A big caliber single shot pistol will work. I had almost forgot about this one. I was out shooting my CVA 50 cal mountain rifle getting ready for the deer season about 28 years ago. I also had a CVA mountain pistol in 50 cal. I loaded 60 grs of FFFG in it with a patched round ball. I could hit the center of an oil can at 50 yards every time with it. I was shooting at a place that was a sand pit that people had started dumping trash and they would drop off unwanted dogs also. I had a dog attack me there about a month earlier and just lucky that I had a 357 mag revolver loaded on my hip to quickly stop that attack. I had just shot my rifle and was loading it up again when I kept hearing something over the bank behind me. I picked up the pistol that was loaded and walked back to look over the bank that ran down to a pond that had formed from rain run off. When I came to the edge of the bank there was this mixed up breed of a German Shepard dog. The moment that he saw me he started growling and showing his teeth and started up the bank toward me. When he got about 50 yards from me I let him hold the ball from that mountain pistol in the chest. It stopped him in mid stride and dropped him in his tracks and I saw the ball splash in the water about 30 yards behind the dog. The ball went all the way through that dog and came out it's right hip after smashing the ball socket. The exit hole was the size of a quarter. That dog would have gone a good 50 lbs. I never did shoot a deer with that pistol because in NC where I lived at the time you could not use, and still can not use, a BP pistol to hunt deer. I have no doubt that that pistol would get the job done.
