Agressive Dog

[tstr14]

Best course of action was leaving in the vehicle due to the danger posed by feral dogs. Pepper spray and treats aren’t always effective. Pack behavior makes feral dogs more dangerous than individual animals, even bears. Unattended, aggressive dogs in parks are unusual.

Not all pepper sprays are created equal. Additionally, one needs to be aware of local laws concerning their use. Bear spray, which is a more concentrated form of pepper spay should be more effective, but when using any kind of spray, one must be aware of wind direction to avoid dosing yourself or an unintended person. Mace is superior (I once stopped a charging German Shepard dead in it's tracks - and it even remembered me and cowered away the next time it saw me.) but it's unavailable and/or illegal in most jurisdictions.

Firearms carry a much higher level of responsibility. If legal, in many states, it is not legal to shoot a dog unless you can prove it is endangering your life or that of another person. In some states, you can also use a firearm to prevent a dog from harming live stock, but in many states, that does not include protecting your own dog from an aggressive one. I do not recommend carrying a firearm unless you are well versed in the legal use AND have extensive knowledge of when and how to use it, including situational awareness of what lies beyond any intended target.

 

[hank970]

Back in the late-1960s, I was a national park ranger on the Natchez Trace Parkway, stationed in rural Mississippi. In those days, and maybe still, it was legal to use dogs to hunt deer in Mississippi (bow hunters could legally use poison arrows too, dosed with acetylcholine chloride) Any mutt will chase a deer, so when deer season rolled around each fall, the good old boys down there would gather up whatever strays they could find and turn them loose in the woods to keep the deer moving. When the season was over, they'd often just abandon the uncollared dogs to fend for themselves. Some of the dogs would return to old haunts in area towns and make their livings there. Others went feral and formed packs. I'm not aware of any attacks on humans, but for sure a pack could take down a calf, and they did. They were of much concern to the farmers who leased pasture lands on the parkway. Some of the feral dogs led charmed lives and were so successful in their depredations that they acquired local reputations. Though the opportunity seldom presented itself to us, we were instructed to shoot them on sight.

 

[AMann]

I used my car once as a block to help a guy on a horse that had a bulldog mix trying to bite him and freak out the horse. The guy yelled at me to run it over, but I was able to herd the dog away with the car safely.

 

[tstr14]

Back in the late-1960s, I was a national park ranger on the Natchez Trace Parkway, stationed in rural Mississippi. In those days, and maybe still, it was legal to use dogs to hunt deer in Mississippi (bow hunters could legally use poison arrows too, dosed with acetylcholine chloride) Any mutt will chase a deer, so when deer season rolled around each fall, the good old boys down there would gather up whatever strays they could find and turn them loose in the woods to keep the deer moving. When the season was over, they'd often just abandon the uncollared dogs to fend for themselves. Some of the dogs would return to old haunts in area towns and make their livings there. Others went feral and formed packs. I'm not aware of any attacks on humans, but for sure a pack could take down a calf, and they did. They were of much concern to the farmers who leased pasture lands on the parkway. Some of the feral dogs led charmed lives and were so successful in their depredations that they acquired local reputations. Though the opportunity seldom presented itself to us, we were instructed to shoot them on sight.

You got watch out for a pack of wieners!