Everyone thinks they know what to do when a dog comes at them. Most of what people do instinctively is wrong.
Screaming feels natural and makes it worse. Kicking feels like defending yourself and simply offers up another limb. Even holding eye contact, which feels like standing your ground, reads to the animal as a direct challenge.
The difference between walking away and ending up in surgery often comes down to whether you can override those instincts in the first few seconds.
Dogs are genuinely our closest animal companions, which is exactly why people underestimate them. Rabies transmitted mainly through dog bites kills roughly 25,000 to 59,000 people worldwide each year, and that’s before counting the injuries from attacks themselves.
Aggression rarely comes from nowhere, either. Fear sets it off. So does territorial behavior around food, and so does pain the animal is already in.
So picture the situation. A dog in front of you, growling, crouched low with its tail tucked, clearly preparing to move.
What happens next depends almost entirely on you.
Number 5. Do Not Put Yourself in Harm’s Way
In December 2021, Jacqueline Durand, a dog sitter from Texas, took a job caring for a pit bull and a mixed breed German shepherd while their owners were away.
There was a beware of dogs sign on the front door. She had met both animals before and felt comfortable enough to go in.
They attacked the moment she opened the door, and the 22 year old was mauled badly enough to lose her ears, lips, and nose.
The warning sign was there. The prior introduction made it feel unnecessary.
Number 4. Do Not Scream
Your voice is the first thing that betrays you.
Shouting for help or yelling at the dog feels like the obvious response, and it does the opposite of what you want. Loud noise agitates an animal that is already stressed, frightens it further, and makes an attack more likely rather than less.
There’s a better use for your voice. Firmly telling the dog to sit or stay sometimes works, because plenty of dogs recognize those commands regardless of what state they’re in.
Even a brief hesitation buys you something.
Number 3. Do Not Move
Every instinct will push you toward kicking the animal away.
Doing that hands it a target. Those teeth are the entire problem, and swinging a leg at them puts the most vulnerable part of you directly within reach.
There is one small mercy if a dog does grab your foot while you’re wearing shoes. It may pull the shoe off instead, and since the shoe smells like you, the animal might be satisfied destroying that rather than what’s inside it.
Number 2. Do Not Make Eye Contact
Staring down an aggressive dog is not intimidating to the dog. It’s a challenge, and the animal will treat it as one.
Look at the ground instead and keep still. You want to communicate that you are not worth the effort, and averting your eyes is how that message gets delivered.
Number 1. Do Not Jump
Sudden movement of any kind escalates the situation, so jumping around is among the worst things you can do.
Climbing is different. If there’s a fence you can get over or a table you can reach, putting real distance and height between you and the animal is genuinely useful.
That’s the full list, and the pattern running through all of it is the same. Stay quiet, stay still, keep your eyes down, and resist everything your body is telling you to do.
And after an experience like that, it would be understandable to conclude that dogs are not for you.
Cats are worth considering instead. Although those come with their own problems.
