When I was trekking in Qinghai my guide suggested we do a hike around a lake on our last day on the way back to town. It was just a nice easy walk around the lake. But there were tibetan nomads (nomadic yak herders, he just referred to them as nomads) living on the shore of the lake, and each family had a lot of dogs (Tibetan Mastiffs as well as a smaller local dog they call “three eyed dogs”). Each time we got near their territory the pack would come out very aggressively.
He showed me how to first always have some stones ready, and second when they approached to throw a stone over their head when they got too close. “Don’t hit the dogs” he told me, “the owners wouldn’t be happy if you hit them, and throwing a stone over their heads will warn them off”.
When they came he said, “You watch those three, I need to keep an eye on the ones that will sneak up behind us.” Each time the dogs used the same strategy. There’d be a few that were really loud and ran up to us aggressively. Then there’d be a couple sneaking up from the opposite side, behind us. It was my job to watch for them and throw a couple of stones in their direction if they got too close.
He also made sure to warn me, “If one of them does get to you, protect your throat. If you have to give it a forearm to bite down on instead of letting it get your throat.” He had previously shown me the large scar on his arm where he’d used that strategy in the past. When I looked at him sort of shocked he said, “don’t worry, it probably won’t come to that.” At this point I was wondering if maybe we should skip the lake walk, but I did go there for an adventure. Luckily the stone throwing worked, and we were walking on a road with plenty of stones, so it never really got too dangerous.
Anyway, +1 to your advice, but also look out for the dogs that are coming up behind you, not just the loud ones that are barking like mad as a distraction.
When I was trekking in Qinghai my guide suggested we do a hike around a lake on our last day on the way back to town. It was just a nice easy walk around the lake. But there were tibetan nomads (nomadic yak herders, he just referred to them as nomads) living on the shore of the lake, and each family had a lot of dogs (Tibetan Mastiffs as well as a smaller local dog they call “three eyed dogs”). Each time we got near their territory the pack would come out very aggressively.
He showed me how to first always have some stones ready, and second when they approached to throw a stone over their head when they got too close. “Don’t hit the dogs” he told me, “the owners wouldn’t be happy if you hit them, and throwing a stone over their heads will warn them off”.
When they came he said, “You watch those three, I need to keep an eye on the ones that will sneak up behind us.” Each time the dogs used the same strategy. There’d be a few that were really loud and ran up to us aggressively. Then there’d be a couple sneaking up from the opposite side, behind us. It was my job to watch for them and throw a couple of stones in their direction if they got too close.
He also made sure to warn me, “If one of them does get to you, protect your throat. If you have to give it a forearm to bite down on instead of letting it get your throat.” He had previously shown me the large scar on his arm where he’d used that strategy in the past. When I looked at him sort of shocked he said, “don’t worry, it probably won’t come to that.” At this point I was wondering if maybe we should skip the lake walk, but I did go there for an adventure. Luckily the stone throwing worked, and we were walking on a road with plenty of stones, so it never really got too dangerous.
Anyway, +1 to your advice, but also look out for the dogs that are coming up behind you, not just the loud ones that are barking like mad as a distraction.