Good-Grief! I thought I was the only former paper-boy to dispatch a dog! Mine was a German Shepherd, and it chewed my right leg for a week, and when the owners refused to contain it, I used a 'Bolo' on it, and dragged it a mile away from their house, killed it with my .22 Remington, and threw it in a ditch.
I think I was about 11 years old at the time, and in a farming community, if a dog will attack a paper-boy, it'll probably attack small children, so nobody bitched about the loss of the dog, not even the A-RABS that owned it!
I was kidding about the A-RABS, but not anymore. Stay well and vigilant, Orion....FRegards
Joe had 5 kids and this particular dog was sneaky. He would not act vicious but would suddenly without reason, nip them.
One day Joe (who was powerfully built and a former star football player), was drinking a coke and the dog came sneaking around. Joe acted like he didn't even see him, then when the dog got beside him, my Brother quickly brought the bottle down on the dog's head, killing him instantly.
The neighbors didn't give him any trouble over it.
Squirt bottle filled with ammonia
Num-Chucks (good for walking routes as they hide well in the bag)
Wrist rocket loaded with fishing weights, steel nuts (sound cool when shot)
Cayenne Pepper
Sawed-off pellet gun
Souvenir bat from Oakland A's game
Bigger/meaner dog
2x2 with nails in the end
M-80s from Indian reservation
Machete'
Sometimes the owners thug kids were worse than the dogs, and the paperboy always has money and a kick-ass bike. I had more title fights than Mike Tyson, lost some, won some, but never got pushed off my route or rolled for my money.