" Although I don't know how it was first tested on bears, I know it can work on bears."

Wow, I thought the label was a marketing tactic!! I would imagine the spray would have to reach out a good distance like most sprays do. Well, if it works on bears it should work on any dog around here! Sometimes I would rather spray the owner than the dog. Wonder how that would play out in court.....

Bear mace. Woo. Strong stuff.
I'm curious... if you were to spray someone's unleashed/out of control dog in self defense/defense of your dog, could they take you to court for it? I imagine any dog sprayed in the face with mace needs a vet visit. Some people are really out there and blame the other person for THEIR dog being out of control, and lord knows I've heard threats thrown about, "I'll call my lawyer!" after a leashed walker puts up a fight against an unleashed aggressor.

 Quote:

Wow, I thought the label was a marketing tactic!! I would imagine the spray would have to reach out a good distance like most sprays do.

That is why it is a good reason to try the stuff out first. My bottle says a maximum range of 25 ft. It also says "most effective at close range". After spraying off a few bottles I would not bother spraying it at a bear until it was 12 ft away or closer At 25 ft it might just make them sneeze You use it in short bursts, so you don't spend it all at once in case your first shot is not as effective as you would like, then you still have some left

They also have an expiry date.

Cheers,

 Quote: jinn schmitz

I'm curious... if you were to spray someone's unleashed/out of control dog in self defense/defense of your dog, could they take you to court for it?

Absolute freedom has a price. We can be taken to court for virtually anything. Your two options when a dog comes running up are...

1. We handle it any way we can including whacking/spraying the living daylights out of the dog in which case the owner of the loose dog can TRY to prosecute us, but at the end of the day they are always at fault because their dog was not on leash.
2. We unfortunately do not handle it and our dog gets in a fight and loses no matter what. If they "win" the fight our dog is vicious and gets a citation for attacking (even though he was attacked) or they lose and need medical attention or both. Either way, we are left with a mark on the dogs record and or a vet visit.

If a loose dog gets into it with a human, the loose dog is ALWAYS at fault.

 Quote: John J. Miller

If a loose dog gets into it with a human, the loose dog is ALWAYS at fault.

Which is why it's a good idea to say that you were afraid YOU were going to be attacked, NOT your dog.

I called my local Sheriff's department as well as Animal Control and asked about liabilities involving attacks by someone else's dog. Both agencies told me that NO dogs are allowed to be off-leash or wandering around loose. I was told that if I am walking my dogs or just walking alone, I have every right to defend myself against the attacking dog and if the owner tried to make a case of it, it would be they who would be fined and/or sentenced to jail depending on the damage that was done.
They also said that I could use anything I could get my hands on against attacking dogs and if the dog was fatally wounded then it would be tragic but the dog should have been secured in it's yard.
I really wish people in my area would keep their dogs in their yard so I could feel safe walking my own dogs. As much as I love dogs, I wouldn't hesitate to spray it in the face or beat the daylights out of it if I had to. A few dogs that wander around will turn and walk away if I yell "NO" at them. I think one of them is really old and the other is just curious. It's the aggressive ones I have to look out for.

 Quote: Amber Morgan

Which is why it's a good idea to say that you were afraid YOU were going to be attacked, NOT your dog.

Excellent point. Also yell, if you remember to, for the dog to go home or the owner to get his dog. This way if someone is around they may hear you trying to warn off the dog first and you will have tried to avoid the confrontation prior to the use of force. And lastly, don't feel bad defending yourself. Be glad it happened to someone who may be more prepared rather than a small child etc. I understand the whole dog lover thing but I don't see this as man's best friend coming after me. Maybe sitting on the porch or trotting my way but...in-flight(opportunity), fully loaded(capability), with my butt as the drop zone(intent), he's an unprovoked combatant and I'd feel much worse laid up in the ER with my leg wide open and/or Fido at the vet fighting for his life. Sometimes life isn't fair and all we can do is all we can do. Vote Quimby!

When you said tell the owner to come and get his dog, it reminded me of an incident that happened about two years ago. Again, in my area, I was walking my dogs and at that time only had two, one was just a little pup. All of a sudden I saw the biggest, most monsterous Pitt Bull I have ever seen in my life approaching us. His mouth was wide open and the drool flying everywhere and I swear, he looked like a freakin' Army tank!!! Coming from another direction was a skinny, barefoot, skanky looking woman with a large chain in her hand. She looked frantic and pissed off. The dog was coming up from one side, she was coming up from another and me and my dogs were in the middle. Me and my dogs froze waiting to see what was going to happen. Koda was in an attack mode as usual.
The woman was angrily yelling the dog's name (like THAT was going to work!)
and the dog completely ignored her. Apparently the dog had been running pretty hard because she caught him with no problems. After she had control of him, I gave her the 'business'. I asked her repeatedly why the dog was off the leash (the dog had no collar) and I told her there is a leash law here in Florida. Her stupid response to me was, "We aren't from here and we're moving away today".
I didn't say anything more and just stood there watching her yanking this dog around with a piece of heavy gauge chain that was big enough to pull a truck with!
She was swearing at the dog and lead him down the street to where ever they came from.
These are the kind of incidents I am faced with while walking in my own neighborhood. What's odd about my area is, I live on the corner of a cul-de-sac and all of my neighbors are decent people who keep their homes and yards looking really nice and they keep their dogs inside. Two streets over is where the white trash houses start. Not all of them are trashy but there are plenty and a lot of these people own Pitts or Rotties. Big trucks with huge tires, broken down vehicles in the yard, damaged fences, trashy looking houses and loose dogs with no collars. There are two houses where the dogs are chained outside all day and night which is against the law here. I have called Animal Control but every time they come out to check the dogs out, the dogs (they claim), aren't there. They tell me they see the chain, no shelter, no water and no food bowls and they leave the owners a note. My thoughts on this is, if the owner can't READ, what makes you think a note is going to do any good???

My story was when I was walking my APBT Redhead in Kiev, both of us fat dumb and happy, minding our own business, when a door to a building about 1,5 meters fromt he sidewalk opened and a Fila went after Redhead.

At least I think it was a Fila. Thank God Redhead was on-leash, so I managed to keep the Fila from biting me or him and Redhead from killing the Fila. No barking, no growling, no threat displays, the Fila just wanted a fight. Redhead has never shown any sign of dog aggression, but he would have been more than happy to give it to him.

The Fila's owner, a slight, mild-looking woman grabbed the dog's collar and hauled him away. Then she shook her finger in the Fila's face and said in Russian "Kitten, that's not allowed!"

Of course, the Fila is now howling for blood and Redhead is disturbingly calm. I am shaking like a leaf. Some passerby says to the lady "woman, where is your husband?"

Welcome to Ukraine.

Good gracious, I'm glad I live where I do - you guys encounter some SCARY STUFF!!

My question is, in suburban areas where there are so many big, loose dogs roaming about, obvioulsy interested in picking a fight, why don't they ever get in fights with EACH OTHER? If they constantly run into this many well mannered dogs and their owners out for the daily walk, they MUST be coming into contact with each other as well... Or maybe they do and no one who whitnesses it really cares

~Natalya