7 incredible tips to protect yourself from the stray dogs that chase you every night

Has it happened to you that while riding your bike to home in the night, a pack of dogs has chased you?

When you drive a car you enjoy the security which the doors of the car provide but such is not the case while riding a motorbike.

Obviously, when a dog chases you, bound by your survival instinct you are left with no option other than panic! 

You just loose composure, pull your legs up with your feet set just parallel to the petrol tank and your bike starts curving in the opposite direction of the dog attack.

This reminds me of an interesting incident when I was a teenager.

#The Nightmarish Incident 

My friend would visit my house every evening to study. 

We would study for about 2-3 hours in the compound of my house.

A small digression here –

2-3 hours included lots of breaks for eating and discussing the ongoing stuff in college. So please don’t get surprised!

Coming back to the subject, every night it would get too late for him to leave and most of the time the streets would get deserted which happened to be the correct time for the stray dogs to come out.

One night, just after 5 minutes he left, I heard the rev of the engine of a motorbike getting louder with each passing second and suddenly I saw him totally panicked in front of the gate.

He told me that on his way he met a pack of dogs in an aggressive mood, with their drooling sharp teeth seeming ready to rip anything apart.

Suddenly, they all started barking and moving towards him to which he panicked and had no other option than to drive like crazy and get away.

However, to his luck there was another safer but longer road which he took and got back home and he got so afraid that he would daily take the same road home burning almost twice the gas.

#A Dog Bite can be Costly

The problem with the stray dogs is common in almost every place, and in some neighborhoods it is worse.

As good and responsible inhabitants of this lovely planet, we, in no ways, mean to hurt dogs but self defense is a need we cannot ignore too. 

Dog bite is a thing we fear a lot. In fact, it is something that must be taken seriously and we should adapt all necessary measures to avoid it as much as possible.

If a dog bites man, the wound must immediately be taken care of and also the infected dog bite symptoms like nausea, anxiety, nervousness need to be checked upon in order to find out if the wound may prove fatal in the future. 

Infected dog bite treatment can be costly and may involve taking 14 or more injections in the body to protect you from the diseases caused by the bacteria which prevail in dog teeth.

Rabies is the most serious disease that one can get from an infected dog bite. In some cases, it takes years to come into effect. 

But when it does, if affects brain by producing unwanted fear of water. In most of the cases, Rabies has proved to be fatal and is generally caused by the bite and saliva of an infected dog.

Doctors say there is no need to worry when a dog is vaccinated. But, experts reckon that you must not ignore any dog bite and seek immediate medical attention.

Dog bite can also cause Staph Infection. It is spread by the bacteria found in dogs and other animals’ saliva which can cause skin and lung infections therefore, the dangers of a dog bite cannot simply be ignored.

#Let’s Get Started

So I am listing down a few good tips which are definitely going to help you know what to do when a dog chases you. Following and practicing these tips will make you protect yourself from dogs which chase you every night when you ride your bike to home.

The perspective here is to create a win-win situation in which both the dog and we escape out safe & unhurt. 

1. Do not run

Our survival instinct definitely triggers the signal to run which we follow unquestioningly when we see a dog or a pack of dogs chasing. But this is not a solution in fact, running from dog can prove costly to your health as it may instigate the dog to bite you in the leg 

It’s the time to regain your composure and not run.

If you don’t run you are just not provoking the predatory skills of the dog and in almost 99% of the cases you escape safely by staying still.

So, the next time when you are riding bike and you see a pack on the side of the road watching at you, just slow down.

Slow down, relax and calmly drive away from them at a very gentle speed. It is a common and obvious fact that speed provokes a dog’s predatory skills. 

If you think that the dog is not stopping even at your calmness, quickly bring in to role what is mentioned in Tip#3 and Tip#4.

2. Feign bravery even in the case of fear

Suppose you encounter a stray dog on a street which looks quite aggressive and any moment can attack you.

What to do in such a situation?

Well follow the first tip first, do not run but it might only buy you some time before it attacks you.

Obviously, we are not mind scientists to know what is going on in its mind hence we can’t take the risk.

Therefore, pull yourself together and just pretend as if you are braver than the dog.

A reversal of Newton’s 3^rd law can be applicable here –if there is no reaction there will be no action.

Stay still and nonchalant even if you are a bit scared from inside; once the dog loses interest in you slowly back away and sneak away.

3. Use a sheet or a purse to defend

When a dog is on a prowl, it would definitely satisfy its desire by biting. In around 90% of the cases you can get away just by following the above mentioned tips.

But what if you are one of the remaining 5% cases? What if the dog hurls itself towards you with its sharp teeth ready to grab the flesh?

The solution will be to break its predatory impulse and drive it down to zero so that you can get out unhurt.

Use a sheet or any long object such as your purse or your wallet or any long or a hard object available around towards its mouth.

The dog will bite it first which will give you sufficient time to escape and get behind a large object such as a car.

Remember, the key here is to distract the dog.

4. Keep cookies

In case, you are a night crawler or your work shift ends around 11 or 12 then you would be encountering a lot of stray dogs on streets.

Well, it’s their time to hangout and have a good time J

However, it would be better to keep a packet of cookies costing just 5 bucks in your pocket in order avoid any unwanted encounter with the stray dogs.

So, once you see a pack out on the road,  you take back home every day, just slow down take out a few cookies and throw them in the opposite direction.

They will jump after the cookies and you can then carry on and enjoy your night driving without worrying about dogs.

5. Use pepper spray

I recommend it to be used in the worst situation possible. 

There are a few neighborhoods with a couple of mad dogs full of rabies. State’s animal care always take some time to arrive until which you cannot risk the safety of you & your family.

Using a pepper spray can totally frighten the dog and make him run away in case it jumps towards you to bite.

Somewhere I have read that you can make a dog run away just by using water spray on it.

6. Don’t make eye contact

Let’s say on your way back home, a couple of dogs chased you and following the first 2 tips you slowed down, stopped, are standing still now and the dog is just a couple of feet away from you.

The last thing you want to do in such a situation is making an eye contact with it. Making an eye contact may instigate its aggression and provoke it to attack you.

It is recommended to use words such as ‘go away’ with conviction to control its behavior. After all, the animal which can be trained best by humans is dog.

7. Carry a stick or act as if you are going to throw a piece of      stone on it.

This is a practice which I have seen a lot of villagers and cops follow.

They often travel at night on the deserted roads where they encounter a pack or two so they use the stick to scare them away.

You can also use the stick to distract a dog by throwing it in a direction and creating an urge in it to catch it.

A stick can also be used as a shield to protect when a dog jumps to bite. If you put it ahead of your body the dog will first grab it with its mouth.

Also, you can scare a dog by pretending as if you will throw a stone at it. Most of the dogs get scared away by this technique. If one doesn’t then you should immediately resort to one of the tips mentioned above.

#Wrap Up

There is a very interesting saying ”after a dog a book is a man’s best friend. Inside a dog you cannot see but inside a book you can.”

A dog can be a man’s best friend. It is a very loyal animal, protects you from thieves and can be your children’s best playmate too but you cannot all the time know what goes on in its mind. 
If on one side there is immense loyalty , on the other hand there are dangers of dog bite as well.

Therefore, taking precautions is necessary. if it’s your pet make sure that it is properly vaccinated. And if you happen to ride motor bike or walk at night on the street it is important to know how to handle stray dogs.

So, it is recommended to keep these tips in mind to get the answer to the question of 'what to do when a dog chases you?'.

Do you also live in a neighborhood where the dogs stroll more in number at nights?

Are you going to recommend these tips to your friend as well as follow yourself?

If you liked this you will also like

11 Little known mistakes that are pushing you towards sadness & frustration

9 hacks to make your daily travel to work highly productive

7 simple tips that will help you study by avoiding depression and examination fear