i read maybe 1/50th of this thread.
i wish we were a pure republic. too many uninformed people voting - hence restrictive but impotent gun laws, for example.
on the dog thing, i gotta say, if you're moving in close enough to whack it or stab it, why not just take a contact shot? through its back or side, into the ground, away from the kid. that's what i'd do - i think the potential for shock is a lot higher with a gunshot. wrestling or inflicting wounds similar to what the the dog might get in an actual dogfight could only encourage it to stay clamped, but i would think a temporary disruption that gets up into double-digit centimeter size in cross-section is probably going to make the dog at least back off momentarily to try a new angle of attack.
heck though, i'd just fight him with my hands for fun. maybe even tie the thing up, throw it in a cage with some snakes, a moose and myself and see who comes out. i love rasslin' with my 130 pound bernese, i could see if that "training" has done me any good
