How do you deal with stray dogs?

[Deleted member 27861]

I'm curious, how do most hitchhikers deal with stray dogs? The best defenses I can think of is to either use mace, carry dog treats, or just carry around and wear a bite sleeve to use as a shield or something.

Has anyone here ever had bad encounters with stray dogs?

 

[Deleted member 24782]

Is this a trick question

 

[Deleted member 27861]

No..I didn't think so? I mean, run from them is one thing, I guess.

 

[WyldLyfe]

It depends on the dog breed and situation, in my experience normally they are just wondering about doing there own thing, sometimes they may follow ya a bit, being friendly, then go off.

No, I don't think so. I mean, run from them is one thing, I guess.

Iv only ever ran from one stray dog and it was an angry rottweiler in an ally, cliche right?

Out in the mountains, in some areas, we have wild dogs and they are stray/abandoned dogs that have breed and actually now live in the wild like wolf packs, iv not encountered them, but I know people who have and they can be a bit aggressive at times apparently, thats something else you could possibly look into if you plan to camp out exposed in some wilderness type places, if thats a thing there, though I recall a documentary about this kinda thing happening in Detroit U.S.A aswell once.

Anyway here is a picture to help you better understand dogs behavior, I think you can click on it to enlarge it/image in new tab, there may also be more detailed ones of these online.

 

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I like dogs a lot, but some people don't socialize them well then just leave them outside overnight. I really like dogs and do not enjoy hurting them. Most animals, really, I think are pretty cool. You just punt them or stomp on them, or if they've really got you, you can grab their front legs and pull them sideways really hard to break their ribs.

If one if biting your arm or whatever tho, I think you're supposed to push your arm as hard as you can to the back of their mouth where the shorter teeth are.

 

[Deleted member 27861]

I like dogs a lot, but some people don't socialize them well then just leave them outside overnight. I really like dogs and do not enjoy hurting them. Most animals, really, I think are pretty cool. You just punt them or stomp on them, or if they've really got you, you can grab their front legs and pull them sideways really hard to break their ribs.

If one if biting your arm or whatever tho, I think you're supposed to push your arm as hard as you can to the back of their mouth where the shorter teeth are.

Jesus all of that sounds horrible! But thanks for the techniques, I think? I mean you gotta do what you gotta do to defend yourself, though I might avoid using the rib-breaker and hope to never do it.

Well what about mace?

 

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If it'll stop a bear it'll stop a dog.

 

[Desperado Deluxe]

You really shouldn't have to worry about strays. However you should worry about people who let their aggressive dog run the neighborhood. Know your environment. Be careful in any area where you could potentially be attacked.

Edit: the best thing you can do is not run. Face the dog if it's approaching and let it know your not going to make it easy for them. Try not to act aggressive you could potentially coax it out of attacking you. A lot of times it's a territory thing like with coywolf a mother dog is likely to attack for little to no reason or a guard dog trained to be aggressive.
Stray packs of dogs will probably only become aggressive if it's over food. Most wild animals won't risk injury because it's vital to survival.

 

[NewMexicoJim]

Yell, throw rocks, pick up a stick, keep eye contact and back up slowly if possible. If attacked, pepper spray, pocket knife, sticks, fists, legs and feet are all weapons. Packs of wild dogs have attacked people in NM and AZ on the reservations. No advice on that happening! but I've encountered aggressive dogs and a walking stick or cane will often scare them enough to back down.

 

[Coywolf]

Is this a trick question

🤣🤣🤣 for real!

You really shouldn't have to worry about strays. However you should worry about people who let their aggressive dog run the neighborhood. Know your environment. Be careful in any area where you could potentially be attacked.

I have HARD AGREE with this. Watch your ass in residential neighborhoods, especially lower income ones with short fences. I think that out of everything I've ever had to worry about while traveling, its aggressive dogs. It's usually easy to avoid people (gangs, hostile locals, rednecks) but it's another story with dogs.

You have to get from one point to another in residential areas and that comes with all those peoples pets. I try to avoid alleys in residential, and walk on lit streets, down the middle, further away from the dog's 'territory' if possible.

As far as defense, I carry bear mace and a straight blade. Smileys work too. Bear spray is highly recommended for both people, and animals.

I've been attacked 5 times in my life. 3 pits, 1 Sheppard, and one chihuahua. The last time was a pit, and I had to put a blade into it, in front of an owner. Mother pit, obviously just gave birth. Ran 75 yards out of its property very agro towards me. Huge ass animal. I talked to it while facing it, softly, back away slowly. Every time I took a step back it lunged at me. I had my guitar case in my hand to block it. I was yelling at the lady 'Get your dog! Get your dog or I'm going to kill it! Perro muerto!"

She was afraid of it, she just kept saying "perro, perro va!"

The dog lunged again and bit down on my case, I sideswiped it with my blade and it took a step back, growled, whimpered and ran back to the lady. I GTFO there ASAP. That was North Shore, CA. If you are around the slabs trying to ride the bus or hitch around there, be careful. Many a property with the same potential.

This is a serious issue that I dont think many new people think about enough when out there.

As far as strays. Yes. If you are in border towns to the rez, or in the southern states near the border, this is absolutely a concern. These dogs will pack up to survive. I've heard a few stories out of Kayenta and Tuba City where drunk people have fallen asleep at the wrong time in the wrong place. I'll leave that up to your imagination.

 

[Deleted member 27861]

Damn maybe I SHOULD pack a BB gun, assuming it would even do anything against a pit.

I'm sorry, the story you told sounds both hilarious and tragic. "Perro! Perro va!" I'm happy you got out of it OK and I hope that lady forgave you.

I can see it now: I'm holding my rucksack like it's a buckler, and my pocket knife like it's a sword, staring down a bully.

Again I don't see how it's a trick question, especially considering I want to go to Arizona, but thanks for the tales and advice!

 

[Coywolf]

It's a trick question because almost every traveler ever has had to deal with aggressive dogs.

Ya, I could give a shit less about the lady forgiving me, if I would've killed that dog, I'm pretty sure the world would be a better place.

BB gun wont do anything. I'd get a knife or a smiley, and some mace of some kind, preferably for bears.

 

[Deleted member 27861]

I'm so green-horn. What's a smiley?

 

[roughdraft]

or if they've really got you, you can grab their front legs and pull them sideways really hard to break their ribs.

okay just to clarify, this is to be done while a dog is already clamped down on some part of you..? im a little confused but mostly curious if you'd elaborate

 

[Deleted member 27861]

okay just to clarify, this is to be done while a dog is already clamped down on some part of you..? im a little confused but mostly curious if you'd elaborate

I'm pretty sure he means as a last-ditch kill move, ha-ha ha! Ha haaaah......

Or at least I hope so.

 

[Coywolf]

I'm so green-horn. What's a smiley?

Something like this:

Doesnt have to be exactly the same. Some people use bike locks, just a heavy chain, and other things. Pretty good defense

 

[Deleted member 27861]

Hey speaking of aggressive dogs my dad's dog just killed a guinea today after it landed in his cage, and I was really tempted not to tell my father that it happened because I knew that if I did, he'd probably freak out and try to do something stupid like crawl his 66-year-old ass into the cage WITH the dog, and try to wrestle the bird from the dog, which is exactly what he attempted to do, but he's too damn old to even crawl into the cage.

He wanted to me to beat the dog back into its dog house while he got the guinea, but I wasn't about to hit it while it was in a cage, so I yelled at it and slammed the rake in front of him, and he cowered and stayed inside his house. Like yeah, he was going to maul that bird, but it was almost like I could sense the fear and desperation in his face.

And the entire time I'm like thinking to myself, "Well you've had the dog caged up almost all of its life, how do you expect it to behave when a fresh big bag of flying meat jumps into its cage? Like a perfectly sane and professionally trained pup?"

And that's one thing I notice a lot in the South, and I think is part of the reason why I have such mixed feelings about dogs, and part of the reason I hate the South. People around here (and elsewhere I'm sure) either:

A. Let their dogs roam free and don't train them so they can go terrorize people

or

B. They cage them up all their life like they're some sort of living alarm system rather than a living thing.

Unlike cats, which seem to be evolved to not fuck with humans and are small and smart enough to know better than to mess with anything bigger than it, that if got out of hand you could just, football punt across the yard, dogs are pretty unique and dangerous.

A dog who is raised to be a good dog is a good dog. But a dog that's either neglected or trained to be a hunter and a killer, is basically a half-breed, half-assed wolf, and wolves hunt and kill things. Including fowls and humans! Who would have thought?!

Either way I'm so done with this redneck place and getting dragged into bullshit. I'm leaving soon after I help my mom with her last church class this week.

 

[WyldLyfe]

@Coywolf ya story bout the pit reminded me years back a friend had a dog it was half pit an something else, dunno, anyway every one was in the yard hanging out an stuff, but some started playing with the dog, n hyping it up nothing bad you know just the normal playful stuff. It go quiet excited tho and ended up biting one of my friends head and ripped the bottom half of his ear off, it was hanging. Everyone thought that was funny, except for the guy who got bit, he ran out the front in a panic and slammed into some bins which had sharp metal sticking out of them and sliced his arm up too. So he ended up getting a few stitches after that. So yeah..

 

[blank]

okay just to clarify, this is to be done while a dog is already clamped down on some part of you..? im a little confused but mostly curious if you'd elaborate

Yeah, like if they have you by the leg real good or something and you can't shake them off. Also may help to shout FATALITY afterwards.

 

[roughdraft]

Yeah, like if they have you by the leg real good or something and you can't shake them off. Also may help to shout FATALITY afterwards.

if they have you by the leg, ok nice i gotcha now. that visual works better for me

FATALITY is good to shout but i heard if you flex your leg hard enough their teeth can pop right out