You may end up in the middle of a shit show.
A larger dog grabs a puppy off of a woman’s lap while she is eating lunch pic.twitter.com/vlR59F1Qnz
— Crazy Clips (@crazyclipsonly) June 10, 2023
Let’s be quick about it: Trying to open the jaws of a dog, specially a pitbull, is a fool’s labor at best.
IANAL warning.
Now the question is: Can I legally use deadly force to stop (Gun/Knives/etc) the destruction of property? (Sorry, pets are not humans no matter if you call them fur babies) If the answer is no in your location, then you should be ready to use alternatives.
I carry pepper spray, so I would go with a quick squirt right in the nostrils of the attacking pooch. If no pepper sprat is available, I go straight to punch the crap out of the nose of the dog and even covering it altogether or shoving anything liquid to make it gag and release the object in its mouth. Dogs with slender necks are easier to choke, but only if they are wearing a sturdy collar you can twist. Thick necked dogs? You better be very strong or carry piano wire and garrote the hell out of the creature.
Oh yes, pain is also a deterrent: Break the tail. Squeeze the nuts. But the downside is they may come after you.
So, after reading this and J.Kb’s followup post, a thought and question.
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Dogs are property, and in most places you can’t use lethal force (a gun, but arguably would also apply to a knife) to defend property.
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But if you’re trying to stop a dog that’s attacking your dog, you are not using lethal force against a person, but against someone else’s property. That strikes me as a fundamental difference.
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I can still see a whole bunch of legal issues arising – e.g. discharge of a firearm could be construed as endangering others, etc. – but not necessarily the one raised above. Of course I am not a lawyer, and I hope I will never be in a position where I need to make this call. So there’s that.