I don't know about casual....but I have a couple friends that dog bites have resulted in numerous surgeries. One had a pretty bad heverything. (Torn tendon)....the other had to have multiple surgeries to his face (pitbull grabbed him by the face)
Forget that....I will choose my safety over a dogs everytime.
My worst dog experience.
We have a very large trailer park in our city. I took a call there in the heat of summer about a dog attack. An elderly man was walking his small dog (I forget the breed but it was very small, Yorkie maybe) and tried to pick it up and run when he saw another dog that was loose.
Another trailer had four pit bulls; three that were kept on chains and for some reason one was on a rope. The rope was eventually chewed in two and a 168 pound Pit Bull was on the hunt (we later found the dogs were being used for fighting).
When the pit saw the little dog. it was on. The elderly gentleman was able to pick his dog up and make a run for it but the Pit tackled him from the back and mauled him badly. Like I said, it was summer and all the man had on were shorts and slippers. The small dog never had a chance.
Another officer and I arrived pretty much to the chaos of people screaming and running and animals of all sorts going nuts. If you have never been to a trailer park, things are packed in pretty tight. My partner had paramedic training and started working on the elderly man while I stood guard. There were some other mongrel dogs loose that had also went nuts and became aggressive but never attacked.
After the ambulance left, we started circling the trailers one by one (yes, guns out). I came around a corner of the trailer next to the dog owners trailer and saw the lose Pit about 100 feet away. It immediately made a dead sprint bee line for me and there was no doubt what it's intentions were. At about 50 feet I made my first shot and hit him in the left shoulder. It slowed the dog slightly but he kept coming. The second shot hit him in the hind quarters and spun him around. Once again, he kept coming at a surprising clip for an animal that was shot twice. When the dog was about 10 feet away I made a head shot which finally stopped him but still did not kill it right away. Fourth shot put him out. Four shots with a .357. Those in the know understand how fast this took place in a distance of 100'.
By the end of it all there were 13 dead animals found and the elderly man later expired from his injuries.
I am sure some people will throw their 'should have, could haves' at me. People who have have had the experience of having to make a firing decision understand how much information the mind has to process and how fast it has to happen.
That was a really bad day.
To the OP, lead treats are your safest bet.
That said, I fully believe animals have a higher sense of a persons presence and countenance. They know when you are scared, threatened, or a safe friend. SA and how you act toward them is huge.
That said, there is a point where none of that matters and their animal instinct will take over. When and why that happens is anybody's guess and Not something I am going to leave up to chance any more than I have to.
Most people on this forum know I am an open carry guy.