How would pepper spray work against them? I ride my mtn. bike out in Brendan Byrne and in Batsto and have heard dogs barking deep in the woods. They dont sound like hunting dogs either.
Feral Dogs
- Thread starter mudboy dave
- Start date
Living in out in the country in upstate NY for many years, everybody let their dogs wander free (we had two ourselves) and there were some nasty ones. A kid at my daughter's school had his face nearly ripped off by a pit bull and it was all over the news. I had a number of close calls riding a bicycle. The neighbor had a big, aggressive shepherd named "Satan" who liked to chase cars and anything else that moved. He met his end chasing the snow plow one winter... he "zigged when he should have zagged".
When I moved down here in 1993, the first thing that struck me was that there were hardly any loose dogs in the pines. I still rarely see any loose dogs. So I do understand how nasty a dog can be. But I just have not seen it to be a problem in the pines. Maybe I'm just lucky?
Regarding cats, I have had quite a few over the years but am "petless" now and happy to be free of the responsibilities. What I meant about the "cute lost kitty" was that I'd probably cave in and adopt it. I don't believe in feeding wild or stray animals. Period. My neighbors told me that the previous owner of my house liked to leave food outside for raccoons and stray cats, and they are glad that I don't.
When I moved down here in 1993, the first thing that struck me was that there were hardly any loose dogs in the pines. I still rarely see any loose dogs. So I do understand how nasty a dog can be. But I just have not seen it to be a problem in the pines. Maybe I'm just lucky?
Regarding cats, I have had quite a few over the years but am "petless" now and happy to be free of the responsibilities. What I meant about the "cute lost kitty" was that I'd probably cave in and adopt it. I don't believe in feeding wild or stray animals. Period. My neighbors told me that the previous owner of my house liked to leave food outside for raccoons and stray cats, and they are glad that I don't.
Contact the municipality to send the animal contral contractor out to trap them.
the cats will just keep breeding and killing native wildlife if they are left alone.
the cats will just keep breeding and killing native wildlife if they are left alone.
So you were in a similar situation with dogs when you were growing up. Yeah, even non-homeless dogs get nasty when given that kind of freedom huh? I am also very glad that most people down here keep their dogs under control. I recall Guy telling me of packs of feral dogs running about in the 70's at the old pioneer smelting factory.
My apologies if I came off as condensending in my original response about the stray cats. That wasn't my intent.
Jeff
Yes. I had a 1973 Land Cruiser and the rear window would flip up and I would ride around often that way. This pretty much opened up the back of the vehicle. Back then Savoy Blvd was pretty remote along that stretch and when we would ride by Pioneer Smelting the dogs would come out in a pack and chase after us. I really regret not getting photo's of that.
Guy
Man, the pine barrens are full of wild dogs...don't you people read Tom Brown books?!?
People hear a few coon or fox hounds and the stories start. I take my German Sheperd running in the morning, we do three miles and he isn't even panting. A house dog in decent shape could roam 20 miles in a night easy. There is no place in South Jersey that is so far out in the woods that any dog you see couldn't just be fido on his way home for some puppy chow.
As far as protection if you do run into a couple of house pets run amok, I think a well placed .357 round is hard to beat. When I lived in the country here in VA. there were always strays in the woods after hunting season ( they use dog's to hunt deer down here- lazy bastards).Some of the clubs would turn lose any mutt they could get their hands on. Dog catcher won't leave the state maintained roads so we had to take care of the problem ourselves.
As for clubbing them I can tell you from personal experience that I lack the strength to stop a pit bull/lab mix from attacking another dog using a green limb bigger than a ball bat. I hit it in the head and back three times with all I had before I made it mad enough to come after me instead of my dog. My Pistol changed it's mind quick though and even then it took a few shots before it dropped, it was like somethig out of a bad dream.
Happy hiking
Keith
People hear a few coon or fox hounds and the stories start. I take my German Sheperd running in the morning, we do three miles and he isn't even panting. A house dog in decent shape could roam 20 miles in a night easy. There is no place in South Jersey that is so far out in the woods that any dog you see couldn't just be fido on his way home for some puppy chow.
As far as protection if you do run into a couple of house pets run amok, I think a well placed .357 round is hard to beat. When I lived in the country here in VA. there were always strays in the woods after hunting season ( they use dog's to hunt deer down here- lazy bastards).Some of the clubs would turn lose any mutt they could get their hands on. Dog catcher won't leave the state maintained roads so we had to take care of the problem ourselves.
As for clubbing them I can tell you from personal experience that I lack the strength to stop a pit bull/lab mix from attacking another dog using a green limb bigger than a ball bat. I hit it in the head and back three times with all I had before I made it mad enough to come after me instead of my dog. My Pistol changed it's mind quick though and even then it took a few shots before it dropped, it was like somethig out of a bad dream.
Happy hiking
Keith
Dogs are meant to roam, and they are social creatures. The average suburban dog living alone and fenced in, or worse inside the house all day while the family is at work/school, is basically psychotic. Having more than one greatly eases the mental strain for them, but still the complete lack of contact with humans other than the immediate owner family leads to dogs with no socialization skills at all. Next time you are around people with dogs in a public environment look closely at how they act: either slinking down in fear or jumping up in over-excited curiosity. They have no idea how to deal with people other than their family. I grew up in upstate NY and we had dogs roaming freely. Everyone knew them, and yes there were some problem dogs, but everyone knew them too. There were never any serious problems.
Here in northwestern NJ if one of my dogs runs through the fence and gets into the neighbors yard I'm going to get an earful, and it's not out of fear of a dangerous animal. They're afraid the dog will dig in the grass, or, uber sin of all sins, crap in their yard which is already an inch deep in deer shit. Basically, suburban America is nuttier than the dogs will ever be.
I saw that coyote too. He rides pretty good, but I'll bet he stole that bike. When I saw him riding he was all dandied up, wearing a gray tweed coat, knickers, and a green felt swiss hat with a feather in it. He grinned at me as he rode by, as if he was something really special.
Was that an ACME brand bike with a small rocket attached? BTW I got a Tyrolean hat when we left Germany in '65. I thought I was so cool wearing it!
Im not buying this whole idea. They are social animals and should be socialized in their critical puppy stage with as many other dogs, people, and places as possible. This is how we've always brought our pups up (especially hunting dogs for the field). I dont think that leaving them at home during work makes them psychotic at all. Thats basically all dogs you're talking about then. As long as an owner raises them properly and gives them enough exercise and socializing with other dogs, a dog is not going to be psychotic unless it was born that way or was mistreated. A properly raised dog also will not sink in fear or go crazy around other dogs just because it is left at home during the work day.
Well I agree with that, but most owners in suburbia anyway don't do those things to ensure proper socialization, and its just not natural for a dog to be alone all day in an empty house or yard. They can deal with it if it is handled properly, but in my experience it most often isn't.
Couldn't agree more and add that the breeder is one of the main responisble parties in the animals development. Puppy mill dogs are proof of that. Unfortunatley, many dogs are still bought that are mill dogs. Its almost like raising a kid and the results are also similar : (
That I definately agree with. Most owners dont take the time. 46er has a good point about the breeder (and family line of the dog).
You know why you don't throw rocks at a coyote riding a bike??? IT COULD BE YOUR BIKE!!!:rofl:
Should work fine, but use the bear concentration, it's the one with the punch. Here is a comment from a friend that works with the Rocky Mt Interagency Bear group and Counter Assault doing bear education programs in Montana, when a similar question was asked on another forum.
"It is very effective on dogs, even in groups because of the way it atomizes, as well as it being a different formula than regular pepper spray. When I help out at counter assault, the pepper spray has little effect on me, the bear spray on the other hand brings me to my knee's and I have to use my asthma inhaler to regain full breathing function, in addition if it gets on your skin, it burns like Hell"
Just make sure you are upwind of the spray when you let loose or the dogs will have a well seasoned feast
And store it carefully, cars have been totalled when cannisters get discharged.
Does anyone remember Tom Brown's anecdotes about "wild dogs" in the Pines? Whether fanciful or not, his terse I-was-there presentation gives the impression that feral dog packs are more dangerous than the average wild animal. Makes me shudder.
The discussion on this thread is fascinating; I appreciate the insights y'all have shared.
Glo
The discussion on this thread is fascinating; I appreciate the insights y'all have shared.
Glo
Never been to his class but I could have told this based on my encounters at about age 12 lol. Nasty things
Speaking from experience he most likely did encounter them, however, all of his tales are so far fetched it is hard to believe they are fully accurate.
Guy