona just a little while ago. Man coming out of the woods (I think he was late 60's). He sees this nasty snarling snapping rottie charging him. He pulls out his gun and shouts for the owner to control his dog. The owner does nothing, not even a voice command to stop the dog. The hiker puts a shot in the ground when the dog comes too close which sends it running. Then the mentally unstable owner, who has been convicted of several assaults comes charging screaming he is going to kill the hiker. A 10mm to the chest convinces him otherwise, and he dies. The hiker, a retired school teacher that has never had a brush with the law gets convicted of murder. Because no one would be carrying a 10mm if he was not intent on murdering some one.....right? That is how the prosecution played it. The gun was way to powerful for any legitimate use!


All likely could have been avoided if the dog had been on a leash.

That is truly a sad tale. That poor guy [the shooter] got screwed........ :thumbdn:

 

[midnight flyer]

..SNIP of good stuff..

The same goes for dogs: if an unknown dog charges you while displaying his weapon (teeth), you would be well advised to react to the weapon displayed, than to think the dog is cuddly and playful.

If, on the other hand, a little pooch comes up peacefully, wagging his tail and looking for a pat on the head, you should respond appropriately to that, too: pet the pooch, and go on your way. I would hope that most of us can tell the difference between the two kinds of dogs.

Probably one of the best posts on this thread.

I really like dogs, but I am not overly friendly around them. I spend a lot of time in customer's homes, working, estimating, etc., and it is the dog's responsibility to protect his domain. I respect that. He is on alert, I am in his yard, and I remember and respect that. There is a big difference between a dog that is letting you know that you are in danger, and one that is hoping for a scratch and a treat.

In a park or the woods is different. I have rarely seen a dog be too territorial, and if you give way, he will too. Most I have seen are having too much fun to pay more attention that just a passing glance anyway.

On the other hand, I won't be threatened or harmed by a dog. If they are off the leash, and bent on raising hell (something I have only rarely witnessed), then the owners have put the dog at risk of serious consequences. That's unfair to the dog. They are crappy owners. These are the same guys that say "my son wouldn't drive drunk, my kids wouldn't do that, my daughter would run off with a guy like that, my kids would never cheat on anything," etc.

And it's all harmless fun unless you are that 1% guy that gets nailed by Tippy.

Now, when she does bark at that one person a year or whatever, her hackles do stand up, she does growl.

Hell, maybe its just better I shoot her myself....

Nothing like being responsible for yourself and your animal. I like it. You know your dog better than anyone. I think it is much better to be safe than sorry. If you saw kiddo that has been mauled by a dog, you would do it this afternoon. :thumbup:

Robert

 

[Rick Marchand]

Well said, fespo276..... alot of folks think as you do. That view should be respected also.


Rick

 

[Nobody]

It completely depends on the individual situation as to what appropriate action is called for. Whether or not it was intended, there are a lot of responses in this thread that come across to me as defensively over-reactive. I've got kids and take them out in the woods. I've had good encounters and unpleasant encounters with dogs and their owners. I have dogs too and 95% of the time keep them on a leash, more because I'm worried about the human animals or untended dogs harming them than them harming someone else. Having said that, I'm sure as heck not going to bludgeon someone's dog unless I have to pull it off my dog or unless it makes markedly agressive move toward my kid or me, etc. I'm definitely not going to go all Rambo on it for "approaching" me in a perceived agressive manner though. I'll just be ready to do what must be done should the situation escalate in the unlikely chance that it does. 95% of my unleashed dog encounters have been good, fun even, and not a big deals. A very few encounters resulted in me grabbing someone's dog to control it until they catch up to their dog, or having to give it swift kick to back it off from jumping on my dog or kid in an agressive manner. I haven't had to shoot, bludgeon, knife or otherwise incapacitate a dog since I was a kid and ran across a large wild pack alone in the woods once. Actually the pack ran across me... I've had a handful of encounters that were annoying, but far fewer with dogs than with the people out on the trail with their overly loud mouths disrupting the setting, drunken behavior, abnoxious uncontrolled children getting under your feet, aggressive pushy potentially dangerous people, etc. I treat human animals the same I do dogs. I'm friendly but as guarded as I need to be, and always prepared to deal with them should their behavior actually escalate to a realistic threat. I'm not going to lose the chance to have a positive encounter with any animal (human or otherwise). I'm also not going to lose any sleep over putting a truly hostile attacking animal down. There's way too much stuff that falls in between that I'm not going to stress over.

 

[Rick Marchand]

You better be willing to fight to the death with the owner, because a lot of people would go absolutely ballistic if you shot at their dog for being a friggin good guard dog.

A good guard dog does not run up on someone unleashed, barking, with its teeth barred in a public place. An uncontroled dog does that. It takes a good owner to make a good guard dog.

Stop responding with your emotions and use logic.

 

[teacher]

You better be willing to fight to the death with the owner, because a lot of people would go absolutely ballistic if you shot at their dog for being a friggin good guard dog.

It seems to me the "guard dog" theory would apply to private property... and on your own private property.... I could not agree with you more.

However, this seems to have taken place on public property. There is no excuse for anyone having to put up with close quarter harassment from another persons 'pet' on public property.

Some will not mind, but some will.

If you do not control your 'pet'... someone else may very well "control" it for you... in a permanent manner you may not like.

PS / Just to be clear. What I am talking about here is a "pet", dog or otherwise; that could potentially do real harm. I am not referring to some little 'ankle biter' that is just a pain in the rear.......

 

[Nobody]

I would not tolerate another human getting in my personal space. Why should I have to tolerate it from an animal?

I agree that everyone has the right to go along in life "unmolested", however, life is not black and white and there's a huge range of what is considered "unmolested personal space" among people. Some degree of flexibility must be exhibited by reasonable people. People get into each other's personal space all the time, by accident and design, but we don't go all rambo on them unless there's a real threat involved.

Good God! My "personal space" comfort zone is no people within about 100 square miles of me, but I'm not going to break some kid's legs for running around like retard and bowling me over on the trail while his oblivious and brainless parents are wandering around like the trail like teletubbies. I'll tell the kid he should watch where he's going but it sounds like some of you remove their pinky toes or worse for such an infraction. It's a good thing for the rest of the world that I don't ridgidly adhere to a policy of aggressively enforcing my "personal space".

 

[Nobody]

Just so I'm clear, I'm not saying a person should let themselves be attacked by a dog before reacting, but there's a whole lot that can happen up to the point of an attack that doesn't warrant an extreme response. Most encounters just involve rude people/animals and don't warrant a double tap response as much as we might like to respond that way.

 

[dipbait]

I agree that everyone has the right to go along in life "unmolested", however, life is not black and white and there's a huge range of what is considered "unmolested personal space" among people. Some degree of flexibility must be exhibited by reasonable people. People get into each other's personal space all the time, by accident and design, but we don't go all rambo on them unless there's a real threat involved.

:thumbup: I was wanting to state something similar but could not come up with a pleasant approach.