What to do if an aggressive dog attacks. Self-defense

Dogs can show aggression either to drive a person away from their territory, or acting “to defeat”.

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The vast majority of bites are “control”, when an insecure, frightened or offended dog confronts a person who invades its territory.

Bites received as a result of such incidents are most often superficial and isolated. After biting once, the dog achieves its goal of driving the person away, and stops chasing him.

Compare these injuries to the injuries inflicted by dogs in order to kill an opponent: deep lacerations where the skin and muscles separate from the bones, and bites inflicted in the abdominal and neck areas.

The results of such attacks can be fatal. The likelihood of death or serious injury increases dramatically when more than one dog is involved in an attack.

Prevention is the most important thing

Regardless of the type of dog, the best way to survive an attack is to prevent it.

The best method of prevention is to remain vigilant against stray, wild, and feral dogs, especially when you know where the pack lives. If you notice a stray dog whose character you are not sure about, take care to avoid it.

1. Try to avoid places where you have seen wild dogs. Most often, people know where an aggressive dog or pack lives, but continue to walk the same route past them. Many incidents can be avoided if you change your route.
2. Avoid any places where garbage has accumulated or is stored. Dogs protect their food, and may perceive your presence as competition. You can survive a dog attack if you stay alert and follow the precautions described above.
3. If the dog is focused on you, slowly step back until it loses interest. If an attack seems imminent, do your best to minimize your injuries and prepare to fight the dog with all the resources you have.
4. Dogs do not” smell fear”, but are good at reading people’s body language. Tightness, sharpness of movement characterizes the prey, and the dog instinctively reacts to these signals. Both domestic and stray dogs pay much less attention to neutral-minded passers-by who do not pay attention to them.

Tips for handling an agressive dog

Any dog that is agitated or becomes aggressive will exhibit defensive or offensive behaviors. It is important to learn how to recognize these signals and keep cool, this will be of great importance for the choice of tactics for dealing with an aggressive dog.

Signs of defensive aggression include the dog retreating, growling, tense, head down, and ears flattened and pulled back. Usually dogs behave in this way, giving a signal that you should leave their territory.

The dog, acting defensively, will often give you the opportunity to leave, and she will back away from you. If they bite defensively, they will bite and immediately release their teeth.

Most “aggressive” dogs belong to this category. If you behave correctly, a dangerous situation can be avoided.

If the dog makes defensive signs, follow these rules:

• Stand still and straight, but maintain a neutral posture.
• Avoid direct eye contact: the dog may interpret this as a prelude to your attack and attack you first.
• Keep your dog in sight at all times.
• In a calm but firm voice, try to give the dog the command “no”. The dog understands intonation, not words, so the main thing is to demonstrate your confidence. Intimidated dogs only attack weak opponents.
• Keep your hands at your sides, clench your hands into fists to protect your fingers in case of a bite. Do not wave your hands, do not shout at the dog and do not start running
• If you can use an object as a weapon, slowly pick it up (it can be an umbrella, a stick, a stone).
• A dog that shows defensive aggression provides a person with the opportunity to escape from the conflict by leaving its territory.

A dog that shows offensive aggression moves in an arc towards you, snaps its teeth, lunges in your direction, and bites, designed to cause maximum damage and destroy the prey. If the dog goes into offensive aggression, it will not stop the attack quickly.

If a dog attack is imminent

A dog that goes on the attack shows offensive aggression. If your attempts to avoid contact don’t work and the dog decides to attack you, then you will need to defend yourself. It will be impossible to escape from the dog — it is faster and more agile than a person.

As in all conflicts, a powerful self-defense weapon will be effective. Many of the weapons you carry to protect yourself from humans can and will work well on a dog.

Improvised weapons can be sticks, umbrellas, bags, rocks, and any other items that you can put between you and the dog as a shield, and that the dog can bite.

When attacked, the dog bites almost everything that is within its reach. If you put your hand forward, it is likely that the dog will bite you for it.

If you don’t have any improvised weapons, wrap your hand in a jacket or shirt to protect it, and cover yourself with it. Clench your hands into fists so that you do not bite your fingers.

Never pull or yank your hand if the dog has bitten you. This adds to the damage you get, and if the dog still won’t let you go until it wants to. As long as the dog’s jaws are closed, you can fight back with your free hand and feet.

Protect the most vulnerable parts of the body. If you are knocked to the ground, cover your neck, face, and front of your torso.

Call for help. Being attacked from several sides, in the presence of a “pack” of several people, the dog will no longer feel its advantage and will retreat from you.

Conclusions

Reasonable behavior and understanding of the dog’s psychology will help you avoid danger in most encounters with aggressive animals. If an attack does occur, act coolly, protect the most vulnerable parts of the body and try to repel the attack.