How to defend against dog attacks

[Madgolf]

If you want to get a taste of what a fight with a dog would be like, just try to give your cute little ten pound kitty a pill to swallow. Much like the one time I tried to walk my cat on a leash, it looked like I was whipping the cat around when it was the cat whipping my arms around.

I am a fairly large person, as in a Jim Belushi, lumbering Slavic sort of type, and I will never forget the sheer speed and mechanics displayed by a mere runty housecat. I can only imagine a multiplication of size.

My plan has always been to tear the fool dog apart in a berserker fashion if it was a larger dog. I am a human. I have opposable thumbs. The dog clearly wants to kill me, not arrest me or anything, so why fight fair or humanely?

At any rate, it probably will never happen. I reflexively charge at dogs who charge at me in the open and they always run away. I always fear the adrenaline will not come back for a second round.

[billfish678]

@Miscue

In the course of entering people’s yards for utility repair purposes I have twice had to empty cans of animal pepper spray, both of different makes, into the eyes, mouth, and nose of two Chao dogs probably under 60 pounds. Neither time did the spray do anything. In one of the attacks, even my 6’6 ex-gangbanger coworker banging on the damn dog with a pipe didn’t help me much.

I have seen the macho ‘don’t you dare mess with me’ things work a LOT of times. But not every time. I think that in the case of animal attacks, as in people attacks, believing that there even is an ‘every time’ shows a lack of experience, and is setting yourself up for failure.

Thats scary!

Regarding the macho stare o death, its not its the perfect defense, it really usually just the only choice.

If you are worried about a dog attacking you what do you do before the attack?

If you run, you need to be pretty sure you can get to the safe place before the dog gets you. You can probably get a decent distance with an ankle bitter chasing you, but a mid to big dog will catch you in just a few seconds.

If you act scared, but don’t move, you’ll probably be attacked.

If you make overly aggressive moves towards the dog, you’ll probably be attacked. That probably only makes sense if your first blow is likely to take out the dog.

So, most of the time, being big and mean and standing your ground but respecting the dogs space it the “best” option. Show ZERO fear if possible. Once you two have reached an understand, a slowww retreat might be possible.

Of course, once the dog attacks, then its do or die, and other folks advice here is to be considered.

note, I am not a dog expert nor your dog attack official advisor

[LSLGuy]

I’ve been wondering about the several folks who included “run away” in their repertoire.

Even assuming you’re a healthy 20-something with no unjettisonable burdens like toddlers, there is no dog bigger than a dachsund which can’t outrun you over a quarter mile. If you run in open country, you will be chased, and you will be caught from behind. Acting like slow-running prey is not a smart tactic.

So what about running to nearby shelter?

When I was a kid we had a Doberman. Sweetest dog in the world. When he got out he loved to run. We used motorcycles to sorta herd him back towards the house. I clocked him at 30 mph sustained. That’s 42 feet per second.

It takes a lot longer to open & close a door or gate than you think it does. So even if the dog is 200 feet away and you’re 25 feet from your car, getting into the car will not happen. A fast dog can cover 200 feet in ~6 seconds. A yorkie in full attack mode might take 20 seconds.

Meantime, you’ll spend 2-3 seconds deciding, 5+ seconds to turn & run to the car, 2 seconds getting the door open, 4 getting in, and 2 more closing it. At which point you’ll have a yorkie in your lap eating your throat. The Doberman would have tackled you before you got halfway to the car.
I also wonder about the folks advocating “go for the nuts”. In addition the the problem of females mentioned above, a big chunk of the male canine population doesn’t have nuts either. Or even much of a scrotum to grab. Sure, it’s a good bet that having nuts & attacking people are correlated, but I’m not gonna include nut-grabbing in my counter-attack plan.
Finally, anyone who doesn’t understand this is a fight to the death is gonna get hurt a lot worse than they need to. I, a human, am THE apex predator on the planet. NOTHING shall attack me and survive. That is the only attitude to have if you intend to win.

If a small dog attacks, punt it across the yard. If it comes back, or you miss the kick, break its neck. You aren’t trying to stop it, or hurt it. You are trying to kill something which is trying to kill you.

If a large dog attacks, I’m a believer in the the arm-down-throat method. Even if you miss, it turns into the offer-arm-to-keep-jaws-busy tactic.

Better to shoot and/or stab it, but you’d probably have to do both those things after it’s chewing on your arm; there isn’t gonna be time to draw and aim before. And the force of its initial leap may well cause you to drop you weapon. Better to draw after the threat is localized on the end of your other arm. Which of course assumes you’re armed in the first place, which most folks, including me nowadays, aren’t.

Hence the arm-down-throat primary plan.

[Chronos]

I also wonder about the folks advocating “go for the nuts”. In addition the the problem of females mentioned above, a big chunk of the male canine population doesn’t have nuts either.

To be fair, even without any genitalia there, the crotch of a mammal is a relatively soft and unprotected spot, which makes it decent target for a kick. You certainly shouldn’t make it your plan A, but if an opening presents itself, take the kick, and then worry about what precisely you hit after the attack is over. Of course, this also applies to many other targets of opportunity.