Is it ok to kick someones dog if it goes for you?

Like Tom Dempsey kickin' that 63 yarder.

Depends how you define “going for you”. I‘ve been chased by dogs on runs before and am also a dog owner so see both sides. Some people aren’t in control of their anxieties and think a dog barking, snarling or running at them is “going for them” and akin to being assaulted. Heck, this happens to me with other dog owners when mine goes to say hello. It’s mainly because my girl is a husky cross shepherd and looks like a wolf but is only interested in play. If my dog was ever kicked I would be seriously pissed but if a human was bitten by a dog (mine or anyone’s) they’d be at liberty to hit back.

Most people really don’t know how to read dogs so it shouldn’t be someone’s first move. It can put them in danger when they weren’t before, it can make that dog scared of humans for life and likely to attack in future and many other problems.

I’m lucky in that my girl is generally indifferent to people and I’ve trained her not to chase runners and cyclists.

Yes…kick it. Hard.

owner’s fault

“Is it okay to kick someone’s dog if it goes for you?”

First, I didn’t know a dog could even go for me, but it seems pretty convenient if I could actually outsource going number two to someone’s dog if it would so oblige.

Second, why in the world would you even think of kicking a poor dog that is literally doing your sh1t for you?

Dogs that chase me are dogs chasing their grave.

Bear spray.

Sure, we've all had problems with aggressive dogs and being bitten (I got bit by one wearing a bandana, that seemed so wrong). But your aggression is misplaced and should be at the owner and not the dog. I'm not one for beating up animals because I don't like them.

Certainly kick when you need to defend yourself, but not if a dog is coming up to say hi. Its very obvious which is which most of the time.

I used to dislike dogs due to an experience as a kid, so when I would get chased by a dog of any size, I'd spaz out. There was one old lady who would let her dog run at me every day. I told her, "If this dog comes at me again, I am going to kick it." Sure enough, the next day, it ran after me, so I kicked it...it wasn't trying to be mean. It wanted to play. Now that I've had dogs of my own, if someone did that to my dog, I'd be livid. It's not the dog's fault, it's the owners. So, basically, if the dog isn't posing an actual threat, no, you shouldn't kick it...you can call the cops on the owners if it happens repeatedly, though. With that said, I've been chased by big dogs, too, and I think protecting yourself is much more justifiable in that case, even if you aren't certain if the dog is attacking or playing.

I've also noticed that loose dogs are much less aggressive toward me when I'm on runs now that I own dogs. Before I owned dogs of my own, and had anxiety about them, I seemed to have aggressive run-ins with them fairly regularly...but I also don't run in the country anymore, either, so I'm sure that plays a part.

Some years ago I was walking and two small dogs came racing at me; it was very sudden and I never even saw what yard they came from. One of them snarled and snapped at my legs and feet. I was near a busy intersection and I wanted to defend myself but all I could think was how the drivers going by were only going to see me kick a little dog, so I didn't .... and then it bit me hard enough to draw blood before running off. I figured next time any dog attacks me, I'm kicking it, no matter who sees it. (Fortunately, haven't had to.)

As a retired marathoner and also a retired letter carrier, I had abundant experience in dealing with aggressive dogs and their useless owners.

Yes I have tried to kick them when they attacked me, but dogs are too fast and kicking rarely works.

The dog spray the USPS issued us merely made an angry dog more angry.

A truly mean dog will still come at you if sprayed and will avoid your kick.

Bear spray is the best resort if you are being attacked.

I was at that game with a boy scout troop. Tom died of covid . But I would try to kick em like Justin Tucker and his 66 yard field goal. I was not at that game but I saw it on TV.

For the dog owner that said those famous words "Oh he doesn't bite" . I don't believe you. I have been bitten twice but the worst was when the teeth got stuck in my shorts and it drew blood using the legs trying to paw his way off of me.

What I really hate is when I see children have to go to the hospital with bites after getting off a school bus and just trying to get home. I will kill your dog if I see something like this. The city said that they couldn't do anything because they didn't see it.

Carry treats for the dogs, pepper spray for the owners.

...and if the dog is off leash, the owner has FAILED to control their dog if it is not on their own property. Go to court, that is a slam dunk.

Absolutely.

The classic is, “he is friendly.” Only ever said by dog owners that have exceptionally aggressive dogs.

My go to that always works for me; stop, square up to the dog, stare them down, take a position like you might go after them, and shout “leave it.” Dogs will either stop in their tracks or turn around. Don’t turn your back or resume until they have fully stopped.

Most dogs you can just ignore, especially if they are on a leash. As long as you give the owner a wide berth. It is the ones coming at you aggressively away from their owner that are bad news.

Just now this guy knocks on my door and asked me if I wanted some yardwork done. He had a female pitbull that stated barking at me when I went outside. He says she doesn't bite. I tell him I don't care get her out of my yard as she was taking a dump. So I grabbed a rock from the garden and threw it at her. He got mad and left with his dog. I yelled clean up the $#I+. As he just kept walking I said next time the rock is for you. What else can I really do?

An off leash dog started a fight with my dog at the park. I was holding my dog's leash and could not grab the other dog (grabbing a dog by the hind legs and pulling them backwards almost always will get them to stop fighting). All I could do was kick the dog as hard as I could. It sort of moved him back a bit, but did not stop the fighting.

Dog on dog fights are a bit different as a lot of the time it is just a lot of show to try and establish who is the alpha. When a dog goes after a person, it usually means business and will do some serious damage if they land a bite and even worse if it is a pit that may lock on (I know pits don't have locking jaws, but they do use bite pressure to try and kill). Best thing to do is stop your foot as hard as you can by the dog's head and yell as loud as you can at the dog. All puppies are disciplined by their mom with a paw stomp near their heads. Throw a magazine on the ground by a dog and they will all cower and back away.