Dog attacks

My Ex had a cat that had a mean streak in him. He would often hide under a chair when he was pissed off and as someone walked by he would reach out and open them up with his front claws. We had his front feet declawed. He then started using his back feet. They also got declawed. When he realized he could no longer draw blood with his feet he turned to biting. We walked around with a water bottle in our hands for a month or so. Took several blasts to his face before he knocked it off.