We try to keep the news on this blog upbeat, and reflect on the jobs dogs do, research information, their benefits for our health and welfare, and so on. But we do need to keep in mind that dogs can be dangerous, sometimes extremely dangerous.
In watching the News reports we see far too many incidents of dogs attacking and harming people. Recently in New Zealand a jogger was set upon by a pack of pig dogs — dogs trained to assist in hunting wild pigs:
The eight dogs, aged between 6 months and 2 years, were killed by Animal Control yesterday. The parents of the pig dogs, Sky and Rusty, were taken to the pound as a precaution. The last of the eight pups to be rounded up, called Number 1, fought viciously when captured.
A neighbour said his children were often wary of the dogs, keeping their distance from the property.
“Those dogs are bad news – they are quite intimidating, rushing to the gate when you walk past,” he said.
[Via : Dogs destroyed after mauling - National - NZ Herald News.]
The jogger was severely injured in the attack, and probably only survived because other people nearby were able to help get the dogs off her.
Dogs can be unpredictable too (just like people), as explained in this article about a couple killed by roaming dogs in the USA:
What caused a generally docile pack of dogs to maul a UGA librarian and her husband, a former professor at the university, will never be known, but slight changes to routine may have precipitated the onslaught.
[Via : Dog attacks as unpredictable as they are rare | ajc.com.]
Which doesn’t mean we should generally fear dogs, any more than we fear the kinds of random acts of human violence that take place around us.
It probably does mean though that we should be alert to possible dangers around us, just as in other areas of our lives.
[Just to ward off possible misinterpretations here: I'm in no way suggesting anyone who has been attacked by a dog has in any way 'invited' or 'provoked' the attack. I'm definitely not saying that these victims of such horrific attacks did anything wrong.]
If walking down an empty and unfamiliar street at night I’ll stick to the better lit side of the street and walk assertively and swiftly to my destination.
An even better choice would be to avoid that kind of situation in the first place. My caution comes from the possibility of being attacked by an unknown person.
When it comes to dogs it seems the best strategies are to stay calm and relaxed:
Dog experts say unprovoked attacks are rare, but when they do occur the results can be serious. …
“First of all, don’t panic,” says Dan Abdelnoor, dog behaviourist. “Stay calm. Stay relaxed, and don’t invite the dog to you by looking at it, turning towards it, moving towards it, speaking towards it.” …
“The other thing is to stand up strong, tall, relaxed confident — and just say calmly to the dog, ‘go away’.”
[Via : 3 News > Lifestyle > Story > What to do if you're attacked by a dog.]
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