Experts share three rules every Australian needs to know to avoid being attacked by a dog

Dog experts have explained the three rules Australians should follow to avoid being mauled by a dog as the country is rocked by a string of attacks.

Jyedon Pollard was fatally mauled by a Rottweiler and a cattle dog in front of his mum, Kesha, and sister, at the Country Gardens Motor Inn in Cowra, in NSW’s central west, just after 10am on Tuesday.

Leading dog trainer and behaviourist John Gatt – who teaches dog attack prevention programs – said he tells children and parents: don’t run, don’t scream and don’t touch. 

‘The first (rule) is never run,’ Mr Gatt explained. 

‘When you run it activates a dog’s chase drive even if they aren’t aggressive. A dog is six to 10 times faster than a human so there’s no point in trying to outrun them.

‘The second is never scream. A scream means prey. 

Jyedon Pollard, two, (pictured) was fatally mauled by two dogs at the Country Gardens Motor Inn in Cowra, in NSW’s Central West, on Tuesday morning

‘If a dog hears a scream they have every reason to chase that prey and try to get it in a corner. 

‘The third (rule) is never touch a dog you don’t know. Never assume it’s friendly.’

To defuse a situation with an agitated dog, Mr Gatt said you should stand completely still, cross your arms across your chest and look up into the sky.

This will confuse the dog, he said. Crossing your arms across your chest communicates to the dog that you’re not going to make any sudden movement.

Mr Gatt believes the number of dog attacks have increased over the 40 years he has worked in the industry. More than 2,600 dog attacks recorded in NSW alone during the last financial year. 

Tragedy struck just this week. Little Jyedon suffered severe face and neck injuries, and died despite receiving first aid and being airlifted to hospital. 

The two dogs responsible were seized by council rangers following the attack and put down. 

Meanwhile, also earlier this week, mother Nadia Taoube and her seven-year-old daughter were walking home from the shop in Bardwell Valley in Sydney’s south on Sunday when an off-lead dog they’d never seen before in their neighbourhood crossed their path.

CCTV footage shows the frightened girl trying to avoid a confrontation with the aggressive looking dog but she is repeatedly bowled over and pinned to the ground. 

The girl’s parents said their daughter escaped with minor scratches but remains shaken by her harrowing ordeal. 

Nadia Taoube (right) says her little girl (left) is still traumatised after she was attacked by an off-leash dog roaming the neighbourhood last Sunday

 Dog experts say when confronted with an aggressive dog people should stand still, cross their arms across their chest and stare into the sky (pictured, a stock image of Rottweiler)

Amid the uptick in dog attacks, calls have increased for Australian states to tighten their restrictions on guard dogs and introduce breed specific legislation to ban people from owning dog breeds known to be aggressive, like Staffordshire terriers. 

Mr Gatt argued that people who are interested in owning a dog should have to register with the council to obtain a license. Applicants would only be eligible for this licence after completing a dog management program overseen by a professional. 

Linda Hickey, a nationally accredited dog trainer with over 12 years of experience, said the issue with mixing children and dogs was that the trigger that caused the animal to attack wasn’t always identifiable.

‘No matter how well dogs are trained, kids have to be monitored at all times,’ she said, adding it wasn’t worth the risk to leave children alone with pets. 

She said children were more likely to be attacked by a dog because they can’t read the animal’s body language in the same way adults can. 

Investigations into the fatal dog attack this week and a report will be prepared for the coroner 

Ms Hickey said dogs communicate that they are stressed, unhappy or agitated by yawning, stretching and panting, by putting their ears back, their tail between their legs or bristling the fur on their back.  

If these signs still went ignored she said a dog was likely to growl, sending a warning sign before maybe lashing out and biting. She described the next stage as ‘full attack mode’ when dogs begin to viciously maul their victim. 

Ms Hickey said the best way to prevent attacks was through training and consistent management of dogs, including taking the extra step of separating animals and children in different areas of the house if unsupervised. 

The experts agreed that it was less about the breed of the dog, and more about the size and temperament of the animal and how they were trained.