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One of my dogs has been twice attacked by other dogs. My sisters dog was attacked in its own back yard. Based on what happened afterward, my and my sisters dealing with animal control and, my sister's case the court system, my OPINION (IANAL) is:

In Texas, the health and safety code "should" help you if your self defense is based on your own animal via 822:013
https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs ... HS.822.htm

I assume that if the attack is directed at a human, the same laws apply to self-defense as if the attacker were human.

That said, the legal systems in both Texas and Pennsylvania are heavily biased against self-defenders where dogs were the attackers. I get the burden of proof being on the accuser. But the problem, I believe is greater than that, especially if you shoot the attacking dog. One would think that, with the leash laws that most places have, a dog off leash which attacks and in both mine and my sister's cases nearly kills the animal that they are attacking would be a self-evident situation but it isn't even without shooting the attacking dog. In the case of the attack on my dog, I had to provide evidence of registration and vaccination both of which I had. The attacking dog's owner wasn't forced to do the same. The dog was unregistered and, as far as I could determine, not vaccinated. The owner didn't even get the fine for the dog being off leash. I was told that if I had shot the attacking dog, I would have been prosecuted.

I could have sued the owner of the attacking dog. My sister did that and recovered, at $50 a month, repayment for her $1,100 in vet expenses. The assistant district attorney in her area abandoned her on the "dangerous dog" charge against the attacking dog and it was lost on appeal. If you doubt how badly the courts are slanted, the owner of the attacking dog acted as her own attorney even on the appeal. My sister had multiple witnesses which detailed the aggressive actions of the attacking dog. IMHO, if you added in the factor of shooting the attacking dog, it seems unlikely you would prevail without spending a lot of money. For me, it is just another example of how our system of justice is upside down.