What should yo actually do if your dog is attacked?

Ok - without going through every post on the other threads ( I couldn't do it) I managed to see a little advice such as if your dog is being attacked lift the attackers back legs.
I didn't realise that lock jaw was a myth - when I was 15 (bearing in mind my age) and I don't think it was law to have dogs on leads then in the streets - a dog on my street got a neighbours cat. The dog owner looked on, the cat owner - little old lady was hysterical of cause me bolshy 15 yr old said get your f**ing dog off that cat & was told by the owner he couldn't as it's jaws were locked round it. Every time someone tried to approach the dog, it shook the cat more.
I don't know where I had heard it & please don't shoot me for saying how I did this but I would have done anything to rescue that poor cat. I took a lighter & lit it on the dogs bum - he dropped that cat so quick & ran off.
Sadly the cat died at the vets.

Anyway you know you would jump in front of a bus to save your child etc..
Any practical advice for a dog being attacked? The whole recent incident with Valandra has really spooked me. Only 1 dog has gone for Tilly & she was small enough for me to pick up & put in my coat as the dog had been let off lead & came full force towards us. It had already passed us on lead agressively & although it was quite a way before the owner let it off lead again, he was coming back for more & I had about 3 seconds to think.
I know you can't predict situations & often have to act on the moment, I would just like something in my head telling me what I should do if something nasty happens.
Hoping it never happens of course.

I have heard that putting something up the attackers behind works.

Number 1 Rule : do not try and rescue your dog, or try to separate the fighters. You almost undoubtedly will get bitten unless you really know what you are doing.

When Hal was attacked on our drive by next door's Airedale, I turned the hose on them both, which luckily was lying waiting to be used ! Water is the best way of separating fighting dogs, but of course is very rarely handy !

Number 2 : keep calm. If you flap and panic, scream or shout, you may distract your dog and he may get seriously bitten. I know I have a large breed, and it must be very different if your toy dog is attacked by a large breed, but in my own experience I really do find that left alone, the dogs rarely hurt each other seriously. If one or both dogs are on the lead, then I pull Tai away with the lead, and protect him with my body, facing up to the attacker and blocking him. I have never known this to fail, but I have probably just been lucky.

When both dogs are off lead, my advice would be to let them sort it out ... as I say, serious injury is very rare but I am sure there are plenty of others who will say different.

Great thread.
I'll take on board any ideas.

I've already made a mental note of the lifting the back legs and take on board something up their behind.

Touch wood I haven't been unfortuante enough as yet to have this to worry about but one of my friends had a nasty incident recently.

Having a puppy again makes me more vigilant and nervous than usual but Id still do what ever I can to protect my grown up 2.
Bramble is so submissive, she lays down for any dog so if it were nasty she wouldn't stand a chance!

It's so scary, I hope I don't ever have to deal with it, but thanks again for any of the tips!.

A jet of cold water from a hose certainly does (see my post above !)

Yes, I can see that working. Not much use if you are out and about though.

Makes you want to carry a fire hose with you .. lol

my Leo has been attacked on many occasion and each time he has sat down.

when the offending dog has latched on to him i've always grabbed the dog by the neck and dug my nails in. if that doesnt work a boot up the backside normally works.
if the dog does come back for more then i stand infront yelling and standing tall.

i will never walk away just stand my ground.

then verbally lay into the owner.

I would be very reluctant to recommend anyone grab the back legs of a fighting dog. You could end up getting very seriously hurt, if the fight is serious. Also, I know it is very tempting with tiny dogs to pick them up and protect them, but this is the very worst thing you could do, because again, you could be the one getting hurt, and your dog too, so nothing has been gained. Much better is to stand up to the attacking dog with your body, keep your vulnerable bits out of the way such as fingers, don't look the dog in the eye, but block him with your body and shout assertively at him "No", or "Down". It is quite hard for a dog to grab hold of a part of your body if you are standing tall and erect, with your arms and hands well out of reach. If you are wearing something fairly solid on your feet, you shouldn't need to worry too much about your ankles being badly bitten, but if a dog does sink his teeth in there, I would not be at all shy of giving his **** a jolly good kick ... which will make him spin round on your kicking leg, thus making him let go your poor ankle ! I would only advocate inflicting violence on a dog like this if you really were in danger of serious injury ... very much last case scenario. I have never known a strange dog not be brought up by his bootstraps by a total stranger assertively ordering him to sit, stay or get down. You really have to mean it though with every pore, because dogs can smell fear just like horses, and Shaun Ellis even claims that they can hear our hearts beating, and hear them speeding up when we are frightened !

Poor Leo ! And yes, I agree with you, if Leo isn't fighting back, then you only have the attacker to worry about, and in these circumstances I would defo. try grabbing the dog. Grabbing a tail and pulling gently is a good trick too, but be ready for the dog to turn on you ... even your's ! When our dogs are fighting for real, a red mist descends and they become wild animals, turning as a matter of instinct on anyone or anything who is trying to hold them back, so you need to be careful of your own dog, as well as the attacker. Although Leo doesn't sound like he would hurt a fly, bless him.

Standing your ground is good, and shouting in a focussed way (not a screaming, panicky way). It sounds like you do just great in defending Leo. My boy Tai will not attack, but he will stand up for himself if attacked, but never, ever ever inflicts any injury. At worst, there is loose hair flying around. I guess when you weigh in at around 100 lbs though you don't need to be nasty!