IAmA: Man who killed a pit bull to save a child today. AMA

Is your windbreaker ok?

I threw it out at the park since it was one of those free corporate-logo handouts.

...tore a fucking piece out of my windbreaker sleeve.

The most enraged I've seen anyone about the state of their windbreaker.

But great job. Any other times your training has kicked in after you were out of the Army? It's amazing how deep they drill that stuff into your head.

The most useful part of my training was to keep a cool head during extreme situations. It's helped me avoid a few accidents while driving. Also, someone tried to mug me in a subway station when I visited New York, and it didn't work out. I kick my coworkers' asses in paintball once a month (which, I admit, is great fun), but beyond that, my days aren't too crazy. I don't have guns hidden behind paintings or a bunker in my toolshed, if that's what you're expecting. :)

I, probably along with others, would love to hear about the failed subway mugging now.

It wasn't anything special. Some low-life pulled a knife and demanded my handbag and wallet. I dropped my handbag and took his knife, and hopefully he learned a lesson.

I think you are one of the few men than could get away with carrying a 'handbag'

Ha! Nice catch! I meant duffel bag, my mistake.

That's still pretty badass. Did you get your bag back?

Yes, I picked it back up after I took his knife.

Do you believe an average sized person without specialized training can kill a dog the way you did? What should one do if they were alone in the Childs situation?

If they were well trained, they could. If they were not trained but athletic, I think they could handle a pit bull attack and survive without permanent damage. If they were untrained and unathletic, it could go both ways. Crossposted from the other page, this is how you defend against dogs:

Tough question to answer. I was trained mostly against attack dogs, and they don't bite blindly like a typical dog. Also, we had combat knives, which would make dog attacks much easier to handle.

My quick advice would amount to this: Small dogs: Kick the shit out of them, see how far they fly.

Bigger/big dogs: You will get bitten. It will hurt. Even though adrenaline will take the edge off the pain, still be aware of this. Turn slightly away from the dog so your groin isn't exposed, and ball your fists. If the dog is growling/barking at you but not advancing, back away slowly and find something to get in between you and it. If you have a coat or jacket on, take it off and hold it in front of you as a shield. Don't pull a sweater over your head or you're SOL if the dog decides to attack. If the dog attacks, as it approaches, keep your forearm from your frontmost arm out in front. The dog will bite your forearm, and attempt to take you down. Absorb the blow and go down with the dog. Keep your chin tucked in so it doesn't bite your neck. Wrap your free arm around the dog, pull its body towards you, and do your best to roll on top of the dog so your weight is on its body. Then, from this mounted position, try to move your free arm around its neck to get it in a choke hold and squeeze to strangle it. If it lets go of your forearm use this arm to squeeze tighter around its neck. Don't try to choke it with your fingers because you'll fail. You need the strength of your whole arm wrapped around its neck.

If you happen to have a jacket in front of you like I mentioned, you might manage to push it off you as it tries to bite. If you can manage to wrap the jacket arounds its head, strangling it will become easier. If it is not particularly adept at biting you, punching its face/snout (hard -- aim specifically for its nose) might make it back down.

Summary: Do not run, get a jacket in front of you if you can, once it takes you down use your free hand to pull it onto you and roll on top to get into position to strangle it. Kick small dogs like you're aiming for a field goal.

What if I have a knife?

Keep it in your back hand and swing upwards into the dog's neck as it bites your forearm. Stabbing it without taunting it with a target to bite is risky because chances are, the knife will either just cut the dog's flesh and do no short-term damage, or it will impale somewhere non-deadly and be pulled away from you, just as the dog lands on you. I'd rather have to wait on a bite to heal on my arm than to have a dog maul my face as my knife sticks out of its hind leg.

Where were the parents when this was was all going on (before they called 911) and how were they reacting during this whole ordeal? Did they thank you for saving their child? Did you ever find out why this particular dog was so vicious?

The parents were sitting on a bench farther down the path. They arrived at their son's side as I broke the dog.

and then held it tightly and twisted his head, hard.

• did the dog die instantly, or did it yelp?

• where were the parents?

In quite possibly the most pathetic fashion I've seen, the woman drops the leash and falls

• now did the owner fall first, or was it the leash; (i.e-did she do it intentionally)?

good on you for taking action.

The dog was growling/gurgling the entire time I had my arm around it's neck, and when I twisted the growling just stopped.

As for the owner, the dog lunged towards the boy, pulling her forward, and she released the leash to brace her fall.

Bravo for your quick thinking and action.

Regarding this:

I am a ret. special operations veteran from the U.S. Army, and have been trained against attack dogs

I'm sure you've seen the number of incidents lately of police officers shooting dogs just because "it's coming right for us!" I mean a freaking SWAT officer shot a Corgi. Since you've had that training, and in consideration of what you did today, how do you feel about the idea that police should be trained to deal with dogs, and learn to assess the danger of a dog running at them instead of defaulting to "shoot first" ?

Yes, morally I agree that they should be trained. However, I do not know how cost effective this would be in comparison to other training they could receive that would be more valuable.

i wrote a wordy tutorial about how to make a dog let go, but then I read you have been trained against attack dogs, and I wondered why you would kick it in the ribs. I have limited experience with vicious dogs, but kicking it never worked for me (not that I've tried it a lot).

Pulling its tail or lifting its hind legs off the ground usually seemed to work when breaking up dog fights. Did I learn wrong? Are these methods applicable to when dogs attack humans?

for what it's worth, pit bulls are pretty great dogs. i've been closer to an attack around a labrador or cocker spaniel than pit bull (partially because aggressive pit bulls are OBVIOUSLY aggressive).

I kicked it because I already had momentum from running, and because the opportunity to break some of its ribs was worth it considering I would have saved almost no time if I had dived first.

Typically, kicking doesn't do much against an attacking dog. Pulling its tail would do even less. Pit bulls have a tendency not to let go after they bite, opting to tear flesh rather than letting go and biting a second time.

love the courage and, that was one lucky kid. did it make the news? link?

edit: was this you, bastards didn't mention you: http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story/Dog-bites-12-year-old-boy/GPVaRaW3SUejEAmKv9A4GQ.cspx

Not me. There weren't any reporters there before I left. Also, the child seemed much younger than 12. Maybe 8 at the oldest.