Remind Me, What To Do If An Aggressive Dog Rushes Me

[Kirislin]

I just need to be reminded of what to do.

I know I mustn't make eye contact or move suddenly

what else?

Can you ever go on the attack? get in before the dog does?

Edited April 19, 2014 by Kirislin

[espinay2]

I wouldn't be escalating the situation. Fastest way to make it worse. Either stadium still putting arms up to your face and avert your eyes, or if you can back out of the area (through a gate etc) do that. If you have something in your hand (stick, umbrella ) and dog comes at you to bite, you could try putting that 'in the way' so they bite on that instead of on you.

[Akayla]

I wouldn't be putting hands near your Face. If the dog charges you it will follow the hands. Which If you are raising them to your face...

[Kirislin]

Thanks. I just hope it doesn't happen.

[Leema]

If a dog rushes you,

Stand still

Be quiet

Avoid eye contact

Wait for dog to leave before moving slowly to safety

[hankdog]

If you have your dogs with you you're best off facing them and making a big loud noise. At the least this brings help and if you keep facing they will hopefully back down and you'll be able to give them a suitable body part if they do give you a go. Apparently less dominant forearm is better as you can stay on your feet and try poke something in their ear or gouge an eye. Once you're down on the ground you're best going into a ball and that will protect your organs.

Never run, I was backing away from a large boxer that was stalking us the other day, I was hoping to get to a trailer on the side of the road when a lady came walking along, she saw what was happening and started shrieking and running, the dog switched to her in a flash but luckily her screams brought people. I've heard of people throwing their dogs into utes, bins or passing cars. I've mostly found getting your back against something and yelling will keep the dog at bay long enough to get help but most if these dogs have been your average neighbour mutt I would hate to take on a really aggressive dog.

[Souff]

If a dog rushes you,

Stand still

Be quiet

Avoid eye contact

Wait for dog to leave before moving slowly to safety

Yes, Souff did that once.

Waited for 2 hours in the summer sun for owner to arrive home.

Take water with you if you suspect this might happen ;)

[Loving my Oldies]

I've heard of people throwing their dogs into utes, bins or passing cars.

I've often wondered what I would do, particularly if I had my dogs with me. My first thought has always been to put them in a bin .... if left on the footpath. Obviously, I am not alone.

It happened to a neighbour of mine: walking her two Shih Tzus and a large aggressive dog attacked. Luckily she'd just left her yard and her husband heard her screams. $3,000+ later . . . . . . but luckily full recovery.

My dogs are tiny and elderly (as am I :D ) so we'd all come off second best.

I hope it never happens, too, Kirislin.

[huski]

for me it would depend on the situation. My instinct is to stand still and avoid eye contact but I'm used to handling and working with trained dogs that, if they saw you as a target, would take screaming and yelling as a cue to bite you. I wouldn't try to keep myself safe from a dog that knew what it was doing with yelling screaming or waving anything around.

Some dogs are more likely to be more bark than bite and could be deterred if you made a loud noise etc. Some dogs will make a lot of noise but will back off fast if you threaten them or push back. Not saying that's the right thing to do, but I would read each situation individually and respond differently depending on the dogs behaviour and body language.

Edited April 20, 2014 by huski

[alpha bet]

This is a very valid question and often what scares many people about walking their dogs in public. There are different situations of course how to react will often depend on different factors.

* if you are alone or have a dog with you

* if you have a child with you

* if there is one or two dogs coming at you

* how naturally confident you are

* even what you are wearing.

Firstly you need to understand that very, very few dogs will actually take on a human, more often they just want the human to move on - away from their perceived territory - often the way the human reactions will increase the energy and make more of an issue. Whereas if the human stops, ignores and then waits till the dog has lowered his energy then you can quietly move on. Just ignoring any lower level of barking, move slowly and confidently away.

The real problem is when there is another dog. Sometimes loose dogs will charge out in the street at another dog walking past his area - On these occassions the dog is not really aware of the human as all his focus is on your dog. If your dog (and you) add more negative energy to the situation things can turn ugly.... Often the human will grab their dogs (usually little white fluffies) and pick them up, thus they frighten their own dog which starts a barking frenzy which will increases the reaction from a charging dog.

In class we teach some techniques to help people develop some ideas... we call it "Own Your Space".... bit difficult to explain online but will try.

To understand, we have off leash classes, we have perhaps 8-12 dogs in class - We start with a practice exercise where we place sticks on the ground creating a box about 4m square - human stands in the box and we place food on the ground - this will entice the loose dogs in class to enter the square.... human has to tell all the dogs to back off and get away.... of course the dogs want the food so some will really duck and weave to get in to the food. Human has to stand firm and make the dogs ignore the food and focus on the human. This is great for increasing the humans confidence in being able to control the dog..... We can take this a step further and increase the square and give the human their dog on leash to hold, they must then control their own dog trying to get the food as well as the dogs trying to enter.

In real life situations we have hoped the human has build the confidence to OWN THEIR SPACE should they have a dog charge then they stand their ground - stand strong - one foot in front of the other, hold their dog steady behind them and wait - only if the dog moves in closer than about 3-4 m then they use a loud BAHHHH. Consider the idea of taking your nervous energy and holding it then using this energy to throw at the dog in one definate F#@K OFF .......

this is aimed at bringing the charging dogs attention to the human and away from the dog..... often then the dog will stop charging but may continuing the barking... human holds steady and strong and keeps the dog focused on the human..... dog might even try to circle around you to find a way in - you just circle and face the dog.... dog then starts to back off... perhaps still barking but you ignore this.... once he moves far enough away you can continue slowly on.... if he recharges you repeat....... the objective is to keep the offending dogs attention on the human and defuse the energy.

Panic causes conflict - Calm and steady wins out.....

Hope this helps.

Edited April 20, 2014 by alpha bet

[Diva]

Most times we have been attacked there have been two dogs. Tbh I discovered there is little I can effectively do against 2 determined dogs and I am just glad mine can fight if they need to. One attacker and I have some chance. The only time I have been charged when I was on my own with no dog with me was in my own driveway, I kept my back to my car and stayed still until the dog lost interest and moved on, had he not moved on I would have tried to get into the vehicle.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Diva

[alpha bet]

If there is two dogs, there is usually one who has the lead... this is the dog to focus on

[Diva]

If there is two dogs, there is usually one who has the lead... this is the dog to focus on

Yeah but while you are focussed on it the other one is circling around behind you.

[Are You Serious Jo]

You are sort of screwed if you have a small dog and two dogs attack. It's not so bad if it's not a prey drive based attack because you can distract the dog. But if the sole focus is on your small dog bluff won't always work. I know everyone says don't pick up your small dog but what else can you do if you see a large dog bearing down and the body language indicates it won't respond to a bluff yell. Once a big dog grabs a small one your dog can be fatally injured pretty quickly. I wouldn't advise anyone do this, I can only speak for myself but I would pick my small dog up and try to block with my body and legs. The elderly can't do this but I'd take a calculated risk to save my dog.

If on my own I'd do the stand quietly no eye contact thing, unless the bastard was latched on to me already.

It really pisses me off that we have to even have these conversations and I solve the problem by not taking my dogs out where there could be a loose dog.

[Nekhbet]

If you're rushed by an aggressive dog look up at the sky or close your eyes, fold your arms and stand stock still. You will usually be circled by the animal looking for a reason to escalate. If you do nothing at all you may get a provocatory nip but hard as it is, ignore it and dont move until the dog moves off or someone calls it back.

Considering you don't know the animal you NEVER make a forward movement or shout etc. You could inflame the animal further and not every dog will back down when confronted by a stranger.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Nekhbet

[Canisbellum]

Dogs rushing me in the street are normally easily scared off using similar methods to what Alpha Bet recommends. Having Jonah with me would complicate matters as he would turn into cujo if a dog charged us. If all else fails I always have a folding knife in my pocket and would use it if it came to that.

[Simply Grand]

You are sort of screwed if you have a small dog and two dogs attack. It's not so bad if it's not a prey drive based attack because you can distract the dog. But if the sole focus is on your small dog bluff won't always work. I know everyone says don't pick up your small dog but what else can you do if you see a large dog bearing down and the body language indicates it won't respond to a bluff yell. Once a big dog grabs a small one your dog can be fatally injured pretty quickly. I wouldn't advise anyone do this, I can only speak for myself but I would pick my small dog up and try to block with my body and legs. The elderly can't do this but I'd take a calculated risk to save my dog.

If on my own I'd do the stand quietly no eye contact thing, unless the bastard was latched on to me already.

It really pisses me off that we have to even have these conversations and I solve the problem by not taking my dogs out where there could be a loose dog.

I would do the same Jo, again only speaking for myself. Small fluffies, including my poodle x, apparently trigger prey drive by just standing there and I know Saxon's instinct if really scared is to run (sensible really as he has no chance of fighting) however that obviously escalates prey drive so now any chance of something happening and I'd pick him up and hold him behind me. I'd do it before the other dog got close if possible to try and diffuse rather than escalate prey drive. If it comes down to it I'll pit myself against another dog rather than him. I do like the idea of chucking him into a bin or something in a serious situation, I'll remember that.

Interestingly the Sheltie, who is not much bigger and also fluffy but in a different way doesn't seem to trigger prey drive. I assume its because he looks more 'dog' like even though he's small. His instinct is also to stay still if unsure and to roll on his back in full submission if really worried, which doesn't escalate things like the running does.

Usually I'd have all three of them with me though and Quinn the Aussie Shepherd would put herself in front of the other two, although I suspect the other two would charge in behind her. If it was just Quinn on her own I suspect she would try very hard to diffuse the situation if the other dog was serious - she's really very good at communicating with other dogs. She'd fight to defend herself if she had to though.

I guess if it happened I hope I would be clear headed enough to let Quinn's lead go, scoop the two little ones into a bin or over a fence then find something (stick, pipe, hose SOMETHING!) to go and try and help Quinn.

If I was on my own and a dog who was serious charged me I hope I'd do as suggested above and stand still, try to stay relaxed and calm, avoid eye contact but keep an eye on what the dog's doing and not turn my back on it, and either wait for it to go away or slowly back away until I could get somewhere safe.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Simply Grand

[Simply Grand]

Just remembered I've seen a Bear Grylls (Man vs Wild) thing on what to do if charged by a pack of dogs, his advice was something like yell, run, throw your backpack at them, jump onto a conveniently placed car then scale a high fence to escape them. Very practical and helpful I thought.

[Are You Serious Jo]

My shih tzu triggers prey drive more often the older he gets too. A friend stayed with their scotties and one immediately went into terrier mode when she saw him, visited another friend a few weeks ago and their quiet sensible dog started acting suspiciously. So very carefully planned outings only with my old boy now.

[ash1]

This happened to me a few months back, I was doing a letterbox drop and a large x-breed dog slipped through his fence, started stalking menacingly towards me, growling, hackles up.

I was alone on a rural road in the middle of the day... gulp!

Didn't even think about what to do, it was just an instant, instinctive reaction; in a very deep low growly strong voice I hurled a loud "GET OUT OF IT!" at him. I'm a female, but the words came out sounding quite masculine and low pitched. I think I might also have clapped my hands together loudly at the same time.

Fortunately I must have sounded like I meant business, the dog made a hurried retreat, then so did I, back to my car! I'm not normally frightened of any dog, but this one looked like he wasn't looking for friendship. I was fortunate.