How to protect against dog attack?

Hitting a dog with a swinging stick/bat might not be possible because they can dodge so quickly on 4 legs. Their eyes are built to detect movement. I stood off a dog few years back with a length of rope but absolutely could not connect. Believe me I tried.

I was thinking about how you can't even carry a big stick in CA. Does this include walking sticks?
I have seen them with large daggers, swords concealed in the walking stick, unless you knew it was there you would never know.

We live where you could meet a coyote, or a pack of javelina, maybe a bobcat and if you are very unlucky a mountain lion, so having protection for walks is necessary and common. I would carry a firearm if I had to face a dog pack, because animals that have been domesticated and then become wild are the most dangerous and the most likely to attack a human.

Becky, oh my. I can't imagine how terrifying and traumatic that would have been.

Then to have the idiots that brought the dog into the neighborhood cause such discord. Unconscionable. They should have been paying all your bills and thanking God it was not one of their children, who probably would have been attacked in the face and not survived such a visious attack.

I have always had big dogs, they are trained and socialized, they are part of my family, but I would shoot anyone of them dead if they ever bit a human unprovoked or a child for any reason. Once dogs get a taste for fresh blood it changes something in them and they can no longer be trusted. It is the kindest thing to do when an animal has turned to mauling humans.

I am just floored that your community is so uneducated about responsible pet ownership. Which these people obviously were not. I just keep thinking about how this would have looked if it was a little person that was mauled.

Hugs! You are one strong lady.

Looked up "Tire Billy", it is illegal to carry in California. Yes, it says that online.
And further, it is illegal to carry a big stick! Like my baseball bat, kept at home.

However, I am going to wrap it in Christmas wrapping, put my grandson's name on it, and put it in the trunk of my car. Next to a catchers mitt, and a wrapped baseball.

Becky, I am so sorry about your incident. So sad, so traumatic for you.
I just hate that your neighbors took sides and treated you awful. Hope that you are healing.

Up until today, we have carried a leash in the trunk to rescue any neighbor's lost dogs.

Once, there was a lost dog (Chow Chow breed) on the Paseo, and others had asked for my help, after calling the Animal control. It was a very hot day, the dog was in the riverbed, and afraid. One animal control officer came out and had left. I did not know that the dog had growled at him. Or did not know that the Chow Chow is listed as a dangerous breed.
I must have had heatstroke going on that day, but I lured the dog out with fresh cooked chicken breast, put on a leash, and walked it down the riverbed to a waiting Animal Control truck on the Paseo. I had asked onlookers to move away, to the other side of the truck. The officer lifted it into his truck. I think, because we were not watching.

My friends say that I go where angels fear to tread.

Maybe I have been naive and stupid. All this time.

truck stops sell ' tire billy's ' . its about a 16 inch long club wrapped on the end with 1/4 inch plate steel . dogs have a hard skull , you need something major to put one out of commission . i believe a tire billy would do that .

Take your mother for a walk in the mall instead of outside, if you live in an area where dogs roam around hungry. That's my suggestion

I was attacked by a large mixed breed dog in July 2017. Part German Shepherd, part Labrador retriever. It happened on Sunday morning as we were getting ready to go church. My leg was so mauled there were pieces laying on the driveway. Initially I had 247 stitches. I had 42 surgical procedures. I have permanent nerve damage, walk with a severe limp and have a 3” x 4” x 1.5” deep scar. It took over 17 months for the wound to heal. This was a rehomed shelter dog that was allowed to run loose. I was ostracized in my community because I publicly insisted in court that the animal be euthanized. Fortunately, the judge agreed. The total medical costs were almost $200,000. I was fortunate my husband had good insurance, plus we could afford some of the plastic surgery to improve how it looks. The owners of the dog whined and cried about losing their beloved pet. They never paid a penny in damages. People in the community took up money for them and their kids. I never saw the dog with the family it was always running loose. I now financially support a shelter that kills dogs that aren’t adopted. I’m intensely disliked in my neighborhood because of my position on stray and loose dogs. But others would feel differently if they had gone thru or continued to go thru the pain of that dog attack. The attack would have killed a child or a frail elderly person.

It’s truly sad. I absolutely loved taking my dog to the nearby dog park. There were times that I did not go because there was a woman that would bring 5 or 6 dogs to the park and one of the dogs was quite unruly.

It wasn’t the dog’s fault. It was the women’s fault. The dog would go up to other dogs in the park and pick fights, just like a misbehaving child would.

A gentleman politely approached her and asked her to please retrieve her dog because her dog was starting a fight with his dog and he was not comfortable with splitting up a fight for fear of her dog biting him.

Do you know what her dumb response was? She actually looked at her dog and said that the dog was ‘only playing.’ The man was no longer polite and said, “Well, okay I will send you the vet bill for my dog’s injuries!” There are lawsuits occurring over dogs fighting in dog parks.

Dog parks when monitored well and people are respectful of the other humans and dogs are great! When that doesn’t happen it is a disaster.

It’s sad because some people live in apartments or condos and it’s wonderful to have a park where an animal can run free and play with supervision. People should not forget that when a dog is ‘off leash’ it is a threat to other humans and animals.

How can people be irresponsible with animals anywhere by abandoning them or not even supervising them in a dog park or wherever? Annoys the hell out of me.

I have no idea where you are that this is allowed to happen, but no, it is not safe. And there is honestly nothing that would work. Pepper spray,anything aggressive often makes attack much worse as a response. It pure and simple is not safe, so you will need not to do it when this is a danger. Awfully sorry, but there is utterly no way to make this safe. I do dog rescue work, and understand fully what can happen when people allow aggressive dogs to not only live, but to run free.

My husband and I have two under 15 pound dogs. In the last few years we have had to "ward off" attacks from large dogs several times. So we ARE very cautious. We carry pepper spray on our walks and did have to use it once. It worked on that particular dog but it may not work on extremely aggressive dogs. Sometimes it also works to yell "Go home!" or "Go away!" to the dog over and over until they go away. This worked for us in a campground last year but the couple walking a bit behind us did not yell at this dog and he attacked their poodle. My husband patched the poor poodle up and the owners took her to emergency care. She survived but needed exploratory surgery. Since then we also now carry a walking stick with us when we go certain places. It would definitely stop even a big dog. It has become so sad that people and nice dogs cannot even take a walk because of all the large, aggressive dogs around these days and, many times, those dogs are off leash. Good luck and be careful out there.