Interesting John Farnam comments on Dog Attacks

[axeman_g]

Dogs ...

Wild dogs are the main reason I started carrying a large caliber handgun whenever I go backwoods.

When I was nineteen or so one of my favorite pastimes was to drive into the Pinelands area of south Jersey and drive my jeep around, looking for historical sites, old settlements, fishing holes etc.

One nice day I spotted a nice little creek running into a large pond way deep in the Wharton Forest area. I had to ford the little creek and then stopped on the other side to investigate the pond with a lure. I walked down the little creek bank through a laurel and came face to face with 4 mongels staring at me. I backed up and they started following me. I realized, I might make it back to my jeep, but they could just leap right in if so inclined. I got to the other side of the laurel and they lunged from about 20' away. So, up the pine tree I go ..... Just cleared about 6 feet up when the first dog jumped and hit the branch I was using to step on.

So, there I am, up a tree for 4 hours... throwing pine cones at the dogs that are snarling or sleeping at the foot of the tree, depending on the wind.

Eventually they wandered off as it dusk arrived. I waited a bit, jumped down and bolted for my jeep with keys in hand. Never saw the dogs again.

I always carry a handgun in the woods now. Dogs dont understand pain or the concept of death. Wild pack dogs are dangerous and require heavy treatment.

I met a guy once, local backwoods legend that carried an old Mauser 8mm with him during cyclicle wild dog years.

Axe

 

[1911Tuner]

50 Pound Dogs

"50 lbs wouldn't worry me, I could pick them up by the scruff of the neck and throw them a good distance. "

He boasted...as the American Staffordshire Terrier snapped his forearm like a twig and ripped the muscle out from the elbow to the wrist...

 

[W Turner]

Great Danes and Mastiffs bred for killing humans........lol.

Yeah they were bred for that wwaaaaaaaaaayyyyy back when, but with the trend for breeding going the way it has, most of these dogs are big, giant wusses.

My Dad has a black Great Dane that weighs around 160 lbs. and stands about 38" at the shoulder. I am 6'8" and he can rear up on his hind legs, put his paws on my chest and look me in the eye. Good thing he is a pansie and dumb as a brick to boot.


O'course he did recently take a blast of 00 buck to the hindquarters and we did not know until the infection set in.

Mino

 

[JamisJockey]

I'm a recreational cyclist, and have seen firsthand what a dog will do. I've seen a 30lb dog (mutt) lay a gal's calf open to the bone. Same dog was later chained, and raced to the end of the chain, snapping violently at an approaching Sheriff's Deputy, SHOTGUN in hand.
Most dog's have no idea what a gun is. This makes them doubly dangerous, as pulling a weapon isn't a deterrent or a threat. At least a person has some inherrent fear of being wounded or killed, and might back down at the sight of a firearm. Criminals are raising and using pit-bulls at what seems to be an alarming rate (no facts for me to back that up, just observation), and they are tough and agile dogs.
I have to agree with the following
A) Dog's are a more likely scenerio for most of us involving the use of defensive firearms
B) Stopping Dog's are probably in the top 10 of topics on this forum

 

[JonnyB]

Regarding dog attacks, I've come to a conclusion. I admit that it's not based upon experience in being attacked, but is based upon years of observation and thought. Here goes:

An average adult male - most of us here - can probably kill the average dog even with his bare hands. Wait! Back off and let me finish! I don't mean a trained critter like the cops have, or a 140 pound Rottie. An *average* dog - whatever that is ;-).

The things you need are testicles of brass, and the knowledge that you *will* get hurt. Maybe badly. Deal with it. If you happen to have a one-handed folding knife, you're in high cotton. A pistol on the belt is even better. Lacking both, you can strangle, stomp, gouge eyes, crush testicles, shove fingers down ears, break legs; all sorts of things to cause them pain. Yes, you'll get bit. You'll get clawed badly, as the dog flails his feet at you. It'll hurt. Bad. Chances are, though, you'll live, and the dog won't. We can be repaired (mostly), but the dog, even if you can't kill it, *will* end up dead. You may be scarred, limping, one-armed, and blind in one eye, but alive! You may even end up filthy rich!

Fred Reed (www.fredoneverything.com) mentioned in a recent column about trying to rid himself of a 30 pound monkey that wanted a banana that he had. He caved in and handed it over. What I thought about is this: animals care not whether they cause (or experience) pain. Civilized humans don't care to do either. Fred could have broken the little bastage's 'arm', or ripped off its tail, and the banana was his to enjoy. Instead, he gave it up. If we're willing to shoot, club or stab another living thing, we should also be willing to inflict major harm with our hands, feet, elbows, teeth, whatever we possess.

If I'm ever attacked by a pooch when empty-handed, I'll let you know if theory and practice mesh. I reserve the right to be completely off-base.

JB

 

[1911Tuner]

Average Dog

An average adult male - most of us here - can probably kill the average dog even with his bare hands.

He ventured as the English Bulldog clamped down on his hand, refusing to release his grip even when a crowbar was used in an attempt to pry his jaws apart. The stubby tail wagged as he ignored the rain of blows on his head and neck. Quickly re-establishing his grip, he began to shake his head furiously. As JonnyB began to go into shock from pain and terror, he
sank to his knees. The Bulldog released his grip and went for the throat.
---------------------------------------

Ain't rainin' on your parade, lad...but I got my forearm caught in a machine
once that exerted about the same pressure as the bite of an English Bulldog or a Pitbull...about 600 psi. I was completely immobilized from pain...I couldn't even yell to my coworkers for help because it took my breath...and there weren't any teeth sunk into my arm 2 inches deep.

Best to carry a long, sharp stick on your hikes. It'll give the dog somethin' to do while you reach for your pistol.

Just my nickel's worth...

Tuner

 

[sturmruger]

I think that it is interesting that most dogs don't seem to recognize guns unless they have been trained to. For some reason whenever I would go crow hunting with my Mini 14 all the crows would stay as far away as possible. When I was just hiking or riding my 4 wheeler they use to flock all around me. All of the years I hunted crows I growning up I was convinced they were smart enough to know when someone was carrying a gun.

I do find it interesting that dogs don't seem to have this engrained understanding. The dog I had when I lived down in IA hated loud noises. As soon as she saw me with my 10-22 she would run like crazy for her dog house!! I tried to teach her to not be afraid, but she is just a big pansy. She used to cry when we had a thunderstorm!!!

I have read of people noticing that Coydogs seem to understand when they encounter humans that are armed that it is smart to avoid them. Maybe it is something they get when they are born in the wild.

 

[Kestrel]

axeman - Wow! Great story! Glad you made it.

I love all these man-against-dog stories. I always look forward to these "dog" threads. (Haha - maybe we should have a "Man-Against-Beast" forum here. Could even read about bird attacks, haha...)

sturmruger - What's a "Coydog"?

I have a smallish dog - only weighs around 27 pounds - but he can bite ALL the way to the bone, when he's mad. Now he's a very strong dog for his size, but I can imagine what a seemingly "small" dog in the 50 pound range could do. Do not want to be given the chance to find out.

I remember reading some good stories from Jody Hudson here, too. He's had a lot of encounters with dogs.

Steve

 

[12-34hom]

Feral Dogs.

I used to live in the very southern most county [Davis] in Iowa some years back. It is quite rural and varmint hunting was excellent as there were 40,000 + acres of CRP throughout Davis county.

There were never a shortage of yotes and feral mutts to hunt and stalk. I was a 243 Winchester fan at that time, and used it extensively for all my varmint hunting needs.

There are a ton of minimum maintenance roads that laced Davis count, and while driving late one afternoon i spotted a pack of five wild dogs sunning themselves beside a pile of trees that a dozer had cleared from a draw that ran through this piece of property.

It was clear across the section @ 400+ yards, the wind & sun were in my favor. My criteria for shooting these critters was; if it did not have a collar on it was fair game. The soil is very poor in this section of Iowa and hence there were a lot of cattle & hog operations as opposed to row crop farming. These packs of dogs would wreak havoc on these domestic critters.

After glassing the pack for awhile, i got into an acceptable shooting position and dialed in my scope. At this time i was shooting a Factory Ruger 77V 243 with a fixed 12 powered Leupold scope. I don't rememberer what load i was shooting but it was probably a factory offering from Winchester or Remington.

There was a huge Collie in this pack, i could see his coat was full of cocklebur's and other wait - a- minute. I settled on him to bust first and see where the others would skate to. There was another grove of tree's west of their location @ 150 yards, i figured they all would beat feet for that timber, allowing me maybe two more accurate shots at the fleeing pack. The wind was pretty strong but directly in my face, maybe 20 MPH, i figured the range to be somewhere in the 350 yard mark. The scope i was using was a fixed power with a target dot.

My first shot, if i could get away with it was always a neck shot, going for the spinal column were the animals body met the neck itself. I settled in, and put the dot right were it was supposed to go. I touched off the shot and the dog went down in a heap, i mean its legs just went out from underneath it. The other four dogs jumped up, but to my surprise they did not move an inch. The rifle i was shooting held a total of five rounds, i jacked another round into the rifle and shot the dog that was directly adjacent to the first one, it was kinda quartering me so a raking shot through it's vitals was in order. This shot got them going, they bolted and headed for the timber. The second dog i had shot was attempting to get away. I shot him a second time and broke one of his back legs putting him down, but i had to shoot him a third time to finish him off, letting all the other dogs get away.

After examining these dogs, i would say the collie [male] was 40+ pounds, the other was a lab mix [male] + 40 pounds. I buried the carcasses near the brush pile and went about my business. Actual yardage was just over 300 yards. The 243 is an excellent cartridge, with all the differing bullets it can handle any varmint.

I really had a blast hunting varmints in that area, along with the other game that abounded, there was always farm ponds full of bass & other fish for the taking.

I go back to that area every spring to bass fish some ponds i know hold big fish.

12-34hom.