self defense from ... dogs?

[everything]

seems to always be a slow news day here, so here's a topic we probably haven't covered in a while.

suppose you are walking (location of your choice, your neighborhood, hike/bike trail, wherever you like), but to make it more interesting, you have your small dog or small human relative with you. you see an off-leash dog approaching. it looks possibly more aggressive or anxious than friendly. what is your "dog self defense" if needed ... (depending on scenario of your choice, but you are more protective of your small dog or human relative than worried about yourself). this might be your neighbor's dog, it might be an aggressive dog, it might be a really angry dog (for some reason) ... who knows ... what do you think? or what do you think about this kind of "self defense" scenario in general since it seems quite feasible even in any "safe" location?

[origami_itto]

Don't fight dogs.

I've got a couple pit bull/German shepards and they let me throw them around but when they get mad at each other they scare the shit out of me.

My strategy if they were ever pissed off is give them something else to bite and shank em or flee

[Steve James]

It depends on the attack. If an aggressive dog is going after your little dog, pick it up and put yourself between them. Then, it depends on what happens after that. Is the aggressive dog nipping, biting, or really attacking. If it's the latter, it's hard to give advice. For nippers, sometimes raising your arm as if you have something in it may work. If it's biting, can you get on something high, like a car, if you can, or put something between you. I wouldn't run. I'd want to turn to the side if the dog was running toward me.

Hey, there are dogs that you can't fight. But, most dogs don't want to attack. If a guard breed has decided you're a threat, you're screwed. You might need to play dead until the owner arrives.

[origami_itto]

I've done some thinking on this and I've decided that dogs are of two varieties, "just go ahead and kick the motherfucker, what's it gonna do" and "get a weapon or flee for your life"

If pressed to face one of the latter unarmed, make your peace with your God and attempt to apply a mate leon without getting your throat ripped out or the arteries in your arm lacerated. Mind the paws and claws will also fuck you up.

Of course, being non threatening and approaching with treats and/or a hidden blade is always an option.

[everything]

this is really the only every-day scenario I can think of why I'd want some kind of good weapon on me during this walk (wherever it is)

[vadaga]

hiking pole/walking stick or big boots are about the only things that might be helpful... not a good situation to be in tbh.

[Dmitri]

I used to worry about this a lot when I was jogging in the morning back home as a kid, because there were a lot of stay dogs there. Only a tiny, tiny percentage of them would ever want to seriously attack you; it's simply not an evolutionary priority for the "normal" ones. Never got into a real fight with any of them - just some mild ankle-biting, which was stressful (esp. for a teenager) but, like Steve said, those are fairly easy to discourage with certain gesturing/sounds, while continuing to move away from their territory. A close neighbor-friend (at the time) had a German shepherd and I remember thinking that if she decided to kill me, there'd be very little I could do about it.
Kind of like the difference of recommended response/behavior when encountering black bears vs brown/grizzly bears (very generally speaking.)

These days, there are no stay dogs on the streets around me anymore, but I "daydream" about such attacks from time to time anyway. E.g. what if the owner trips and lets go of the leash?

Over the years, I've heard recommendations like shoving your first down their throat (to choke them), etc. But those never struck me as something I could physically do in a real situation.
Personally, playing out some of those attack scenarios as a thought experiment, I think I'd try to grab its neck or head (whichever I can) as it's moving in and sprawl wide, with most of my weight on my hands, and take it from there.
I really have no idea how effective it would be, but seems like it might work ok.
In the end, unless you specifically train for these situations with enough intensity, you'll just act automatically (and unpredictably), one way or another, and there's not much you can do about the type and specifics of that reaction - kind of like how you'd act if someone's in a burning building, or drowning, etc. You won't know until you're actually in it. Which, let's hope, we'll never have to find out...

[origami_itto]

Over the years, I've heard recommendations like shoving your first down their throat (to choke them), etc. But those never struck me as something I could physically do in a real situation.

FEED THEM SO MUCH OF YOU THEY GET TIRED AND LAY DOWN FOR A NAP!

In the end, unless you specifically train for these situations with enough intensity, you'll just act automatically (and unpredictably), one way or another, and there's not much you can do about the type and specifics of that reaction - kind of like how you'd act if someone's in a burning building, or drowning, etc. You won't know until you're actually in it. Which, let's hope, we'll never have to find out...

And that's really it, right, ethically you can't train with a dog because it would just make that dog too aggressive to be around people, and a dog that is really going to attack you is either doing it out of training or due to rabies.

Just make yourself strong and fast and carry a good set of tools in your box and maybe you'll get through some shit.

[Steve James]

Well, yeah, a stick can help keep the dog away. But, it still depends. Is the dog aggressive, protective, or just excited? Wild dogs and wolves attack to eat you. Domesticated breeds don't have that reason. So, generally, if they bite you, they'll hold on and tug, or they'll bite and let go. Everybody's seen a dog grab a pants leg. If you pull away, you'll just use more skin.

I was taking a break from riding my bike in a park when a guy started up the path with a huge bull mastiff. I grew up terrified of dogs, and later on got interested in conquering that fear. By accident, I lived by a guy who trained dogs. The most important lesson was that it was almost always the person that affected the dog's behavior. Anyway, when the guy with the mastiff walked by, I could sense he was nervous. Then the previously calm dog made a snarl and lurch toward me. But, it wasn't trying to bite me, and fortunately was on the leash.

Fighting back? Against more than one? Mountain lions and bears climb trees. Against just one? Is it a Chihuahua or a Cane Corso? Maybe more important is whether the dog has been trained to attack, or worse, to fight. The latter is unfortunately too common. It leads to puppy mills for fighting breeds that are bought and trained to attack people and other dogs. The people who do it don't care. Dog attacks that lead to deaths and severe injury almost always involves a human mistreatment or mis-training.

I've heard people say that if you have to fight unarmed, you can try to take the dog's legs out from under them. That, they argue, puts it into the submissive position, and it's harder for it to fight from there. Sounds good, but you gotta get past the jaws to get to the legs. And the jaws are its only weapon. Of course, if the dog has a collar you can grab, you can control the animal. However, ever notice that there are collars with spikes pointing out and others with studs pointing in?

[windwalker]

He's never done that before.

Said by most dog owners after their dog mauls some kid or older person...

If one feels scared of their own dogs when they'er angry of fighting other dogs...maybe they should consider the safety of others...
Have seen many dog owners,, usually women feeling they'er in control of the big rottweilers, Pitbulls, Dobermans..ect should the dog decide
it wants to do something ...always remarking on how their dog is so well behaved and good around people...Until they'er not..


something to consider,,

Criminal penalties for a Dog Bite

[Steve James]

He's never done that before.

Said by most dog owners after their dog mauls some kid or older person...

True, but also said by the parents of children who became serial killers. Your argument is correct that certain dogs don't make good family pets for most people. And, some people don't make good dog handlers.

[windwalker]

windwalker wrote :He's never done that before.

Said by most dog owners after their dog mauls some kid or older person...

True, but also said by the parents of children who became serial killers. Your argument is correct that certain dogs don't make good family pets for most people. And, some people don't make good dog handlers.

wow,,,really.... serial killers on a thread about dogs

Ya ok,,,,

The comment was about some people feeling they have control of something when in fact they do not...

like this

I've got a couple pit bull/German shepards and they let me throw them around but when they get mad at each other they scare the shit out of me.

meaning he might not have the control he feels and so feels a sense of fear in understanding this


which is it ? not a good breed for a family person or not a good person to handle the mmm. "pets".


As far as defending one's self from a dog,,,You'er gonna get bit,,just a matter of where...

understand this, use it with an intention of killing the dog should one feel their life is in danger
choose the area for the dog to bite while you proceed to kill it..

Have had dogs lunge at me,,,while walking,,,mange to knock them out of the air in mid lunge....
trying not to hurt them or allow them to hurt me,
with their surprised owners looking on.

The dog yelps a little bit from the hit, as it tries to recover balance after hitting the ground...
by this time the owner is apologetic trying to control their dog...
of course their are owners who get mad and others who actually encourage the dogs behavior...

a good kick in the ribs also works well,,,,on dogs....remember you'er gonna get bit,,,

what to do about the owners kinda depends....you might get hit

[everything]

when i was a little kid, scared of dogs, walking around with my dad, who loved all dogs, he told me he'd stick his hand out (but fingers closed) in a friendly way to try to let the dog not be scared and also sniff his hand. if for some reason the dog wanted to take a little bit of him, it would be of his fist and not his fingers. (but this scenario is not of a dog attacking, just a small little gnawing lol).

[yeniseri]

A lot of people are showing their evil spirited self defense "stand your ground' excuses that one has to be ready in this case because owners do nothing to prevent/mitigate
their animals from attacking 3rd parties. Usually postmen/women are the victims of these owners' dogs but recently normal citizens and children are the recent victims.

Just like the woman who shoots her neighbour throught the door of her house then claims she was in fear of her own life and was therfore standing her ground when she never the woman she shot at!
In the case of dogs, be careful since your neighbour is not minding his own business

[Steve James]

Yeah, it's not fair for postal workers when owners leave their dogs off leash and the mailbox is inside the fence.

But, however you feel about dogs, the dog will know.