A dog actually inflicting injury biting is different from a dog that rushes to smell and lick.I’ve been the “victim” of many “licking attacks” and only one bite.The bite was from a dog that no doubt thought it was protecting its home,as I had permission to be there but the dog’s owners ,who were standing right in front of me, didn’t mention there was a dog.The bite was hardly more than a bad pinch,not a vicious attack.I felt bad that the dog(German Shepard) was then abandoned by its owners and killed at the county pound.
As a child I lost a good little dog because she grabbed the leg of a deliveryman who jumped out and immediately rushed towards me and our rural,isolated house after arriving at high speed. He made a great fuss and my parents had the dog killed to satisfy the insurance company.
I despise people like that driver to this day.
It is the attitude to “shoot first,ask questions later” that I got from your original comment that is the mindset that bothers me,regardless of who has that attitude.
One time ,on responding to a “dog running loose” complaint I arrived to find a huge Akita there,but the dog’s manner was so obviously playful and exuberant I felt no fear. Opened my cruiser door and he jumped in and rode quietly until I found out his home and delivered him there.Now many might do the “safe” thing,call animal control and/or shoot the dog. No one can tell me that would have been better. I believe too many people,officers included, are so bound up in “taking charge” and “resolving the situation” they don’t see that remaining calm and not forcing an immediate ending can result in a better outcome for all parties.
And the other thing which has ruined life in the U.S. is the over-abundance of lawyers ready to file suit on behalf of claims that formerly would have been refused,and still ought to be refused and ridiculed.
The problem is two fold. I agree that in the vast majority of cases dog approaches are sniff and maybe lick. Often recognition is high in a neighborhood because you recognize a local dog, see that it is tagged, and most of the time of a non-aggressive breed exhibiting friendly behavior.
No problem with these at all. But there are some warning signs that should not be ignored. Dog territories are usually limited to 2-3 house lengths away from where they live. If a dog is stalking you (and maybe your dog), starting and stopping instead of coming ahead, greater than that distance, and using cover to close the gap, it is a warning sign.
This is a technique also used by coyotes when they stalk. They are never friendly to people with dogs, because to them, dogs are food. To people alone, it usually means you are in their territory, but they still don’t want to confront you.
Getting any deeper than that, other than if they ignore pepper spray, can get complicated. The ASPCA has quite a laundry list of aggressive dog behaviors.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/aggression-dogs
The bottom line is that a lot of judgment goes into what to do if faced with a dog. I will palm pepper spray soon, but I generally won’t draw down on a dog with a gun unless it is very obvious that it is hostile and about to attack.