Shooting Dogs

[MistWolf]

One hard lesson I learned very early in life- Never run from a dog. Stand your ground. If you shove your arm hard all the way back into a dog's jaws, they can't get enough leverage to bite. I've stopped charging dogs dead in their tracks by telling them in a command voice "No! Bad dog!"

I've defended myself from an attacking dog by hitting him hard one the nose with a leather leash. Turned out the reason the dog came after me was the kids who owned it got their jollies by hiding while siccing their dog on other kids. (I was a teen at the time.)

Many dog owners tell me, when I first met their dog "Don't worry, he doesn't bite" I always respond "God gave all His creatures teeth for a reason".

I love dogs. Growing up, we had good sized GSDs and Saint Bernards, among others and they were good and true companions

[LittleLebowski]

These threads are basically pointless drama fountains. No reason to start them, nothing gets done.

Yup.

[Zincwarrior]

Truth. The older I grow the less love I have for the general public and their stupidity.

True story;

About 25 years ago we had an all-black GSD named Shadow, who was well trained and socialized. Being 25 years less wise than I am now, I had taken her to the field where our daughter was playing soccer. Lots of people, lots of noise, lots of kids.

I stayed back from the playing area about 100 yards, but could still see our daughter on the field. I was standing with Shadow sitting next to me on a short leash, taking it all in. Out of the corner of my eye I spot two young kids making a high-speed b-line toward me and Shadow, so I take a step forward to get in front of her. Within seconds they were on us. I held up my hand and in a friendly voice asked them to stop, which they did touching distance away. As they're trying to end-run my block and reach for the dog, their father showed up.

"Can my kids pet your dog?" were the first words out of his mouth in a not-so-friendly tone.

"I'd rather not, at least not right now" was my response, figuring he would just gather his roaming kids and move on. Shadow was still in a sit, ears up and completely silent. I could tell she could sense my uneasiness with the situation.

"They can't pet your dog? Are you telling me the dog is viscous?"

I was caught flat-footed by his comment, and before I could respond he states "that's it, I'm calling the police to report a viscous dog." I was confident he was going to do just that so I immediately left the field and took Shadow home.

As a dog owner I learned an important lesson that day, and have never again taken any of our dogs to a public setting where children are left unattended.

As parental responsibility continues its downward spiral, taking even well-trained and well-behaved dogs into such areas is simply not worth the risk. Poorly supervised children get injured, run over, etc. but in accordance with today's victim mentality, it's always someone else's fault.

As with firearms, the value of training can not be over-stated.

That is officially weird. I feel sorry for the kids. Life is going to treat them harshly if thats their father, who appears to be high on the "stupid" scale. That kind of genetics I hope they are tough.

Inversely one of my best dog moments was taking the (then young) mountain dog across the street to standout side the elementary school waiting for the daughter. All the kids coming out turned into this conga line of children petting him and getting a lick in the face in turn. Pet-lick pet-lick pet-lick...

[blues]

The fact is, depending on where you live, dog issues are a big part of everyday life.

Hereabouts, when I traipse the ten or twelve minutes it takes to walk down to the main road for the mail and then back up afterward, I may encounter anywhere from zero to a half dozen dogs on any given day.

I used to carry an Irish blackthorn walking stick with me and I've had occasion to give one or two unruly curs a gentle reminder to be on their way.

When the Weimaraner in my avatar was alive we were once beset by a pair of Rotties who came running like missiles down the hill at us with bad intent. My wife was about 50 yards uphill from me on the road. I drew on the first one's head and yelled a command at it and the combination of presence and standing my ground penetrated their prehistoric brains and stopped 'em in their tracks just before they'd have been in lunging range. I'm not sure the 9mm would have considering there were two and they were large specimens.

I learned during search and arrest warrants that a forceful voice and a gun pointed in their direction will deter many animals (if they have not been trained to attack with or without command). Of course, it's always a crap shoot.

When my wife walks our current dog, (a 60 lb. female Boxer / Staffie mix), she has to be alert for any of a number of regular canine interlopers who hang around the area or the neighbors properties.

It's a daily fact of life...much like it is for many others here on the board. Very much dependent upon the type of locale you reside in and the local customs. Most of the knuckleheads around here could use a good boot in the ass when it comes to taking responsibility for their animals behavior outside their home.

[LittleLebowski]

Fair question - look here.

I thought based on that discussion this one would produce some useful discussion. Please feel free to delete or lock if not.

The guy that posted that isn't a scared person looking to shoot dogs.

[GuanoLoco]

Truth. The older I grow the less love I have for the general public and their stupidity.

True story;

About 25 years ago we had an all-black GSD named Shadow, who was well trained and socialized. Being 25 years less wise than I am now, I had taken her to the field where our daughter was playing soccer. Lots of people, lots of noise, lots of kids.

I stayed back from the playing area about 100 yards, but could still see our daughter on the field. I was standing with Shadow sitting next to me on a short leash, taking it all in. Out of the corner of my eye I spot two young kids making a high-speed b-line toward me and Shadow, so I take a step forward to get in front of her. Within seconds they were on us. I held up my hand and in a friendly voice asked them to stop, which they did touching distance away. As they're trying to end-run my block and reach for the dog, their father showed up.

"Can my kids pet your dog?" were the first words out of his mouth in a not-so-friendly tone.

"I'd rather not, at least not right now" was my response, figuring he would just gather his roaming kids and move on. Shadow was still in a sit, ears up and completely silent. I could tell she could sense my uneasiness with the situation.

"They can't pet your dog? Are you telling me the dog is viscous?"

I was caught flat-footed by his comment, and before I could respond he states "that's it, I'm calling the police to report a viscous dog." I was confident he was going to do just that so I immediately left the field and took Shadow home.

As a dog owner I learned an important lesson that day, and have never again taken any of our dogs to a public setting where children are left unattended.

As parental responsibility continues its downward spiral, taking even well-trained and well-behaved dogs into such areas is simply not worth the risk. Poorly supervised children get injured, run over, etc. but in accordance with today's victim mentality, it's always someone else's fault.

As with firearms, the value of training can not be over-stated.

Feral children and their negligent genetic contributors should be avoided at all costs, regardless of how sweet your dog normally is.

Children and their parents seem to feel entitled to act in completely inappropriate ways with animals (pets, livestock, wild critters) and then are surprised at the predictable results. Apparently they feel it is someone else's responsibility to keep their kids genes in the gene pool.

I've had a similar situation where I was obedience training my (2 at the time) large dogs in a park near people and had parents report me for nothing. LEO shows up, watches me a while (dogs are pretty well trained), briefly chats me up and says "carry on".

[LittleLebowski]

Feral children and their negligent genetic contributors should be avoided at all costs, regardless of how sweet your dog normally is.

Children and their parents seem to feel entitled to act in completely inappropriate ways with animals (pets, livestock, wild critters) and then are surprised at the predictable results. Apparently they feel it is someone else's responsibility to keep their kids genes in the gene pool.

I've had a similar situation where I was obedience training my (2 at the time) large dogs in a park near people and had parents report me for nothing. LEO shows up, watches me a while (dogs are pretty well trained), briefly chats me up and says "carry on".

Absolutely. If you wouldn't want to associate with/talk to their parents, avoid the kids as well.

[NH Shooter]

The guy that posted that isn't a scared person looking to shoot dogs.

Perhaps.

None of us were there, none of us know the back-story, so who are we to judge? That said, IMO sharing such a (what I would consider very private) story to validate an opinion on trigger design comes across as cold and cavalier.

But then again, maybe it's just me turning into a snowflake in my old age....

[Zincwarrior]

Absolutely. If you wouldn't want to associate with/talk to their parents, avoid the kids as well.

Much wisdom here.

[LittleLebowski]

Perhaps.

None of us were there, none of us know the back-story, so who are we to judge? That said, IMO sharing such a (what I would consider very private) story to validate an opinion on trigger design comes across as cold and cavalier.

But then again, maybe it's just me turning into a snowflake in my old age....

You don't come across as being cold and cavalier, you come across as being more attached to your dogs than I. That's not an insult, it's an observation.