We have a beach house and it seems that every one believes at the beach it is their God given right not to leash their dogs.

So far I have been lucky and run the dogs off (albeit I almost got in a fight with one drunk owner)when they have tried to approach my puppies. Although I look scary with my shirt off (a fat balding ape) I do not see me scaring to many more dogs especially those that are dog agressive.
Somebody posted a site to get a walking stick that could be used as a possible defense. Could that person please repost that site (since I cannot find the previous post) or could someone tell me where I can get a good one.

Lastly do the walking sticks really work or am I just ramping up the dog agression a notch. I would prefer pepper spray but the beach is way to windy for that and the last thing I want to do is pepper spray an innocent bystander or me for that matter.

Good old Irish Blackthorn makes a great walking stick, though they're getting hard to find. Try this link:

http://store.yahoo.com/murphysimports/blacwalstic.html

I think a lot of people like hickory, too, but I'm partial to the Irish one. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

If you go to a good sized outdoors store they should have these in stock. We have a company called SCHEEL's here in WI.

The face off dogs you need to square off at them - put yourself between you and the puppy. If these stray dogs come in - try and hit them right between the ears - remember ONE HARD HIT is worth 10 little pokes.

This works well wehn combined with a forcefull deep voiced "NO"

Ofcourse if it's a wild Pit Bull - snatch up your puppy run like hell and cry for your MAMA

trent:
i would hesitate to use the stick, as you suggested, it might very well increase aggression. pepper spray does blow in the wind and might end up in your own eyes.....not good. a super-soaker works great. i'm not talking about a little squirt gun. i mean one of those that pump up and carry a pretty good load of water. dogs hate getting shot in the face with water. then at the same time, tell them to "go home."

Trent,
One of the old threads where we discussed defending yourself against dog attack using a stick was:
http://www.leerburg.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=18;t=000096
( it's a little harder to follow after some of the abusive posts from a former poster were deleted :rolleyes: )

The folks at Cold Steel also now have stick fighting video's/ DVD's that are without equal. It's well worth the view!

well, after re-reading will's post and the link to previous discussion, which makes me ill, i have to ask this: trent, is there a leash law for this area? is there some regulation you could fall back on to force the other owners in to confining their dogs. if there is, that would be a good place to start. if not, then you have to decide how serious of a threat these dogs are. so far, you have been able to scare the dogs away. that would indicate that they are probably not "fighting" dogs. also, you have to decide whether you simply want to scare the dogs off, or if you infact want to do bodily damage. good luck.

I'd get a walking stick and a sign (if leash laws pertain where you are) stating that dogs need to be leashed. Doesn't have to be huge and garish, just one that simply states the leash law. Of course some smartass will invariably unleash their dog right in front of your place because of the sign, but then you may have every right after "informing them" via the sign to "protect" your pups, yourself, and property.

There is this neighbor who had this "pure bred" GSD puppy, and he used to walk it along our fence to try and initiate a fight with my dogs...Alf and Xena just sat there and stared at it. Then about 5 months later I saw him and the dog again, it hadn' grown a bit, so it's still about 35 pounds and looks more like a German Beagle Shepherd, and now he walks it on the other side of the road. So maybe people are just trying to intimidate your kennel, or whatever like this guy was trying to do to my dogs. Whatever the reason, really they have no business letting their dogs loose, if anything for their own liability.
Fat balding ape....ha!

Patrica,
Sorry the old discussion made you ill, but it's a big bad world out there, and you have both a legal and a moral right to protect yourself and your property against harm.
If protecting myself ( within legal boundries ) or my dogs ( or even property ) against harm entails causing injury or death to those that start violence against me, it's their fault, not mine.
I have no problem with that.

Thanks all for the info and sites.

Of course no one wants to hurt a dog Patricia but if it is between my pups and the dog then all bets are off. I do appreciate your advice however and I will try and scare the dog away before I attempt to cause it any physical pain or harm.

Most people on the beach are responsible. The problem arises when a stray approaches, the owner does not have control or some goof ball thinks it is cool or funny to let his dog scare or hurt your pups (yes spring break is here again). In any event I think a good whack on the head is alot better than my pups getting bit.

Thanks again for everyones help.

Yes Paticia there are leash laws here but we really have too few deputies to cover the area especially during the spring and summer months. Unfortunately by the time anyone got there my pups would be toast.