How to Defend Against a Dog Attack

If you’re being threatened by a dog, the standard advice from various national kennel clubs is to avoid eye contact, remain still, with your arms crossed over your chest or hands in your pockets and hope for the best, which is fine if the dog doesn’t attack you, but not so clever if it bites your groin, face or throat. The problem with advice like this is that it assumes that a dog is unlikely to attack a human, which is complete bullshit. Most recorded dog attacks on humans were unprovoked. The reason for the massive increase is that more people are buying dogs for protection and either can’t control them or are using them as weapons. 

If you were attacked by a Chihuahua or Yorkshire Terrier, you would kick into the middle of next week. So when we’re talking about dog attacks, we’re talking about defences against a dog like an American Pit Bull, Rottweiler, Tosa, Presa Canario, Fila Brasileiro, Dogo Argentino, Dogue de Bordeaux, Mastino Napoletan, Cane Corso, English Mastiff, Bullmastiff, Dobermann Pinscher, Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Anatolian Shepherd, German Shepherd or Dutch Shepherd — a dog who could maim or kill an adult, and might even be a trained attack dog deliberately set on you.  

Most dog attacks don’t result in the victim being horrifically scared, maimed or killed, so unarmed defence against a dog is possible but some breeds are easier to deal with than others because of their size but having said that all the above dogs are potentionally lethal, and especially dangerous if they’re trained attack dogs. The best defence is to shoot it before it attacks you and if someone threatens you with a dog, shoot it dead before he gets the chance to let it off the leash. The next best thing to a gun is a decent dog.

But when I’m unarmed and threatened by a dog, I don’t stand square on, offering up my balls, throat and face: I stand side on, my left side facing the dog, so my thigh is protecting my Jacobs. I hold my left fist down by my left hip, and my right fist against my left cheek cover my face and throat with my head on my shoulder.

The dog will get hold of my left arm, but better my arm than my bollocks, face or throat, and when he’s got my arm his mouth’s busy. I’ll let him pull me to the ground because he’ll keep ripping chunks out of me until he does and he’ll do less damage to my arm if I don’t struggle but when I go to ground, I’ll wrap my right arm around his body — not his neck or he’ll attack my right arm — then I’ll drive my chest into him and pin him to the floor (cross body pin), keeping my arm in his mouth and hold him down with my chest. I’ll carefully slip my right arm behind it’s neck and strangle it. I’ve only ever done this with Kevlar forearm guards, so the pain on the forearm wasn’t all that.  

I’ve never fought against more than one dog at one time so I can’t really offer much advice, but I don’t think there is much you can do if you’re unarmed. All I can suggest (and this ain’t great) is to roll up into a tight ball with your fist on your ears, so the dog can only bite the back of your head, neck, arms, legs and back. But you’ve got to stop yourself from getting turned over, which won’t be easy, I’m very confident that my two dogs could turn over anyone.