This bothers me. If I'm attacked by a dog I may wind up killing it with whatever tools are at hand. That may be, to an observer, fundamentally identical to beating the dog to death.Long story told short:
Group of people, outdoor gathering, I went with my big friendly dog, dog singled out one guy, growled, bristled, guy walked away. I asked someone who knew the guy (I didn't) and learned that he'd beaten a dog to death but it was over 10 yrs ago. Dogs know.
I don't want every dog I meet for the rest of my life judging me for that.