INFI ~ False sense of Security ?

Brendan

Brendan

Joined
Feb 13, 2002
Messages
3,679
So, I haven't checked in for ages (been so busy) but something quite scary happened to me tonight !


I was at my inlaws place doing some DIY, my wife stopped by to drop off my jigsaw and told me one of the twins had fallen asleep and she wanted to bring her in to sleep in the house as she was going to to the shops (can't eave her sleeping in the car). So I carry on with my cutting as the light is fading. Anyway; I hear this loud aggressive barking and my wife shrieking. Unfortunately, I knew exactly what is was - the neighbor has 2 very aggressive dogs (a Doberman and a German Shepherd). The Doberman has bitten 3 people ! I feared the worst, were my kids outside the car, 3 foot high facing this vicious dog ?

I sprinted out the driveway; my wife had made it back into the car with Sophie in her arms and Leala was in the car. This flippin Doberman was about 5 meters behind the car and it came at me. I had my cultie at my belt (was using it to cut the rope from the roof rack and for the DIY tasks). I screamed at the dog; stepping toward it and it started backing down. It then changed it's mind and came at me again, I stamped my feet and shouted more while pointing the Culti at the dog. The neighbor was letting his guests out the house and I kept going at the dog until it turned and went back inside it's gate ! I went to check on my wife and took them inside - I didn't want to talk to the neighbors as I was so angry and wound up !

When the adrenalin subsided, I began thinking. What the hell was I doing, what chance would I have stood. I was lucky I guess, the dog didn't attack me. I would have stabbed a few holes in him but can't help but wonder what he would have done to me ?
 
To quote the USMC:

"Improvise, Adapt and Overcome"

You did, Brother. You did!!

Glad you at least had some INFI on hand to use. Size can diminish in importance as the adrenaline goes up.
 
You did the right thing in my opinion. I would have a very serious talk with the neighbor. I love dogs, but won't let one make me or my family uncomfortable.

If you had to take a dog on with a blade like a culti, you'd be fine. Dobie's have long exposed necks. The Shepherd would be harder to deal with.

If the neighbor won't listen, call animal control. If that doesn't work you should probably check the anti-freeze levels in your car...
 
You did the right thing by facing the dog and letting it know that you were not prey. Had you turned your back to run, it would have been on you in a second. Definitely insist that your neighbor keep the dog locked up AND report the incident to animal control.
 
Hey Brendan, good to hear you dont have any extra holes!

Good advice so far, never back down to an aggressive dog, they sense weakness and will attack at the first sign. Just remember, you have thumbs and a much larger brain, those two things will keep you alive. Anything less than an enraged chimpanzee and you will be ok in the long run. :p
 
I see you're in SA so I don't know if they even have animal control (for domestic pets). Next time bring a full grown male lion.
Dog logic seems to cause them to be more inclined to back down when they are outside their perceived boundary. Except when there are two or more.
I would have done the same.
 
My uncle used to be a volunteer firefighter in Colorado, and as with most remote places being an emergency worker of any stripe means that you will be called upon to tackle emergencies of any stripe. He was not directly involved, but a couple of the guys he worked with were called in to a mountain lion attack where a man and his son were riding mountain bikes in the back country and the lion went after the kid (unusual for mountain lions, who are usually reticent around people). The kid had a backpack on, and that's what the cat had a hold of when it whipped him off his bike. The father started kicking it and yelling and then the cat jumped on him. The cat had a hold of his forearm, and he got his arm twisted around and shoved down its throat (not a considered, tactical decision but a fortunate one) which made it start to bite less and gag violently. Going with what was working, he kept shoving his arm farther and farther into the throat until he couldn't move it anymore and just held on. Eventually, the cat decided it wanted to breath more than eat, and planted all four feet squarely against its opponent and pushed off, pulling the arm free of its throat, and then took off down the trail. The father in question was just raked up to hell (the injuries from the claws were actually far worse than the bites on the arm I was told) and required a lot of stitches and vaccinations I'm sure, but at the end of the day both he and his apparently-appetizing progeny were still alive and kicking.

I just bring this up in reference to your question of what chance you would have had if the dog had jumped on you and all you had was your knife. The answer is--really and truly almost ALWAYS is--you'd have had as much chance as you decided to have. I'm not saying that determination is all it takes to win a fight, but it helps more than almost anything else. I've seen guys win fights in spite of serious weight deficits, all due to the fact that when the fight started they just went absolutely batsh!t crazy.

What you did was absolutely right, you stood your ground and didn't show submission. If it had progressed to the next level, you have to employ the same strategy and be fiercer than the dog is. Go for eyes, go for the throat, go for the testicles if it's a non-neutered male, go absolutely crazy and yell your head off--the sound is intimidating to an opponent (regardless of species) and it's confidence-boosting for you. I remember a study done of bayonet training in the Army--just about everybody could drive the bayonet harder when they were screaming at the dummy like their instructor told them to than when they weren't. Roaring like an animal makes you feel more dangerous and gets the adrenaline flowing. It's not a guarantee by any means, and I'm not claiming that a Doberman or any other large dog is anything to sneeze at, but just remember that if the last thought in your mind before you enter a fight is, "I'm probably gonna lose" then it's almost certainly going to happen that way. You may lose, but personally I'd take on any 100 pound dog in the world with a knife in my hand as opposed to a 150 pound mountain lion with my fists if given the choice.
 
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winmagfrog said:
You did the right thing in my opinion. I would have a very serious talk with the neighbor. I love dogs, but won't let one make me or my family uncomfortable.

If you had to take a dog on with a blade like a culti, you'd be fine. Dobie's have long exposed necks. The Shepherd would be harder to deal with.

If the neighbor won't listen, call animal control. If that doesn't work you should probably check the anti-freeze levels in your car...
Click to expand...

Yeah, my family or an angry dog...this would now seal its fate. Love animals, but my family comes first and I don't play the animal control, call us if it happens again, document the incident, blah blah blah, bites my kid, now have a law suit and a feud...angry dog wants to attack my family, at my house, attacker will be eliminated.
 
If you had kept your head you could have killed it with no problem.A grown man with a cool head could kill about any single attacking dog.You may get injured badly but you should still come out on top as long as it does not get you by the neck.As an ACO that does not carry a sidearm one of my worst fears is 2 or more dogs intent on attack,if that happens you are just screwed.
 
you should have drawn your 1911 and nailed the snapper with a 180 grain corbon solid copper dpx flux decapasitater!




.
 
wait for it to trespass on your property again and kill it, next time you may not be around
 
Our fangs and claws aren't really there, and we have to use tools. In this situation no one would expect you to back down, your family on the line I'm fairly sure you would have jumped at a lion bare fisted. In these situations ability to utilize what ever at your disposal to your advantage and not overlooking things is probably the hardest thing do. Maybe a small blade isn't an ideal tool, but it is a hell of a lot better than nothing. Good reaction under stress. Glad your family and you are ok. I love dogs, and I'm not sure what's the legal procedure is where you are at, but the owner of the dog deserves a good one in the face.
 
Good on you Bro! Happy you and yours are alright. I used to handle the problem animals for a local shelter many years ago. I am an advocate of pets with good owners, but if they don't have good owners and do have bad behavior I have no problem putting them down. No false sense of security from my view of the story. You put protection and defense first. That's what a real man does.
 
your body language in this situation is extremely important.

i have found holding up one arm like an erect confident dogs tail to help.. to the dog it says 'you dont intimidate me'.

2cents worth.
 
While I agree INFI can give you a false sense of security, I think you handled this situation fine regardless. They are different issues that happened to come together and work perfectly for you here. INFI had nothing to do with this.

You should feel glad. Most of the time, I make the wrong in-the-heat-of-the-moment decisions, and then kick myself afterward about how I could've done it better :p and of course I'm glad everything worked out and you're all safe. Truth is, the fact that you managed to scare the dog away has me curious to know what the dog thinks of you and your family now and if it will ever try anything like that again.
 
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You did good Bro!!! Glad more than anything that the family is ok. I think RokJok said it quit well, "Improvise, Adapt and Overcome"
 
One night I went out to my car, and three (wild, domestics on their own) dogs came running barking and snarling at me. I verbally let them know, I was not putting up with it, and took an agressive stance towards them. The closest one vered off, the next one went the opposite direction and what was probably the dominant one wasn't so sure I would be able to take em. He stopped but kept growling at me. I slowly moved over to the house and went inside. All three dogs were good sized dogs, with the main dog being a german shepard type. Turned out fine. But if it came to a head, I wasn't planning on losing. I called animal control and he was on vaction for a week or two. I said by the time he gets back they will be in a different county. Go figure. I let the neighbor know so he could keep and eye out, but never saw em again.
 
false and false, i would say that infi is a way to even out the odds, if this would happen to my baby-girl and girlfriend i would on without doubt do the same. i wold in case of danger of my family go in for the kill and keep bring hammering on it until it hits the ground or runs away.

i don't think there is another way for a father and a parant then trying to slay the beast if your loved ones are in danger, it's all reptile brain action.
 
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