Wiki says they are typically 20-24" tall and 29-44 pounds, with exceptionally large individuals of 60-77 pounds.
So, they are usually about mid-thigh high and less than one quarter the weight of a typical man. IANATCP (Trained Canid Pugilator) but I could severely injure a dingo by falling on it. Punching isn’t likely to be effective, unless you’re a boxer or something, but grabbing a hind leg or just kicking the dingo would be smart moves.
Fatal attacks appear to be confined to children; with rare occassions of adults getting bitten badly enough to require hospitalization. Assuming both parties refuse to run away, my money’s on the man getting stitches while the dingo gets an obituary.
Well, I don’t either. I would take untrained to mean no experience in any hand to hand combat. Dingos, on the other hand, have a lifetime of experience. As does any wild carnivore.
I don’t think an untrained person is going to land any fatal blows. I think their only chance is to break some limbs and choke the thing out. Without, experience in that area, a person is going to have difficulty.
Take, for instance a small, feral cat. Imagine how difficult it would be to subdue one of them. Multiply that 3-4 times.
In all likelihood, I don’t think either one is going to kill the other. I think the man has a better chance at actually killing the dingo, but I think the man is more likely to flee the fight.
Cats - of all sizes - are Nature’s Sociopaths. They are killing machines. They are designed for killing things quickly and efficiently and they don’t need anyone’s help (although they might have friends, if it suits their mood).
Dingos are a strain of wild dogs that went feral ages ago. They’re shy around humans but not necessarily intimidated. They’re small, their claws are not very dangerous, and if they want to hunt anything bigger than a rabbit, they need a pack. Unless the dingo is completely desperate, it’s not even going to start with an adult human. 1 Man vs 1 Dingo - the human wins without much effort.
Hell, even a single wolf isn’t all that dangerous, for a single adult male human. We’re twice as tall, weigh twice as much and we have opposable thumbs. We’ve been the top of the food chain for centuries because while we aren’t the best equipped, we are the most murderous assholes on the planet.
OTOH, if you or any of your loved ones is attacked by a dingo - don’t run away. Canines have an instinct to chase things - cars, rabbits, deer, rats. If you run, they will chase you, and they’re faster than you and built for distance. Stand up straight, use your voice and your hands and your size as you tell him why he’s a Very Bad Dog.
Now, if you’re attacked by a pack of dingos, you’re pretty much screwed.
Dingoes are scavengers mainly and will also hunt down sick small mammals so as such you can’t compare them to wolves, pitbulls etc.
A dingo could be beaten if you fought back, it would probably just run away.
Now cross breed a dingo with a German Shepherd or other hunting dog and we have a very different picture. These cross breeds are bloody dangerous and often are in packs.
Technically working dogs, but they do hunt, and they don’t act like they’re afraid of humans (although we all know they’re little chicken hearts down deep, when those instincts take over they can be quite dangerous).
To those asking how a human could get a lethal blow on a dingo: Hit it with a planet. Pick up the dog, and slam it onto the ground, preferably rocks or concrete. They’re easily small enough to do that to them.
The wolf has a pretty powerful bite, though, doesn’t it? Sure, you could do some damage to the wolf with a kick or punch, but you would have to get in close to do that, within range of the teeth. The wolf could really savage your limbs!
Question: Can a wolf actually break your arm with a bite? (I’m assuming a dingo or coyote could not…)
No, this would absolutely work. Any decently strong man could pick it up by the scruff with one arm and slam it to the ground. That would be enough to at least stun it long enough for some kind of lethal blow. Fight over.
Grab it by the hind legs and swing it at something. Let centrifugal force do the rest. I personally wouldn’t want to try that with a German Shepherd but a man who’s a foot taller than I am could probably pull it off. Any time a canine’s in the air, it’s off balance and vulnerable to being pushed or grabbed. It’s completely different than with a cat where trying to grab the cat is a serious mistake.
And yes, you probably will get bit, but they’re not venomous or anything. They might get lucky and sever something crucial but odds are they won’t. Put a tourniquet on it and get to a hospital.
The main thing to winning a dog fight is to not be afraid of the dog. If you’re doing it right, the dog won’t attack you in the first place.
