Any tips on how to fight dogs?

[Morpheus]

I'm not going to take it up as a sport, but I have problems when jogging with dogs chasing (and on one occasion catching) me.
I usually carry my trusty short staff when running these days but it's occured to me that with all the training I do I wouldn't be confident facing down a large dog empty handed. Any ideas?

[Metal Fist]

Carry a knife or gun (if legal in your area) or maybe pepper spray. The short staff or expandable baton would be good to have. The best thing is to avoid areas whrer these kind of animals are.

[JWTAYLOR]

Wow, we had the exact same discussion about 5 months ago.
The general consensus from people that had raised dogs, (Rotty's and Grate Dane's for my family) was that:
1. DO NOT LET YOURSELF BE PULLED TO THE GROUND FOR ANY REASON. I don't care if the dog is actually tearing your foot from your leg. Better the foot than the throat.
2. Giving a large dog your arm may very likely result in a broken arm. Live with it.
3. This sounds crazy but it really does work, scold the dog. You know, yell "bad dog" and "no" allot. Most dogs have some kind of domestication and this kind of thing still gets to them.
4. DO NOT RUN. Unless you know FOR SURE you will outrun the dog. Chasing is instictual for a dog. Running lets the dog know that you are prey.
5. Find a weapon. Use it on the dog as hard as you can. Absolutely no mercy. Dogs, as well as most other predatory animals, have an amazing ability to shrug off pain. My mother actually shot one of our dogs right between the eyes from less than 10' away with at 273 hunting rifle. The dog barely blinked. He was killing a neighbors goat. He didn't even pause when he was shot. He didn't let go until my dad came out and told him to heal.
6. If all else fails, shove your hand down the dogs throat and keep it there. Be aware that you could very likely end up with a broken arm trying this. Again, live with it.
Just think of punching down it's throat.

All of this applies to big dogs. If a dog is terrier sized then don't be too affraid. You might get snipped, but just kick the sh!t out of it and if it tries to jump pick it up and throw it.

JWT

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If you pr!ck us, do we not bleed? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that the villany you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction. MOV

[wisdom mind]

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[This message has been edited by wisdom mind (edited 05-25-2000).]

[JWTAYLOR]

It would be next to impossible to keep control of a large, vicious dog's head. You might as well try to hold the handle of a samurai's sword.
Dogs have incredibly powerful necks and backs. This is because, unlike large cats, dogs kill by ripping side to side and pulling back with their heads, not by puncture or smother. If attacked, the dog will lunge, bite, pull back and then side to side. You will not be able to keep your hands on it.
And also, kill the friggin dog. Don't be kind, just, or compasionate in any way. You have no idea if the dog is rabid or not. If you are bitten, the dog will most likely be killed anyway. If he's actually attacking a standing, (not running) individual, he's either starving or rabid. Most likely rabid. Either way, it's safest for everyone to put a bad dog down.
JWT

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If you pr!ck us, do we not bleed? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that the villany you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction. MOV

[TIDAL]

How are we all doing Im new to the forum so Ill start by saying hi everybody. I've recently begun training in buk sing CLF and the funny thing is somebody recently asked the same question at training about dogs. One of the guys who trains there actually works with dogs. He said one way of dealing with them is to wait until they jump at you and pull one of their front legs down. This apparently rips their heart and kills them. I know this may be a little extreme so I would start with using other peoples advice first.

[flavour54]

Drop down low ,grab the front legs of the dog and pull them a part, it kills them as it tears their hearts apart.

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"take the pebble from my hand"

[JWTAYLOR]

Dear lord, who tells you people this sh!t?
Grab a big, attacking dog's front legs?!
Sounds like a great way to get your throat mangled.
What, exactly are you doing about the sharp teeth and powerfull jaws that are quite desperately trying to rip you apart.
Whatever you do, never reach down on a big dog. DOGS ARE BETTER GRAPPLERS THAN YOU. And I don't care who you are. Why do you think a dog is the mascott for so many grapplers? The ground is their world. They have four legs on it and their main weapon above. You have to go through that main weaon to get the front legs. Sound like a good idea?
Tidal, my family raised Great Danes and later Rottys for years here in Texas. Faith Springs Farm. I don't know who this guy that works with dogs is that you know but he must not work with big dogs. These dogs often outweigh their owners. Trying to pull one of these animals' frong legs would be the last mistake you ever made.
JWT

"Whatever you do, never reach down on a big dog. DOGS ARE BETTER GRAPPLERS THAN YOU. And I don't care who you are. Why do you think a dog is the mascott for so many grapplers? The ground is their world."

Yes that's right! Didn't you all know that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was originally Dog Style Kung fu? It became rare and out of practice because most Chinese people consider it degrading to liken themselves to dogs. the last master of the Dog style was driven out of China and sought refuge in brazil, where he taught all his skills to his only disciple...a street hobo named Gracie. This is all first hand information i received from Ralph "The Pit Bull" Gracie. [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

On a more serious note though I've never studied up on methods to defending against dogs but I did have an experience a couple years ago. i was out walking and on my way back home I crossed this street and as soon as i got on the sidewalk on the other side, this big dog that was sitting on a porch came running at me barking and bearing its teeth. Before i knew it the animal was closing in on me fast and so i basically freaked out and made him my soccerball with one heavy kick. It sent him reeling back and then i ran like hell. It got back up and started pursuing me but I was already way ahead of him and he gave up the pursuit when i was at a good distance from his home. i don't really know if my "kick & run" strategy is considered smart by the experts of Dog-fu but it worked pretty well for me. So the way i see it is that if you can kick the dog away from you with a solid kick and then run like hell then You should be fine. I think dogs are pretty territorial and once you steer clear of his turf he won't bother pursuing you.

[JWTAYLOR]

Good advice.
JWT

[Wudang]

First of all, don't stare a dog in the eyes -they consider that a challenge! If a dog is just barking at you, but not baring its teeth in a snarl, relax & continue on your way.

If a dog is following after you and doesn't look as if it's going to back off, start looking for garbage can lids (preferably metal) to use as shield. Also, good solid objects that can be shoved inside the dogs's mouth as a substitute for your limbs.

If a dog starts to lunge at you, use the garbage can lid as a shield in one hand, use another solid object & strike against the snout- a very sensitive and vulnerable target. If nothing else, they will go into sneezing fits, giving you enough time to get inside a store, car, etc.

If you are in a city, get behind a light pole or stop sign, keeping it between you and the dog - if it goes around in 1 direction, travel the other, keeping the pole as a barrier between you. Remove a shoe & use that as a weapon.

If a large dog has already clamped down on me, I would either strike to its nose or pick its hind quarters up off the ground by grabbing & lifting the tail - they will then instinctively let go to turn around and go after what has grabbed its tail...

Or do what mailmen do - carry pepperspray.




[This message has been edited by Wudang (edited 05-31-2000).]

[Wudang]

You could also remove your coat or long-sleeved shirt and shove the sleeve (from the inside of the sleeve-same direction as if you were putting your arm through) over the dog's snout as a muzzle. Same as an alligator, a dog's jaws are much stronger in closing than in opening.

[Highlander]

O.K. I've never had to fight a dog, I wasn't told to do this, and I've never done this, but reading the other post, I had kind of a crazy thought. I'm positive this won't work in severe cases, but I thought I'd post it and see with everyone else thinks.

Instead of carrying a weapon or ripping the dogs heart apart, how about carrying a pocket full of dog treats (the basty bones are the best). As they are eating them you could slip away. Of course this may encourage them to follow you, but dogs are pretty much territorial and shouldn't follow you too far unless it is already lost. So what do you think?

[Seeker of the Way]

*Eek* Nasty topic, but I suppose this sort of thing is good to know. However, what is the deal with punching down a large dog's throat? Is it so uncomfortable, that the dog will back off? Not like I want to risk an arm doing that. In doing so, I'd rather kick or whack it over the snout. This thing with ripping its heart in two sounds rather brutal, but maybe it's better to put it down straight away. At least here in Denmark, law dictates that a dog tasting human blood once must be destroyed.

So, hey, one can at least be prepared to kill it, if it's either him or you?

I'd still like to hear why it's smart to punch down it's throat?

Laterness,
SotW

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The dance of life, the capering of elements, and skip of gods. The dance is mine, I AM the dance.

[Highlander]

I don't if I would try to punch down a dogs throat when other options exist, but I was always taught that is a dog bites my arm and doesn't let go, to push my arm into the dogs mouth instead of trying to pull away. This forces the dog's jaw to open further than would be natural, creates pain, and the dog will release to get away. This would be in line with the philosophy of attacking the attacker and not the hold that we use against human attackers. If a person gets you in a choke hold, attack the knees, groin, shins, or any other part that causes pain. When the desire to get away exceeds the desire to hold on, the hold will be broken. Anyway, that's my take on punching down the dogs throat.