my policy is shoot, shovel and shutup

I'm so sorry Betty, that's both horrific, and insulting of your local animal control to throw their hands in the air.

 Quote: betty reavis

My dog was attached and killed by two
pit bulls when I called animal control I was told "So sorry
it seems the dogs got into a fight and yours lost" Don't have
any faith in animal control or leash laws which we have

I live in a pretty prim and proper neighborhood and even OUR animal control is a little out to lunch, or bound by restrictions that don't always make sense. There is a woman a few blocks away that owns an rather sweet, big, intact Great Pyrenean male. For some reason she just can't get a handle on how to contain him and he's constantly getting loose and roaming the streets and parks on his own. Luckily he's good natured, but that doesn't do anything to protect him from cars - he's been struck more than once and has a permanent limp from one of the accidents. Every dog owner around knows Max, where he lives, and tries to help get him home when they find him - including calling animal control (who ALSO knows where Max lives). Perhaps his owner is comfortable paying fine after fine (assuming she gets fined) for having her loose dog returned to her, but I sure wish animal control would take this dog away from such an absent minded person who clearly doesn't have his safety in mind... It might be one thing if this were the countryside, but it's not - urban landscapes can pose just as much of a danger to loose dogs as loose dogs pose to others.

~Natalya

Upon reading your post Alyssa, I can see how exactly right you are on this one with the mace/pepper spray.
With all the adrenaline, they would likely just fight right through the pain.
I don't know what I would do if this kind of thing were to happen while on a walk. ???
Just thinking and trying to ascertain the risk. ??

Mace is still a good thing to have- to protect yourself, and it can deter a fight. It is just of little use once a fight is in full swing.

Every situation is going to be different, and something I would advise everyone here to do, everywhere they go, every day, is play the "what if" game.

"What if someone attacked me right now? What would I do?"
"What if someone tries to carjack me at that next red light? What would I do?"
"What if we encounter a loose dog, just around that corner? What do I do?"

I strongly recommend that all people legally able to own a firearm, do so. Find your local sportsmens club and learn what you can about self-defense pistols, to protect yourself, and your dog.

To shoot a dog would be a horrible thing to have to do, but if it comes down to MY dog and some other strange dog that is endangering it... well, I bet you can guess what I'd do.

Get familiar with your local laws and ordinances. Find out what you can legally carry in self-defense. Collapsable batons, ASPs, mace, firearms, etc. You may have many options for self-defense.

If you need help finding your local laws, let me know. I'm more than happy to do the research.

Would a taser be useful in this situation?
I carry bear spray with me on walks because we have encountered some loose dogs on our walk and it terrifies me I will have to deal with an attack. But I agree that it probably wouldn't stop them once the fight was in full swing.

Depends.

A taser would likely be very effective when deployed correctly against a dog.

Just keep in mind that dogs are small, quickly moving targets, and if your dog and another dog are engaged in a fight, you may not be able to hit your target.

Depending on the coat of the dog, it's musculature and some other factors like distance and the area of contact, the taser may also not work.

It is a good option, if legal in your area.
I would probably choose a cattle-prod configuration over a pistol-style configuration, if my sole purpose was for defense against dogs.

That style will require you to get closer, though, and expose your arm a bit more.

On the upside, if it doesn't work, you've also got an expensive whacking stick. We call that a twofer.

Keeping in mind that local laws will vary regarding their use.

Excellent advice. Years ago, I did take a self dense class for myself, and it was very good, I learned a lot. However it has been many years since. I do like your "what if" scenario as it does make you think about it so when the time comes, you are at least a bit prepared with a reaction that was previously thought about.
I may just get some pepper spray anyhow, as you said it could be a good deterrent, before possible attack.
Good for when I am without my dogs as well.
Thanks for the suggestions as well as making me think again about
what to do in case of an emergency.

Natalya, my neighborhood is filled with very responsible dog owners, and one or two not so responsible. There is a big brown lab that roams the neighborhood. I have never seen him bother anybody. Once he was wearing a cone around his neck, so obviously whoever owns him cares enough about him to take him to the vet. But they let him run loose during the day. Whenever I'm walking Hans and I see him I change directions, because Hans is dog aggressive. But I worry about this lab. He's hard to see at night, he could get hit by a car.

Steel-toed boots or regular walking shoes work well. I've had to kick dogs that don't listen to my warnings of "NO!" Go Away!" "Git!" and in turn they have been kicked in the chest. But that said, I have never had to ge my dog out of a major fight with another dog. My neighbors dog did try to go after Otto once. The owner's mom was right there and didn't do a damn thing. I'm glad I was able to keep the situation from escalating.

 Quote: Alyssa Myracle

Depends.

I would probably choose a cattle-prod configuration over a pistol-style configuration, if my sole purpose was for defense against dogs.

That style will require you to get closer, though, and expose your arm a bit more.

On the upside, if it doesn't work, you've also got an expensive whacking stick. We call that a twofer.

Is the shock given the same from the pistol and cattle prod types?