How to act if attacked by a dog. How to protect yourself from dog attacks

The risk of encountering an aggressive or sick dog is always and everywhere: on the way home, while walking in the park, or away from the city. Therefore, knowing what to do if a dog attacks is important for everyone, including children.

Situation: You are calmly walking along a street, road or park. Suddenly an unfamiliar dog runs up to you, begins to growl, bares its teeth and is clearly preparing to attack. In such a situation, you need to behave as follows.

Don't be afraid and don't panic. Dogs intuitively sense fear and this encourages them to attack.

Do not move. Stay calm and remain in place with your arms at your side. Stand to the side of the advancing animal, without letting it out of your sight. In this case, you cannot:

• look the dog closely in the eyes (perceived as a challenge);
• swing your limbs, make sudden movements (the dog will think that you are threatening it and may attack).
• trying to run away from an animal will awaken the hunting instinct in the dog, and it will most likely rush after you, even if it initially had no intention of attacking.

Divert the dog's attention away from you. This can be done, for example, with the help of food, toys, or generally any object that the dog can bite - a ball, a backpack, etc. While the animal is interested in playing or eating treats, you can carefully leave the scene.

Restrain the animal with your voice. If the dog advances, stand facing him and firmly say the command “Back!” or “Ugh!” You can also pretend that you are picking up a stone or stick from the ground - in this case, a healthy dog ​​will stop and think about whether it is worth contacting you.

If the dog is not provoked, it may simply lose interest in the person and leave.

Methods of self-defense

If the dog does attack, you need to respond quickly and calmly:

Protect vital organs: throat, face and chest. The main thing is to prevent the dog from grabbing the neck (this is especially true for fighting breeds). To do this, you can pull your head into your shoulders, press your chin to your chest, or protect your throat with your palm. It’s good if you have some voluminous object in your hands: a bag, a hat, a backpack - you can use it to shield yourself from the dog by putting the thing forward.

Give the animal a fight. Throw a cobblestone or any other heavy object at the attacking dog. You can also throw a handful of sand in his eyes. While the dog is trying to grab onto the legs, arms, neck or face, hit it on the most sensitive areas of the body: the nose and throat, try to deliver a strong stun blow to the back of the head.

To deal with an aggressive animal, you can use a strong stick, pepper spray, or an ultrasonic repeller (if available).

• Lean onto the dog, using your elbows and knees and suppressing him with your weight. Although a dog can seriously bite you, it cannot fight. Try throwing the animal to the ground and strangling it or pressing on the rib with great force.
• Try to stay on your feet - falling will make you vulnerable. If this does happen, group up, hide your neck and don’t stop swatting away the dog, aiming for the sensitive nose. Also try to grab the animal by the ears and knock it down, and then start strangling it.

Scream. You can call for help, scare the dog away with your voice, threaten it, give commands - the louder the better. Maybe someone else will hear you. The presence of a new person can confuse your dog. The main thing is not to squeal - such sounds will only enrage the animal even more.

• Stand facing the dog, put one leg forward, taking a fighting stance. When the dog attacks you, throw your hand forward - the dog will rush at it first, and at this time you can hit him on the nose or the back of the head with your foot.
• Be prepared for the fact that the dog will have to be killed during the struggle;
• Please note: a rabid dog often attacks from the back, aiming for the legs. The domestic dog tends to bite the victim's hands.
• Try with all your might to stay on your feet - in a lying position it will be much more difficult to fight off the dog.

In the case of a rabid dog, try to get someone to help you as soon as possible and not let the dog grab your neck or face.

What to do if attacked by a pack of dogs

A pack of dogs is a much more dangerous situation than meeting one aggressive dog. As a rule, a pack of dogs surrounds its prey, approaching from behind. Therefore, first of all, you need to get out of this environment. Break the ring and try to move away. To scare away attacking dogs, shout and throw stones, bottles and other heavy objects.

Important! Don't run from a pack of dogs. This can only be done if there is a shelter nearby - a building or a tree - and you are sure that you will have time to run and hide in a safe place.

If you have pepper spray with you, spray it, but make sure that the contents do not reach you.

In a pack, all dogs follow the leader, so if a fight is inevitable, it is worth fighting with him first. Let the dogs understand that you can fight back and it’s better not to mess with you. If you force the leader to retreat, the others will also follow him.

What to do after an attack

Treat bites. Even the smallest wounds received while fighting a dog should be treated as soon as possible as follows:

• Stop the bleeding with a gauze or cloth bandage;
• Wash the affected part of the body with warm water and soap;
• Lubricate the edges of the wounds with brilliant green or iodine;
• Bandage the wounds, and cover minor scratches and bites with a plaster;
• Examine the bites for signs of infection or suppuration.

Visit the emergency room. This must be done as soon as possible, preferably immediately after the bite, in order to prevent rabies. There, the bites received will be recorded, a course of rabies injections will be prescribed and the necessary certificates will be issued.

Contact the police. A local police officer should answer your call. Write a statement asking the dog owner to be held accountable and hand it over to the police officer. When the local police officer draws up a protocol of what happened, he should leave one copy for you.

Next you need to try to find the owner of the dog. If you know him, then arrange for him to bring the dog to the veterinarian for a check - the course of injections prescribed by the doctor will depend on its results. If the dog is stray, or the owner does not make contact, you will have to do a full course of vaccination, consisting of 6 injections - this is free. You can sue the owner of the dog, if there is one, or try to negotiate peacefully.

A dog attack is always a very unpleasant and traumatic situation. To avoid it, you must avoid contact with unfamiliar dogs, and in no case tease or provoke them; if possible, carry special self-defense equipment with you.

Yesterday, the Saratov Veterinary Laboratory published a “Memo for the Population.” It contains recommendations on what to do and how to behave when attacked by dogs.

Here is the text of the memo in full:

"1. If the dog only threatens but does not attack, there is a high probability that you have become the victim of an untrained mongrel. Most likely, the animal is simply defending its territory. Under no circumstances try to escape or scare the dog by screaming. This may prompt her to attack. While the dog is growling and baring its teeth, slowly squat down and pick up something suitable from the ground: a plastic bottle, a stone, a tin can, a handful of sand. If there is nothing similar nearby, take off your shoes.

2. Once up, swing. The dog will stop to assess the threat posed by you. Slowly, without turning your back to the animal, try to get around “its territory.” Most often this is a site near garages, a store or a metro stop.

3. If the dog does attack, throw it what you have in your hands. Mobile phone, umbrella, bag, whatever you managed to pick up from the ground. There is a possibility that by concentrating on a nearby target, the dog will fall behind.

4. If, after grabbing the handout, the dog does not calm down and continues to attack, try to quickly grab another object. This time, don't throw it, but pick it up. The animal will definitely react to the new target and jump up to reach it. At this moment, kick in the lower abdomen - this is the most sensitive place. After this, the attack will stop.

5. If a dog attacks someone else in your presence, grab it by the hind legs and lift it up. In this position, the animal immediately opens its mouth. The physiology of the dog is such that it will not be able to reach you if you hold it tightly by the paws and throw the dog into the water, over a fence, under a standing car. If there is nothing similar nearby, hit the dog against a tree or wall. Remember - pity in this case is unacceptable.

6. Fighting breed dogs are trained not to let go of their prey, no matter what. All you have to do is hold one hind paw and unscrew the eggs with your free hand. If the attacking dog is a female, insert something sharp, such as a key, into her anus. All this sounds terrible, but at the moment of an attack by an angry animal, for example on a child, you will not think about it.

7. The most dangerous case is if a dog is deliberately set on you. At the same time, you do not have the opportunity to grab something, and this is unlikely to help. In this case, try to minimize possible injuries. Move your legs together, covering your groin, and press your arms to your body. If possible, lean against a wall or tree to avoid falling. Service breed dogs will let you go after the first bite. If the dog does not retreat and continues to tear at you with its teeth, grab its head and gouge out the animal’s eyes with your thumbs.”

A dog can be a person's friend, or it can be a very dangerous animal, especially if it attacks. This article is about how to behave in the event of an attack, which defense against dogs is better. What to do and what not to do so as not to provoke their aggression.

There have been two cases in my life when I was attacked by dogs. The first time was when I wanted to catch a dog that had run away from its owner. I decided to do a good deed. But it was not there. The dog bit me on the arm, fortunately not too hard. His owner then had to get a certificate that his dog was healthy. Of course, it was my own fault. In general, nothing pleasant. But, a lesson for life.

The second time, I was walking along the sidewalk, and a pack of stray dogs ran towards me. Despite the fact that I walked along the edge and, in general, did not interfere, the last dog in the pack still tried to bite me by the pant leg. What saved me was that I reached to the ground for a stone. Many stray dogs are afraid of this movement and run away. They often have stones thrown at them when they try to attack.

I was lucky in these two cases. I was not seriously injured and the dog was not infected with rabies. But this can happen to anyone.

Therefore, to avoid such cases, you need to follow the rules for protecting yourself from dogs:

• Never touch animals without their owners present, especially while eating or sleeping.
• Don't take dogs' toys or bones away.
• Try not to feed stray and strange animals.
• Avoid dogs on a leash.
• Do not make aggressive or sudden movements towards the dog's owner, which could be perceived by the dog as an attack.
• Dogs can smell fear, so don't show it or worry.
• If the dog was previously a pet, clear commands can affect him: Place, Fu, Lie down, Stand.
• Do not run away from the dog, this causes excitement in it and at this moment it is easier to attack you.
• If a dog attacks you, throw something you have at hand at it.
• If attacked, protect your face and throat.
• Use available means for protection: a stick or a bag.
• Shout or growl at your dog while showing your teeth.
• If you are wearing a jacket, you can expose the sleeve of the jacket, then throw the jacket over your muzzle and twist it around your head.
• When attacking, kick the dog in the stomach or chest.
• The dog's gaze is always directed to the place of the bite, so you can evaluate the trajectory, dodge and sharply kick.
• To protect against dogs, you can use stun guns, gas canisters, and gas weapons.
• If the dog grabs you, you can click on special points. There are grooves under the jaw on the neck on both sides, you need to put your thumb and index finger there and squeeze, the dog will let go. It is better to learn this technique in advance, try it on familiar dogs.
• In some cases, you can use the following method: put your hand up when the dog grabs, press the dog’s neck from above with your second hand, after which you can break the neck by moving the first hand upward from you, and the second towards you.

*The above methods of protection can only be used for self-defense. In all other cases, this will be regarded as cruelty to animals.

Also, be sure to remember the vital points of dogs:

• bridge of the nose and nose;
• 2 fingers above the intersection of the lines from the right eye to the left ear and from the left eye to the right ear, hit with a strong blow of the fist;
• the place of transition from the forehead to the muzzle;
• base of skull;
• mid back;
• ischial tuberosity;
• stomach and solar plexus;
• stomach;
• hock joint;
• wrist.

What to do if you are bitten by a dog:

• the bite site should be washed with soap and water or a disinfectant solution, for example, 3 percent hydrogen peroxide;
• if there is bleeding, apply a bandage;
• be sure to go to the hospital, or better yet, call an ambulance;
• find the dog's owner to find out if he has been vaccinated against rabies;
• If the owner is not found, you will have to undergo a course of rabies injections. Nowadays, this procedure is much easier, only six injections into the trapezius muscle instead of forty into the stomach.

If you are seriously afraid for your life, buy a stun gun; it can save you not only from dogs, but also from criminals.

Protection against dogs should be as aggressive as possible. The main thing, remember, if a dog attacks you, don’t be afraid, don’t run away, your health is at stake. Give maximum resistance, use available means, call for help.

I have posted a great video for you with practical techniques for protecting yourself from dog attacks, be sure to watch:

Do you hope until the last moment that this huge dog without a muzzle is running to find out how you are doing? What to do if a dog attacks, how to avoid and how to defend against an aggressive dog?

Imagine that you are jogging in the park or riding a bike in your neighborhood, and suddenly an unfamiliar dog jumps up to you, begins to growl and defiantly advance. What to do in this case? In such situations, you can behave rightly and wrongly. To avoid suffering from dog bites, remain calm and take some steps to make the situation less stressful.

1. What to do if a dog attacks

1.1 Don't panic. Dogs and some other animals actually sense someone else's fear. If you get scared and run or scream, the dog will either attack even faster or think that you are threatening him, which is even worse.

1.2 Freeze and don't move. When the dog approaches you, freeze in one place with your arms extended along your body like a tree and your eyes downcast. Often in such situations, dogs lose interest and leave if the person does not pay attention to them.

Don't wave your arms or legs. The dog may perceive such actions as a threat.

Don't look the dog in the eyes - this may provoke an attack.

Stand to the side of the dog and keep him in your line of sight. This will let the dog know that you are not dangerous.

Do not expose your arms and legs to the blow - keep them pressed to your body. The dog may come close to you and even sniff you, but will not bite.

1.3 Do not try to escape. Running can awaken a dog's natural need to chase prey. She may rush after you, even if she initially just wanted to play with you. Besides, you still won't be able to outrun a dog, and even if you ride a bike, many dogs will be able to catch up with you.

1.4 Distract your dog with another object. If your dog threatens you, give him something he can bite, like a backpack or a water bottle. Any thing that will protect you from being bitten will do. The item may distract the dog and give you time to move away.

If you are going to areas where there may be wild dogs, take treats or toys with you. If an aggressive dog approaches you, throw toys or treats aside. The dog may be more interested in them than in you.

2. Self-defense from a dog

2.1 Stand facing the dog and say the command “back”. If the dog continues to behave aggressively, and trying to ignore or negotiate with it is futile, turn to face it and give the command for it to leave.

Don't look the dog in the eye.

The dog may get scared and run away.

2.2 Fight off an attacking dog. If a dog tries to bite you, you will have to defend yourself. Hit the dog in the throat, nose, or back of the head. This will stun the dog and give you time to escape.

If you have a stick or other self-defense weapon with you, use it - hit the dog. Don't hit the forehead because dogs have dense skulls and this will only anger the animal. It is better to use pepper or tear spray.

Fight as if your life depends on the outcome of the fight, because it does. A dog attack can result in death. Of course, you shouldn’t intentionally harm an animal, but if you are attacked, you should use force to defend yourself.

2.3 Take advantage of your weight. Push down on the dog, especially with hard parts of the body like knees or elbows. Dogs can bite, but they don't know how to fight, so try to get into a comfortable position and apply pressure to the bones. Sit on top of your dog and apply pressure to the throat or ribs, trying to prevent the dog from biting or scratching your face.

If you do not want to injure your dog and are confident that you can handle it, place your body on the dog's back and apply pressure to the back of the neck to immobilize the animal until help arrives.

2.4 Protect your face, chest and throat. If you fall to the ground during a fight, it will be more difficult for you to fight the animal and your chest, head and neck will be more vulnerable. It is extremely important to protect these areas of the body as bites in these areas can cause serious injury and can result in death.

To protect your vital organs, roll over onto your stomach, tuck your legs under you, and clasp your fists over your ears.

Don't yell or roll away as this will only make your dog more angry.

2.5 Leave the scene slowly and carefully. When your dog loses interest in you, begin to back away slowly without making any sudden movements. It's not easy to stay calm and still in a stressful situation, but it's the best you can do to prevent your dog from biting you.

3. Consequences of a fight with a dog

3.1 Treat wounds. If you are bitten by a dog, you should treat even the smallest wounds immediately, as animal bites can cause infection. Bites should be treated as follows:

To stop minor bleeding, apply a light pressure bandage made from a clean cloth or sterile gauze to the injured area. If the bleeding is severe or does not stop after applying a bandage, consult a doctor.

Rinse the wound thoroughly. Wash the affected area with warm water and soap.

Apply a bandage. Use adhesive tape (for minor bites) or sterile dressings (for larger wounds).

Examine wounds for signs of infection, including redness, warmth, tenderness, and pus. If you experience some of these symptoms, consult your doctor.

3.2 Call the appropriate authorities. It is important to understand whether the dog that attacked you has rabies and whether it has attacked people in the past. Call the appropriate authorities immediately after a dog attack to ensure it can't hurt anyone else and to have it tested for rabies.

If you are attacked by a stray dog, it may also attack other people. To ensure safety, the dog should be removed from the street.

If the dog has an owner, further actions depend only on your wishes. If you were physically harmed, you can sue the owner. Many countries impose liability for the actions of domestic dogs.

3.3 Consult a doctor. If you are bitten by an unknown dog, an animal that is foaming at the mouth, or a dog that is found to have rabies, you will need to see a doctor right away to be treated for rabies (this disease can cause death).

Rabies injections should be started as soon as possible after bites.

It is believed that almost all of Europe is free from rabies, so most likely if you are attacked by a dog in Western Europe, you will not need injections.

If you have not had a tetanus shot in the last five years, you will need to get one now as a preventive measure.

As a general rule, all large dog bite wounds should be seen by a doctor.

4. Preventing a dog attack

4.1 Pay attention to warning signs. Most dogs are not aggressive - they are curious and protective of their territory. To avoid unwanted conflicts, it is important to understand whether the dog is playing or is truly aggressive. There are particularly dangerous breeds, but all medium to large sized dogs should be treated with caution. Don't ignore warning signs just because a breed seems friendly and harmless. Pay attention to common signs of aggression (and lack of aggression):

Howling, growling and grinning are signs of aggression, and you need to respond to them accordingly.

An angry dog ​​may have the whites of its eyes visible, especially if they are not normally visible.

Ears that are flat against the head indicate aggression, while ears that are relaxed or raised indicate that the dog is friendly.

If the dog's body is relaxed and the belly is sagging, the dog is less likely to attack.

If the dog's body is tense, elongated and not moving (head, shoulders and hips not moving in relation to each other), this can be dangerous.

If your dog is hopping, he wants to play with you or get to know you better. If the dog runs straight and purposefully, it may be preparing to attack.

4.2 Don't make your dog angry. Many animals attack because their owners do not know how to restrain them, because they are poorly trained, or because someone teases them. Unfortunately, there will always be bad owners, so it is better to be prepared for anything. Common sense will tell you not to tease any animal.

Do not touch your dog while he is eating or grooming his puppies. At such moments, dogs’ defensive reflex intensifies.

Don't smile at the dog. It seems to you that you are trying to be friendly, but the dog perceives a smile as a grin before a fight.

If your dog is kept on a leash at all times, it can be very aggressive, so do not approach it.

4.3 Beware of all unknown dogs. It is best to avoid conflicts with dogs at all costs. If you see a dog that could be dangerous, stay away from it.

Report dangerous and stray dogs to the appropriate authorities.

Teach children not to approach strange dogs until they are sure they won't cause harm.

If you handle all dogs with caution until you are sure they are harmless, you can avoid run-ins with aggressive animals.
Adviсe

If you are walking with a small child past a dog (especially a large one), it is best to hold the child in your arms. Do it slowly and don't look the dog in the eyes, especially when you sit down. Tell your child to be still and quiet and to look at you.

Teach your child to freeze when confronted with an aggressive dog, rather than run away from it.

If you are riding a bicycle, get off it and use it to separate yourself from the dog. It will become a protective barrier. If the dog attacks (rather than just barks), use the bicycle as a weapon to hit the dog. Holding the bike by the handlebars and seat, lift the bike and hit the dog with the wheel. Don't drop your bike or you will lose your protection.

If you suspect you may encounter aggressive dogs, carry pepper spray, tear spray, or a can of compressed air to repel the animals. Aim for the face, but if you miss, it will be enough to spray the product near the dog's body, since these animals have a very keen sense of smell. Repeat this several times until the dog stops attacking.

Dogs sense fear, but also defensiveness unless the dog is very aggressive (due to rabies or a history of physical abuse).

Never turn your back to the dog. Keep her in your sight, but don't look her in the eyes. Don't try to appear scarier than the dog or make sudden movements. Move slowly and carefully. Do not approach the dog from behind until it stops acting aggressively.

If a dog howls at you, continue walking slowly and do not make eye contact with the animal.

If a dog runs towards you, no matter what you do, don't try to run away. Perhaps the dog is not angry - it just wants to play with you or get to know you. If you decide to run away, it will make her angry. Just because a dog seems crazy doesn't mean it will harm you. Dogs need attention too!

If a dog presses its ears to its head, it indicates fear. If the ears are flattened and turned towards you, this is most likely a sign of dominance or aggression.

Warnings

Owners of aggressive dogs can be even worse than their pets. If you injure or kill an aggressive dog, leave the scene as soon as possible and call the police.

If the dog appears sick or becomes sick within 10 days of the incident, it will need to be tested for rabies. If the dog turns out to be sick, you will have to take a course of rabies injections.

Be careful when using pepper spray or tear spray. The chances of having time to use the spray can before getting bitten are small, and if there is a headwind, you will find yourself in the spray’s affected area. Even if you hit a dog in the face, there is a chance of further angering the animal, especially if it is a stray.

Remember that some dogs do not wag their tail when they see a person from afar (for example, very friendly Akita Inu dogs only begin to wag their tail when a person is about two meters away from them), so you should not think that the dog will attack you unless she wags her tail.

All dogs are different and sometimes react unpredictably. The tips in this article will help you avoid danger in most cases, but you may need to adapt them to suit your specific situation, so be careful.

What to do if a dog attacks

Memo for children

Let's talk about what to do when meeting man's four-legged friend. It could be just a stray dog, it could be a completely domestic dog walking without an owner, it could be a guard dog that has gotten off its leash. There may be many accidents, but we must reduce their number to a minimum.

First, remember the situations in which you should never disturb an animal. There is a saying: "Don't wake a sleeping dog." In our case, it has the most direct meaning.

So, it is forbidden:

• touch a tied dog in the absence of the owner;
• touch the dog when it is sleeping;
• touch the dog when it eats;
• take away what the dog plays with;
• do not frighten dogs or throw stones at them;
• if the dog has puppies, do not touch them;
• play with the dog's owner, making sudden movements that may be perceived by the animal as aggressive;
• do not try to pet an unfamiliar animal.

Rules of conduct when encountering a pack of stray dogs

Near a street pack of dogs, it is dangerous to shout, wave your arms, carry meat products, or brush off particularly intrusive dogs.

Avoid packs of dogs when riding a bicycle, scooter, etc. Sometimes stopping is enough for the dogs to lose interest and stop attacking.

If you are walking your dog yourself, do not go close to street packs.

How to understand that a dog is about to attack:

• growl;
• nervous twitching of the tail;
• forward-pointing ears;
• bristling back;
• tense paws;

What to do if a dog approaches?

If a dog approaches you and is clearly aggressive, you should try to give commands like this in a firm voice: “Place! Stand! Down! Fu!” Perhaps the dog will obey the command and calm down, losing interest in the attack. Try to look confident and under no circumstances should you turn your back to her and run. Even the most cowardly dog ​​can have a hunting instinct and rush.

If you are eating something on the street and a dog comes up to you and looks at you, hide the food in your bag or pocket so that the dog does not see it, and carefully move towards the adults. If there are no adults nearby, throw the food in the direction opposite to the direction of safe movement and quickly leave.

If the dog does not leave, it advances threateningly and is clearly about to rush, what to do? Prepare for a dog attack.

• The dog's gaze is always directed to the place he wants to bite.
• If a dog attacks, take care of your throat and head!!!
• Continuously shout: "Help! Ew!"
• Do not stand facing the dog, turn slightly sideways. It is better to have a wall or tree behind you, this will prevent the dog from attacking from behind.
• If you have a stick at hand, hold it firmly in front of you. Without lowering your means of protection, without taking your eyes off the dog, slowly retreat to cover: a fence or the wall of a house. If you don’t have anything in your hands, quickly take off your jacket and wrap it around your left arm so that if you jump, you can put your left arm forward. If the dog grabs your left hand, on which the jacket is wound, try to hit the dog on the tip of the nose, bridge of the nose, in the eye, or kick it in the stomach with your right hand.
• Try not to fall.
• Don't run - the dog will mistake you for game and start hunting.

If a dog bites, what to do? Allow the blood to drain a little, wash the wound with soapy water or a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution, treat the skin around the wound with an alcohol solution of iodine. If possible, find out whose dog it is.

Svetlana Grafova