In the video below BRIGHT IDEAS instructs us How to Survive a Dog Attack. Be confident. Don’t run. Stand still. (“If you stop moving, chances are the dog will lose interest in you and walk away.”) Don’t make eye contact. Make fists (so the dog doesn’t bite your fingers off). Distract the dog by throwing something. Command the dog to back away. “What if you couldn’t avoid the attack?” the narrator asks. “What can you do to get as little damage as possible?” I’m thinking . . .
shoot the dog.
Could I shoot a dog? Sure, if it was seriously attacking me or mine or some other innocent. In front of its owner? Sigh. Yup. Which would actually create another threat. But hey, I didn’t ask the animal to rip my throat out now did I?
Could you, would you shoot an attacking dog? What if it was attacking your dog, not a human? As much as I love my snack-sized schnauzers, I don’t think I could go there. Could you?
Don’t get me wrong: this is something I don’t want to do. Something that could go horribly wrong. Which is why I sought out BRIGHT IDEAS’ bright ideas about unarmed dog defense. Which are . . .
Hit the dog in the nose, throat of back of the head. (There I was thinking that kicking the dog was the safer option, given the proximity of sharp teeth to the dog’s head.) Yell for help. Protect your face and neck. Press the dog against the ground. And that’s it — other than medical advice and reporting the “accident.”
While we’re at it, any more useful advice for dealing with an attacking canine without resorting to ballistic perforation?