Buckshot is a Northern Michigan hunter and trapper who has a webpage that anyone taking refuge in the countryside could profitably study.

In a post of a couple of days, I gave an incorrect URL for locating his articles, including those dealing with the threat posed by housepets released into the wilderness.

The correct URL is:

http://www.netside.com/~lcoble/buckshot/index.htm

-- Not Whistlin' Dixie (not_whistlin_dixie@yahoo.com), December 01, 1999

Answers

Dear Not whistlin'-- WOW and maybe WOW again. Thank you for giving me something new to consider. I spend a lot of time in the summer picking whatever fruits and berries are available--and I always take a dog along for early warning of cyote and bear. The thought of packs of dogs out there is a nightmare. It really is obvious and yet I hadn't even considered it. I will have to adjust my thinking. Pam

-- Pamela (jpjgood@penn.com), December 01, 1999.

I believe that feral dog packs next year may be even more of a problem in the cities, where the dog population is more dense. To my way of thinking, the risk of attack from dog packs is the very best reason to have, and be expert with, firearms. Buckshot's stories of three dog attacks are a must read. I suspect that most any dog will rapidly become part of a hunting pack when the dog food runs out. Your neighbor's poodle may well become a real problem!

-- Les Holladay (holladayl@aol.com), December 02, 1999.

To reduce the number of feral dogs. Chain a bitch in heat (or doused with coyote musk) inside a fenced area. In holes in the fence set Conibear 330 traps. Use the dog meat for fish bait; or stew meat if times are that tough. See N_W_D posting above for Buckshot's URL to order your traps.

-- Vlad (Strelok60@yahoo.com), December 02, 1999.

Pepperspray?

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), December 03, 1999.

Mara,

A couple of years ago, I read a comparison of the effectiveness of various self-defense gases and aerosols. The authors were quite definite that pepper spray (capsicum oleoresin) was the most effective non-lethal agent against dogs. For use against the dog, pepper gas outperformed teargas and Mace.

-- Not Whistlin' Dixie (not_whistlin_dixie@yahoo.com), December 03, 1999.

I've been thinking about what I just posted.

Don't use pepper gas or any other non-lethal agent on feral dogs.

Use lead, traps and snares.

No sense in just scaring away dangerous predators so that they can maul somebody's kid later. Drop them for keeps.

-- Not Whistlin' Dixie (not_whistlin_dixie@yahoo.com), December 03, 1999.

Wolf packs, feral dogs packs, and some streetscum use the same tactics. One gets in front to get your attention. Others attack from behind. I carry Colt 45ACP Commander for social work.

-- Vlad (Strelok60@yahoo.com), December 03, 1999.