Campers from hell
I know it's never a good idea to camp on the 4th, but this no-hookups CG is so pretty with big spaces. And cheap. I guess cheap is what attracts this: Late yesterday an Excursion towing a fright ...
Forum Discussion
Lwiddis wrote:
Unleashed dog approaches me in my campsite growling I try to discourage them with lots of noise and a stout stick held in my left hand poking and hitting...usually works 99% of the time. If that doesn't work, I shoot it. Now let's hear from the dog lovers who have never been bit by strange and aggressive dog.
Even as a non-gun person, I can agree with your first and last parts. The making a lot of noise can get the attention of someone who can get the dog before something happens (if you make the right noises - calm, deep voiced, and authoritative - not shrieking, etc.). The stout stick held in your hand provides you with a simple tool to block an attack if the dog goes for it. The gun - that's for the "if it doesn't work
But, if the dog is just standing there growling, then poking and hitting it with a stick is going to make it attack. Any chance of the dog not attacking you is gone at that point.
Other things to do (or not do) are standing still, not kicking, not making sudden movements, not making threatening movements, etc. Staring the dog down is only a good idea if you have enough dog knowledge to understand THAT dog - with some dogs, staring it down will have it slinking away; with others, it will cause them to attack. If in doubt, stand tall, arms close to your body, with your eyes averted to the left or right (don't drop your eyes down) - that creates a neutral pose.
(I'm hoping I misinterpreted your post and you mean that you would poke and hit the dog with the stick IF it tried to attack you and not just because it was standing there growling.)
