Dog Attack-Can it be avoided?

Everyday I walk my dogs around our village, its part of our daily routine and it’s a very good exercise not only for my dogs but for me as well. We go out twice or even thrice a day, you can say that I’m the most frequent dog walker at home. When I walk my dogs, I leashed them, just to avoid accidents, though they are better off-leash. And when at the park I set them free to socialize with other dogs and people as well. But I don’t recommend other dog handlers and owners to do the same unless their dogs are well trained and certain of their good temperaments.

At the park, we play and train, and sometimes entertain kids by giving them a short dog trick show. This is a good way of sending positive information to people who fear dogs. Not everyone likes dogs, and you can’t really blame them for feeling that way. Maybe that person had a bad experience with a canine causing trauma all through out his life. I also realized that most people were misinformed; they have the idea that dogs have rabies since birth, just like snakes with venom; of course this is so false. When I was a kid, I remember my mother telling me not to play roughly with a puppy because he has strong rabies. Perhaps that’s what my grandparents use to tell her, and that is what they want me to believe then. But unfortunately a lot of people still believe in this myth, and they have no knowledge on how to deal with dogs at all. This morning, me and my pooches came across a man, stand six feet tall, maybe weigh around 200 lbs, holding a 2ft long and 1 ½ inch diameter water pipe while walking, dude he's really big and yet I can see his fearful face as my pets approach him, he acted so scared and defensive, considering my dogs were on leash. Honestly, I got scared too, not for him but for my dogs, because at any instance the man could hit them with a pipe because his frightened, thinking the canines will instantly bite him. Well of course, dogs will not do any harm unless provoked. Frequently, people are the ones showing these loving animals the wrong gestures. Reminds me of King Kong, Joe Almighty, Willy the killer whale, and even E.T. they all suffer the same fate due to man's foolishness. I know its fiction but the acts of men were not. These things happen because of the negative perception, and wrong information gotten from an ignorant society particularly with canines. But I'm glad that many good informative sites are there on the Internet to resolve this issue.

Perhaps it's best for me to start educating you by giving a tip on “How to avoid being attacked by a dog”. It is true, dog attacks can be avoided. Most people, especially children are bitten by dogs because they wrongly interpret the dog's intention and they act the wrong way every time a dog approaches. Dogs rely more on their sense of smell rather than sight, therefore, have to come very close and sniff to assess something. Dogs will easily detect a passing or moving object and will mostly likely bark and growl to intimidate and instill fear in his foe then he will approach the person and get very close to scent what it is, this is the time when people usually get bitten, they thought that dog gets too close to bite, so instead of stopping and allowing the dog to sniff them, most people will kick out at the dog, do some harm and run. And this provokes the dog to retaliate and attack.

When you see a dog approaching you or even running behind you, is to stand totally still, do not move, and never talk or try to pat the dog. Some dogs may appear friendly but does not like to be touched. Wait for the dog to lose interest in you.

You can also bring some doggy treats with you, if you decide to go for a stroll where there are dogs you can't avoid. Food is what they love above all and it will surely lure him away by dropping the treats on the ground and remaining still. Do not extend your hand to feed the dog. Also please remember that dogs do not like to be stared at, so keep your eyes off the dog directly. Staring is a challenge of dominance and they see it as a threat.

In case you are knocked to the ground by a dog, Do not attempt to stand up, lie totally still, roll yourself up into a fetal position and stay calm. The dog will attempt to challenge you, and if you try to get back up , it will only result in the dog trying to pull you back down and it may result to a vicious attack.

I will not take responsibility for the injuries incurred to you or your dog as the result of the informative tip presented here. Just stay out of the dog streets.