Alice White
Yes, undoubtedly, a dog is a friend of man. But more often than not, a friend of its owner. And situations are not uncommon when these friends can attack a person and cause serious harm to health.
Dogs attack people for various reasons: defending their territory, guarding cubs that are somewhere nearby, etc. To protect yourself in such a situation, it is worth knowing a number of simple rules.
The main thing is not to get scared and not to run. Although this is the thought that first comes to mind. It’s useless to run, the dog runs five times faster than a person. Exception: if there is an opportunity to quickly run to a place where you are guaranteed to be out of reach of the dog: quickly climb a branchy tree, climb a vertical ladder, take cover in an entrance or enter the water waist-deep (in the water, the dog is usually defenseless itself).
If you can’t hide, get ready to defend yourself. Assess the situation, cover yourself if possible: lean your back against the fence, wall, tree. This will help you stay in place and protect you from an attack from behind. Place your bag, umbrella, rolled-up clothes in front of you. The dog will instinctively grab onto this object, and at this time you can kick it.
Improvise! Think about what you can use as a weapon. Use whatever is at hand for protection. Suddenly opening an umbrella, a lighter flame can distract and frighten the dog. Throw stones or earth at the dog, put a stick, a bag, or even your hand wrapped in a layer of clothing in the animal’s mouth. And the main thing! Do not be afraid to make noise, shout, whistle, call for help, because not everyone can cope with an angry animal alone.
All of these methods are good in theory. Of course, it’s best to never put them to the test. In any case, it will not be superfluous to know that the most vulnerable places in an animal are the ribs, the tip of the nose, the bridge of the nose, eyes, the back of the head, and the joints of the paws.
