Self Protection From Strange Dogs

Have you ever been riding your bicycle around theuse, too. Point the animal repeller at the dog and
block when a dog comes running out of it's yard andpress the button. That's all there is to it. It's also safe
starts chasing you down the street? Maybe you'reand humane. The electronic animal repeller is not the
walking down the street when you spot a ratherrepeller of choice however, if your walking your dog.
large dog a few houses away. The dog appears toA second option is to whip out your trusty dog
be unattended and you don't know if it's friendly. Hasrepellent spray. Mace makes a safe, humane and
this ever happened to you? Your walking your smalleffective dog repellent spray that's EPA approved. It
dog (on a leash) down the street when suddenlysprays 8-10 feet, but don't spray it into the wind as
your confronted by a strange, free roaming dog andthe results could prove to be dis- astrous. Here's how
it's growling and in the attack position.it works. When sprayed with a pepper spray dog
What do you do? What can you do?repellent spray, most dogs throw themselves on the
In the first scenario, described above, where theground rubbing their eyes. The painful burning effects
bicyclist is being chased by a dog, you wouldof the spray typically wear off within a few minutes,
probably start peddling faster while simultaneouslyleaving the dog healthy and unharmed. Choose dog
kicking out at the dog in an attempt to both outrunrepellent sprays with pepper spray, also known as
the dog and prevent it from biting you. The secondOC (oleoresin capsicum) spray, as it's ingredient.
scenario has you walking down the street when youOther sprays may not work on dogs that don't
spot a large, unattended dog a few houses away.respond to pain. It's totally non-toxic.
Lot's of people go for walks carrying a base- ball batAnother option is the stun baton. A favorite among
or large stick to protect themselves just in case thesecurity guards, it is very effective on dogs. Just
dog turns out to be, shall we say, unfriendly. First,touch the dog on it's face. It will drop to it's knees,
carrying a baseball bat or a large stick can beturn and run. Normally, however, the clicking sounds
cumbersome and get heavy after awhile. Second,the baton makes when turned on is enough to deter
you have to be prepared to beat the dog (not anthe dog. Stun batons come in different lengths
easy thing to do). Imagine how you will feelranging from 300,000 volts to 500,000 volts. A stun
afterwards. So, instead, you'll probably just turnbaton is a stun gun placed into a baton. Stun guns
around and walk back rather than take a chance. Theuse high voltage and low amperage to temporarily
last scenerio as described above, has you walkingdisable an attacker. It does not rely on pain for
your small dog on a leash, when your confronted byresults. The energy stored in the gun is dumped into
a larger, strange dog. Most likely, you will pick up yourthe attackers blood sugar by converting it to lactic
beloved pet, hold it close to you and then just hopeacid. Unable to produce energy for the muscles, the
for the best. Trying to run away almost neverbody is unable to function properly. The stun gun also
works.interrupts the tiny neurological impulses that control
Let's look at some other options. One is to keep themuscle move- ment, causing the attacker to lose
dog from coming near you in the first place. You cantheir balance. All this happens very rapidly. Should the
accomplish this with an electronic animal repellant.attacker be touching you, the current will not pass to
Using ultrasonic technology, the devise produces ayour body. Of course, as a last resort, you can use
discomforting but not harmful high frequency sound,the baton as a stick or baseball ball to hit the dog
audible to dogs but not to humans. One such devicewith.
is the Ultrasonic Dog Chaser. It's small and lightweight.So go ahead and take that walk down the street, or
It measures 3 & 3/4 inches by 2 & 3/16 inches by 7pull out your bike and ride around the block again.
8 inches. That's roughly the size of a deck of cards.There's no need to be afraid of those stray dogs
Weighing in at just 3.5 ounces with the 9-voltany more. Have FUN!
battery, it's quite compact. It has a frequency rangeYou can find these devices in some stores and on
between 20,000Hz - 25,000Hz. At 135dbs, it has anmost internet sites selling self protection products.
effective range up to 20 feet. The device is easy to