Young kids, strange dogs and clearing leather.

[Sandcut]

Food/treats, don't make eye contact, don't approach it, don't make sudden movements if it approaches you, if you feel threatened back away and leave, loud noises to scare it off. If you are able to get close enough, check for tags and call the owner or animal control. A dog will give you a warning before it attacks... so many options apart from shooting a likely terrified animal. Dogs are pack animals, natural followers, not aggressive by nature. I have two male pit mixes and yes they would die for me, but neither would ever approach a stranger on strange territory aggressively unless provoked and fearful. Put your guns away, gentlemen. Not every circumstance requires such extreme measures. Imagine your kids seeing you shoot a dog that essentially did nothing wrong.

You clearly have no idea how dogs behave.

1. Giving treats to aggressive dogs only reinforces bad behavior.
2. Avoiding eye comtact is fine...if you want to take a submissive posture with the dog. Among dogs, the animal that looks away is the subordinate animal. By looking away you are, again, reinforcing aggressive behavior and possibly inviting further aggression.
3. Backing away is also a subordinate act. As a minimum, stand your ground. It's also physically impossible to simultaneously make a loud noise while not moving suddenly.
4. If a dog is behaving aggressively, I would recommend NOT getting close enough to check its tags for ownership. If it isn't acting aggressively, I'll probably be scratching the beast behind his ears.
5. Dogs DO NOT always give warnings before they attack. The ome time that I was attacked by a Shepherd while in college, he came in with an aggressive posture, head down, hackles up, tail tucked, but his attack was half assed and broke off. The secomd time that I was attacked was in Africa and involved two dogs. They came up to me very casually with no aggressive posture. In fact the one fucker actually stretched lazily and yawned immediately before they flanked me on either side. One bit my hand, one bit my ass. No growling, no aggressive posture, no raised hackles, nothing.
6. "Not aggressive by nature"???? Exactly why do you think that dogs (and all canids) travel in packs? They do so because it is a force multiplier for aggressive behavior, allowing them to prey on animals much larger than one individual can effectively hunt. SOME dogs are followers. Others are the alphas. Others are just beneath the alpha and are waiting for the opportunity to become the alpha. Aggression occurs within the pack as well. Dogs are often submissive to their owners, but I can show you a large number of dogs owned by friends and family that have a higher position in the pack than their owners realize.
7. For the sake of all involved I hope you never overestimate your two pups.

The only statement that I agree with you on is that not every circumstance requires such extreme measures. Having acknowledged that, as Streaker said, it is not my job to try to second guess the intentions of strange dogs, especially when they approach my family. And based on my own personal experience having been around dogs my entire life and having been bitten, I have no qualms that my behavior in the OP was the correct action.

[ksimon]

In trying to diffuse a situation, I'm not sure it matters if you're reinforcing bad behavior or letting the dog think you're submissive to it. It's just a means to an end. Call me crazy but pulling my gun is the very last thought I'd have in any situation with a domestic animal. But hey I get it, agree or get reemed. Lesson learned, I'll stick to looking if anyone's selling cool shit.

[Krichardson]

Nancy probably has something that you can use.

[Emptymag]

"Shoot a dog" threads are always big fun.

[Sandcut]

"Shoot a dog" threads are always big fun.

The funny part is that no dogs were harmed in the making of this thread.

[Pilot321]

The funny part is that no dogs were harmed in the making of this thread.

How about cats?

[Sandcut]

How about cats?

I'm taking the 5th.

[streaker69]

How about cats?

I'll admit, I punted a cat.

[McSull]

I'll admit, I punted a cat.

I never punted a cat, but I have pounded some pussies.

[streaker69]

I never punted a cat, but I have pounded some pussies.

I should have shot it, but it was before I was a gun owner. The next day that same cat bit a 68yr old woman and gave her rabies.

Yup, I guess I should have figured out what it's intentions were before I punted it.

I don't really trust many animals that are running free.