As well you should.
A pack of them backed my dad [literally] down the ridge to his truck, where he’d left his rifle.
He didn’t dare turn his back on them...they -were- stalking him.
Soon as he got to the truck and pulled out the rifle, they took off.
Big as GSDs, smart and fearless of humans is a seriously bad combination.
The liberal DNR dumb asses finally took away their “protected species” status and we haven’t had much of a “problem” with them since.
[’course the farmers were already capping them every calving/lambing season before that, anyway]
SS&SU.
My comment was not in jest. I was stalked by two mountain lions a decade ago. They came within seven feet of pouncing on me. I never go unarmed in the out of doors.
I wonder sometimes if a backpack that looked like it had a face on it would make it a bit safer to go hiking in these dogs’ territory. Sort of like people in India wearing masks on the backs of their heads when in tiger territory. The animal will be less inclined to sneak up behind you.
(This in addition to being well armed, not as a substitute for it)