What Is A Dangerous Dog?

There is a good chance that after adopting these tactics, the dog is likely to come up and sniff you, nudge you with its nose and leave you alone. Children should be taught NOT to approach strange dogs at all, period.  If the dog is unknown to you, anything could happen.  I still recall an incident that happened when I was only a toddler.  The neighbor had tied a friend's dog that she was watching to the property line stake.  So the dog was able to come over into our yard (right next to the swing set).  I toddled up to that dog and tried to look at his tags.  The dog jumped up on me and knocked me OUT!  I still remember coming to, on my back, looking at the sky and the five swing sets circling above me!  By the time there was only one swing set, my mother came out and scooped me up.  Having a severe head trauma at an early age like that is not a laughing matter.  Also, I'm lucky it was a small, friendly dog, and that I fell BACKWARDS!  Or my mother might have been picking me up in pieces!

If the owner of the dog is there, and says it's ok, have your child stand still and let the dog approach the child.  I've been teaching community obedience training classes for 25 years, and my rule has always been to NEVER approach and touch a dog that doesn't approach and touch you FIRST (it's a good rule for identifying friendly people, too!).  If the dog approaches and is not afraid, the child can extend a fist for the dog to sniff (extended, grabby little fingers are frightening to dogs).  The child should be instructed not to pat the dog on the top of the head (most dogs actually hate this, anyway), because they usually do so in "attack decoy mode."  They reach out and then pull back when the dog moves to inspect the hand. This is the fastest way to encourage a dog to nip at hands.  Try to get the child to scratch the dog under the chin.

The best approach when introducing yourself to a new dog is a sideways one.  A sideways stance is less threatening to a dog.  Avoid direct eye contact.  Look away, or look at the floor and pretend to be disinterested in the dog.  This conveys a "calming signal" to the dog.  It portrays a picture of a being who is not going to try to chase him, grab him or hurt him.  If you look calm, the dog will be calm.  Other calming signals [Read "Calming Signals" by Turid Rugaas] include approaching by walking in an arc (the way friendly dogs greet each other), sitting or squatting, licking or smacking your lips, yawning, and sniffing (we humans don't sniff, so you could just inspect a blade of grass with your hand, or something).  Basically you are almost completely ignoring the dog.  This sets him at ease.  You're telling him, "You don't have to worry about defending yourself from me, because I mean you no harm."

Now, that will get you through an encounter with a non-aggressive dog.  What do you do if you find yourself suddenly confronted by a dog who thinks he is protecting his turf, or for some other reason wants to intimidate or bite you?  The first instinct you may have is to run.  That is the WORST possible behavior you could engage in.  If there is ever a for sure piece of advice,
NEVER, EVER RUN from a dog.

Dogs bite because they don't want you near them, or an area they may be "protecting."  Be it fear, or whatever reason, the dog wants to put distance between himself and you.  If a fearful dog can not distance himself by running away, he will try to distance you by putting on an aggressive display to intimidate you.  How you react can mean the difference of whether you get bitten or not.  I remember an incident 25 years ago, when a man came door to door selling apples.  When the man swung that apple crate up onto his shoulder to leave, my Doberman went into serious "alarm" mode.  He decided that guy had ill intent.  My Dobe was (like most Dobies), just a big cuddly lap dog, so I told the guy, "Aw, just stomp your foot at him, he'll go away."  WRONG IDEA!  Sundance just about came unglued, and I was lucky that he didn't actually bite the guy!  I had never seen him act like that!  He acted like he was going to rip his lungs out!  The poor man must have just about wet himself.  I felt so stupid!

Never try to use intimidation to "chase away" an aggressive dog, unless you are sure that the dog is very fearful.  A fearful dog will respect and avoid a "stronger being", while they may attempt to bite someone who runs away.  First choice defense would be to activate the calming signals, while slowly backing off, sideways.  Also, that the flesh on the outsides of our bodies (hips, outer thighs, outer calves, upper side of arms) is tougher than the inner sides of those body parts, and if you're going to get bitten those would hurt the least.  As for a small child, he/she should place the hands over the face, with the forearms protecting the throat.  She tells little kids that if they see a "big, mean dog," he wants to play hide and seek, so stand still, cover your eyes, and count to 50.  This places bone in front of the child's face and throat.  Lying down on the ground is not a good defense against an aggressive dog, but if the child should happen to fall down, or get knocked down, they should remain still, lie face down, and not scream.  NEVER, NEVER RUN!

If you're an adult, and you are faced with an all-out attack from an unfriendly dog, and all of the other stuff didn't work, what do you do? Stand up straight (and sideways), and in your best, most authoritative, primal yell, blast the word "NO!!!!!" from your very bowels, just as the dog gets within striking distance.  This may take the dog off guard, as most dogs have been admonished with this word before (unfortunately).

Guess where most bites occur?  Right in our homes.  Sparky bites the child out of fear for his life (because the child has been taunting him).  Or, Fluffy bites anyone who comes too close to his food bowl (because he's been allowed or encouraged to guard resources).  These are what I would call environmental problems.  They can all be "fixed," with a little effort, because the dog isn't truly vicious--he's just been raised improperly, and/or the environment has not been managed properly.  It's unfortunate that these dogs usually get marched straight off to the dog pound.  Then, the people get another Cocker Spaniel and teach THAT one to be the boss, too, and they go right through the same thing all over again.  If people knew a little more about dog behavior to begin with, they wouldn't create these little "monsters."  And, if they were willing to seek and pay for the help of a behavior counselor, they could probably work out the problems.