I worry about loose dogs all the time. I live in area that is filled with irresponsible dog owners and most of those dogs are pits. No wonder they get a bad reputuation

 Quote: Anne Jones

Owners that can't control their dog really are a PITA!

My dogs have been attacked about 5 times by loose out of control dogs in the last few years. My female has become VERY dog aggressive becasue of it. As careful as I am...these dogs just come from out of nowhere. I am very vigilent when out with my dogs on the fields & these dogs still get to mine. SUCKS!

There have been alot of loose dogs that have been getting loose around here lately. Don't usually see that happen here. Don't know it the dogs are getting smarter & getting out or the owners are getting lax.

Exactly. Thats what the real issue is...worthless, lazy, incompetent owners who have no control with their dogs. I have a male GSD who also has become pretty dog aggressive due to at least a dozen attacks while out walking. First dog he ever met as a puppy (besides meeting mine) when I brought him home was a jack russel who promptly attacked my pup in my front yard. Not a week later, an Alaskan Malamute ripped into my pup in my backyard. That has been the pattern for this poor dog. About a month ago, while on a walk, a loose yellow lab came out of nowhere and immediately attacked my GSD. He received a front thai kick(yeah, Anderson Silva style), flipped over, then ran away. The owner witnessed the entire thing and said nothing. Awesome. When I got home, I looked him over for punctures, found none, but he did break a canine.

I really want a walking stick.

Yesterday morning I was out with my dogs on leash on the sidewalk and a mid-sized shibu inu came running from the next block. The owner was running after it calling and calling. I stopped where I was and asked if it was going to bite, she said no, and I let Jethro have a sniff rather than go into full flight. Jethro handled the sniff well, and I got ready to leave and we headed down the sidewalk, but she had failed to catch her dog through the whole sniff and I could tell Jethro was getting a little excited. The dog kept following us, coming in close. He came in behind Skipper, who, since his last bite will not have strange dogs near his face so he let fly, barking and snapping to drive the dog back. I switched both dog leashes to one hand and swung them in behind me as I turned to face the dog, holding out my free hand in a gesture of get back. The shibu kept circling, the owner was trying to grab it but it was getting away from her. I had Jethro and Skipper in hand behind me, and as I had a chance, I would feed Jethro treats with my free hand. He was handling the whole thing well, staying behind me and not barking or making a fuss. I kept moving away from the dog but it kept following us, darting in to get close to my dogs. A man came up and asked if the owner needed help and she said yes. He started chasing the dog back the way we had come and it took off in the opposite direction. I hustled off with Jethro and Skipper in tow and we got around a corner. I heaved a sigh of relief as we walked more slowly down the block, giving Jethro treats and praise, and Skipper, too. Then the Shibu comes tearing around the corner back after us again. I set off at a good clip, turning around to gesture the dog away. The owner comes running up, again, calling the dog's name over and over and saying Come! I was standing there warding off her dog hoping she could catch it if we didn't move and her dog had to take a poop. So she caught it by the tail!!! and held onto it while she wrestled it into its collar (it had slipped the collar).

I was wishing, through the whole incident, that I had a shepherds crook walking stick. I could have easily kept the strange dog at bay and protected my dogs behind me. I would never want to have a loaded gun in that situation. Someone could get very badly injured if they weren't very well trained in the use of firearms.

"I really want a walking stick."
Well then, here you go:
http://www.coldsteel.com/sticksportal.html
http://www.coldsteel.com/stunstaggerstop.html

"I would never want to have a loaded gun in that situation. Someone could get very badly injured if they weren't very well trained in the use of firearms"
OK... get some training then:
http://www.frontsight.com/index.asp?
http://www.gunsite.com/main/
http://www.thunderranchinc.com/

See? Easy peasy!

There it is, and there you have it.

""I would never want to have a loaded gun in that situation. Someone could get very badly injured if they weren't very well trained in the use of firearms""


You beat me, Will; I was typing that in NO situation do I want a loaded gun without good firearms training.

And this was yet an other great example of why getting a CCW and carrying a firearm greatly increases the safety of you and your loved ones.
It's your right as a U.S. citizen, use it!

I love the way the lady says pit bulls at the beginning...(sarcasm)....I love love love pitbulls and work with many and know their soft side and have also seen the damage they can do. If an off leash one comes up to me when Im walking my dogs I definitely feel differently than if it were a golden retriever....they can just do so much more damage and are so much more intense than many other breeds, owners of them need to realize this and use more caution...imo

 Quote: jenny arntzen

I really want a walking stick. ...

I have "almost" acquired one several times. (Big help that would be when I needed it, huh?)

Now, I AM getting one.

My stick is pretty small, compact, and is of the .45acp caliber.