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Wolfeye · January 31, 2011, 08:42 PM

To answer your question, .357 is sufficient for stopping a dog. I've only seen a dog shot once, and it was with a Smith model 65. My dad & I had come across a small pack of feral dogs during a hike in Alaska. Dad shot one when they took a mean interest in us, it spun around & yelped until it finally collapsed, and in the meantime the rest of the pack ran into the woods. The whole incident was very quick, maybe a few seconds.

I think those circumstances & that of having a neighbor with roaming dogs are different. I don't think I'd pull a gun on a dog in town unless it was already biting me, for fear of getting arrested & sued. I'd talk with the owners, talk with other concerned neighbors, and talk to your local cops to see what they'd recommend. But from what I've seen, usually nothing gets done unless children or elderly people get involved.

My preferred dog defense is strong pepper spray. A collapsible baton is also nice, but they need training to get good with. If it came down to using a gun, I think a snub .357 is plenty. I'd even settle for a six-shot .38 like an old Colt.

January 31, 2011, 08:42 PM	#11
Wolfeye Senior Member Join Date: November 29, 2008 Posts: 208	To answer your question, .357 is sufficient for stopping a dog. I've only seen a dog shot once, and it was with a Smith model 65. My dad & I had come across a small pack of feral dogs during a hike in Alaska. Dad shot one when they took a mean interest in us, it spun around & yelped until it finally collapsed, and in the meantime the rest of the pack ran into the woods. The whole incident was very quick, maybe a few seconds. I think those circumstances & that of having a neighbor with roaming dogs are different. I don't think I'd pull a gun on a dog in town unless it was already biting me, for fear of getting arrested & sued. I'd talk with the owners, talk with other concerned neighbors, and talk to your local cops to see what they'd recommend. But from what I've seen, usually nothing gets done unless children or elderly people get involved. My preferred dog defense is strong pepper spray. A collapsible baton is also nice, but they need training to get good with. If it came down to using a gun, I think a snub .357 is plenty. I'd even settle for a six-shot .38 like an old Colt.