I wouldn't go as far as to say an animal has a soul... they are intuitive and intelligent and have capability to show affection to humans and other species...some of them do anyway...ever tried cuddling with a hungry shark or alligator?Sin said:
While this is true to an extent, I've personally seen dogs with a total "no-fear" of man even if he has a gun (and the dog that knows what a gun is and can do to it) or a baton or a big stick or whatever. Dogs can be trained to attack regardless of the consenquences to itself. Severely hurt the dog in the course of the "fight" (which is the dog's view of it) and like any intelligent creature it'll back away and avoid getting hurt next time, but they will (if pressed or again, trained to) continue the attack. But thankfully these are few and far between and usually owned by the sadistic, military and some K-9 police force, though generally those dogs are trained to hold their quarry (read: criminal, suspect, prisoner, etc) until their "master" arrives, if left to their own they will tear into a person. Though not mindlessly. A highly (specialized) trained dog will stick to it's training via conditioning. They have no thought or reasoning of their own. This is why I cannot agree that animals have a "soul" like ours. Intelligence yes, without question. But reasoning? No.lonecoyote said:
There's a little difference with this type of attack. Since dogs are instinctively hunters... a small child could be perceived as prey, and harmless to it, which is why kids get mangled pretty good (and sadly killed sometimes) when attacked by a (large) dog.Bloomingtianshilotus said:
I practice with and against a dog every day. I wanted to know first hand, up close, how they (a most prevalent animal) act and how their instincts work. Little dog now, but growing real fast and moves exceptionally fast. As he grows stronger, so will your abilities. Quite a bit safer than a Tiger, Crane, Cobra, Monkey, Dragon (those old Chinese styles). One thing I have learned from this experience is that these K-9s actually "grab" versus "bit." The damage I have incurred was due to my pulling, pushing against them assisting them in ripping the skin. They depend on you assisting them. So lesson learned, don't panic and fight against them but fight "with" them until you gain the advantage. They tire quickly. Which ever direction they pull, just go with them to avoid being ripped.MACaver said:
Are you talking chihuahua's? Seriously, in addition to martial arts, I work a police K9. If the dog you are being attacked by is just some aggressive untrained dog, then your best bet is to stand your ground, make yourself look big and yell really loud. If he runs at you, kick him in the chest as hard as you can. That will work against 99% of the dogs out there.Blooming Lotus said:
Aside from visiting the local pound, what dogs have you fought. The 100 pound quote is mostly made out of a bit of ignorance. I can guarantee that you've never fought a selection tested, solid temperment, well trained Belgian Malinois that weighs 75 pounds. You are not genetically designed to out fast these dogs, and he will eat your lunch. The common misconception is that 100 plus pound dogs are the most dangerous to people. Sure, a 140 pound Rottweiller or American Bulldog is intimidating, and very strong. The problem is, that a 150 pound dog is like a 600 pound linebacker, very impressive, but without a wide range of uses, except as a perimeter security dog. These dogs can kill you, but believing because a dog is under 100 pounds you can easily take it is pure igorance. A 75 pound malinois will run 150 yards at 35mph to attack a human being, and slam his entire weight into your body at that same 35mph, generating the kind of explosive power a martial artist could only dream of. At the same time, accurately targeting to bite right under your arm pit. These types of animals are true athletes generating explosive power. Again, the dogs you've apparently been "Fighting" are nothing more than the kind of weak nerved products of bad breeding commonly found in the humane society. Unless there is some kind of Dog-UFC i'm not aware of, most people won't come in contact with much more than someone's wayward pet. If they get attacked by a trained dog, they are in for the real fight of their life and better have a weapon, because these types of dogs won't be cowed by a "roundhouse" kick. Truly rank dogs will have to be killed or rendered completely unconcious or incapacitated, and as soon as they regain conciousness they will attack again. Trained dogs are genetically predispositioned to be pain resistant, and are futher trained to deal with extreme aggression. It'll take more than a roundhouse kick "to send them scurrying". Again, not exactly the topic discussed, but I needed to alleviate a bit of misinformation.Kane said:
I can add to that. Most of the BIG dogs I have known (100/150 pound area) are a little slow. They can't run that fast, too much mass. Typically they're just giant teddy bears.sgtmac_46 said:
sgtmac_46 said:
You misunderstand my analogy. I did not say a 75 pound dog HITS like a 600 pound linebacker, I said a 150 pound dog is like a 600 pound linebacker....pretty useless, but impressive looking (anyone remember the Fridge Perry?) I think you're a bit over impressed by large dogs, a common misconception held by working dog novices. A 75 pound dog such as a malinois is much more agile than a 150 pound dog. It isn't the overall size of the dog that makes it deadly. Think of the body of the dog as a delivery system for it's main weapon, it's jaws. A malinois is plenty powerful enough and agile enough to get past most of your defenses. You are not quicker than these dogs, and by the time they have bitten into your pectoral muscles, or your back (which is what I train mine to do, hit you from behind and bite you by the shoulder or back muscles or under the arm pit) it's over. They can tear muscle from the bone. Your statement about "Most dogs aren't as savage as many people think" i've already pointed out. 99% of the dogs out there are like you've experienced, weaked-tempered dogs who wouldn't bite any adult who stood their ground. I work with truely rank dogs who's breeding and temperment is solid, they don't run from humans, they don't back down and the only way to stop them is to kill them when they go in to fight drive. Again, your over-emphasis on the size of the dog is much like the over-emphasis on size in humans. A 150 pound dog is like a 600 pound human, with all the restrictions they have. An 80 pound dog is like a 210 pound human fighter. That's why most American's breed 120 plus pound german shepherds, which aren't as powerful and agile as an 80 pound german shepherd, nor do they have that all important factor known as stamina. That's why there are breed standards, those standards are the physical range where the design and build of a working dog are at their maximum. Telling me that a 75 pound dog can't hurt you as badly as a 150 pound dog, is like saying a 200 pound male fighter can't hurt you as badly as a 600 pound male fighter. It's purely a novice misconception. Finally, temperment is much more important than physical size. A dog with a solid temperment and fight drive is a very dangerous dog indeed. A huge dog with a weak temperment is impressive looking. It's obvious by your over-emphasis on dog sizes that you don't understand temperment when evaluating it's abilities. That's a common problem. If someone wants to learn to defend themselves against dogs, they should start by understanding different dog temperments and what different dog behavior means, not by believing that a 150 pound dog is dangerous and an 80 pound one isn't. Again, most American dog owners and breeders place way too much emphasis on size, which is why Americans mostly breed big, junky dogs. That's also why police departments and the military have to import dogs from Europe, because the Europeans understand the truth...Temperment is the primary concern, followed by physical aspects of the dog. What most people mistake for an aggressive, tough dog is a dog who is just really afraid and has learned to intimidate people by snarling and growling. These dogs are not tough, they are weak-tempered dogs who spend most of their live afraid. A truly rank dog is not intimidated by a human being. I happen to know of a truly rank male German Shepherd working police dog who was doing a building search and ran in to a burglary suspect. The suspect hit the dog in the head with a pipe as hard as he could. The dog immediately attacked the guy and seperated his calf muscle from the leg. That's a fight ending injury, and anyone who thinks they could take this dog in hand to hand combat is deluding themselves. This dog was 85 pounds.Kane said:
