yerasimos wrote:Kevin's comments are pretty similar to my thoughts on this subject. This is a problem that does not really favor a marksmanship solution, because an attacking dog may be moving too quickly for aimed gunfire. In fact, it is very possible you may be forced to fend off the dog while it is already biting you. What comes to mind is blasting away at the dog's torso with the barrel contacting the thrashing animal (slides on semi-automatics could be pushed out of battery here, revolvers may fare better) or stabbing/unzipping the dog's torso with a knife, all while the dog is mangling your support-side forearm.
Maybe I should pack a good bandage, along with the handgun, to tide me over until an ambulance arrives. I am serious about this. Think about how much time may elapse between the moment you get bitten/shot/stabbed and EMS' arrival, assuming a 911 call is made promptly, and how badly you could be bleeding.
Those are certainly all valid points. A dog attack could occur so suddenly...and from such a short distance that even drawing your weapon might not be viable.
FWIW, I will share what a full time trainer of police dogs suggested to me when we discussed this very same problem. This fellow was a former training partner of mine, going to school here to get his degree in Criminal Justice. A very bright lad for a Canadian. (sorry Jeremy)
He grew up training dogs along with his father, and impressed me with his knowledge. He had a big "Belgian bred" Shepard that he had trained...and I'll just say this: I wouldn't want that thing on me!
Jeremy, was quick to point out that an attack from an untrained animal would be very different from that of trained dog, but here is what he demonstrated and suggested: IF ATTACKED (or about to be).....
1. Do not run, unless doing so will allow
certain escape (into a vehicle, building, etc). It will only serve to trigger the "chase mechanism" in the animal.
2. "Offer" the weak side arm. He said while this is a difficult thing to do, it is still the best strategy. It is counterintuitive to "give" an animal trying to bite you a target, our reflex is to pull our limbs inward. But, here is the crucial information he shared: Make a fist, turn you hand upward (like you were holding a stake to be driven in the ground), bend your arm at the elbow 90 deg. and hold it out in front of your body. This position minimizes the chance of the animal getting your hand and crushing the small bones and nerves. It lessens the chance that the animal will grab you above the elbow where the Brachial artery and nerve reside (potentially fatal wound). The "stake in the ground" hand position
may result in the animal grabbing you by the bones (radial and ulna) of the forearm and not the muscle, nerves and veins on the underside of the arm.
3. Do not pull away (again counterintuitive)! This will only cause more damage. Also, make no movements toward the animals head, he will see this and most likely "take" that target. (trained or untrained)
4.
Control the dogs movement. Serious damage can occur from the crushing effect of the bite from a large powerful dog, but most damage will result from the "tearing/shaking/pulling" that the animal does.
Jeremy's solution to this was to get the dog down and straddle him (no I'm not kidding). He would reach under the dog (big Shepard mind you), and grab either the offside front or rear leg (rear preferred), with a "push-pull" he would "dump" the dog on its side and immediately straddle it. You could tell this was most disconcerting to the dog. It is in this position that you "do your work".
We discussed many other things, but...this has already gotten lengthy (sorry). Jeremy wanted to make sure that I understood that an attack by an untrained dog could be ANYTHING, it might break off quickly or not, the attack might involve only your legs, etc....
This is what he said to protect, and I agree: (In order of importance)
1. Neck and throat....at any cost.
2. Groin area and inner leg above the knee.
3. Inside of upper arm.
I will not go into what his suggestions were to disable a dog with either gun or knife. I do not think it appropriate for general discussion.
Again, sorry for the length of the post.
