johnnydoom My dad would carry a walking staff, even though he didn’t really need it for walking. I used to put stones in my pocket to throw if one acted threatening. I haven’t personally researched sprays, but it seems like pepper spray would be a good deterrent for dogs.
Years ago I used to jog during lunch hour. Every time a dog got interested in me I would just yell and that took care of it. I met my match with a chow/pit mix that got loose and chased me down. I tripped as he backed me up and when I fell he ate my knee until I found a stick and got it into his face. I kept the stick in his face until a passing car called police. A sort of funny end to this episode was that I got a police cruiser, two ambulances and a fire truck in the response. I acquired a pepper spray after that.