Fact: Any breed of dog is capable of attacking a human. But 56 percent of all fatal dog attacks in the United States in the past five years were committed by pit bulls, according to a report released last week by the organization DogsBite.org. “During the 1980s and 1990s, fatal dog attacks averaged 17 per year. The death-by-dog-bite rate now is nearly double this amount at over 30 per year and largely due to pit bulls,” the group says. The tips below can be used against any breed of dog that happens to attack, up to and including the pit bull. (And to those who claim that humans’ anxiety about pit bull attacks is fostering an environment where pit bulls are subliminally encouraged to attack: I will not discuss matters of human culpability and mind-reading pit bulls because YOU ARE INSANE.)
“Trying to make friends with strange dogs is not a good idea,” says David Wiley, a Seattle dog behavioral therapist with BarkBusters.com. “Don’t try to pay attention to a dog in a car or behind a fence—even friendly dogs can be territorial.”
Never let yummy little kids—who make sudden, startling, unpredictable movements—anywhere near unleashed pit bulls.
If you find yourself on what feels like the verge of being attacked: “Don’t run—the movement can make the dog more excited and chase you. Stand completely still and cross your hands in front of you. Don’t make direct eye contact, which can come across as a challenge. Don’t turn your back, as it may embolden the dog. Just stand still. Once the dog loses interest, back away,” says Wiley.
So you’ve stood still and avoided eye contact, and still the dog in question shows signs of dangerous aggression. If you can get yourself somewhere higher than the ground, do it. If you can stand on a car, stand on a car. (You can worry about possibly denting a stranger’s hood and roof later—just get the fuck up there.)
If there’s no car or any other higher level handy, “don’t try to defend yourself, just protect yourself,” says Emily Keegans, behavior program manager at the Seattle Humane Society. “That basically means to get down on the ground, pull your knees to your chest, clasp your hands behind your neck, put your elbows around your face.” This play-dead-while-defending-your- tender-face-and-lap-bits approach is seconded by Wiley: “Stillness is the best thing. If a dog gets its teeth into you, fighting back can make things worse.”
There’s nothing as low drama as spraying the animal with a pain-inducing repellent. If your life regularly takes you through areas populated with dogs, get Mace (or pepper spray, or citronella). Do it now, because all other “fighting back” options are nauseatingly violent. Butch’s Gun Shop on Aurora Avenue sells a small container of Mace for around $12, while REI sells an eight-ounce “bear spray” for $30.
Is there something heavy you can grab? A rock, a brick, a boom box? If so, smash it against the dog’s head until it retreats or loses consciousness.
Or can you or someone else grab the attacking dog’s legs? If so, yank them apart to break the dog’s knees.
If that’s not possible, choke it. Don’t straddle the dog, but get into a position with the bony part of your forearm against its throat and put pressure on the windpipe “for at least 30 seconds until the dog is unconscious and has stopped struggling,” says self-defense specialist Charles Prosper.
Is choking not in the cards? Do you have something to wrap around your arm? Say, a jacket? If so, wrap it around your nondominant arm and let the dog bite it. Then fall on top of the fucker and dig your fingers into its eyes. Don’t stop until the dog’s a whimpering mass of blindness, then get yourself to safety. 
The follow-up: How to Defeat Someone Made Furious by ‘How to Defeat a Pit Bull with Your Bare Hands.’
This is an excellent article. For all the retards that say otherwise, I suggests you mfer’s read the paper once ina while. Then maybe you can understand while pitbulls should be exterminated. I am sure that the 30 number is understated. The only thing coming close to the horriffic news of a baby being brought home only to be eaten by the family pitbull, is reading about the maimed bodies of children who are attacked and live with the stigma of disfigurement for the rest of their lives.
Shame on anybody who tries to argue otherwise!
Lets talk about a few facts…There were over 300,ooo dog bites treated in the year that this article was writen. pit bulls made up less than 5% of those. The numbers say you are more likely to be bitten by a German Shepherd or a pomeranian. Pit bulls bites are capable of grater pounds PSI thus doing more damage. That does not establish them as inherently violent.
For everyone that has an opinion, remember this, it is your opinion. It is not based on facts. Your opinion is based on how the media relays information. If someone died in a dog attack, it is broadcasted as a dog attack. When a pit bull hurts someone, it is a pit bull attack. That is the same thing as saying a crime commited by two races of people are not the same crime.
Pit bulls are becoming more and more popular to own, but by people that should not own any breed of dog. I own 2 pit bulls and I have had several throughout my life. I socialize them from the time they are puppies. They play at the dog park with everyone else. I am a responsable dog owner. If you are someone that feels that a specific breed should be discriminated against, that makes you an ignorant person.
I used to be open to the idea that pit bulls could be good dogs, if they had responsible owners. Last month my sweet, gentle dog was killed (ripped to shreds) by a pit bull (the pit’s owner is a dog walker/trainer). I’m now fully in the Ban Pit Bulls camp. It’s like owning a pet lion. Sure they can be sweet and loving, but when they attack it’s deadly.