TO stick to the example provided by the OP, there was no attack and to strike on dog is to attack the whole pack. To jump right to physical assault is foolish without considering the ramifications. Simply because you have the right to do something doesn't mean that it would be prudent to enforce it at that moment.
A volatile situation like that would have to be witnessed to determine whether spray should be used or not. I am not saying I'd spray those dogs.
As for inciting an attack by spraying them, I beg to differ. Those dogs know who the 'alpha' is and they follow its lead. When the alpha attacks, the others will gain the confidence to follow that lead. OTOH, if you can determine which is the 'alpha' and you take that one out, the others will likely be dissuaded from attacking. Dogs are pack animals as in followers. Bears are not. They do not follow anyone's lead and have built-in confidence.
Even lions have this figured out, kill the alpha hyena first.
I am a dog owner and lover just like you, but I wouldn't hesitate to spray an aggressive acting dog if it got too close.
Quoting the OP...
There is no way in this situation that the OP would not have been justified in the use of pepper spray on the dogs. One unknown dog running at you barking would 99 time out of 100 be justified.A group of medium-sized dogs came running towards me off of someone's property. The dogs came into the public roadway, circled around me, barking.
Hi everyone, thanks for all of your thoughts and insight on this. I have also been doing some additional research into PA dog laws, and dog behavior in general.
Its unfortunate that it occurred, to be sure. I've decided not to walk past that house for a while, which is a shame as its a nice area to walk in. Its a further shame because the only reason I'm avoiding it now is due to the fact that I don't want to encounter the dogs again and possibly be forced to act in a defensive way.
I have subsequently purchased a canister of UDAP bear spray, the large and powerful bottle. I sometimes walk on the Appalachian trail and in other more remote locations and after this incident, I don't want to be in a situation where I am not prepared should the dog (or whatever animal), be more aggressive. The ethics/legality of deploying a spray is confusing. Several of you felt it might have been warranted, several thought it wouldn't have been. What is the standard...that the dog has to be lunging at you attempting to tear into your arm or leg before you can spray? That seems crazy. I also think spraying at a barking animal that's more than 6-8 feet away from you is off as well. Closer than five feet, and seeming it will get closer... maybe more justified? I suppose like many things there is a gray area. I hope I'm not in that situation again.
As far as the letter idea I mentioned, I was thinking of mailing a certified mail letter outlining the incident in bullet points, i.e. "on such as such day at such and such time XYZ occurred involving your dogs", and also sending them a copy of the PA Dog Law fact sheet. I don't want to involve law enforcement at this point.