In Britain there has been a significant rise in the number of people bitten by dogs and reasonably regularly someone is seriously injured or killed. Generally the worst of the attacks seem to be where the dog bites and “locks on” to the victim and won’t let go, despite the best efforts of other people to get it away.
My question is whether there is any way for an unarmed individual (or armed only with readily available bits and pieces) to disable or kill a dog so as to make it release the victim and not turn on the rescuer?
Hopefully this won’t turn into a discussion about the dangers of different breeds or the need for proper training. I’m looking for practical answer. I should say I’m a dog owner myself and part of my concern is that one of the local Rottweilers or bull terriers (most of which seem to have idiots for owners) will attack our dog - a peacable standard Schnauzer - while out on a walk.
To address the practical side, Google reveals a number of pepper sprays and other chemical sprays designed for use against aggressive dogs. You could take that along while walking your dog.
As for what you could do while completely unarmed, I dunno.
IMO the best response would be to kick it as hard as you can in the chest as it is coming at you. Repeat as necessary. Best if you are wearing sturdy footwear.
I have heard many people comment that if a dog is upon you, you can injure it by spreading it’s legs, as if snapping a wishbone. But I have no idea as to the accuracy of this.
Another possibility if the dog is upon you would be to smash the dog into something - a tree or post to break its back, or the ground. The best “handle” for doing this would be the dog’s collar if he is wearing one, or you could use a leg, tail, or just a handful of skin. You could also do this if it had locked onto your arm.
An ugly topic indeed. IMO, what you would really need to get into your head is a desire to injure an attacking dog, not just scare it off.
Your ability to do so decreases as the dog’s size relative to you increases. Also, 2 dogs makes the situation tremendously more difficult.
Our ancestors solved it many, many years ago. Use tools. Blunt trauma to the head is fastest way to kill and/or disable. So grab a stick or stone or anything hard and heavy (and I mean anything, even handful of gravel in a sock may be effective blunt weapon) and swing it in a circular motion aiming at upper parts of dogs head, trying to get maximum velocity at the point of impact. Repeat if necessary.
While peppers sprays may work, they may not as well. The same goes for any pain-compliance technique, including “going for eyes”. They might deter dog from attacking, but when fight is going in all frenzy, it’s possibly too late for that - and at that point time is of essence, as every second increase chance of, say, ruptured artery or tendons or other dangerous damages.
Human “natural weapons” are too weak to fight effectively against predators like dogs. Strangling might be only option in tight lock - possibly using advantage of weight, as most humans are heavier than most dogs.
I would advise against using blades, pointed sticks and other things like that. Chances of hitting vital areas and causing animal to bleed to death reasonably quickly are fairly low unless you are skilled with weapons, know dog anatomy, have habit or luck of having such weapon nearby and can act effectively and accurately under stress.
Bottom line is: go for blunt trauma, use heavy objects and target cranial / backbone area to cause as much damage as quickly as possible.
For those who have NO experience in fighting anything, and don’t even know how to break things without a hammer: Gouge eyes, kick ribcage, genitals, and face. Dogs rely on being scary and barking to get heir prey to freeze or run, remember you are faster in terms of punching and kicking and will outweigh nearly all types of dogs. Get the better of them before they get you.Never run. Scream and threaten them. Make yourself look bigger by throwing your arms around while doing so. You goal is going to be to cause the animal enough pain to get it to cease it’s attack. If you can find something heavy to swing, do so.
For those who have had some training of any sort: See the above, if that fails and the dog jumps up at your face, grab the attacking animal’s throat and crush it. If you cannot achieve that, headlock the animal and choke it out or break it’s neck. If you cannot achieve that, break a limb, or grabbing the hind limbs, smash the animal into a tree, or wall with as much force as you can muster. Repeat as necessary.
Remember, this assumes that you have no other option but to kill the attacking animal.
Remember that it’s JAWS are the dangerous part. It may scratch you up with the claws, but those are not a serious threat. If you can get control of the head, it can’t hurt seriously hurt you. If you can choke it, really good. Don’t use your hands if possible, but ball your fists and use your arms as levers. It might do dame damage to one arm if the dog can bite it, but your body weight and the other arm can still take it out.
If the critter is wearing a not overly stiff collar, it’s possible to choke even a large dog into submission. Grab collar and twist, use your forearm to keep the jaws from reaching more vulnerable parts.
You may end up with some wounds on your forearms and you’ll come out of the doctors office looking like a failed suicide attempt, but it beats the alternative.
I’m not saying this is the best way to do it, only that it can sometimes work.
I once knew a guy that, when drunk, would swear the best thing to do was jam your fist as far into the dogs mouth as possible. Needless to say, I’ve not tried this.
I think people are not realizing just how durable a dog can be. I have read stories of people trying to brain a large dog (e.g. Rottweiler) with heavy lumber and the dog not being fazed by it (of course this may well crush a poodle). Smashing the dog around probably will not suffice. Once clamped on dogs can be startlingly tenacious.
As mentioned I have heard the wishbone thing. If the dog jumps and you can get ahold of the two front legs pull sideways which will dislocate and/or break its legs (they do not go this way). That should be sufficiently painful and disabling to stop the attack.
I have also heard of “giving” the dog your arm if an attack is imminent. Of course this is going to hurt and cause damage to your arm but better than your head or neck and allows you some control. Once it has your arm you can jump on top of it and do whatever you need to (eyes, knee to the groin or abdomen, whatever). If you believe you are in a fight for you life then fight like your life depends on it…dirty tricks and all.
In short seek to disable the dog and not just bash on it ineffectually and hope it will go away. If you think the dog is not trying to kill you but just threatening then avoiding the fight is the best bet. Do NOT run, shout, wave arms, slowly back away all the while facing the dog.
Actually, a pretty good way to get a dog to release a victim it has a hold of is to… yes… reach in and pull his tail as hard as possible. It’s so distracting and unexpected to them that they let go. They’re first natural instinct is to whip around to see what’s got a hold of them. It’s a safe psychological solution for the dog and victim. I learned this from a trainer I had for a crazy fear aggressive cocker spaniel I used to own.
Only time you’ll have a problem with this is with a dog with a severely docked tail.
Honestly, I’ve broken up dog fights this way at a local off-leash park we have here… works every time. Be quick about it though, some dogs can whip around and get you if you don’t jump back quickly.
Gently try this in a non-attack situation with your own dog at home. Pull his tail and watch what he does…
I should probably follow up that post to mention that in a very very violent attack, tail pulling might not stop the attack, but it will cause a pause giving you a chance to do what’s necessary to control the situtation.
With some dogs, this is useless. Last fall a dog attacked my dog and eventually bit me. That dog had husky like hair and I did kick it in the chest as hard as I could, but the hair absorbed most of the kick, there was nothing to it when I actually made contact with the dog.
If you are talking about rescuing a victim, grab both of the dog’s hind legs in a firm grip and lift the hind-quarters off the ground, dragging the animal backwards. This will usually cause the animal to release its bite and will render it unable to turn on you. This is SOP for dog mushers when breaking up a dogfight.
If a dog is attacking someone else, and is exposed, a huge kick to the ribcage ought to be enough. I don’t know if I would try to “free” a dog that is engaged or locked on- I would take advantage of the opportun ity to flank and try to cause maximum damage with the first strike.
I was charged by a rottweiler once on a paper route, I have no idea if he would have really hurt me, but once he was in range I kicked him in the head. That stunned him and then he lost a staredown. Big dog, though, if he had really wanted to hurt me I would have been in trouble.
If you’re being charged, I’d say try to cause pain without endangering yourself, if you have decent shoes on, that equals a kick.
One thing to remember in a frenzy pain won’t stop a dog. I doubt you’d be able to grab the legs and swing it at all. Breaking the back would not necessarily cause the dog to stop ravishing a person at their jaw’s reach. The only thing I can think of a person without any tool doing is to put the knee or elbow down on the dog’s neck and crush wind pipe. Other things may work if the dog isn’t in a killing frenzy. Now if you have a little time. The weight in a sock is good, or the spike on high heels could be could for an ear or eye puncture. Shoving you shoe in it’s mouth could work, to choke it. Holding a shoe or thick stick sideways and coming up from behind, you could slip it into the jaws and keep pulling back like a horse’s bit. Keeping the dogs head pushed forward at the same time with your body could stop it from getting the mouth to close again. People with leather belts can use them to keep the jaws shut or strangle them. A stick and sturdy shoe lace can be used to garrote the dog.
The very best method is to shoot the dog with an adequately powerful gun while it is several yards away. A twelve gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot works nicely. Handguns are more difficult to use under stress. If you use a repeater of some kind, you can even deal with multiple dogs.
If the gun option isn’t available, as is the case in the UK, a walking stick is a good weapon to use against canine assailants. Don’t expect a single blow to solve the problem. Rain blows upon the cur until it flees or it is dead. If you have something longer, a hiking staff for example, you can also use spearing/bayonetting type attacks. Our less technologically advanced ancestors used clubs and pointy sticks to protect themselves from predators much larger and more dangerous than the average domestic dog.
Going unarmed against a dog of any size means you’re going to get chewed up some even if you win. If dogs are a problem in the area, I’d make it a point to carry a good, stout walking cane when out for a constitutional. They are still legal, even in the UK.
Really good advice… I’ve used this technique as well when pulling a dog fight apart if tail pulling doesn’t work, or if the dogs tail is docked so short I can’t grab it.
Generally speaking, going for the dogs hind quarters and hind legs is the best solution. You’re less apt to hurt the animal and most likely to unbalance them. Like any good defensive martial artist will tell you… once your opponent’s off balance, you generally have him licked. No different for a dog.
My neghbor’s pit got me by the ankle once. I managed to grab hold of his collar and push him to the ground. Then I dropped down w/ my knee on his neck. He was struggling, but he couldn’t get free. If my neighbor hadn’t shown up, I was prepared to strangle him. This dog was very unpedictable. I had petted and fed him in the past, but he still came after me. Did it to others also, except for his owner.
