[nagdu] Blind Teacher's guide dog Attacked
Larry D. Keeler
lkeeler at comcast.net
Tue Oct 4 02:19:28 UTC 2011
You also have to be accurate with pepper spray. It does little good sprayed
on a dogs head or side. You have to get in the eyes, nose or mouth to work
best. Some of us are not that great an aim!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Julie J." <julielj at neb.rr.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, October 03, 2011 2:48 PM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Blind Teacher's guide dog Attacked
> Brenda,
>
> I've seriously thought about pepper spray. In the end I decided to not
> carry it. I won't carry something that I don't intend on using. It
> wouldn't have any real deterrent effect if I was only threatening to use
> it. I'm not a very good actress, I think it would be obvious that I had
> no plans of actually spraying the stuff. Also only people who know what
> it is or believe you saying what it is are going to possibly be threatened
> by it. A loose dog isn't going to know what it is or care.
>
> If I actually did spray it, I'd be very, very concerned of getting my own
> dog or myself. It's quite windy here. Then I'd have to have it in my
> hand and ready to go, which seems a bit like I'm looking for a problem,
> which tends to lead to problems. Or I'd have to dig it out of a pocket or
> purse if the need arose. The odds of me remembering where I put it,
> getting it out, uncapping, aiming and spraying all in a timely and safe
> manner are pretty slim.
>
> And last I'm not sure if pepper spray is considered to be a weapon here.
> I doubt it'd be illegal to spray a loose dog, but threatening or actually
> using it on a person is a whole other matter.
>
> So those are the reason's I decided not to use it.
>
> Now as how to handle dog encounters...each situation is a bit different
> and how I react will be different. Fortunately I have never had an
> encounter where the dog was truly aggressive. Those are the dogs that
> will come at you quick and quiet, like the article. You don't have any
> warning. Those are the really bad attacks.
>
> All of my encounters are of the barking, growling, nuisance variety. I
> did have one dog actually make contact, although Belle's skin wasn't
> punctured. Dog's that bark and growl are giving warning. They are
> usually protecting their yard, their person, food or another member of
> their pack.
>
> If an owner is around, I will generally stop, put Monty into a sit, get in
> between the other dog and Monty and wait calmly for the owner to collect
> their beast. If there is no owner around I try to put space between
> myself and the other dog by crossing the street or moving out of the area.
> If a dog insists on following I will typically stand my ground and try to
> get the dog to go away.
>
> I had a service dog trainer suggest using an umbrella of the push button
> pop open variety. Usually it will scare the other dog away, while working
> as a shield for yourself and your dog. I've not tried it, but I think it
> could work.
>
> HTH
> Julie
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/lkeeler%40comcast.net
More information about the NAGDU
mailing list