When you encounter an aggressive dog, your first instinct is probably just to run away. Maybe you were already running, going for a jog in the neighborhood when the dog came out of someone’s yard. Perhaps you were just walking by their house and minding your own business. Either way, as the dog barks and approaches you, you may think it’s in your best interests to run.
But is this actually true? Or would doing so just make the odds of an injury even worse? Here are a few reasons why you generally should not run away from a dangerous dog.
Dogs love to chase
First and foremost, dogs have a chase instinct that has been built into them by millions of years of evolution. They want to chase when something runs from them, and so odds are that sprinting in the opposite direction is just going to make the dog more angry and aggressive than it was to start with.
It increases the energy level
These encounters are also all about energy levels. You want to try to get the dog’s emotions down to a lower level by being calm, avoiding eye contact, staying still and slowly removing yourself from the dog’s territory. Running does the opposite and just increases that energy.
You’re not fast enough
Finally, people are simply not fast enough to run away from dogs. Even if you’re in great shape and you run all the time, dogs are going to be faster sprinters. If the dog wants to catch you, it will. Therefore, it’s not worth the risk of running rather than making a slower and safer exit.
Of course, even if you do everything correctly, you could still be bitten by a dangerous dog. You need to know what legal options you have to seek financial compensation.
