> And, no, I don't intend on hurting the dog. A BB gun won't give a
> dog a wound, but will sure as Hell make them pay attention.
That depends on a number of factors. It is entriely possible to penetrate the skin with a BB-Gun, especially one you made yourself.
But I expect you'll be careful. An option used by a friend was a real gun with plastic bullets that had only a primer, no powder. Evidently they were inteded for indoor target practice vs paper targets.