Avoiding Animal Attacks:

Whether you enjoy hiking, camping, or jogging, or frequently venture outdoors for any other reason, you are exposing yourself to a range of attacks from both domesticated and wild animals. Animal attacks don't just happen in the wilderness; dogs and other animals can attack you on jogging trails or in other suburban or urban locations. In fact, with cities encroaching more and more into formerly wild areas, wild animal attacks will continue to increase in frequency.

If you're worried about attacks from wild or domesticated animals, there are a few things you can do to prepare yourself. If you are venturing into their territory, do not do anything to attract or provoke wild animals. Avoid carrying food with you or store it securely. If you spot a wild animal, do not approach it to try to pet it, take photographs; scare it away from your belongings, or any other reason. The wildlife you encounter should be left undisturbed.

When entering an area where animals, either wild or domestic, may try to attack you, carry a device to keep them away. You have three main choices other than running when confronted with an attacking animal. Your first choice is to carry a stun gun. Although this is very effective on human assailants, it's not as effective on animals, because it is designed for use against a human and will have completely unpredictable results; it may even kill wild animals or dogs, even though stun guns are considered nonlethal weapons.

Another choice for keeping animals from attacking is an ultrasonic dog repeller, which emits a high-frequency sound that is very irritating for dogs. However, these are only effective against dogs and similar animals, and are purposely designed to be completely ineffective against humans, making them a less versatile self-defense device.

The best strategy for defending yourself against an animal attack of any kind is pepper spray. Either those designed for use against human attackers or those specifically meant for dog or bear attacks will be effective against wild animals and pets that are attacking you or have come after your pets. One benefit of carrying pepper spray as your self-defense device of choice is that it can be used against any human or animal attacker.

This multi-purpose self-defense weapon is small enough to carry in your pocket, and some pepper spray canisters can even be used as a keychain, making them easy to carry with you when you're jogging or going for a walk. Pepper spray is non-lethal, even when used against small animals, unlike many other types of self-defense products. Another benefit is that it works from a distance, which will keep you from having to get too close to an enraged animal.

Even if you're just walking your dog around your neighborhood, you never know what could happen. If you are going into wild animals' territory, your risks increase. With pets or wild animals, your best course of action is to avoid confrontation, if possible. If an animal begins attacking, pepper spray devices are simple products well worth carrying with you to ensure your safety against attacking humans or animals.