# Defending a Dog Attack **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 2, 2001, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971 "2001-07-02T16:01:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Glitch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/0ea827/32.png) [@Glitch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glitch)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2001, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/81 "2001-07-05T03:24:44Z")
Yes, dangling a jacket or towel could work assuming that the animal is untrained. An attack dog is unlikely to be fooled. Even a untrained animal though isn’t going to be fooled for long. If you take opportunity to kick it, for example, it will then almost assuredly switch to attack the offending limb. Certainly, if time presents itself it can’t hurt to get anything you can either around your arm for protection, no matter how limited, or as a potential target for the animal. The key here is, if time presents itself. It rarely does, and those key moments you spend trying to get your jacket off could be enough to cost you your chance of victory. As with defending against a human attacker time plays against you. The longer the dog gets unanswered attacks in the weak you will grow. ---
**Author:** ![Jony-Seb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5ac83/32.png) [@Jony-Seb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jony-Seb)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/82 "2014-02-23T12:59:55Z")
Well, let’s analyse this a bit. Let’s profit from the fact that we can prepare ourselves to future events while the dogs can’t. I will use our greatest attribute: intelligence. Let’s begin! I’ll assume for now that you have no tools (stick, knife, whatever) to attack with. Our strong points: -we are most of the time heavier than a dog. But in this case, it is 150 lb… -We have arms and hands and we’re taller than the dog. -We’re intelligent! Yay! dog’s strengths: -Killer jaw -heavy -fast speed runner -can jump high It’s weaknesses: -four legged -stupid and enraged -only good for attacks, weak on defensive (back is unprotected) Now I’ll make up a scenario in which I am to fight for my precious life. I’m 165 cm tall and weigh 90 pounds (hello survival chances!) I also have my school bag with me, empty. (I’m going to the library). I’m right handed. The ground is grass. All this happens within less than 20 seconds. I see the dog, it sees me. He’s ten meters away. He looks crazy and wants a taste of me. He charges. I run toward him too, slower. I move to his left side last second, dodging him. While I do that, I use my bag as a shield with my left hand and covering the left part of his face (so he doesn’t get to bite me) and then I throw my self on the ground and I grab his back leg from his left with both my hands and as he still is in motion and so am I, I brutally break his leg as I slide on the grass. I roll away from him. He lost. He can’t run or get to me. He is in atrocious pain. I’m unharmed. I used his speed and rage against him. Yay for humans! What do you think? Do this make sense? ---
**Author:** ![Jony-Seb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5ac83/32.png) [@Jony-Seb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jony-Seb)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/83 "2014-02-23T13:09:03Z")
Well, let’s analyse this a bit. Let’s profit from the fact that we can prepare ourselves to future events while the dogs can’t. I will use our greatest attribute: intelligence. Let’s begin! I’ll assume for now that you have no tools (stick, knife, whatever) to attack with. Our strong points: -we are most of the time heavier than a dog. But in this case, it is 150 lb… -We have arms and hands and we’re taller than the dog. -We’re intelligent! Yay! dog’s strengths: -Killer jaw -heavy -fast speed runner -can jump high It’s weaknesses: -face is hardly protected (well, aside from the jaw of course!) -four legged -stupid and enraged -only good for attacks, weak on defensive (back is unprotected) Now I’ll make up a scenario in which I am to fight for my precious life. I’m 165 cm tall and weigh 90 pounds (hello survival chances!) I also have my school bag with me, mostly empty as always (a book and a bottle of water). I’m right handed. The ground is grass. All this happens within 20 seconds. I see the dog, it sees me. He’s ten meters away. He looks crazy and wants a taste of me. He charges. I run toward him too, slower. I move to his left side last second, dodging him. While I do that, I use my bag as a shield with my left hand and covering the left part of his face (so he doesn’t get to bite me) and then I throw my self on the ground and I grab his back leg from his left with both my hands and as he still is in motion and so am I, I brutally break his leg as I slide on the grass. I roll away from him. He lost. He can’t run or get to me. He is in atrocious pain. I’m unharmed. I used his speed and rage against him. Yay for humans! What do you think? Do this make sense? ---
**Author:** ![FasterThanMeerkats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/278dde/32.png) [@FasterThanMeerkats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FasterThanMeerkats)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/84 "2014-02-23T13:57:44Z")
You forgot the following dog strengths: - Desire for brains - Lack of pain receptors - Non-dependence on internal organs except brain - Infectious zombie virus festering for 13 years ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/85 "2014-02-23T14:21:46Z")
> [@Billy\_Rubin](#): > > The punishment for losing is to get your face licked by a big wet throw-rug of a tongue for about five minutes. The same tougue he licks his balls with? Oops - Didn’t spot the date. The dog probably died of old age by now. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/86 "2014-02-23T14:53:57Z")
Apart from the fact that this is a zombie thread, I think our new poster **Jony-Seb** has little true knowledge of dogs and their abilities, and would be quite severely mauled if he tried that. And yeah, the OP dog is long gone, or at least incapable of much any more. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/87 "2014-02-23T14:58:59Z")
And yet I live on. VICTORY! ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/88 "2014-02-23T16:28:17Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > And yet I live on. > > VICTORY! I’ts surprising no-one suggested to wait 13 years for the dog to die. In retrospect, that seems obvious. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/89 "2014-02-23T17:13:04Z")
zombie or no the dog will have had fearsome offspring who were given a list of people to get. ---
**Author:** ![auntlohimein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/74df32/32.png) [@auntlohimein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntlohimein)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/90 "2014-02-23T17:39:07Z")
-I finally now know for sure what a Zombie thread is! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/91 "2014-02-23T18:07:31Z")
Zombie rotweilers? Next on “The Walking Dead!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisUsernameIsForbidden)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/92 "2014-02-23T18:29:45Z")
If you need a dog to release, stick finger in butt. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/93 "2014-02-23T19:09:28Z")
> [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](#): > > If you need a dog to release, stick finger in butt. Well that might get _some_ folks to release, but I’d try to make sure the dog into that sort of thing first. Different strokes and all that ;). ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/94 "2014-02-23T20:51:45Z")
I remember reading a book called **A Walk on the Crust of Hell,** by Jack Markowitz. It’s about people who won the Carnegie Medal of Honor by risking their lives to save others. One chapter was about animal attacks, and IIRC, although it didn’t describe any dog attacks, it did mention a “pet” lion that got loose and attacked a child. A nearby man saved the kid by grabbing the lion by the ears. (Both the man and the child survived.) Which makes me wonder: is that a tactic that would work on a dog? There’s a scary Rottweiler down the street. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/95 "2014-02-23T21:06:28Z")
> [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](#): > > If you need a dog to release, stick finger in butt. The dog’s? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/96 "2014-02-23T21:36:10Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I don’t know that you have to inflict pain or discomfort although doing so is probably the most straightforward and easiest way to get the dog’s attention in a way it understands. A decent dog trainer could probably come up with some non-violent means of letting a dog know who’s boss. > > Still, dogs may occasionally test you for the leadership of the pack (some breeds are more prone to this than others). It is in everyone’s best interest that the dog learn immediately that that shit won’t fly in no uncertain terms. > > My wife was mercilessly teasing her dog when she was a little girl (around 8 years old). Eventually the dog had had enough and snapped at her. Frankly she had it coming and the dog didn’t actually hurt her…just startled her. Her dad punished the dog anyway (a good spanking followed by a night in the garage) since they had three young children and the dog needed to know that snapping/biting was not acceptable no matter what. > > Message received…the dog never snapped at anyone ever again. Considering that neither a spanking nor a night in the garage would convey the slightest thing to a dog except that big guy is scary and irrational, I would say that the snapping went away because your wife quit teasing the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/97 "2014-02-23T21:49:10Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > I remember reading a book called **A Walk on the Crust of Hell,** by Jack Markowitz. It’s about people who won the Carnegie Medal of Honor by risking their lives to save others. One chapter was about animal attacks, and IIRC, although it didn’t describe any dog attacks, it did mention a “pet” lion that got loose and attacked a child. A nearby man saved the kid by grabbing the lion by the ears. (Both the man and the child survived.) Which makes me wonder: is that a tactic that would work on a dog? There’s a scary Rottweiler down the street. Not unless you are strong enough to pick it up by the ears and throw it over the fence. ---
**Author:** ![ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ThisUsernameIsForbidden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisUsernameIsForbidden)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/98 "2014-02-23T22:00:14Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > The dog’s? We all saw that one coming. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/99 "2014-02-23T22:07:21Z")
I have been attacked by a large German Shepard. I used a knee lift to the sternum. Dog lost its breath got scared and ran away. No real damage to the dog if that is your concern but it should stop it. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971/100 "2014-02-23T23:35:20Z")
I don’t know if the following has any truth to it. It’s just my uninformed and untested opinion. But if I was attacked by a single dog and I let it chomp down on one of my limbs, if I had a rock, perhaps the size of a baseball (a hardball) or larger and I could strike it real hard with the rock on the top of its head, wouldn’t that be enough to kill it? Especially if I could make multiple strikes. Again, I have never tried this and I don’t walk around with a rock, but there usually are some suitable rocks or stones lying near the side of the road where I live. If I had a few seconds to wrap one arm in a coat or jacket and could get the dog to chomp down on that arm, how likely is it that I could kill the dog with a rock by smashing its skull with the rock? It is my uninformed opinion, but I would guess the first strike might stun it and subsequent strikes could almost surely kill it. Especially if one strike fractures its skull. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defending-a-dog-attack/70971.md?page=6)