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.’
I live in NYC and there are a lot more dogs here than you might think and a huge number of them are pit bulls. I don’t trust any strange dog but pit bulls are especially scary because they mostly consist of a powerful head, neck and jaws with just the right height to bite a small child’s face. My son is ten now and higher off the ground but when he was little I mentally prepared myself to act defensively every time one walked by his stroller and always kept myself between him and any dog. My husband was walking with our son on 5th Avenue when a pit bull jumped up and gave him a little nip for no reason. Glad for all concerned that it wasn’t me. All you people who want to argue who’s fault, why or if they deserve their reputation, their purpose, breeding, how sweet they are, etcetera – please spare me. If any dog (we are talking about an animal here) tries to attack me or mine I will make a full throttle effort to neutralize and/or kill it (I’ve pondered prior to reading this if eye gouging would work) and seek to punish the owner to the maximum extent allowed by law. I’ve kicked attacking dogs on more than one occasion and been luck enough to escape injury. Now I have some other tips to make any defensive effort more effective. Thanks for doing the legwork Mr. Schmader. Hope I never have to test your information. Owning a dog means being a pack leader. If you can’t or won’t control a dog then don’t get that sweet little puppy. Try a kitten instead.
I am a trainer with Bark Busters Home Dog Training and was contacted by David Schmader as a source for this story. I regret having contributed, and wrote the following letter to the editor:
Dear Mr. Frizzelle,
I am a professional dog trainer with Bark Busters Home Dog Training. I was excited when Mr. Schmader contacted me for information on dog attacks – how to prevent them and what to do in the event that one occurs. There is so much misinformation circulating, it seemed like a great opportunity to help educate the public.
The quotations attributed to me were accurate, but they were included in a way that the reader might be left with the notion that I actually agree with this article. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, no breed names were ever mentioned during the interview, neither by Mr. Schmader nor by me.
I’m proud that I’ve helped train many owners and their Pit Bulls. I also volunteer for a rescue group that provides foster homes and training for the many dogs who are abused and/or poorly trained.
I have often read the Stranger and found it interesting and provocative. This experience leaves me feeling deceived and frustrated. I expected better.
Sincerely,
David Wiley
Bark Busters Home Dog Training
http://www.barkbusters.com
Ive got something for you.. your a stupid ignorant douchebag. Your one of the reasons that pits have a bad rep have you ever actually seen a pitbull? I have one myself that i rescued off the street and guess what she didnt have a leash on did i mace it? No hard A i didnt becausee between the ciggarette burns and the barb wire i dnt think she could take much more. Hey did dogbite.org mention the cruel pricks that abuse these beautiful loving dogs and make them mean. Why dont you get your facts straight before you start preaching about something you have no knowledge about. My pit is loving and i have a 11 year old brother and she protective over the whole family. If anyone in here wants a dog a pit is the way to go loving and loyal till the end. By the way jackass if you knew anything about pits you would know that they are very agile and strong and standing on a car wouldnt save you DA!!!
This article is a joke. Don’t let “yummy little kids” near a pit bull? Do you honestly think pit bulls sit around waiting for yummy little kids? Go to the site below and learn something about how this breed has become public enemy number one and it will put a new perspective on things.
People For The Ethical Treatment Of Pit Bulls
Funny.. I remember when Rottweilers were the main source of “aggressive breed” stories and the only thing Pit Bulls were famous for was being ugly (a sentiment I don’t agree with; I think they’re cute in their way).
Yes, some breeds are naturally more aggressive than others, but that doesn’t mean the owners of out-of-control dogs aren’t to blame, at least somewhat. Anyone who works with dogs or knows about training them will tell you that properly socializing dogs is important, particularly for more instinctively aggressive breeds. A well-trained dog knows if it attacks, there will be consequences.
Some people posting here have complained about dog owners who treat their dogs like children. I have to say, I don’t think the people in question would make very good parents, as they don’t seem to want to punish their “children” in order to divert them from bad behaviors.
As for the commenter who said that if you want to let your dog off-leash, move to the country… I live in the country and I really disagree with that. Dogs should never be allowed to run free, as they can terrorize livestock, pets, and humans. People do live out here, too, you know! I’m fine with dogs running free in their own yards, as long as they can’t get out.
Anyway, I know all this is a little belated, but what with all the howling in the comments (pun intended) I figured a little more balanced discussion wouldn’t hurt.
Man what a world of ignorant people we live in. all i can say is watch the dog whisperer. cesar milan is a genius.
yeah, there are a lot of idiots out there like michael vick who think dogs should be a source of entertainment. but dogs are living breathing creatures. and if anything, human or animal is abused it will turn into a violent creature.
idiots continue living in fear. i’ll look for you. you’ll probably be the ones running around with tin foil on your heads in 2012.
Just wanted to point out that pit bulls have been bred for the entirety of the breed’s history to be completely human-unagressive. Traditionally when fighting dogs both handlers are in the ring with the animals, and separate them multiple times with their bare hands.
Most people don’t even know what a pit bull is supposed to look like, so any aggressive mixed breed is often falsely called a pit. For example, the proportions of the animal in the pictures are inconsistent with the American pit bull, and it lacks jowls.
This is not to say that pit bull can’t be aggressive, or that they’re perfect little angels, but people should stop grouping any mean looking dog falsely with a specific breed and they should stop spouting nonsense without doing research.
I don’t have a problem with dogs generally, or pit bulls specifically. I respect the space of strange dogs and go to great lengths to avoid aggressive ones, and teach my kids to do the same.
That said: If one attacks me – and I don’t give a shit what breed it is – I’m gonna try my best to kill the fucker. And if it attacks my children, I’m coming after the owner next.
Dogsbite.org, eh? This is directly from Coleen’s diary:
“Don’t Believe Everything
You Think
By Colleen Lynn
“I’d Smack You, But chocolate Splatters!”
That’s what the bumper sticker on the back of the truck said. I imagined a mound of chocolate several feet high and someone taking a baseball bat to it. As the crap flew to my face, I realized that my vision was incorrect. According to the bumper sticker, I was that mound of chocolate getting stuck to the driver’s face.
“Who Lit the FUSE on Your Tampon?”
This sticker included a drawing of a tampon. The necessary string hung from the bottom, and it had a bright red belly, indicating that it was used. The tip of the cylinder-shape was on fire. I imagined a hand yanking a tampon out of a woman and holding it up to a match — a terrible image, but one that I could not stop my brain from producing.
“If You Can Read This, The Bitch Jumped Out!”
This dead ringer was plastered on the cab’s back window. Apparently, his bitch did not sit in the cab, but squatted in the bed of the truck and hung on to the roll bar. That’s one lucky bitch — she got away.
I had been running errands that afternoon. I was on way home when a cluster of traffic stopped me in my tracks. Defeated, I sat back and read what was in front of me: the bumper stickers on the vehicle ahead. In this moment, the trigger went off. But, unlike in my far away past, my body had no response to it.
That truck was a lifted up four-by-four, with deep treaded tires for off-road ridding. It’s fat fenders looked like muscles bulging from a giant’s arm. The man in the cab was thirty-something. He was agitated, and appeared to be shouting into his phone. I continued to read the stickers.
“SORRY! I don’t date outside my species.”
Before I started taking medication, a scenario like this would have caused a full-blown anxiety attack. The essential elements were present: an unexpected side-slam by homicidal images, and ultimately a cruel man.
Before the medication, suddenly landing behind this truck would go something like this: I would have imagined that I was sitting in the cab next to him and that my door was missing a handle. I would have imagined that he squeezed my arm and said, “Don’t go trying nothing bitch, or I’ll make you real sorry.” I knew then that my thoughts only existed in my head, but my body did not know.
The area between my abdomen and upper thighs would have released enough sweat to drench the seat. Both of my legs would have panicked into spasms, as if I were dancing on hot lava stones. The pump inside my chest would have (miraculously), exceeded my maximum, beating upwards of 190 times a minute.
It would have been a level four attack — five being disastrous — because of the suddenness of the event.
After a high-level attack, Disassociation sets in. This usually lasted for about two weeks. During this time, I was incapable of looking at anyone directly. Relating conversationally to people, even my close friends, was like the disorientation of going deaf. I watched their lips move, but only heard parts of sentences, and sometimes no sentences at all. I was a mild catatonic, dressed up as myself.
My boyfriend, who lived with me, got the worst of it. I would slingshot from a stupefied state into one of aggression, especially if he approached me from behind. “fizzle YOU!” I would shriek. “Don’t you EVER come up behind me without announcing yourself.”
That last piece of behavior is called Generalizing, which went hand-in-hand with my periods of Disassociation. Generalizing means that you think the person next to you is the same person that caused you trauma. There are layers of Generalizing. For instance, the truck man was a stranger, an outer layer that triggered the memory of a past trauma. My boyfriend, who I have known intimately for two years, became a closer layer during these times. By taking certain actions, he too could trigger a painful memory. Generalizing is a frightening spiral to spin down.
One of the greatest fear’s I have now is: What if my medication stops working? But because I am on medication, I only have this thought once, then it floats away, like I have just let go of a balloon. There doesn’t seem to be a downside to taking the pills. And my boyfriend, without hesitation, says that I should keep taking them.”
Sure sounds like reliable, trustworthy source, right?
OMG, YOU (the writer)are INSANE! I have been doing pit rescue for over 20 years and have never even been bitten. My son nearly had his ear torn off by a family pet which was a golden retriever. His second bite came from a neighbors pet black lab that was in OUR yard and put 3 puncture wounds in his hand. If this article was telling people how to defend themselves against a “black” person, people would be outraged. Breed profiling is just as wrong, Especially when you don’t know jack about the breed.
We can sit here and joke about this but the real monster isn’t the Pit Bull, it’s the guy with the bare chest standing on a city street corner with his Pit Bull on a double leather lead and a spiked collar around it’s neck threatening everyone in the neighborhood because he is programmed to be a bully and turn his dog into one.
That’s why the Pit Bull is the current monster dog, because of the people that own them, just like the guy who just let his dog go on purpose to attack me and my aussie.
We don’t admire Lassie anymore, we like blood and guts and Cujo, so I consider myself lucky, because the police didn’t have to shoot this one. He only scared my dog so badly he doesn’t want to go out of the house and all he did to me was smash my sunglasses, rip my clothes, tear my purse, bite my hand and gouge and smash my knee which is still swolen after a week.
How fun is that!!! Sorry there wasn’t more blood, like I said, I was lucky. As long as there are monster people in this world there will always be monster dogs!
Did you just call my dog a nigger?
Hey David. Nice article. Next, how ’bout an article on “how to lynch a darkie with your bare hands”?
If you read nothing else, read this: The University of Pennsylvania’s study found that pit bulls rated below average for aggression towards strangers, were in the BOTTOM five breeds for aggression towards owners, and they were in the top five breeds for aggression towards strange and unknown dogs but even that showed only 21% of pit bulls showing any kind of aggression toward another dog.
Incredibly disappointing, as usual, to read the responses here. The average person seems to think that selective breeding is perfect and magic rather than a crapshoot. Do you really think that dog fighters are incredibly talented geneticists, and that behavior and genetics are so simple that a breeding of two aggressive dogs creates a litter of perfect clones? Behavior is FAR more complex than appearance as far as genetics is concerned. Jean Paul Scott proved in his research to selectively breed aggression into mice that IT CANNOT BE DONE (from his book Aggression). You can alter the threshold of stimulation and cause a defensive attack but aggression in terms of an unprovoked attack CANNOT be bred for. About half of the dogs at Guide Dogs for the Blind flunk out every year, and that’s with a 70 year old breeding program run by experts and puppies handled from birth to do a specific job. Do you really think that the small percentage of people breeding pit bulls to be aggressive are so incredibly talented, and that there is a magical aggression gene that is so dominant that it effects every single pit bull alive? Not that anecdotal evidence means anything, because it doesn’t, but just for fun: my friend owns a Colby dog, a line that has been bred since the late 1800’s for dog fighting until it was made illegal, but nonetheless it is a line of very tightly linebred dogs: the pedigree is almost entirely Colby dogs. She is 14 years old and has never shown aggression to a human or another animal, yet her bloodlines are entirely from pit bulls bred for fighting. “For every question there is an answer that is simple, easy to understand, and wrong.” And just fyi – BSL has failed everywhere it’s been passed. And dogsbite.org is a very obvious hate group run by a single person who (surprise, surprise) was bitten by a pit bull, Colleen Lynch cherry picks her news stories and outright lies.
Really? What’s next? Very dissapointed. Open minds with shit pouring out.
As a pitbull owner I can’t stand this article. I own two pit bulls and they are both registered therapy dogs and would never hurt a fly. The one thing this article doesn’t discuss, is what the people were doing in the first place TO get attacked. Pits have a bad rep from dog fighting – but they do this only because their loyalty to their master is so strong, they are willing to die for them, quite literally. Secondly, most get these dogs for protection. I’m willing to bet most of these “horrible monsters” that attacked “innocent people” actually deserved it for being involved with the illegal act of dog fighting or we trespassers. Dogs RARELY act unprovoked unless your doing something on their territory they don’t like.
And to say its insane that a dog can’t pick up on human emotions and react, well you’re an idiot. It’s factually proven they can
grab their neck and twist. or throw it in the dumpster.
if not, stick your arm down its troath.
Why are the pro-attack dog brigade acting like such a bunch of thick cunts? True, the article should have said ‘big aggressive dogs’ instead of Pit Bulls to shut you knuckle draggers up, but the advice is necessary for people to understand what happens, what to do and what to expect in these situations…which is on an alarming rise.
@328, there is another reason dogs attack and that is illness or disease. Of course in that case, the family owned by the dog is in the greatest danger. This is why unexplained aggression in a dog needs to be dealt with via a speedy trip to the vet’s office to figure out what’s going on.
err..I meant the family who owns the dog…LOL
I’ve been attacked several times by dogs, some of them large. Best bet: Do NOT let them get behind you, use your legs and feet as weapons, as well as anything else you can grab (car keys, etc.) and keep your hand and arms high. Then scream like hell for help.
It is legal in 44 states to kill and eat dogs. Such stocky and muscular dogs as pit bulls and chows make the best eatin,’ according to my father, who enjoyed two wonderful stays in Asia (Korea in 1951 and Vietnam in 1967, both of them courtesy of Uncle Sam) and became pretty familiar with Asian cuisine. There’s no such thing as a bad dog.
this makes me so sad… as I am a pit bull owner and they are the most loving and compassionate dogs you will ever meet, they are just misunderstood and become pets to naive people that think they make great attack dogs (false)… but being that they are very high energy dogs and do like to play using their moths people get themselves hurt by getting the pit excited, and the pit thinks its a game, and they love to win so they will play till they win and thats not their fault its their owners and the dumby egging the poor pitty on. I know the stats show they are dangerous but its not the dog its their owners
i know how to punch a cat in the face without spilling my beer.
i know how to punch a cat in the face without spilling my beer.
this is wrong; the only way to protect yourself is learning shito-ryu karate and pluck of the dog jaw, of course beraking it’s legs is important too but usually the snout comes to you before you can grab or strike the dogs legs
Here is another fucker giving this breed a bad name! another person that lets the media run thur thoughts!!!! just because they put it on the news doe’s not mean all pit bulls attack. other breeds attack more than pit bulls! do some more reading on the breed b-4 you talk bad about it!
this breed is just miss understood!
read and understand the breed!
raise your dog right!
I like picture number 5. Sort of makes me chuckle.
You dog people are crazy as loons. Dogs are not your babies: they are animals with brains and breeding, and often (800,000 times a year in this country!) cause problems, because you let them.
We can’t ban people, not even dog-owners with chips on their shoulders and disregard for their fellow human beings.
We can’t ban people, but we can ban breeds. (Or, categories of breeds, you pedantic pricks).
choke the mother f er
Pit monster defenders talk about death statistics as if those are the only ones! What about attacks where the victim is able to flee or find safety or fend off?What about maimings, injuries, etc. My wife was attached by a Pit Bull just today when she was walking on a park trail (which is why I’m even on this website). The idiot owner was walking the dog in the city where leash laws apply. She was walking our playful 1-year-old Boyken Spaniel and told me the Pit would have killed our dog if it could have caught her. And the dumbass owner of the Pit? No apology, didn’t even approach my wife to see if she was okay! Pitbull owners are fucking morons! These dogs are bred for killing. Period. Don’t be a fucking dumbass! Get a real dog not a killer! End result, my wife called the police and they tried to find the stupid owner and her Pit Monster. No reports yet. I’m carrying my .45 next time we walk. If that happens again that fucking monster will be full of lead! “officer, I feared for my life and I emptied the clip.”
It’s funny how Colleen Lynn of Dogsbite manages to be quoted for “articles” like these.
Being a victim of a dog bite does not render one a dog bite expert. Nor is she an expert even in the remotest sense of the word when it comes to canine behavior. All she is is a person with a visceral hatred of all stocky canines, a computer, and access to internet search engines. She does not vet any of her links, she simply links to anything negative and ignores bites by other types of dogs. If you disagree with her, you are a “pit nutter” and there’s a good chance she’ll make your email public so that her minions can flame you with hate emails.
There isn’t a single respected canine behaviorist or organization who would agree with any of the fear and misinformation she puts out as fact.
Why does Colleen Lynn of Dogsbite keep getting quoted as some kind of expert?
She has zero qualifications. She is not a canine behaviorist. She is one person with a visceral hatred of all stocky dogs.
She has a computer and access to Google, where she sits on her butt and types in words that will pull up negative stories about “pit bulls” which papers are all too happy to publish in order to draw traffic.
Colleen does not vet any of the links she publishes. She has “statistics” on her site such as “100% of pit bull owners are criminals” which is ludicrous. Oh, she includes traffic tickets to get to the 100%, which by her logic means 100% of any group of people you can think of are criminals. Except that traffic tickets are civil, not criminal, offenses.
Anyone who disagrees with Colleen is labeled a “pit nutter” and odds are she will make your email public so that her minions can flame you with hate emails.
There isn’t a single respected/reputable canine behaviorist or organization who would agree with Colleen Lynn and she does not deserve to be quoted for any reason whatsoever.
The evidence is overwhelming that Pit bulls are extremely dangerous and should be exterminated from the dog kingdom, because they really are not dogs.
If attacked by a Pit bull, kick his face, he keeps attacking, pepper spray—he keeps attacking and he will, you have no chose, use a knife or gun.
As long as some people are unable or refuse to accept the fact that Pit bulls are dangerous, you will see Pit bulls on the street with no muzzle on them, so be prepared!
Defending yourself, whether from dogs, humans, is always worth working on. Regarding dogs, some points to consider: many fatal attacks are perpetrated by two or more animals. If you see two or more free-range dogs, avoid them and report them. Together, they are certain to be more aggressive than individual dogs. Teach children to leave strange dogs alone. Mistrust people who say their dogs don’t bite. All dogs bite. The difference between dogs is the conditions under which they will bite. Carrying an umbrella can be useful, along with the mace or pepper spray.
Articles like this really demonstrate how completely ignorant and uneducated people are about dogs and dog behavior.
“What is considered aggressive is culturally and generationally relative. German shepherds were on the top of the list after World War II; in the 1990’s Rottweilers and Dobermans were scorned; the American Staffordshire terrier (also known as the Pit Bull) is the current bete noire. Their classification has more to do with recent events and public perception than with their intrinsic nature. Recent research found that of all (dog) breeds the dachshunds were the most aggressive to both their owners and to strangers. Perhaps this is under reported because a snarling dachshund can be picked up and stashed away in a tote bag.” – Inside of a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz.
I should have read this last week. At that time I was amoung the idiot brigade that thinks these animals are only aggresive if they are trained to be. Well I am living proof that the friendly pitbull that I have petted on many occasions can decide he is in the mood to put someone in their place. I was that person. I am a 5’11 240 pound former wrestler, boxer, Marine, and Rugby Player, and dog LOVER, who thought he would play the “dog wisperer” on the nieghbors pit bull. I guess it was my fault, I actually bent over to pick something up off of the ground. Pit bull was secured by collar and cable and was approximately 30 to 40 yards away. Picking a twig up of your lawn apparently is a pit bull trigger because he was on me in no time. This pit was raised as a puppy by my neigbor and on many occasions found his way in my yard with nothing more than a tail wag and a pat on the head, scratch of the belly. Well Saturday at 3:30 pm in my yard was not the same fucking game plan because that monster attacked me with such ferociousness that I wound up in the hospital and I faught back as hard and as best I could for the better part of a minute. To the boxers out there you know a minute seems like an eternity when your ass is getting thumped. It reminded me of the crazy dogs in the movie “I am legend”. Luckily the neighbor heard the commotion and came out and pulled the bi-polar pit bull away. I did pretty good though, I just walked away with three stiches. I honestly beleive that If the neighbor did not come to the rescue, I would be dead. These dogs should be muzzelled at all times. Moral of the story, Will Smith should have brought a pit bull to the I am legend Party!
Thanks SO much for the article. I live in Portland, and walk everywhere. 4 years ago I was charged by a Rottweiler UNLEASHED in a school playground 5 blocks from my house. Luckily I had my little guy leashed, and that saved his life (but almost broke his neck) because I swung him so high that the Rott couldn’t get him before someone got the ROTT. It’s a miracle neither I nor my little dog were killed or seriously hurt. Since then I’m hyper-vigilant. I am so glad to see that my plan to get us up on a car makes sense. And now I’m getting the bear spray too. I love Caesar Milan, and understand the whole thing about “powerful breeds”. Unfortunately the “powerful breed” dog owners are usually so out of it and stupid that I have to assume the dog is at the very best not trained and possibly dangerous/deadly. I would have had no idea what to do if a Pit bull, with it’s “powerful jaws”, got a hold of me (or my little guy), but now I do. Now I also know what to do about the rest of them… if it works for a pit, I assume it’ll work for a lab! SO THANK YOU for the information and great illustrations. I feel better and won’t be forgetting any of that soon!
Excellent article. Thanks for the tips. I personally don’t give two fucks about the hows and the whys of bully breed aggression. I do care about what to do when one of them attacks me or my small dog. It’s happened twice and I was able to protect us both each time. This article gave me more tools to use for the next time. And there will inevitably be a next time.
A pit bull killed her owner, a 7 year old little girl 4 years ago. The mom was a friend of my wifes. It was a major news event. A pit bull attacked my cousin’s dog in Tucson, the dog is lucky to be alive. My friend told me today his neighbors little dog got loose, and crossed paths with a pit. Its dead now. 1 year ago I was walking my beagle and luckily I had a can of mace that the mail man gave me. Some idiot on a bicycle was riding by me and towing his running dog. His dog broke the leash and pulled him off his bike. His medium sized dog came over to my dog. It was night so I couldn’t see his dog well. The man followed, and said ” don’t worry, my dog won’t bite ” Next, there was a slight growl and his dog sunk its teeth into my Beagle’s neck ( my kids joy of their life is that Beagle). There was no dog fight. It was a death grip, and my Beagle had no chance. As his dog was trying to kill my dog, I screamed, ” Get your dog off my dog ” and he couldn’t. He was a strong man, maybe in his late 20’s. He could not get his dog loose from mine. Him and I watched helplessly as his dog was killing mine. I could see him struggling trying to get his dog loose. So I said , “Can I spray your dog? ” I asked him a second time. He said “Yes”. So I sprayed that friggen thing right in the eyes, for a long time. It still did not let go of my dog. A few minutes passed. Something happened, and it LET GO 🙂 I immediatly grabbed my dog (still on leash) and held him in my arms, and ran 1 block at least. The killer dog was trying to get loose, and come after both of us but the owner was able to hold him. The wife of that man picked us up, and took us to the Animal Hospital. My dog was bleeding all over the inside of her nice truck. I asked what was the breed of that dog? She said Pit Bull. My Beagle was in operating room for nearly 2 hours, many, many stiches on side of neck and into the ear cartilage. Deep into his ear was the damage. The Bill was $900 Dollars and they paid it. I can not tell you how scared I was, and after seeing the damage that Pit Bull did, I can see easily how they can kill a human. I have children ages 6, 9 and 11 and I will NEVER let them walk the dog without me present and I am seriously considering getting the handgun training and carrying a firearm when walking the dog. My 12 guage is just not convenient to carry. A Pit Bull is NOT a family dog. Anyone who thinks it is , is blind to the threat.
Thanks so much for this article! I personally think owning a pit-bull should be illegal. Here’s a few personal reasons why:
A pit-bull mauled my 8-year-old cousin as he was riding his bike down the street just a few weeks ago. The attack was completely unprovoked, and my cousin’s face is scarred for the rest of his life, it was ripped up to hamburger. He has gashes going 2 inches deep into his back, and not to mention the risk of death from infection. He almost died in the street before the owner finally came out and pulled the dog away.
Another incident occurred with a childhood friend of mine. Her family had owned this pit-bull for about 5 years, and then one day it randomly attacked her (she was only 15 at the time). It tore the left side of her cheek all the way to her ear, leaving her permanently scarred for life.
AND yet, another friend of my mom’s was a police officer who adopted a pit-bull. She also cared for it for years, then one day while feeding it, it attacked her out of no where. It mangled her left forearm to the point where it had to be amputated.
I’ve been bit by non-pit-bulls before, but it seem like when this particular breed decides to be aggressive, it’s not just a single bite, it’s a life-threatening maul. Pit-bulls are just awful.
Good to see someone willing to address self-defense for less usual circumstances. As usual there are those that don’t like the idea of taking personal responsibility for their own well being and thus don’t like the article. Not a problem as that attitude will hopefully get them out the gene pool sooner.
Regarding some of the techniques like getting on the ground are recommended for a bear encounter as there isn’t much other choice. With a pit bull you’re likely to get your head chewed off.
I know several people that have been attacked by pit bulls with the one fellow, having been attacked by two simultaneously, had both forearms chewed so badly he needed micro surgery to reconstruct tendons and muscles his wrists.
I walk or bicycle daily and have had on two occasions pit bulls come after me. When I walk take either my Japanese hanbo (48″ heavy walking stick) or an 18″ collapsible baton. I had the hanbo both time the pit bulls came after me they both backed off as I moved to the attack. I guess they could see that “you’re going to look like a “pit bull Popsicle” look in my eyes.
Myself having a fair bit of background in self-defense training would personally opt for side stepping the little shit as it attacked and caving in its ribs with a well placed kick.
I had a German Shepherd attack me straight on years ago and I waited for it lunge at me. As soon as a dog is airborne they have just transitioned from formidable attacker to a furry Pinata. I side stepped and kicked the dog directly in the upper chest with a round-house kick. It hit the ground gasping and didn’t get up for about 15 seconds at which point it high tailed it out of there. I would not try that defense on a pit bull as target area is too small and they’re likely to latch on to your foot as you kicked.
In a knock-down pissing match where the dog has managed to get you the gouging the eyes is a good technique but I would recommend a fast strike when executing the technique otherwise the dog is likely to let go of where it’s biting and to start devouring your hand.
Personally I think that the breed plain sucks as they were bred for fighting and for their powerful jaws making them very dangerous and should be outlawed. I am a big dog lover, am currently 58 and have had a dog in the family for almost all of those 58 years. I just don’t find much of anything redeeming in a breed that has such a track record of causing injury and death.
just want to say today two decent sized pitbulls strolled up onto my property and attacked my shih tzu. had my neighbor not came out and fought them off with a broom and my little sookie not been uber fast we probably would be in the hospital(i say we because my dog is like my kid and we weren’t going down with out a fight). so yea it happens but because not everyone dies who gets attacked the stat of dog attacks is low. so thank god for you and others like you who post this important info. it’s always good to know just in case!
As someone who grew up with dogs, mostly the miniature size, I can tell you that ANY dog can be aggressive. We learned early that being on the wrong side of a miniature poodle’s teeth was not good. She never bit us, but she did bite strangers who SHE thought she had to protect us against. Including my Kindergarten teacher who brought me home when I was sick one day. Toya, our dog, never escaped our yard, was always current with her vaccinations, and always licensed. And was never treated harshly.
My Brother had a dog who was half pit-bull/half shepherd. His name was Garth. He was about 6 months old when my Sister and I got him for my Brother, with his approval. They went through
training together, several times. Garth was good at obeying commands, but when it came to socialization he wasn’t so good.
Any dog can be good. Any dog can be volatile. When a dog is not on its home territory, or is with more dogs, they are dangerous. Period.
I taught my kids to not go up to strange animals. Period. And I taught them to ask the owners if it was ok to approach the ones that were with their owners. And don’t do it at face level. You need to start off as Alpha (pack/social standing), and stay there. You can’t do that if you are at face level, or lower, to them.
Well, you can talk nature or nurture all you want, but the thing is, in our city, all the people have them in order to look “gangsta”. We read reports all the time about kids getting mauled. It can’t be that all the limited pitbull bites are happening in one town, so I question the stats. I know what I see. So many of these “gangsta” wannabees have toddlers, too.
Ziggzaggers, I am so sorry for your family, for those poor kids and adults to go through trauma like that.
I was attacked by a pitbull that wanted to eat my two little dogs so badly it broke its collar to reach us. It was more interested in the dogs than me, and pinned my smallest on top of my chest holding us to the ground.
I GOUGED ITS EYES. Not out, but the best I could. Learned this in a self-defense class. The thing wouldn’t have stopped til we were all dead.
GO FOR THE EYES!!! And seriously, people – insurance companies won’t even sell you coverage if you own a pitbull. Insurance companies have no interest in hearsay, just the numbers and facts. These dogs have LOCKING jaws and many breeders mate the most vicious pup with his own mother to make them more deranged.
These things should NOT be kept as pets!
My German Shepherd (on a leash) almost lost an eye to a female pitbull (no leash) at the beach. The 3 little low-life losers had no control and did NOTHING to end it. I had to drag the dogs into the surf and almost drown the damn dog before she let go–all the time being called a bitch and a cunt for hurting their dog. They ran away with their “loving” pet and left me with a $600 vet bill.
I went through another similar situation walking my dog (on a leash) near home–another pit bull (no leash) and another vet bill.
Now, years later, I have a black lab puppy and I listen to the pit lovers at the dog park talking about their blue or pink-nosed lovebugs (like they were dolphins) and how gentle they are. What they don’t talk about is training them to pull on the baby swings at the park or how they have to tether them in cages so they don’t scale fences or chew through the back door of the house (like my neighbor’s dogs–the wind or the meter reader is always to blame for the open gate). I never heard of a “break stick” until last week (at the dog park)–the pit crowd was comparing products. Because I live in a more rural area, I carry a gun. In town, an axe should suffice.
These dogs never play with other dogs and the owners are never within 100 ft of them–usually on cell phones or hanging with the other “responsible” pit owners far away from any control zone.
I’ve been knocked down, for no reason, by two of these fantastic pets. I was just standing on the grass and watching other dogs playing–no dogs or people near me.
It wasn’t a mistake or an accident–and neither of the owners even helped me up or asked me if I was OK (not that they were even close enough). I have a huge bruise on the back of my right leg from the last hit. This one came at me after I fell. When I asked the woman to keep her dog away she said, “Are you afraid of my dog?”. I’ve been bumped by lots of dogs at the park, including my own, but never run down by any that weren’t playing with another dog.
My own vet says to avoid pit bulls (their jaws don’t lock) because they are bred to hold on and inflict maximum damage–and the owners aren’t much better, IMO.
Yeah, yeah, pit bulls are only 5% of the dog population but they account for the majority of maulings and deaths–and everything but breeding seems to “provoke” them to violence. Dogs walking/barking/running/playing. People walking/yelling/running/playing/holding something. OH, and they have “NEVER shown any kind of aggression in the past”, “somebody must have done something to make this happen” and “they were just being protective”.
Go ahead, feel free to call me the above names. It’s what I’ve come to expect from pit owners. I’m 60 years old and this is the first time I’ve ever posted on the subject. I didn’t come by my opinions overnight or by reading. I used to just blame the owners but experience has taught me well.
The bright side is.. 80% of pit bull fatalities are to family members.
Why provide commentary on these articles and blogs, if uninformed/misinformed people are allowed to comment! Yeah, First Amendment freedoms and all.
Seriously people, check your facts! Do the world a favor.
And yes, I own a Pitbull. Or she owns me. Along with a Border Collie and a Lab/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. Do I let her run off-leash? Nope. Same is true with our other doggies. Does she get on with our other doggies and people? Absolutely! The same is true with the Golden Retrievers and Collies we’ve had in our happy family.
It all seems to depend on the environment and how well is schooled and gets along.
Dogs are dogs! It’s silly to think that people have all these strange fears and judgments about a particular breed.
I’ll introduce you to our girl any ol’ time.
I own a pit bull I got out of a junk yard beaten bit up and burned fed steriods you name it her old thug owner probably did it I got her when she was a year or so old she is twelve now and sleeps under the covers and loves her people to know end she has actually saved me from home intruders with out maiming them and saved me from another dog not a pit bull from lunching at my face and all she did was pin him. I always keep her on a lease why? for her safety and ya know what i found all those small little dogs off lease always want to attack her i just pick her up till the dumb owner comes trotting over to claim there dog while she enjoys a good cuddle i prefer to keep my dogs ankle in tact i would have no problem with this article if it had said dog and not had brutal cartoon pictures by the way your not getting your hand down a pits throat it may have a big mouth nut they have unusually small throats ask a vet breed specific profiling is just stupid I dont hold any grudge against the breed of dog that went for me its just that dog. I live with someone that was tore up my a dog and him and his small child love my dog once again her she is twelve plus years and all she has ever done is love her family
These techniques are useful against the dog and their mentally unstable owners too. When an Owner says “Oh he won’t hurt you. He likes kids”, insert your hand down the owner’s throat and pull their tongues out from the root. Then put the owner on a leash!! Dog Owners who attack this common sense pamphlet are bred for aggression. They need to be put down. Heel Owner Heel!