Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ok here is my question hand to hand with a pitbull

I have no idea if the following method has been tested or is effective but:

If attack is immanent drop down low enough to prevent the dog from grabbing your legs/crotch area and give the dog your offhand forearm. On impact shove your forearm as far back in the mouth as possible to open up the jaws while wrapping strong side forearm around the back of the dogs head and below the skull. Push and rotate out with weak forearm(in dogs mouth) and pull and rotate toward your chest with strong side arm. The idea is to strain/dislocate/break the neck so the dog either gives up or dies. Keep in mind you're doing this while the dog is thrashing on your arm trying to rip it off. A lot can go wrong, but if its all you got, give it everything you have.

Looks like I was late to the party. Jim in Idaho beat me to it.

See above.

This is how my Uncle put down a Pit that had latched onto his Brittany he was walking. Stabbing and slashing neck, chest groin.

Dog unlatched and bled out right there. CRKT with thumb assist.

definative answer

That was Dad's advice, he'd seen it work. But I've never had the pleasure.

this is what i did.except i grabbed him by the bottom jaw so i would have leverage to force him to the ground.

and this once you pin them down.

In response to some of the suggestions, Pits are not that small, and are ALL muscle. They are heavy, strong, and very hard to handle - plus they don't react to pain as much as some dogs might. If you "feed" a pit an arm, you may very well not get that arm back - or the blood lost during that tactic. ONE of the things that makes Pits so dangerous is an almost complete lack of fear of anything. Would be best not to "fight" one with your bare hands! Also best not to get between a pit and things he is tasked with protecting, as they are VERY protective by nature. I had a Pit that was among the "best" dogs I've ever owned, but I still had to be aware of his natural tendencies - among which was that he would have laid down his life for me, if necessary.

Mike Holmes

I don't know if it would work on a pitbull but the guy who left his German shepherd get after me got his dog in a hurry when he heard those teeth rattle together from a well placed front snap kick. The dog was pissed but wouldn't get back in range. If a pit locked down on me I think I would try to strangle it.

I have never had to kill the dog, but the arm shoved in tight, widens his jaws, and the arm wrapped behind the head tightly, causes a panic reaction in the dog. I've had to use it a couple of times (never against a pittbull) and escaped with minor fang marks. We help out with rescues, and some of them have proven aggressive. I've been left bloodied, my wife has been bloodied, and grabbing the dogs balls and squeezing will make him let go of your kid fast. Kick to the ribs after, tend to drive the point home. (I'm the alpha dog, not you)

I have used the aggressive tactic to my advantage before a couple of times. Dogs don't know what to think about a guy shouting loud and aggressively attacking it. I'm glad neither of those were pit bulls though. The time might come when it won't work but that's my first defense when threatened by an aggressive dog.

Sorry, in re-reading my reply it definitely comes off as snotty which wasn't the intent, just trying to back up your post with my own reading and experiences.

I have been challenged by aggressive dogs in the past and all without exception seem all know the universal signal of reaching down to pick up a rock as if the throw. They all react in the same way - that is to say they back off rather quickly. There doesn't even need to be one there, just reach down and make like your picking one up. They all seem to know instinctively to retreat.

I can attest to the toughness of a pit bull and what a formidable an advesary they are. Several years ago while out deer hunting I had the occasion to shoot a pit bull that was running deer in a pack of feral dogs. The pit bull took a 12ga. deer slug thru the chest at 25-30yds., it knocked the pit down and stopped his pursuit of the deer. When I got over to it the dog was not dead in spite of a gaping wound thru its chest. not wanting to shoot it again I stepped on its chest in an attempt to stop its heart. One foot had no effect so I stood on its ribcage with both feet bringing my 250# weight to bear, even then the dog had to bleed out until it finally expired. From that experience hand to fangs combat with a pit bull would be an extreme last resort.

Gun no gun

Knife no knife

Get ready for the hardest fight of your life.

You will not have time to do anything but to react.
It will be painful but you must fight through it to get in your licks.

It does hurt and will leave you having some strange thoughts when you are resting.
It will play over and over in your mind.

It will hurt even if you win.

never felt any pain but did hear the bone in my finger get crushed.

Not a pitbull but a full grown german shep

My father in law was an "Orkin Man". This shephard come hauling ass from three yards over and leaped. He caught that somebitch mid air and pulled straight downward hard on his mandible. Broke his flapper straight down. Hahaha

Stupid ass mutt

High school classmate of my brother ( I knew him from working on the same logging crew) got jumped by a pitbull and he took it down and pounded on it till it ran off yelping. He was young, very strong and mean when mad.
He got chewed on some, but no permanent damage. He did have some pretty impressive scars on his arm.
He'd played fullback in college and I never saw anyone that could pull 5 3/4" chokers around a hillside like him.

Unfortunately, hand to hand is more likely to be hand to mouth...and it will hurt.

Yeah, all in all I'd rather go hand to hand with a lab puppy. I've done that several times and survived with only minor wounds...