MensXpert.com - How To Defend Yourself Against A Dog Attack

Dog attacks can not only hurt badly but they can sometimes be life-threatening as well. Each year, many adults and children die from their attacks. Considering that the number of stray dogs is increasing by the day, one must know how to defend oneself from these canine fellas. But having said that, you must hurt the dog only to the extent that it retreats. Unnecessarily hitting a dog or throwing a stone at it will only serve to irritate it and make it retaliate with greater ferocity. Here are some tips on how to defend yourself when a dog attacks.

Avoid the attack in the first place

Dogs attack either when they are threatened or their territory is encroached. A basic tip is to try avoiding any strange dog. Also, never surprise a dog. This rule is all the more applicable if the dog is sleeping, eating, or chewing on something. If the dog is in the company of its pups, in its own territory or on its master's property, it will be in a defensive mode. Dogs generally warn before attacking. Don't ignore a bark or its body language. If it approaches, don't turn your back and run away. A dog's natural instinct will be to pounce on you and take you down. Instead, remain motionless and relaxed. Also, try not to show any fear. Dogs can sense fear, just as they can sense the lack of it.

When threatened by the dog

If you feel threatened by a dog, stand absolutely still, avoid looking directly into its eyes and come what may - don’t ever scream. That’ll not only make the dog react badly, it’ll also nullify the image of a suave man that you’d like to project. Instead, take up a neutral body posture, one that’s non-challenging yet commanding. So the easiest way of diffusing the escalating situation is to remain calm and speak calmly to the dog. Again, avoid eye contact and focus on its ear or tail while you whisper something like, “Good Boy” or “Easy.” Try pacifying the dog till it calms down and it will hopefully turn and walk away.

When attacked

o So how do you plan to defend yourself against a dog that takes a fancy to your fleshy butt. First of all, if you see it’s a trained police dog, don’t move an inch, and stand absolutely still. These dogs are trained to pounce and bite people that resist or try to run. So, just lie down on the floor and cover your face with your hands. Trained police dogs are taught to recognize these signals. Such dogs are the easiest to manage as they won’t hurt you if they feel that you are sufficiently submissive.

o If you are attacked by a really big dangerous dog – one that looks untrained and built to kill, quickly wrap one of your hands in a jacket and then offer it to the dog. When he bites, pull at the arm which will make him tighten the grip. Then fall on top of him and immobilize him. Be ruthless and stick both your fingers into his eyes and release him. Avoid hitting his nose as it will only make him all the more ferocious. Though the method explained here sounds cruel and extreme, it’s often the only way you can protect yourself from dogs like Doberman or Rotwelier, who won’t give you a second chance if you make a mistake.

o If you are made of sterner stuff, then you can try a rather crazy, albeit, a very effective strategy. If you see a dog running towards you, growling and looking absolutely dangerous, then instead of running away from him, run towards the dog, shouting and swinging your arms around, This will make you look fearless and ferocious (crazy, in some people’s opinion!) and will make the dog back away.

But how do you handle the dogs that are not trained at all? The ones that roam the streets in packs and chase after cars, bikes and pedestrians that they don’t like are the types that you have to really watch out for. In busy streets, they won’t do much damage, but at night, in empty by lanes, these otherwise docile creatures can become ferocious beasts of prey. What makes them all the more dangerous is that they move around in packs!

o If you are attacked by more than one dog, then you are in for some serious trouble. Being attacked by a group of stray dogs is almost as bad as being attacked by wolves. In a pack, a dog becomes all the more ferocious and dangerous so while you would defend yourself against one, the rest of them would encircle you and take you down by attacking from behind. Stand with your back against a wall or a car and grab a stick to try to hold them off till some help arrives.

o If you are bitten, the greatest damage is often done by the victim himself as he struggles to pull free. Dogs, just like alligators and most other predators, have massive resistance against anything being pulled out of their mouths. But they have almost no resistance if something is being pushed into their mouths. So, if you are being bitten by a dog, the best thing would be to ram your fist down the dog's throat to cut off its air supply or at least make it gag. If a dog has clamped its jaws on you or anyone else, the worst thing to do is to try to pull the unfortunate body part out of the dog's mouth. You'll inflict a lot of unnecessary injury on yourself or your friend with your effort.

o Probably the best way of taking down these dogs without maiming or killing them would be to subdue them using pepper spray. If you live in a locality that has a lot of stray dogs, it would be wise to carry a can of pepper spray with you, especially at night. Pepper spray is easily available at your local pharmacy.

Although a dog, with its unflinching loyalty, is a man’s best friend, if one fails to accurately gauge its mood at a particular moment, it can reveal its savage bestiality and wreak havoc on us, our children and our visitors. So its important to keep in mind that even the most docile of dogs, if incited or irritated, will retaliate with its jaw and claws!