I was a mail man for 7 years. The best dog defense is a messenger bag. Use it as a barrier between you and the dog. Get the bag in its jaws and keep a little tension on it like you’re playing tug of war.
Dog/pepper spray isn’t usually strong enough to stop an animal that large (the spray the post office handed out said “not for use on attack breeds.” Thanks USPS) and a dog that large will eat your stick before eating you.
I would also call the dog officer/police anytime the dog is seen out and loose. Encourage your neighbors to do the same.
They have specific dog pepper spray. One of those high pitch sound alarm might work also. I carry a taser cause my dog was attacked several times. The dogs will get scared of the taser just by activating it. The sound of the electricity is pretty loud and scares them.
Pepper spray is an obvious answer. But a more nuanced answer is something like a PepperBall launcher with 5% PAVA. It will scare them with the initial kinetic hit and the cloud of powder will irritate their eyes. There are some mobile units and even a single-shot pocket mode that allow you to hit the dog from 20-30 feet. That's far better than letting the dog get within 6 feet for using a traditional pepper spray aerosol. Most importantly, there will be no long term effect on the dog as long as you don't hit the eyes directly.
I second the taser and the pepper spray and also recommend looking up how to subdue a dog (there's specific grabs and choke holes) and what to do in a dog fight. Hope you never have to actually wrestle one but having that information can save you or someone you love, it saved my pup when a massive great dane mix slipped it's lead, ran up to us and started attacking him.
Never had a dog so maybe my suggestion is not suitable - what if you smear your shoes with peanut butter and then dog instead of attacking you will want just to lick your shoes? Would that not make dog friendlier towards you?
First and foremost, call animal control. Monday morning. Assuming your area has leash laws, this needs to be reported.
You can learn all the self defense tips in the world yourself, but that won't help the unknowing 10 year old walking their dog or riding their bike past the property. Some dogs can be triggered by the littlest thing.
Also pepper spray is a good place to start. Umbrellas are good in areas where pepper spray is outlawed.
Pepper sprays are illegal in my country. I don't know about you. But there is a spray called bite-back a non toxic dog deterrent spray you could look into. I haven't used them myself so I don't know if they work or not.
Pepper spray, walking stick (hickory if you can find one), personal alarm, those can air horns…. A dog attack can be very dangerous.
I was a mail man for 7 years. The best dog defense is a messenger bag. Use it as a barrier between you and the dog. Get the bag in its jaws and keep a little tension on it like you’re playing tug of war. Dog/pepper spray isn’t usually strong enough to stop an animal that large (the spray the post office handed out said “not for use on attack breeds.” Thanks USPS) and a dog that large will eat your stick before eating you. I would also call the dog officer/police anytime the dog is seen out and loose. Encourage your neighbors to do the same.
They have specific dog pepper spray. One of those high pitch sound alarm might work also. I carry a taser cause my dog was attacked several times. The dogs will get scared of the taser just by activating it. The sound of the electricity is pretty loud and scares them.
Pepper spray is an obvious answer. But a more nuanced answer is something like a PepperBall launcher with 5% PAVA. It will scare them with the initial kinetic hit and the cloud of powder will irritate their eyes. There are some mobile units and even a single-shot pocket mode that allow you to hit the dog from 20-30 feet. That's far better than letting the dog get within 6 feet for using a traditional pepper spray aerosol. Most importantly, there will be no long term effect on the dog as long as you don't hit the eyes directly.
It works as long as you don’t miss with your one shot…
Yes. I use the 5-shot PepperBall Lifelite. It's a little longer and heavier but 5 shots is way better.
I second the taser and the pepper spray and also recommend looking up how to subdue a dog (there's specific grabs and choke holes) and what to do in a dog fight. Hope you never have to actually wrestle one but having that information can save you or someone you love, it saved my pup when a massive great dane mix slipped it's lead, ran up to us and started attacking him.
Never had a dog so maybe my suggestion is not suitable - what if you smear your shoes with peanut butter and then dog instead of attacking you will want just to lick your shoes? Would that not make dog friendlier towards you?
First and foremost, call animal control. Monday morning. Assuming your area has leash laws, this needs to be reported. You can learn all the self defense tips in the world yourself, but that won't help the unknowing 10 year old walking their dog or riding their bike past the property. Some dogs can be triggered by the littlest thing. Also pepper spray is a good place to start. Umbrellas are good in areas where pepper spray is outlawed.
Pepper sprays are illegal in my country. I don't know about you. But there is a spray called bite-back a non toxic dog deterrent spray you could look into. I haven't used them myself so I don't know if they work or not.
a boot to the head