Is yelling 'I'll kill your dog' the only way?

I love dogs, most dogs, I think they are better than humans and when they aren't better it's usually the fault of humans. I think that's a fair observation since we don't run into wild dogs and the coyotes don't walk right up to us asking for trouble (they stand 15 feet away waiting to spread disease on you).
All dogs are friendly until they aren't.... I think I've said that before, lately in fact.

I've got some nasty scratches on my leg, but I don't know if it's from Rock or the dog that decided it wanted to be 'the lead dog'. It doesn't matter but I do feel bad for kicking said dog twice and punching it in the head/neck 3+ times. This is what happens when two animals meet and they don't like each other for whatever reasons. I know a lot of dogs that are fine when they meet, the sniffs are cordial, but after that it's downhill. This is the main reason you have to have control of your dog, it's a domesticated wild animal.

The problem is I can't control another animal, I can only control mine. The new invention called a leash is really expensive (forget that it's required) but it can prevent another animal from being killed. I certainly wouldn't want to have my dog killed for my stupidity and ignorance, but I suppose that's a 10% or less philosophy. I'll use that percentage based on the number of leashed dogs I encounter daily when I'm out running or walking. I don't go to dog parks.

It was a good reminder of how narrow your focus can be when the adrenaline hits, and it hits instantly. I don't remember the other 3 dogs being picked up or grabbed and hastily leashed, I don't remember if the claw gouges on my leg were from Rock or the other dog. I remember holding his harness and circling left to keep my body between the two. I remember knowing where I was going to hit on the next strike and I remember telling myself not to kick it in the jaw.
I remember telling Rock he was a good dog, a good boy. A good boy cause he was on a leash, a good, good boy. I do remember none of the 4 people saying a single word, my actions were obviously conversation ending. Hindsight says it's lucky they remained silent.

Do you think this was a lesson to the lady who owned the dog? Nope, of course not, what kind of story would that be. Making us stop so she could grab her dog again 1/4 mile down the road made it painfully obvious she didn't even have a leash and was a complete (I'll leave that blank). She could have simple let us continue after the first incident (we were running and they were walking), but that's using too much common sense.

Now I'll simply stop and tell the people to control their dogs, if they don't I'll tell them I'll kill the dog. I'm sure that will bring law enforcement at some point, but this is me not caring anymore, and other people failing to follow the rules and regulations.

Had I shot the dog, I would lose my weapon (at the very minimum) until/if it was determined  I was using justifiable force. Had I just dropped the leash and let Rock kill the dog, we would lose him until/if it was proven Rock was justified.

I'm looking forward to this evening to see how the new approach works. I bet I won't have to do anymore than say 'control your dog'. I'm going to pack a very large frame pistol, open carry, that should say all I don't.