Posted: 2/6/2013 5:35:52 AM EDT
| Just ran into a pack of them outside work. 6 medium sized dogs. They seemed to be true feral dogs. Not just strays. Any one have experiance with packs like this. How much of a threat can they be? Are typical carry pistols effective? |
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Packs of feral or just aggressive dogs turned loose pose a serious threat to anything they see as easy. I've shot dozens of dogs that people abandoned or would let run lose, and would end up harassing our family's livestock or the wildlife on our property.
Being Detroit I would suspect pit mixes, which police have claimed they've had issue with them not going down from single 9mm and 45 shots, with 357 Sig and 357 Mag seem to be the favorites for single shots on larger dogs. I'd be fine with 9mm or even a .22, like anything else it's going to depend largely on your shot placement. My personal favorite for a handgun was 357 magnum loaded with the same 158gr JHPs I use for hunting whitetails, which dropped them quickly and humanely. |
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Quoted:
Packs of feral or just aggressive dogs turned loose pose a serious threat to anything they see as easy. I've shot dozens of dogs that people abandoned or would let run lose, and would end up harassing our family's livestock or the wildlife on our property. Being Detroit I would suspect pit mixes, which police have claimed they've had issue with them not going down from single 9mm and 45 shots, with 357 Sig and 357 Mag seem to be the favorites for single shots on larger dogs. I'd be fine with 9mm or even a .22, like anything else it's going to depend largely on your shot placement. My personal favorite for a handgun was 357 magnum loaded with the same 158gr JHPs I use for hunting whitetails, which dropped them quickly and humanely. Yeah I can't exactly hunt them. I guess I just wanted confirmation that 9mm should work in a pinch if they force my hand one day. These dogs looked more like Dingos than a pit. I suspect this packs been roaming for a while breeding with all sorts of dogs. I heard they all start to get that Dingo look after a few generations. |
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Not sure on the legal issues with discharging a gun in the city.... But.. look into the michigan dog law. You can shoot an dog without a collar on your property. I think it actually says it that plainly. Im sure if you feel threatened you will be fine. Ive worked in the city... Its not like gun shots are rare or even attract too much attention.
Strangely.... Quite a few pheasants live in the ciity. |
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Not sure on the legal issues with discharging a gun in the city.... But.. look into the michigan dog law. You can shoot an dog without a collar on your property. I think it actually says it that plainly. Im sure if you feel threatened you will be fine. Ive worked in the city... Its not like gun shots are rare or even attract too much attention. Strangely.... Quite a few pheasants live in the ciity. Should not be a problem if they actually pose a threat to you when you pull the trigger. I have seen a lot of pheasant, raccoon, possums, and rabbits in the city. My boss says a coyote lives on the abandoned railroad behind our building. I also hear there may be some deer coming into the city. Guy just outside of work has a little roadside stand he sells raccoon from, yuck! |
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Had a big problem with them in the township back in the 90's.
Couple of kids got bit up, and lots of livestock destroyed. The solution involved the local PD culling a bunch, and animal control trapping even more, while "Volunteer efforts" became the norm. The Coyotes started breeding with the feral packs, and for several years we had coy dogs in the 'yote packs, untill the 'yotes won out overall. In Detroit? Shit. Treat them like any other threat, because they are. ANY respectable self defense chambering will work, the problem is shot placement if they get within 10yds. They move fast, and prefer to set up a classic hammer and anvil on prey, so keep your peripheral open. Usually they will avoid human contact as there is much easier prey to be had, but don't hesitate if you have a reasonable belief your safety is threatened. Good luck. From what I understand, Animal control is next to non existant anymore in that town. |
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287.279 Killing of dog pursuing, worrying, or wounding livestock or poultry, or attacking person; damages for trespass; effect of license tag.
Sec. 19. Any person including a law enforcement officer may kill any dog which he sees in the act of pursuing, worrying, or wounding any livestock or poultry or attacking persons, and there shall be no liability on such person in damages or otherwise, for such killing. Any dog that enters any field or enclosure which is owned by or leased by a person producing livestock or poultry, outside of a city, unaccompanied by his owner or his owner’s agent, shall constitute a trespass, and the owner shall be liable in damages. Except as provided in this section, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than a law enforcement officer, to kill or injure or attempt to kill or injure any dog which bears a license tag for the current year. There you go... Attacking persons = no liability in damages or otherwise. I shot a coyote once with a 7.62x54r soft point in the gut because he followed some deer through my hunting area. It ran off 10 yrds, chewed at the wound and left the area. If they can take a bullet like that and keep going I suggest if you do have to defend yourself you aim for vitals. For the record I gut shot it because i didnt want a stinking dead coyote in my hunting spot. |
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Quoted:
287.279 Killing of dog pursuing, worrying, or wounding livestock or poultry, or attacking person; damages for trespass; effect of license tag. Sec. 19. Any person including a law enforcement officer may kill any dog which he sees in the act of pursuing, worrying, or wounding any livestock or poultry or attacking persons, and there shall be no liability on such person in damages or otherwise, for such killing. Any dog that enters any field or enclosure which is owned by or leased by a person producing livestock or poultry, outside of a city, unaccompanied by his owner or his owner’s agent, shall constitute a trespass, and the owner shall be liable in damages. Except as provided in this section, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than a law enforcement officer, to kill or injure or attempt to kill or injure any dog which bears a license tag for the current year. There you go... Attacking persons = no liability in damages or otherwise. I shot a coyote once with a 7.62x54r soft point in the gut because he followed some deer through my hunting area. It ran off 10 yrds, chewed at the wound and left the area. If they can take a bullet like that and keep going I suggest if you do have to defend yourself you aim for vitals. For the record I gut shot it because i didnt want a stinking dead coyote in my hunting spot. Jeez man... No need to let an animal suffer needlessly. I'm no tree hugger, trust me, but no matter what I'm hunting, anything besides a quick clean kill is considered a failure on my part. Don't be lazy, make clean kills and drag the dead yote away... They aren't that heavy (heck you could probably even get paid for the hide). To the OP, I've seen a few groups of dogs (all pits without collars) wandering the city, thankfully i was in my car. I even saw a group of 4 running south up the rouge river bridge last year. I would not hesitate to fire on feral dogs in the city if I felt I was in danger. |
| Though most will likely avoid you, they can be incredibly dangerous. If you have any friends that work in Detroit Hospitals, ask if they've seen dog attacks. My GF (nurse) had a patient who had two arms and half a leg amputated, after an attack by a pack of dogs. Though I'm not giving up my handgun, I'd not underestimate the effectiveness of self defense spray on dogs. They're pretty damn sensitive and it'd at least buy some distraction time (I guess I could be off on this one, I've never had to use either on a dog). I have known multiple officers who have had to put multiple .40's into dogs to put them down, or get the shotgun out. |
Detroit becomes more like the third world every year. 
Obviously, exercise common sense and extreme caution when firing a weapon at a small moving target in a heavily urban area. If it's common for you to come near feral dogs than I would suggest you pack some pepper spray with a wide throw/spray funnel that you could fan out just as an additional option. |
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Despite what i said i am the last guy who wants to see/cause an animal to suffer. I just draw the line at yotes following deer around. I realize they have a place but I also think there are far too many. I do hunt yotes but the antique michigan law for hunting them says 22 rimfire or birdshot only. It kinda makes it difficult to use only a rimfire and not nearly as effective as an ar would be. Honestly that was the first time I saw a yote tracking deer and i got mad. I sighted on the front shouder first and quickly decided i didnt want to drop in rite there. Maybe not the best choice but I sleep just fine.
Just a note on my character regarding animals... I shot a dove with a pellet gun when I was about 10. It was the first thing I killed and watched die. I felt horrible. I think I cried actually. Looking back I guess that feeling is the difference in a psycopath and a normal person. To this day it bothers me because i killed it just because it was there. Im certainly no cold blooded killer. That one little dove changed my ways forever. I was quite a bit younger when I shot that yote... I guess today I would make a different choice. Unfortuanatly like i said its illegal to shoot them with a deer gun so maybe not... I guess I should disclaim this whole thing by saying it was more than 7 years ago. Sorry for the off topic Ill quit now... |
| I have a Sheltie that was attacked by my neighbors dogs twice resulting in close to $2,000 in vet bills, getting anything done was a total pain in the ass. Feral dogs may be treated differently than the ones my stupid bitch neighbors. After the second attack I told the cops and Prosecutor that at this point I have a duty to protect my pet and then FINALLY they said absolutely. |