That's an effective technique for 95% of singleton dog encounters.
But, for encounters with multiple dogs, or highly agressive single dogs, pepper spray is your friend. I've used it on dogs about 6 times over the last 10 years, and it's worked perfectly every time.
I have to agree here.........some dogs are very aggressive and territorial. I've had to resort to going on the offensive with one dog and it didn't back down. I had to raise my pump over my head before it went away and still it was looking for me to turn my back. I'm getting some spray and as a last resort I would consider a firearm. A pack of aggressive dogs would be very dangerous. In my area, there were reports years ago, of wild dog packs killing livestock. When out of their domestic situations, dogs revert to the same behaviors as wolves and coyotes. I have some of the same concerns about riding in remote rural areas when it comes to mountain lions, as far as having a method of self defense available.
