I'm copying this from the other thread... and then I
have to go clean my gutters!
pitbullmamaliz wrote:You could also carry a walking sticking. Or throw poop bags at the dog. Like Demo and Michelle said in the other thread, I don't recommend pepper spray. Doesn't affect a lot of people and won't affect a lot of dogs. And the wind has to be in your favor.
maberi wrote:Makes sense, it just baffles me that a smaller version of something a cop uses to deter angry drunks isn't something the everyday citizen could use to deter the every day dog that is picking a fight it can't finish.
Welll Matt, I know everyone says spray doesn't work...but all three of our Officers carry spray and like every other tool has its time a place.
Ok, here is my thing. Does pepper spray hurt? Yes, a LOT. I've only been hit with the "civilian" kind once, just a little bit of over spray (an idiot friend of mine was playing with some in college and sprayed it in the campus center
) we were all coughing and had running eyes for a good five minutes.
Here’s the problem – will it work for most dogs? Yes.
absolutely - they are going to be in pain and be scared and run away. However, there is another problem in that the spray/irritant will also have the exact opposite effect in many cases.
Think about it, lot of times you hear people argue against the use of prong collars for difficult behaviors because they “increase aggression” (due to mis-timing) but the prong collar correction stops… the pain from spray does NOT. Once you have sprayed the dogs, the irritant continues,
and that angry dog may very well just get angrier. Some animals will work through that pain, and unlike people, you can’t explain to them that if they just calm down you will wash their eyes out… that dog is going to want to
share that pain with you.
There are animal tazer videos on YouTube, in the vast majority of them, the animals collapse and when the shock stops they
run away. However, there is one where they taze a bull, and when the shock stops a VERY angry bull
charges the camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px_N2WLE1yo That bull knows the source of the pain it just felt, and it wants to return the favor... there are dogs who will want to do the same thing... and if a dog has already decided to come after your dog and you give it a face full of pain it may decide
not to run off.
Bear with me through another Riggs story... sorry...
You know those threads of pictures that I have from playing fetch with him at Lollypop Farm? The day after I brought him home, he jumped up on me and I grabbed his front foot. He made and un-holy roaring noise and launched at my face. OH. MY. I let go of his foot, told him to stand and picked up his leg and bent it backwards; it looked like raw hamburger - skidding on the wet long grass had removed all of the fur and literally peeled away all of the flesh between his foot and stop pad. He happens to be one of the dogs that I'm talking about; I am truly
quite positive that if you were to deliver a face full of pepper spray to him that he would do his very best to share that discomfort as best he could. Temperament discussion aside
that is why I have the position I do on this matter. I own one of the dogs I speak of.
The other problem with spray is
over spray. When you dish out a face full of spray to that dog, it's
not unlikely that you and your dog will also be affected. That is one of the reasons that cops in Demo's department are required to get sprayed
in the eyes at
point blank range and then have to defend their weapon - so they know what it feels like and have had to function through it. (We have it on his academy DVD, they also tear gassed them, it's unreal)
If you are relying on the spray for the “startle factor,” maybe a small air horn like what they use at soccer games? Sure, you’re going to be deaf too, but it should scare off the other dog, and you don’t have to worry about over spray or residual problems. Charles used to carry a small shovel with him to “fling poop” but it worked quite well for wacking the occasional stray dog as necessary as I recall.
Frankly, I really think the best option is this:
http://www.code3tactical.com/expandable ... 5Qodun3LOwBut I don't think they are legal everywhere, and you run into the
same problem as all of the above. But at least that shrinks down to fit in a pocket, its quiet, there is no over spray, but the dog has to get pretty darn close.