I second much of what NVEAGLE said (welcome aboard, NVEAGLE). I've trained numerous K-9s of various breeds.
At a distance, nothing to loose with a staff or bear spray (it does work, and the volume is greater), or firearm. Shoot to kill, or don't shoot at all.

HOWEVER, once the battle is joined and you have "fed" the dog your arm:
1) Expect and grit your teeth for bone crushing bite pressure. This won't be a nip! I've had them crush a wristwatch through the protective sleeve of a attact training suit.
2) If you have a blade, use it. The belly and throat are within reach if the dog is attached to your arm. Handgun at this range could overpenetrate and shoot you, and I think it's a more dangerous shot.

IMHO if you think you'll have an easy time surviving (without major injury) the attack of a large and determined dog... you haven't been there.

"...there are few cross-species infections..."

My wife, and of course Blast, might disagree with that. "Cat bite fever" can be nasty. In my wife's case, the doctor explained to her that cat bite fever is a form of the good old plague...

Re seeking medical advice: I agree an MD's advice would be most helpful, but it is amazing who pops up on this forum.

Re seeking medical care post-attack: That is why I am doing a resource map of my bug out route(s) and bug in area.

Re suriving dog attack injuries: trying to prepare for the worst is the point of this thread.

Thanks for all the great thoughts, as disturbing to me as many of them are, please keep them coming.

Oh, I meant dog-to-human only!!! Thought that was clear! Sorry!!

Yes, cat infections can be dangerous to people, particularly to pregnant women!

Regarding non-dogs, there are a huge number of diseases that easily cross between species, including people! If you're ever bitten by a non-human primate, AIDs, TB, hepatitis and a whole range of things you may not of heard of will be occupying your attention for months to come...

My bad...

No problem.

My point is you'd likely rather be bitten by a dog than by another person (pit bulls and several other breeds excluded).

I think that letting it eat one of your arms is not a good idea...

I'd say keep it clean. If it gets infected you'll be in real trouble. Might not be a bad reason to have some prescription antibiotics in your FAK if you can get them.

Common ER treatment of dog and cat bites includes lots of wound irrigation with saline, tap water, or betadine/water mix, bacitracin ointment and gauze dressing. Generally no suturing of the wound, cuz it is already infected and you want it to drain easily. Lots of docs use a dose of iv antibiotics and send you home with ten days worth of one of the penicillin family- Bacteria tnd to be pretty temperature specific in their living conditions, so everything in a human's mouth thrives at 98.6 F and infects wounds pretty effectively. Dog and cat oral flora are happy at 104 F; soil bacteria usually like it cooler, submarine volcanic vent bacteria like it warmer. The other infection-realted issue, mentioned by several folks already, is that bites are puncture wounds and crush injuries, too-so the tissue surrounding the wound is less able to mount an effective immune response. edit: dogs spend too much time licking their parts to be effective wound cleaners, imho.

Side note: vets and kennel attendants deal with biting dogs bu using animal snares (http://animal-traps.com/catch-poles.htm). The old man made his about 28" long of 1/2 inch galvanized pipe with a T fitting on end. An aircraft cable loop extended through the pipe and out the T, and could be adusted by pulling on the loop on the other end. Once you snare 'em, you can keep the dog at distance, and help him relax by making calm and soothing mouth noises while applying firm pressure to the neck by tightening the noose. Edit: sturdy pipe snare can also be used as an impact tranquilizer prior to snaring the dog.

other side note: for statistics on dog homicides and how lawyers manage bad dogs, see http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/danger.htm#homicides.

"...letting it eat one of your arms is not a good idea..."

I don't want it eating any of my parts...