Avoid eye contact, stand very still: Pet behaviourist on useful tips to calm a dog, prevent dog bites
Being aware of the dog's body language, applying presence of mind and not panicking can save a person from getting bitten, says Shirin Dhabar, canine trainer.
Among the lessons that have emerged from the recent dog bite cases across the country are that we need to train dogs better and be more aware and equipped in handling of such situations. Many people tend to hit the panic button and fail to take into account that the dog can be pacified if the right steps are taken at the right time. Being aware of the dog's body language, applying presence of mind and not panicking can save one from dog attacks, say Shirin Dhabar, a leading canine trainer and behaviourist, who's also part of FurrCrew, an online community that brings animal lovers together. (Also read: Heat stroke in dogs can be deadly; know symptoms, causes and treatment)
"When we look at the word aggression, one thing that we have to keep in mind is no dog wakes up and says - 'Oh today I will bite people.' It happens over a period of time. There are patterns of behaviour that leads to that, and dogs are not animals that will use aggression or bite unless they absolutely need to," says Shirin in a telephonic interview with HT Digital.
WHY DOGS BITE
The ace canine trainer says a lot of these unfortunate incidents where unsuspected people get bitten by dogs can be prevented by educating people and sensing the early signs of aggression in dogs and try and change the way of handling them.
"Most of us don't listen to dogs, we do not read the body language of the dog and that's how we get bitten. Dogs tells us in advance 'look I am not happy, this is my body language, understand that and don't take this further.' If you don't listen, that's why you get bitten. To work with aggressive dogs, we have to understand the root cause, where this aggression is coming from. They are not bad, they are not being mean. They are probably just misunderstood and can't effectively communicate with us because we don't listen to them. It's really this gap that needs to be plugged through education," says Shirin.
PRACTICAL TIPS TO PREVENT FROM GETTING BITTEN
Giving practical tips to prevent a dog bite, the pet behaviourist says one should avoid eye contact with a dog who's showing signs of aggression and if they move ahead and try to attack you, one can stuff any object they are carrying with them inside their mouth so that the bite lands on that object and you get time to think ahead.
"Ideally if you are walking down the road and there is a dog that is growling at you or coming running at you, there are multiple things that you can do. First of all, don't make much eye contact. Look in the direction of dog, see what it is doing, but don't make eye contact, dogs see it as a threat. Don't talk to the dog, don't try to touch the dog, just stand very still, make yourself small and wait for the threat to be diffused. If you can slowly back away safely it will be good. If you run, you instigate the chasing instinct, then you are definitely going to get bitten. Stand and wait, don't say things like go away bad dog, or good dog. When the dog perceives you not as a threat, they usually walk away on their own," says the expert.
"If a dog is coming at you and really going to bite you, then grab whatever you have in your hand - a phone, diary, book, or simply take out your shoe and as soon as the dog comes, push that into their mouth and the bite will end up being on that object. If they come back again, repeat the process. If the dog doesn't see you as a threat, they will not further trouble you," says Shirin.