[pepperhead]

Thanks for mentioning that. I have thought about getting some spray or carrying something to protect myself and my dog. That sonic thing looks interesting and small, which is nice, but I don’t know how my own dog would react to it. I live in the county but the neighborhood is fairly developed and there is a lot of house there. The people with the dog in question have a fence for the dog but leave the gate open! The city has tougher leash laws. If I lived there they would have done something about it.

[allmost]

Sorry, forgot about your dog. :)
The sound doesn't hurt them but you probably wouldn't want to subject yours to it that often. Unless you want to take a few 'dry runs' and train those dogs to stand down when they see you which is a pain.