The Dangerous Dog Attack
In the preparation for this video and blog I was horrified to see the victims of vicious dog attacks.
I have seen beautiful women who had their faces permanently disfigured due to a dog attack.
That is one of the reasons that I decided to make this vlog and blog on how to defend yourself against a dog attack.
Dog Attack Basics
Here are some things to consider when it comes to dog attacks.
Women and children are the victims FAR more often than adult men.
Although today’s more… shall we say… less than masculine men are increasingly being attacked. Why? Simple, a dog isn’t going to attack someone unless it thinks it can win and it can smell whatever scent you give off if you are afraid or are a bad muther trucker!
There could be exceptions to this such as a dog protecting someone it loves but even then many dogs will back down to a superior predator… cats on the other hand… some of them suckers are just plain mean!
Dogs often but not always attack in pairs.
Dogs have one weapon, their mouth of course. And they lead with it.
Some dogs breeds like pitbulls, while not necessarily physically tougher can be mentally less susceptible to pain.
Some dogs go for the closest thing they can bite while some will go right for the neck.
The number one place people are bitten is their hands because of the natural reflex to reach out and push danger away… this of course means you are giving the dog something to latch on to so you have to train yourself to not engage this response.
How To Defend Against a Dog Attack
Principles are simple:
Ok cool so how do we do those things?
Let’s start with your stance
Like I usually advise you want a wide stance that lowers your center of gravity. Still keep your head up high away from the dog.
Humans are nearly always bigger, heavier, and stronger but dogs have a low center of gravity and can knock us over if we don’t get a good stance.
If you have ever played tug-o-war with a large breed dog and won then you know what to do.
Turn sideways to the dog
This takes your groin away as a target and puts your big old ham hock out in front. I can’t imagine a dog breed that can easily get a secure bite on an adult leg. At best they can nip at it.
They would have to turn their head sideways. Besides you are not just going to stand there while they try to bite you… more on that in just a moment.
Protect your hands!
Hands, fingers, wrists, forearms, and parts of your face are easy for dogs to latch onto. And if you get a breed like a pitbull that will clamp down and shake their head then there is a chance that a finger or part of your face will be ripped off!
Your rear hand goes up by your neck. Make a fist. Attach the arm to your body so it isn’t floating around waiting to be bitten.
Your front hand should have a pocket knife held in the reverse grip. Make sure to put your thumb on the base of the knife’s handle so that as you make contact with a stab the knife doesn’t slide in your hand.
Same thing attach your front arm to your body so it isn’t easy to bite.
Now point the tip of the knife down at the dog. If it jumps at you it is jumping right into the point of the knife.
Now if the dog gets close you can fire out a series of rapid stabs right at its face.
Remember the dog has to come in face first at you.
There is no way you are losing if you keep this stance.
If the dog jumps at you, nips at you, or somehow manages to latch a bite onto you simply rapid stab their face and eyes and they will let go.
And let’s of course remember that most dogs are friendly but when they aren’t you had better be prepared to defend yourself against a dog attack.
The Dog Gives Up
If you simply take this stance the dog will likely not be able to decide how to mount an attack and it will probably give up.
It will turn and walk away. It might come back a couple of times to test you.
Just hold your ground, yell, snarl, be intimidating but most importantly… hold your stance steady. It is your lifeline.
Once the dog looses interest you can start to back away keeping your position / stance.
Walk away slowly and confidently like you are a silverback gorilla who just won a fight. But walk away at an angle where you can keep your eye on the dog.
If the dog thinks you were faking it and not really a threat it might come back to attack.
Once you are safe you can call 911.
Conclusion
Think about what you need to prepare for in order to survive a dog attack…
1st off you need to carry a legal knife for self-defense. If those are illegal where you live then a ball point pen or tactical pen would be a good 2nd place,
Pepper spray or mace is an option but those are usually bulky and people don’t like carrying them around.
I normally am all about a concealed carry handgun but in my experience most people would panic and miss their shots and the dog would bite onto their outstretched arms. The knife is low-skill and nearly anyone can be successful with it in this stance.
In order to have time to get ready you must keep aware of your surroundings. This gives you the chance to see the dog, process if it is showing aggression or friendliness, and get ready accordingly.
Until next time…
Brian
