How to stop a dog attack: Veterinarian Dr Katrina Warren’s tips on how to handle a dog attack from an aggressive or reactive dog

An attack from a reactive dog is every dog owner’s worst nightmare.

It became the frightening reality last week for Smooth FM’s Head of Programming Peter Clay when two very large off-leash dogs came out of nowhere and began attacking his dog and then himself.

Clay and his dog managed to get away from the scuffle with the two dogs but not before he was bitten badly on the hand requiring hospital treatment.

Watch the video above.

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Veterinarian Dr Katrina Warren spoke to Clay after the experience and says he “did everything right” to handle the attack.

But it’s a situation that could have ended much worse with dog attacks like this having the potential to be fatal for dogs or young children. So what should dog owners do if they find themselves in a similar situation? 

Dr Warren tells Today Extra’s Richard Wilkins and Sylvia Jeffreys that prevention is key.

“If you see a dog running towards you and you’re a bit like, ‘woah this is scary’, or, ‘my dog doesn’t like other dogs’, there are some simple things you can do,” she says.

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The first is to put a barrier between your dog and the approaching dog.

Dr Warren says you could do this by stepping in front of your dog so your dog is behind you or, if possible, picking your dog up and putting it behind a fence, in the car or even inside a wheelie bin if it’s small enough.

If you’re carrying an umbrella, opening it to create a barrier between your dog and the other dog can also be helpful.

It also might be a good idea to find a way to distract the dog that is approaching you.

“You can do things like throw, if you’ve got treats, throw treats at the other dog’s head to distract it then get your dog behind you,” she says.

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If there’s no way to create a barrier and the attacking dog ends up grabbing hold of your dog, Dr Warren says you want to find a way to startle the dog while trying to avoid screaming and becoming heightened yourself.

You can do this by throwing water at the dog or throwing an item of clothing like a jumper over the dog’s head so it can’t see. Once the dog is startled you can try to separate the dogs with a barrier.

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If an attack cannot be prevented, Dr Warren says it’s important to get help as soon as possible.

“If your dog has been attacked, you really should seek veterinary attention straight away because even if you don’t think your dog is injured, they sometimes have internal damage because some of these dogs can hold on really strong as you know,” she says.

It’s also important to “always report it to authorities” like the council and the Police “because they need to know whether there’s been previous incidents of this or not”.

Dr Warren also advises seeking behavioural support for your dog if it’s been attacked.

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And for those who may be concerned that they have a reactive dog, Dr Warren says it’s important to find ways to manage their behaviour for the dog’s safety and the safety of those around it.

“Let’s start normalising that you’re doing the right thing if you actually do muzzle training and you actually teach your dog to walk on a muzzle,” she says.

“You’re keeping your dog safe and other people safe.”

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