self defense against a dog

[PeaceWarrior]

So I was walking out to my car today when I saw the neighbor walking his pit bull. The dog looked bloodthirsty - very agressive. Very interested in me. Probably a fighting dog. It made me think- now what if you were in a situation where you were attacked by a large and agressive dog? Obviously you can't run, because that would just show weakness and besides, who can outrun a dog? I know a couple people who have been bitten by a dog.

I have had very agressive dogs run up to me, hackles raised and teeth bared, but I was able to make myself 'scary' enough where they didn't want to mess with me (see I think that there is a certain psychology when dealing with dogs...you have to make yourself bigger than you are, so to speak) Now Im sure this wouldnt always work...so, maybe, kicks to the muzzle? Only problem with that is chances are if its a thickly built fighting dog it will have fast enough reflexes and could probably bite your foot off. Plus these dogs are extremely tough, so Im not sure what kind of strike would really affect it.

So does anybody have experience/ideas in this sort of situation?

 

[bushidomartialarts]

i've heard pepper spray is effective, if you happen to have it on you.

you don't want to try and kick an attacking dog. if they're already charging, they have a lot of mass and intent behind it and you'll wind up falling down.

if one's actually attacking, give it your bad arm. dogs tend to keep hold once they bite. once they have a solid hold on something, gouge an eye. be careful of messing with the throat -- many dogs will let go if you touch their throat. this sounds nice, but they'll often go for another bite. better to stay with one wound.

yuck.

better choices would be to get up on top of something a dog can't climb (lots of those around), or to whack it with a solid weapon before the dog attacks.

 

[thetruth]

If a dog is attacking someone else try and get behind the dog, reach over the back and grab the front feet, pulling them apart as hard and fast as you can. This is pretty much fatal for a dog as their joints just don't go that way. It apparently effects their heart too. If a dog was attacking me I don't know how I would deal with it as it would be extremely difficult to get into this position.

Cheers
Sam:asian:

 

[zDom]

If a dog ever attacks me it will not have the benefit of me trying to scale back my response as I would for a human.

Cranking limbs in horrible directions, popping eyeballs, etc., all without hesitation.

Slamming them down against the ground like Grape Ape would also comes to mind.

As I focus mentally on this intention when facing potentially aggressive dogs, they usually "read" my intention and resolve and back off. I haven't had to maim or kill one yet.

 

[redfang]

I get a lot of dog calls and I dislike them as they're unpredictable a lot of times and a dog can do a lot of damage quickly. Pepper spray is sometimes effective, sometimes not. A shotgun usually does the trick. I was attacked by a large german shephed once that gave me little time to react. Without thinking, as it jumped at me, about chest height, I grabbed it by the neck and tossed it. It did it again and I threw it again. At that point, its owner realized what was happening and took control of the animal.

When I go on animal calls, I try to demonstrate confidence, try not to spook it, observe it for a while and see if I can determine what it wants (Food, is it close to home, does it have a mate etc). Never run from a dog, it will trigger a pursuit. If its going to bite, try and give it something non-essential to bite, hopefully not part of your body. If it comes doen to actually having to fight with a dog, I don't know about specific weak spots, but I would try to hurt it as much as possibl as quickly as possible. It could be a life and death situation. People die in dog attacks.

 

[Drac]

I get a lot of dog calls and I dislike them as they're unpredictable a lot of times and a dog can do a lot of damage quickly. Pepper spray is sometimes effective, sometimes not. A shotgun usually does the trick.

I hear ya there..

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

If I am ever attacked by a dog I hope that I will have one of my available tools to help deal with the situation. If not I hope there is something nearby that I can use as to defend myself. If that is not possible I will be working hard to protect my throat and groin and striking to the dogs face or picking it up and slamming it. Realistically though I will always probably have a tool to help defend against dog attacks.

Dog's can be incredibly effective at what they do and never underestimate one.

 

[KenpoTex]

Do a search, this topic has been "done to death" several times.

 

[MA-Caver]

http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19142&highlight=defense+dogs

http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10716&highlight=defense+dogs

http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2464&highlight=defense+dogs

This is what the MT Search Engine revealed...

 

[Bigshadow]

If I am ever attacked by a dog I hope that I will have one of my available tools to help deal with the situation. If not I hope there is something nearby that I can use as to defend myself. If that is not possible I will be working hard to protect my throat and groin and striking to the dogs face or picking it up and slamming it. Realistically though I will always probably have a tool to help defend against dog attacks.

Dog's can be incredibly effective at what they do and never underestimate one.

I was thinking the same thing. I am always carrying, so just give the dog something to bite into while I slice it's throat (ear to ear). I am sure my wound won't be as bad as the one it is going to get.

The problem is about defending against animals is that their body shapes, speeds, and so forth are different from humans, so I really don't think martial arts will do much to help other than how to keep a cool head and the use of intent and spirit. Dogs can pick up on that. Man has always needed tools to defend, hunt, or dispatch animals.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Nice post Dave. Wish I could rep you for it but it says I have to spread some reputation around.

Good post on using tools and man's need of them against animals!

They do move differently from us and in the case of a dog they are very, very quick.

 

[zDom]

Do a search, this topic has been "done to death" several times.

It would be an awful quiet place if we only discussed things that have never been discussed before. After all, "There is nothing new under the sun."

 

[PeaceWarrior]

cool, thanks for all the replies. Something I havent seen yet- what about the legs? Dogs have relatively weak legs, and I think a solid leg sweep would bring them to the ground for at least a moment, where you could use a knife or whatever. I was thinking more along the lines of empty handed though...

MA-Caver, thanks for the links...I guess i havent learned to use the search engine yet.

Sorry if my question was redundant.

 

[Robert Lee]

Do not run But face the dog and back awy slowly. If it attacks remember A dogs strengh is in its bite at its jaw. To lesson that you want to push into its mouth And pry it at the jaw line. A dog is fast When you see a pit bull they are strong bites shake to deepen the bite and hold on shaking and clenching. Agin the jaw is the weak point. Whewn walking A spray in hand will be safe. Might check local codes and such . There was one time a spray called hocky pokey kind of froze the dogs skin And they would yelp and run away in a instant Do not know if it is still around. But it sure stopped any dog in in its tracks.

 

[searcher]

This may sound off the wall, but don't pull away from the dog. If he attacks and you defend with an arm you should try to shove it as far into his mouth as possible. This has a two fold effect: first, it takes his "tearing" teeth and puts them a little ways away from your arm: second, it reduces the bite pressure by cutting his bite leverage. It is kind of like getting his with a blunt weapon the closer to the tip the more damage you receive.

The next thing is to grab his throat, push a finger into his eye, pull off his ear(yes it works), etc.

 

[zDom]

This may sound off the wall, but don't pull away from the dog. If he attacks and you defend with an arm you should try to shove it as far into his mouth as possible. This has a two fold effect: first, it takes his "tearing" teeth and puts them a little ways away from your arm: second, it reduces the bite pressure by cutting his bite leverage. It is kind of like getting his with a blunt weapon the closer to the tip the more damage you receive.

The next thing is to grab his throat, push a finger into his eye, pull off his ear(yes it works), etc.

Great advice!

 

[MA-Caver]

cool, thanks for all the replies. Something I havent seen yet- what about the legs? Dogs have relatively weak legs, and I think a solid leg sweep would bring them to the ground for at least a moment, where you could use a knife or whatever. I was thinking more along the lines of empty handed though...

MA-Caver, thanks for the links...I guess i havent learned to use the search engine yet.

Sorry if my question was redundant.

No that's what mentors are (partially) for. MT has a fine search engine and thusly should be used by EVERYONE on this site when preparing to ask a question... to see if it's been covered (most likely it has after 500,000 + posts) or not. Then if the answers to your question(s) havent' been provided or to your satisfaction... no law (here) says you can't simply revive the thread by adding a new post/question to it. :asian:

As far as the legs, yeah dogs would be easier to sweep than humans due to a low center of gravity but dogs have the uncanny ability to get back up faster than humans do. You'd want to totally incapacitate the animal by doing more than just sweeping the legs out from under them... you'd want to break the leg(s). The forelegs are very succeptable to breakage as they're (relatively) thin and easier to get to... as long as you got one hand under their jaws and around their throat.
Wrassling with dogs I found they hate being grabbed at their forelegs... it's instinctive and they'll stop attacking you and protect their legs. They know that if things go south for them they still can run away. Only a stupid or totally po-ed (or worse mad/rabid) dog will stay in the fight til the death.

Gotta remember this also... dogs smell fear quite literally. We sweat and there's chemicals eminating from the pores that says "we're afraid, we're very afraid" and that just makes the animal bolder and less afraid of you.

 

[Odin]

well personally i would..........Pull guard and go for a kimura!!!lol...not really although I saw a friend of mine choke out a dog before.... i wouldnt advise it though.

 

[Cruentus]

I can't believe we are talking about this again.

I should reiterate that a good, strong and assertive voice and posture will thwart about 99% of all dog attacks.

 

[MA-Caver]

I can't believe we are talking about this again.

I should reiterate that a good, strong and assertive voice and posture will thwart about 99% of all dog attacks.

Yeah, sometimes a good strong NO! is workable... until the dog figures out that YOU are NOT his master and resumes his attack. I've tried it several times and found that it doesn't necessarily always work. :idunno: