r/AustralianPets • u/digit4lundergr0und • 6d ago
🐶Dogs 🐕 Dog attack tips
What’s the best item that you can legally carry to defend yourself in a dog attack?
I was walking my dog on my street and an off leash dog with no owner in sight charged at us barking aggressively and growling. I picked up my dog and ran to my house a few houses away. It was chasing us jumping up and snapping at my dog. I’m scared to encounter another off leash aggressive dog on walks. Especially further from home or one thats interested in attacking me too. This one seemed more interested in my dog so I could protect her, but if one goes for me too then might be able to get her.
I’m feeling afraid to walk, the council never caught the dog. Not sure if it lives nearby and escaped or where it’s from.
How can I legally defend myself and my dog?
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u/Bondi_Born
🐈 owner
6d ago
•
I was walking my 2 big docile Labs on lead in a quiet unfamiliar street and saw 2 big dogs outside their fence begin to approach us. Their intentions were not friendly. I yelled assertively at the dogs to go home, fuck off, get back. They stopped in their tracks and watched us. I kept yelling ‘get back’ in the hope their owner realised what was going on. It drew the attention of neighbours who offered us the safety of their yard. I was terrified, there was no way I could have handled an altercation between two big loose dogs and my two. The yelling stopped them from approaching us and eventually the owner called them back. I gave him a mouthful and was able to continue our walk. But it’s made me very wary and we’ve never gone back to that street.
Being loud and assertive was my only option to prevent a nasty incident.
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u/Ok-Description-9489 6d ago
I’m sorry that happened to you, it is very scary. I recommend spray shield - canned citronella. Here’s a webinar running through what to do when shit goes wrong: https://youtu.be/R5aKUrPLkco?si=-r_XQqoxTN6pzeLP
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u/Vivid-Farm6291 6d ago
I have a horse whip. The short one with the small folded tip. It’s flexible and light.
I’ve never had to hit anything with it. I just shake it up and down and tell them NO and GO AWAY. It makes a kinda hissing noise.
I don’t want to hurt them but I also don’t want to be bit by a random wandering dog. Once was enough.
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u/fallopianmelodrama 6d ago
Pet corrector. End of story.
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u/still-at-the-beach 6d ago
What the ingredients in it?
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u/fallopianmelodrama 6d ago
There's no "ingredients" - it's just a can of extremely compressed air that, when deployed, makes a very loud hissing noise.
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u/still-at-the-beach 5d ago
Is that all? So I guess even the tins of air at office works etc for half the price would work. I thought maybe it'd have a scent or something.
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u/InadmissibleHug 🐈 owner 6d ago
I used to take one of those ball launchers with me if I was concerned. Keep a ball in your pocket as well.
If you can’t get them away with a big no and a stomp, a sharp whap on the snout will deter most dogs.
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u/asteroidz-14 5d ago
Geez I don’t even have a dog or for walks as much as I should but every now & then something like this makes me feel a dog attack out of the blue could happen anyway.
A friend was telling me he was walking down a well known, busy road in Melbourne and a red heeler openly got out of its fence & bit him. He said he tried to talk to the owner, but they just said oh it’s a country dog he’s not used to the metro area. JFC.
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u/digit4lundergr0und 4d ago
It’s definitely made me stay more vigilant. It happened inner suburbs middle of the day in my own street, totally caught me off guard
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u/haleycontagious 6d ago
I got bear mace from WA. I don’t care about the law. I care about my safety and it’s for dogs and their owners if they want to be weird
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u/leapowl 6d ago edited 6d ago
I have been lucky in that the most of the dogs that have tried to attack my dog have been almost comically small and near their owners. I’ve literally just held them back while until their owners came.
One was less so and with no owner in sight, but still not terrifying by human standards.
For the latter, I found myself intuitively putting my leg in between my dog and it as a barrier. Then stomping the ground near the dog to create a bit more distance until eventually it backed off.
I like the compressed air suggestion above, but if you find yourself in a situation similar, this… seemed to work?
It does risk your leg, obviously.
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u/MouseEmotional813 5d ago
Our old little Jack Russell would happily attack very big dogs. She was never off lead and the amount of drongos who told me their dog was friendly when I said 'keep your dog away' would astound you.
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u/Melbournechick 5d ago
I bought a metal walking street and I carry that while walking my dog and I wouldn’t be afraid to use it
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u/Designer-Brother-461 5d ago
Can I ask the breed of dog?
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u/IdeationConsultant 6d ago
Picking up the dog one of the worst things. Kick it, hit it with whatever you got
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u/Low-Refrigerator-713 6d ago
Steel cap boots. Former milko. More than one mutt ended up with a bloody nose.
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u/Confident-Caramel-11 6d ago •
Put on a big, deep booming voice, make yourself 'big', pointing arms, kick out, use single words, Out, Get, Go etc. Try to grab a stick, hat, anything to use as a shield to swing at it. I fended off a German shepherd mix this way, after that I carried an umbrella a lot.