The answer really depends on where you are. In general, you can shoot anything that threatens your life or health as long as you didnu2019t provoke the situation that put you in danger. If the neighboru2019s dog is coming onto your property and attacking you, you are justified in shooting the dog.Whether you should resort to lethal force in self-defense depends on the situation. At a minimum, you should consider whether you can make the shot without endangering other people with a stray bullet. Beyond that minimum, you should look for other ways to handle the situation before you reach that point.If youu2019re walking to the mailbox and a big dog grabs your arm, pulls you to the ground, and starts shaking you, you certainly have the right to defend yourself. If you have a gun on your person, you should draw the gun, put the muzzle against the dogu2019s chest, and keep pulling the trigger until the dog stops biting you. You should then call police and ambulance. After the ER fixes your arm and anything else the dog damaged, you should call your lawyer to sue the idiots who allowed their big dog to attack you in your yard. I have zero sympathy for people who allow large dogs to attack other people.If a dog hasnu2019t attacked but is harassing you in your yard, you would ideally ask the neighbors to keep their dog restrained. If they refuse to do so, you should talk to animal control. If the local laws donu2019t force the neighbors to stop their dog from menacing you or your family, things become cloudy. The situation isnu2019t as clear if the dog is menacing people but not in an actual attack at the moment when you fire the gun. Personally, Iu2019d always favor the person being menaced. No one should have to face harassment on his or her own property. If someone has kids and a big dog is threatening family members, I understand wanting to kill the dog before the dog attacks a child.Some dogs can be threatening and menacing without an intent to attack. A neighboru2019s dog used to bark threateningly at me whenever I went to the mailbox. He would circle me the whole time barking. Occasionally, I would become angry and run directly at him. When I did that, heu2019d run back into his own yard. Knowing that he would retreat from me, I never felt a need to escalate force any further.