A man is in custody in Regina after being pursued by a police dog, pepper-sprayed and shot with a Taser by officers responding to a report of a knifepoint robbery.

Preston Charles Akachuk, 28, of Carlyle, Sask., faces seven charges, including robbery, assaulting a police officer, three weapons charges and two charges for breaching release conditions.

According to the Regina police, the incident began in the Eastview area on the east side of town Saturday morning when someone tried to rob a cab driver at knifepoint. The cabbie ran out of the car and wasn't hurt.

Police SWAT members and the canine unit were called to the scene. A dog tracked a suspect and when police approached the man, he pulled a knife, police said.

Police told him to drop it. When he refused to do so, police tried to pepper spray him. When that didn't work, they tried a stun gun.

That didn't work either, probably due to layers of clothing the man was wearing, police said. They pepper-sprayed him a second time and he dropped the knife.

He was arrested and taken to hospital after suffering "mild irritation" from the pepper spray, the police said.

Akachuk made a first appearance in court on Monday.