I carry a 44mag revolver in the mountains around Pocatello. Lots of mountain lions. I also carry a few knives. Whacking the lions with rocks and PVC is lame. I’m happy the dog was freed.
Any working firearm in a situation like this would have done the job from 22 short on up.
Even any decent sized edge weapon.
It takes a bit more than a piece of PVC to beat off a mountain lion.