University of Illinois Extension

What You Should Do

  1. Stand tall, still, and quiet with your hands at your side.
  2. When the dog comes to you, remain calm and do not look directly into the dog’s eyes. 
  3. If the dog should knock you over, remain calm, curl up into a ball, and protect your head with your arms.  The dog will most likely sniff you and decide you are not very interesting and move on to something else more exciting.
  4. Once the dog has moved a good distance away from you, slowly start moving to some safe place (such as your school, your house, or a friend’s house).  Make sure that you walk calmly.
  5. When you are in a safe place, tell an adult what happened. Try to describe the dog, and where you saw the dog so the adult can try to find the owner, or report the loose dog to Animal Control.