For most people, if a dog barks or growls and then charges at them, their first instinct is to run. They know that they might be attacked and suffer serious bites, so they try to escape the situation by running.
As instinctive as this is, it’s usually the wrong move. It may even make things worse. Let’s consider a few reasons why.
Dogs want to chase
First and foremost, it’s hardwired into most dogs that they want to chase something that is moving away from them. They see it as prey. If you run, the dog is simply going to want to catch you even more than it did before. It’s not going to give up just because you’re running in the opposite direction.
Dogs are faster than you
Even small dogs are much faster than humans. If a dog is chasing you and you try to run, it is almost a guarantee that you will not escape. It’s important to keep this in mind because you may be escalating the situation and aggravating the dog, which you definitely don’t want to do, especially when you have no chance to get away in the first place.
Running turns your back to the dog
General advice, when faced with an aggressive dog, is to freeze without making eye contact and to try to stay calm. If you turn, yell and begin running, you’re turning your back on the dog so that you cannot see what it is doing, which may put you in more danger than if you just stood still.
No matter how you react, though, you could suffer severe injuries in a dog bite incident. You could be left with scarring, disfigurement or disability. You absolutely need to know what options you have to seek compensation from the dog’s owner.