[jhein]

Originally Posted by Skidmark

"that has led to the air pistol. This morning I hit them each in the side of the chest, one round each with solid nylon balls. Neither of them yelped but they both turned and ran when hit. Normally after I try to spray them, they come back after a couple minutes. This time they stayed away, so we'll see."

I went back and reread the above and considering how it went your actions seem pretty benign. Neither dog yelped = no pain.
Most likely just startled them. I expect the pepper balls will be needed. You've been more than decent in this situation considering they busted on to your property and attacked your dogs.

Yeah. This is basically a paintball type launcher. Humans pay good money to get shot by them. It's a hobby and a sport.