| Submit News Tips | Mobile | Text Alerts

Survival 101: Dog Attack!

Video

Reported by: Mike McClanahan

Published: 12/11/2008 12:43 pm

Updated: 2/11/2009 12:43 am

Can you read the warning signs that a dog is in the red zone ready to bite? As recent attacks have shown, even trained dogs can react violently if they misread a person's actions.

Ralph Gibson has been dealing with undisciplined dogs for 30 years with temperaments ranging from disorderly to dangerous. But he says he has never been bitten.

How you ask? He knows how to read dogs accurately.

He told me what would prompt this Doberman, Rosebud, to bite, and then how to make Rosebud back off. Even with an arm protector, this was a tense situation.

“Upp...take him, take him, take him, eat him up, eat him up, eat him up, upp...down keep your eye on him...slide your sleeve off. Slide your sleeve off and drop it.”

That was not so bad, but then he wanted to show me how a dog that will bite on command can be called off at a moment's notice. For this experiment we ditched the arm protector.

In a blur of speed the Doberman covered the 10-12 feet between us building momentum for a powerful lunge. But the instant Gibson gave the cease command the dog put on the breaks, and I did not get so much as a scratch.

The Doberman went from calm to attack mode in a manner of seconds, then back to normal.

Moments later I was petting Rosebud as if we were long time companions. Although she can be intimidating, Ralph insists Rosebud is not an attack dog, just a disciplined animal with appropriate protective instincts.

Because Rosebud was raised in a balanced manner, she ceased the attack when I stopped acting like an attacker, according to Gibson. However he says many dogs are not raised in an orderly manner, and may act like juvenile delinquents.

Over-socialized animals may not bite a burglar, and under socialized animals may become violent with other dogs or people. The bottom line is that they can be unpredictable.

If you encounter a strange dog, there are some warning signs to watch out for.

Click play to watch the story.

"If you see a dog with his mouth shut, its tail's not wagging, that's the first indicator right there," said Gibson.

At that point, Gibson says not to stare straight at the dog, but to watch it with peripheral vision. If you stand your ground with calm confidence the dog may move on. But if you try to scare the dog off, you may be provoking a fight.

Dominant dogs will call your bluff.

"The best response would not be the conditioned response that most people are into as far as freezing up, running, trying to threaten the dog. Because dogs are virtually like lie detectors, they will read you like a book," said Gibson.

Gibson recommends pepper spray as a dog deterrent, but in serious situations it doesn’t always work.

"Encounter an extremely high driven, tough, hard dog, no it's not going to work."

Your best bet is to avoid the encounter in the first place.

Gibson says that there is no such thing as a bad breed of dog, but there's no completely safe breed of dog either. He insists that individual temperament is more important than breed. Still, I'm glad I waited until after the "experiment" to ask him how hard a Doberman can bite.

“Doberman 1450 lbs per square inch, Shepard 1600 lbs, Rotweiler 1800 lbs of pressure per square inch, Pit Bull 2200 lbs of pressure per square inch. It takes 182 lbs of pressure to break a human bone," said Gibson.

But then again, as Gibson points out, even a Golden Retriever can generate between 1400 and 1600 pounds of pressure with its jaws, the same as a Labrador Retriever.

If all else fails, if a dog is latching on and will not let go and you are in fear for your life, Gibson offers this advice as a last resort- but only as a last resort.

More on the web

Visit Ralph Gibson's World of Dogs website

How to respond if an aggressive dog attacks you

Tips for handling a dog bite

“And I had no other recourses or choices, what I would do would be no different than what some people teach in martial arts. I would take my finger and I would stick it in the dog's eye until the dog starts to submit. Okay, if he doesn't submit then I would go the rest of the way. I will alter that drive."

The same technique has been used by survivors of alligator and shark attacks.

More safety tips:

For cyclists, a bicycle can be used as a protective barrier between you and a dog. For people on foot, avoid smiling at dogs, because this may be taken as a sign of aggression. When a dog bares its teeth, it’s threatening you. If you can see its gums, the animal is extremely agitated and may be dangerously close to biting. This means it’s in what Gibson calls “prey mode.” But don’t run! Dogs have a natural instinct to give chase.

Print Story

2 Comment(s)

Comments: Show | Hide

Here are the most recent story comments.View All

golden1 - 4/7/2011 4:22 PM

0 Votes

Report User

Ralph is training us to train our dog & our golden has stayed there several times and ALWAYS comes home happy , confident and in perfect condition---our golden loves to see his Uncle Ralph and I can't imagine that the previous comment is true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Symone87 - 5/13/2010 10:52 PM

0 Votes

Report User

I know someone who took their puppy there. He was there for a total of 13 days. Before he went there, they took him to the vet, and he was in picture perfect health, when they went to visit him, they could tell immediately that something was wrong. He had lost a lot of weight, you could see his ribs and his hip bones. When they took him to the vet, she was shocked at how much damage was done to him in the 13 days he was there. He was very emaciated, dehydrated, and looked as though he had not eaten a good meal in days. The vet did multiple tests on him and found that there was no other reason for the puppy to look this way other than him being neglected and mistreated. It cost them over $300 for all of the fluids and medication he needed in order to get better. He could not hold any food in and had bad diarrhea for days. After 3 days he gained a whole pound, which only proves that there was nothing wrong with him when he was there. Mr. Gibson tried to tell these people that he was just stressed, but he had eaten 3 times a day. The vet said this was impossible, and he should have called when the puppy started showing signs that he was not doing well. Mr. Gibson seems to only be in this business for money. He obviously does not care about these animals he is "training". Who knows how bad the puppy would have gotten if they had not gone to visit him. I also find it shocking that there is not one bad thing online about this business. It seems as if no one else wants to say anything against him. I do not mind because everything I have said is pure fact. Luckily, now the puppy is doing well, he is not quite up to the appropriate weight, but he is doing a lot better. Please, PLEASE, do not take your dog to this man, your story may not end as well...

Click Here to Add Your Comments View All

Interact with CBS 42

This site is hosted and managed by Inergize Digital.
Mobile advertising for this site is available on Local Ad Buy.

To Email:
Your Name:
Your Email:
Message:
	Send a copy to my email