I have seen our local police spray mace/pepper spray on dogs, but have not heard of any dogs being shot here unless the police were actually being attacked.

I too am a dog aficionado, and I can't imagine the feeling of having my best friends shot simply because of an error.

That said, some dogs are naturally protective of their family members, and it is the responsibility of dog owners to train their dogs sufficiently to be able to maintain control of their dogs, even while being restrained by authorities.

This is where Schutzhund training comes into play. My dogs respond to both voice commands as well as hand signals. When I say "Pfui! Ablegen!" my dogs immediately lie down and are still. The same with "Platz."

I have trained my dogs to work well in varying situations, including violent confrontations, with/without firearms, attackers with bats, etc, and it takes a level of commitment that the casual dog owner lacks.

I was urged into Schutzhund training by a neighbor who raises beautiful Rottweilers and he didn't want to see any uncontrolled bull-dogs in this neighborhood. (rural agriculture, and my dogs run loose on my un-fenced property) It was the best thing to ever happen for my dogs and I.