When I confront a dog, I do no want to hurt him. However, if I am attacked, I will do what I have to do to protect myself. It’s not the dog’s fault if he attacks you; It’s the dog owner’s fault. A dog should not be allowed to run loose in a populated area without supervision; in many places that is illegal.

If a dog chases you off your property, you should call the sheriff or ranger, even if it doesn’t bite you. The owner is likely to be mad at you no matter what, but if you’ve been given a warning to keep your dog under control, then there’s a slim chance that he or she will actually put your dog on a leash or stay outside with your dog to keep it. under control. This will make it less likely that the dog will hurt a jogger, passing child, or anyone else, and will also protect the dog from getting hurt in traffic.

If a dog bites you and breaks your skin, then you should probably go to the emergency room and make sure you are up to date on any shots and vaccinations you may need, as well as having any tears repaired. that you can’t treat yourself at home. Rabies isn’t the only thing you should be concerned about and, in fact, it’s probably unlikely, but treatment immediately after the bite is much less painful than the treatment you would receive if you gave yourself time to succumb to the infection. .

My preferred method of dealing with an aggressive dog while running is to try to calm him while slowly moving out of his territory, and then to protect myself if the dog does attack me. Some other popular methods that people I know have tried with varying degrees of success include:

1. Run away as fast as possible. I’m not a fan of this method as it just encourages the dog to chase you. If he has enough of a head start, I might be able to get away enough for him to give up and go home, but I really don’t trust my running skills that much.
2. Bring mace or pepper spray. Mace or pepper spray can be useful not only against dogs but also against two-legged aggressors. However, I don’t like to wear anything more in a race than I have to, and 99% of the time I’m not being chased. Another problem with weapons is that they can be used against you, and are really only useful if you want to hurt something. I prefer not to hurt the dog until he has definitely shown me that I am in danger.
3. Throw an imaginary stone. Maintain eye contact with the dog and drop to the ground looking for a rock, even if there isn’t one there. Stand up, raise your arm, and make a throwing motion toward the dog. Hopefully this will usually scare the dog away. However, if it isn’t, then you are just teaching the dog that he doesn’t have to be afraid of you and you can encourage him to attack you.
4. Shout, clap your hands and stomp your feet. While I have occasionally yelled to make noise and scare the dog, I have had less success compared to trying to use a soothing voice. The problem with clapping or stomping is that it provides a target for the animal and could encourage it to jump on you if it doesn’t get scared.