My own experience involved a Doberman Pincher. I figured that full out his forward velocity was about equal to that of a slow pitch softball, hence I chose a baseball bat as my defensive tool. In my crowded neighborhood a gun may have caused collateral damage.
It was a little stressful, and I had no practice with a projectile that bobbed up and down, so basically I hit a pop-up. However in this game that is considered a "run".