I much prefer dogs to people and would hate to have to shoot one. On the other hand, no way on earth am I getting bitten for being some place I have a right to be. Likewise my wife and our dogs.

It is not implausible that a motivated dog (like a human assailant, only more so) could take several rounds of service ammo to be stopped. Example, the Jared Reston incident in Jacksonville. If you have ever seen or experienced a motivated dog going after a person or dog, it's an impressive sight.

When walking my dogs, I almost exclusively carry a revolver (usually a 296 w/ 44 Special Gold Dots) in my fanny pack. I want to be able to make a contact shot to a vital area in case of a melee and not put my dogs or another person at unnecessary risk. Revolvers are less likely to present a reliability problem when jammed into the flesh of an attacking person or animal.

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NHI, 10-8.