Caught this video in Facebook:
People in general are not trained or have a basic idea about what to do if they are attacked by a dog. Do we see a dog, even one that is attacking as a pet that shouldn’t be harmed? Or have we removed our own predator instincts so bad that we act like ruminants rather than meat eaters?
Dog attacks is an area in which I have a certain amount of experience. We had moronic neighbors that owned big dogs for house defense but were not trained (the owners) to be responsible with them. Here is some of what I learned and you can expect if attacked by a dog.
1) Be ready to be bitten and it will be painful. If the animal has already targeted you and you cannot bring a weapon to defend yourself or an object they can sink their teeth on, you are gonna bleed. The smart thing to do is give them something that they can bite on but it does not put you in a serious disadvantage. The idea here is to have the dog’s teeth away from three important areas: Neck, Abdomen and Genitals. Bleeding profusely or being disemboweled are generally not good things. If everything else fails, give them your non-dominant forearm.
2) Once the dog is biting, counterattack viciously. If you have a gun or knife, take it out and defend yourself. Slice the neck, the abdomen, shoot it in the chest, inflict as much pain as possible till the dog releases you. When it does, make sure it has no more will to fight or that it has initiated retreat to check your own wounds. If it looks like it wants another round, you attack first. We are not doing an episode of Dog Whisperer here, it is you life and limb at risk. If no weapons are available, use your natural tools such as hands, legs, knees and your own bulk.The point is, do not try to shake the dog off or push it away but get in close and personal and use whatever is left to attack. However, banging a dog in the head with your fist tends to be ineffective in my experience and don’t shoot yourself in the arm trying to get a head shot.
Dogs, like any other creature in this planet, enjoy the intake of oxygen. Punching or gripping the throat may help it reconsider you from tasty morsel to maybe something that may actually hurt it. If it has a choker chain, grab it and list it till is off the ground and choking. Crush the throat with anything including a good grip. Dogs with long necks will tend to release faster than short necked versions.
Remember I said to get in close and personal? BITE BACK! Possibly the closest part of the animal to you will be the very much sensitive nose, so go ahead and take a bit out of Fido (and fulfill the old “Man bites Dog” expression). Pluck the eyes out with your free hand or pull the upper lips up and away with as much force as you can. The idea is to inflict as much pain as possible so the dog gets off his Fight mode and enters Flight mode.
3) Once the dog releases you, continue the attack. Kick, scream, throw things, chase and do whatever is necessary to make the dog understand you are a continued threat to his safety and must place plenty of space between you and it. Hesitation or retreat may re-trigger the dog into attacking again.
4) Once done, call 911 & tend to your wounds. As I said, you will be bitten, you will be hurting & bleeding. Call 911 immediately and request help. Do keep an eye for the dog’s owner and if you think the moron will actually behave like a moron, inform the operator you are moving to a safer location for fear of retribution.
It is a damn shame that some dog owners just get the animals for the “dangerous” cool factor but spend zero time training them to be safe or even keeping them safely enclosed on their property. If you take the responsibility of owning a dog, it is expected of you to reduce the chances of an attack to an innocent person to the minimum possible. And as a dog lover, rest assured I will not vent my anger on the animal but on the owner by legal means available. If you are stupid & careless, cause me injury and force me to cause injury on the animal, I will seek redressing.
As a pizza deliver guy I’ve had my fair share of dogs wanting to play jump rope with my intestines and swing with my spine. My greatest defense is being aware and giving the pizza a good throw and flee in my car. Also car horns don’t do jack to make a protective dog go away. I’ve honked for help as Cujo’s cousins surrounded my car then to be saved by a tiny little girl when I’m 6’4″ and throwing around 245lbs. My Benchmade only gives me comfort knowing after its eaten me it won’t have an eye and maybe covered in scares
I’d also note there’s no “shoot to stop” shit with dogs. If I get a dog locking down on one of my appendages, fido is going to die if I can safely accomplish that without risking human life. I’d rather have a corpse that can be tested for rabies than have it run off and have to endure prophylactic rabies vaccine.
What a bunch of pussies. Once that dog bit they should have all dog piled it and killed it. Instead they all hid and let their buddy get bit more. If that was me and my fellow cops chickened out like that I’d kick all their asses once I got out of the hospital.
It is amazing how cowardly people react in the face of attacking dogs of ANY size. I’ve seen them recoiling at yapping yorkies like they were the hounds of Barskeville.
I was going to post something similar, but you bear me to it.
Sean: “zactly ! If your department is like mine, we’d be having dogmeat at the dept picnic.
Kinda funny: I’ve been attacked by a dog, while I was with my then-1-year-old child. First instinct was to forcefully-but-as-gently-as-possible push her out of the dog’s reach and grab it by whatever I could (the ear in this case). Then I sat on it, released the ear, got a hold on its windpipe, and did not let go until after it did. Child safe, dog deterred, and only a relatively minor set of cuts on my non-dominant thumb. The scars are nearly invisible, but I can feel them – a stiff reminder that even a known, normally friendly dog (which this one was) is still a free-willed creature with teeth.
Why do I have the feeling that if the jokers in the video were handling it, my child would have a permanent disability, IF she survived?
Growing up in the country, dog assassination was common. Packs of dogs turned feral or known vicious attackers left to wander by bad owners were executed on sight with whatever arms were available. City folk should learn about this.
Putting down feral pets is not “assassination”.
It is simply good citizenship.
Leash and fence your pets, people.
Out in the country we call it:
Shoot
Shovel
Shut up
I am surprised no one pointed out the obvious. Most London cops are unarmed. It wasn’t until the arrival of the yellow and orange blazed cop cars (as opposed to just orange blazes) did anyone on scene have a decent means for protection.
The fact that most London constables are unarmed doesn’t preclude the ones NOT being bitten from grabbing the dog by something (scruff of neck, ears, throat, etc.), getting it off the bitten cop, and restraining it. Hell, one of them could have taken their shirt off and thrown it over the dog’s head to use as an improvised muzzle. Or used their billy clubs to deter it (they may not carry sidearms, but they are not completely disarmed, either).
The point is that London’s “law enforcement” has moved away from a real enforcement role to play a part more akin to “Paul Blart, Mall Cop”: Detect, deter, observe, report. Heaven forbid they actually make themselves useful and intervene to stop bad things from happening.
At first I couldn’t figure out why the cop being attacked didn’t immediately shoot the dog. I also couldn’t figure out why the other cops weren’t helping, and it was left to a fat bystander to whack the dog ineffectually. Then, when the video ended, and I saw “East London,” it all made sense. Cowardly, unarmed, English morons.
Good points. I live out in the country, and have to deal with unchained dogs quite a bit when out walking or bike riding. I’ve found that most dogs, just like most people, will usually back down (at least they always have for me) when one does not act like prey and trigger their predatory instincts.
I’ve seen dogs confront so many people, then give chase because the people run. I can certainly understand that, but I’ve got some bad news: you’re not going to outrun that dog, no matter its size. It’s always best in my opinion to square off, not make direct eye contact, and to try(!) to show no fear. Let the dog know you’re not one to be chased, and they’ll usually leave you alone.
Funny how dealing with two legged goblins and four legged goblins has many similarities.
[…] And how to deal with them. Also, the dog is going to bite whatever it gets to first. So, if you put your arm in its way, it will get bit. This is handy to know. […]
On the London video: Whoah, sucks to be you, dude.
If someone else is being mauled grab the dog by the hind legs, lift off the ground and pull like a wishbone. Rear legs off the ground will disorient the dog and the wishbome pull will effect its back muscles such that it has less (and some times no) ability to bite (the degree willdepends on the breed)
Thanks for posting this. We spend a lot of time thinking about human attackers, but not much on things like dogs. Good info.
I was once told during an animal attack offer your non-dominate hand. After the animal has taken hold of your arm, you want to shove it down its throat and choke it. So instead of pulling back with that appendage push the other way and most of them will let go at that point.
Shooting the dog AFTER the event is like shooting a fleeing felon. Could a Taser or OC have netutralized Cujo, or could dog-catchers have taken over?
I grew up in a time and place where dogs were allowed to wander the neighborhood, Northern Virginia 1960s. Attacked many times.. Here is what solved the problem: Reach down like you are picking something up (they seem to know what this means…Rock) use command voice (no fear allowed) and tell em to BACK OFF w/big arm movements and charge them, throw rocks if you got em throw imaginary rocks if you don’t. Couple times I had my Daisy Model 25 from back in the day when it would put a BB through both sides of a soup can. I chased an attacking Shepard for two blocks with that thing running right on its heels. Dog never came near my street again. Good times…….
Great teamwork by the Keystone Kops…for pity sake, help your brother officer out, don’t climb up on the wall or walk away….pitiful. I like the practical advice to grab the hind legs, lift and separate…clearly trying to hold a powerful dog by the business end is like reaching into a bear trap.
[…] long ago I covered dog attacks and what to expect. The video does not show the attack, but you can see enough blood to understand that it was not a […]