Recommendation for a Non-Lethal Dog Repellent

[805moparkid]

sling shot with paint balls is what we used... you dont have to put as much bang behind it as to injure the dog

 

[BearBio]

Lethal force in the form of a firearm is exceedingly difficult to apply to a fast moving dog. If it has already engaged your dog you had better have a revolver as pressing the barrel against the attacking dog is the only sure way to assure a hit on the attacking dog and not hitting your own dog.

If you've trained for it then dogs are very easy to knock out, big dogs especially so as they are more likely to attack "high". The method is to present your weak arm. A dog will almost always attack the leading arm. When the dog leaps to bite the leading arm move it out of the way and sweep up with your strong arm striking him under the chin. I've done this once and I've seen it done twice. It does not take much to drop a big dog. Small dogs attack low and tend to be really quick. Pepper spray is a better choice. And if you are going to use a firearm then also extend your weak arm and shoot under it with your strong arm.
I've clocked a pitbull over the head with a stainless stee drinking mug--the only weapon available--hard enough and often enough to put a grown man in a coma and if it had any effect on the pitbull it was not apparent. I think a good pepper sprayer is still your best option.

This is the technique (more or less) that I learned when working around vets in the pet shops while in college. I also was taught this when I took a animal handling course in grad school. I was warned however that you will likely get a broken arm. But alive with a broken arm is better than what could happen. (Kinda like my knife instructor said"You gonna get cut so get over it")

 

[OFT II]

Get a bottle of Hartz Dog Shampoo. My dog runs like the devil when he sees me with it.

 

[RichardK]

Hello All,

Thank you so much for all the super ideas. Sometimes one has to brainstorm with others to look at several options.

I have a CCW and routinely carry my 340PD in my belly band holster if I go on the walk with my wife and the dogs. My wife does not have a CCW so that is not an option for her. Besides, she says she might hit our dogs by accident and she could not live with that.

Ammonia and lemon juice solutions are too messy and I can't find a leak proof squirt gun that won't leak in her pocket.

I suggested that she can kick the attacking dog. Might be a bit of a balancing act with our two dogs on two leashes and the attacker. Everyone could wind up in a heap on the sidewalk.

Sling shot requires two hands.

Bigger dog not an option. We like bassets, one female is 45 lbs, the other is 48 lbs and low to the ground.

The shampoo makes our bassets run for cover as well.

The bear spray would pack a punch - but it is just too big to carry around.

The hornet spray is a gamble - I think I'll pass on this one.

I checked the date on the MACE spray - MFG. 2012, use by Jan 2016 and it was never used before this attack.

Yes, the owner of the attacker did come by the house that same evening with some dog toys and paid the vet bill ($250) and was sincerely apologetic. My wife has said hi to her on previous walks - been here 10 years. Dog just ran out the front door when it saw the lady's son coming up the sidewalk off the school bus, but then for some reason, decided to divert to a more appealing target - our dogs. Puncture wound is not infected, and healing nicely, thank goodness.

Based on everyone's input, she wants to try this:

Amazon.com: Mace Pepper Gun: Sports & Outdoors

I like that it has a practice water canister. We will take the advice of changing out the pepper canister even after one use, so I am ordering spare canisters. Looks like the reviews are good.

Let's see how this works out; hopefully, she won't need it again (first dog attack in the 15 years we lived here).

Thank you all for the recommendations. They were very valuable and helped us make a decision.

Cheers,

Richard in Plano TX

 

[rojodiablo]

its kinda big......but i bet a can of that Hornet&wasp stuff that sprays 25 ft would sure change a dogs tune?

That is designed to attack the neruological system of the wasps. It literally short circuits them, kinda like a spiders' bite or jellyfish sting. But FAST, like a jellyfish.
I do not know of its' effects on a dog. I am skeptical of how effective it would be.
My vote is pepper spray. Walking cane/ golf club. Steel toe boot.
In that order.

 

[Faulkner]

I am an avid bicyclist and after much experimentation I carry Sabre RED OC Stream, 2 oz can. It's easily carried or concealed by walkers, runners, and bicyclist and has a proven range of 15 feet or so. It is very effective on dogs as I've utilized it a couple of dozen times with 100% effect and it doesn't take much to get their attention.

As I spray them I growl back at them "get" a couple of times. Most of the time I only have to use it once on any given dog. Typically when I've encountered a dog the second time they don't get very close, and if they do I just growl "get" and they stop in their tracks.

I have had two specific dogs that I sprayed a couple of times and they just wouldn't take "get" for the answer. They were allowed to run loose and were very aggressive. Eventually, after warning the owners first, I shot and killed one and the other got run over by the UPS truck. Some people just won't listen.

 

[mwtdvm]

Use pepper spray for dogs.
The brand-name Mace is designed to make the eyes water, and dogs don't have tear ducts.

Dogs (and cats) do have lacrimal glands and also tear ducts, which are in the same place humans are. They also have a nictitating membrane that slides over the surface of the eyeball to help remove debris. They are better able to deal with dust and dirt in the eye than humans.
​

 

[pharmer]

3 ft of shovel handle. Ain't lethal unless it need to be. Joe

 

[Hawker Man]

Cattle prod, stun baton or stun cane. When attacked by a dog use a continual application of the shock device until the irresponsible owner shows up then a few applications on them should do the job.

 

[Packard]

Cattle prod, stun baton or stun cane. When attacked by a dog use a continual application of the shock device until the irresponsible owner shows up then a few applications on them should do the job.

Where legal.

 

[400short]

Check out UDAP Bear Deterrent Pepper Spray They produce bear spray and pepper spray, Theres a video of a pit bull being hit with their spary. good stuff

 

[Packard]

Check out UDAP Bear Deterrent Pepper Spray They produce bear spray and pepper spray, Theres a video of a pit bull being hit with their spary. good stuff

Bear deterrent sprayers can shoot out to 25 feet. A real advantage. But they contain the same ingredients as human pepper spray. And they are generally too large to carry. A good human sprayer will go out to 12 feet. The keychain ones only to 4 to 6 feet and I consider them inadequte for dogs or bad guys.

 

[Packard]

Cattle prod, stun baton or stun cane. When attacked by a dog use a continual application of the shock device until the irresponsible owner shows up then a few applications on them should do the job.

Upon further reflection I don't this this would work for me. The cattle prods I've seen are too large to carry on my person. The stun batons pretty much mean that the dog has already launched and is about to nail you as you apply the zapper.

A full size man in good shape can defeat a dog upto about 75 pounds. But the dog usually wins because of our primal fear of an attacking dog. Dog trainers get over that fear and can frequently protect themselves from an attacking dog. I think that same primal fear would come into play with the very close battle stun batons.

 

[Desert Dog]

Buy a Kimber...

PepperBlaster II

Or just buy a smaller spray bottle, fill it with ammonia and some Tabasco sauce and call it a day. Though undiluted household ammonia alone will work fine. Don't bother with a squirt gun as most will leak. Any decent common household spray bottle can shoot a fair ways. Find a setting somewhere between mist and stream. If you want to step it up, you can buy a pressure sprayer bottle that will increase the distance and volume of spray.

Large Animal Pressure Sprayer | U.S. Plastic Corp.

Or use what mail carriers have used for thirty years...

Halt II is 1% capsaicin. Clip a can to your belt and go.

http://www.rainbowtech.net/products/docs/a87ff679345c7c6ad26/Literature.pdf.pdf

 

[tekarra]

+1 on the ammonia and water. When I was in unversity there were a lot of mean stray dogs between my place and campus and I carried a squeeze bottle with ammonia. Had to use it several times and it worked well. How about wasp spray?

 

[Packard]

Buy a Kimber...

Or use what mail carriers have used for thirty years...

...

Halt II is 1% capsaicin. Clip a can to your belt and go.

http://www.rainbowtech.net/products/docs/a87ff679345c7c6ad26/Literature.pdf.pdf

I tried the Kimber. It shoots pretty far. But your aim has to be on-target and you only have two shots. I felt I would need more practice to assure my accuracy. I felt a lot safer with a sprayer where I could re-aim on the fly.

The Halt II is half the potency of the human variety--with good reason--it is legal (as far as I know) in all states because of the lower potency, and dogs have more sensitive membranes than humans and it works fine.

But if I am going to carry only one sprayer, then it's going to be the human variety with the extra potency. Attacking dogs be forewarned.

I think it is unreasonable to expect anyone to carry a bottle sprayer on a regular basis.

 

[DeadAye]

Get a Pit Bull and take it with you when and wherever you travel...

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Louisville Slugger.

 

[DreamerzCC]

Buy a Kimber...

PepperBlaster II

Or just buy a smaller spray bottle, fill it with ammonia and some Tabasco sauce and call it a day. Though undiluted household ammonia alone will work fine. Don't bother with a squirt gun as most will leak. Any decent common household spray bottle can shoot a fair ways. Find a setting somewhere between mist and stream. If you want to step it up, you can buy a pressure sprayer bottle that will increase the distance and volume of spray.

Large Animal Pressure Sprayer | U.S. Plastic Corp.

Or use what mail carriers have used for thirty years...

Halt II is 1% capsaicin. Clip a can to your belt and go.

http://www.rainbowtech.net/products/docs/a87ff679345c7c6ad26/Literature.pdf.pdf

When I worked for the power company we used Halt II. It is red so watch out for you clothes but it never failed me. You would only need to hit the dog once in the eye area, after that just a glimpse of the bottle on that dog will do the trick. I used it on German Shepards, Pit Bulls, Rottie's and mutts. Used it more than I wish I had too.

 

[Desert Dog]

I think it is unreasonable to expect anyone to carry a bottle sprayer on a regular basis.

Probably is easier for the paperboy with racks, or bicyclist with a place to mount a spray bottle. But people carry water bottles on their belts often enough that it shouldn't present much of a challenge to find a smaller spray bottle to fit a water bottle carrier.

As with humans, some dogs are immune to the effects of pepper spray. Ammonia is often recommended over pepper spray for this application because it is an asphyxiant that cause a more pronounced reaction with dogs than does pepper spray. I've heard it explained that a more aggressive breed may be able to ignore the pain of pepper spray, whereas the effects of a breathing problem coupled with being blinded is not be so easily ignored.

Household ammonia is commonly an 8% solution. Stronger stuff (straight ammonium hydroxide) is available and can be diluted to half strength, but it is far less safe in such concetrations.

Read this in another forum from someone that used it in a LE setting:

"you have to hit a dog square in the mug with pepper spray or mace or it doesn't work. When I was on the Tactical Entry Team (years ago) and were going into a yard with an aggressive dog we carried a spray bottle of ammonia. It never failed to chase them off, even if it didn't "hit the mark". The remained wary of us the entire time we were at the location, barking, but at a distance."

FWIW, the Kimber Pepperblaster II was mentioned half in jest.