Speaking from experience, you are lucky to still be alive OBG.

-Blast

"...pin some female employees in their cars..."

You would see a lot of flat doggies if they had me pinned in a vehicle with the keys in it...

"...Why is that important..."

I haven't had a dog since my last one caught one car too many when I was a kid. But I suspect that in packs, the alpha is the leader, the rest are followers. Take away the leader and they are basically headless. Unless of course there is an alpha wannabe waiting in the wings. I'm gonna assume that the alpha would be leading the pack, but you know how things often go when one assumes. If a solo dog, I suspect that an alpha would be the one to actually attack, others more bluff. Help me out here dog owners...

How about including a bad Elvis impersonation? My version of Jailhouse Rock might even scare off a pack of hyenas.

(And starting to play air guitar guarantees me a seat on the subway. Sometimes I even get the whole car to myself.)

"...you are lucky to still be alive OBG..."

Don't I know it! He really got one of my knees, had a claw in deep the whole time he/we were thrashing around on the floor. Luckily no infection, but I walked with a painfull limp for 'bout a week...

The reason for targeting the alpha is simple. He is the top dog, the strongest and most capable of the lot. Its as if somebody walked into a dojo and beat the crap out of the senei. There is possibility that the students will still attack, as might the dogs. But there is also the distinct possibility that the students will give up, seeing their sensei beat who is better and more skilled than all of them. Same logic follows with the dogs.
That being said and all things equal, the toughest dog, even if the others continue their attack, would be the prime target. Get him outta the picture fast.

-Bill Liptak

While the group is poised to respond to the alpha dog questions, let's put another question in the hopper.

I have survived a dog attack. The critters are dispersed and dispatched as the situation and my opportunities allow. But I have a painful dog bite that includes a fairly deep laceration my forearm and another to my ankle, neither of which seems to have opened an artery.

I am not likely to find any medical care other than self-help. What first aid stuff do I want to have in my kit to deal with those wounds? What should I do?

Thanks.

Hope and pray that the dog was't rabid! That could be a serious concern.

I would imagine antibiotics would come into play for the wounds.

"...I am not likely to find any medical care other than self-help..."

That could be tricky, depending on the location of the bite. My daughter and her husband are both letter carriers for the P.O. He got a pretty bad bite last year, right on the lower curve of his butt. Really hard plact to work on yourself.

As for FAK stuff, disinfectant (lots of it) and bandaging. How much would depend on the seriousness of the bite(s). Get it as clean as possible, bandage, and hope.

Side note. My daughter, in violation of PO rules, believes in the "here's a treat doggie" thing, she carries some goodies that, if a very aggressive dog comes at her, she throws in one direction while she boogies in the other. No bites on her fanny (yet)...

Just a quick Fitzoid-sanity-check(TM). Medical advice is best sought from a physician. My experience is that medical advice you get on the internet is worth what you pay for it. (I have professional credentials in this area, but I'm speaking just as plain Joe Citizen here.)

There are a lot of old canards in wilderness medicine about having dogs lick wounds to cleanse them. The bacteria in their mouths are far more benign to people than the bacteria in other people's mouths. (I.e., there are few cross-species infections.) Some people even think their saliva has curative properties.

Anyway, I'm sure lots of people will have great ideas here, but you may want to run this by an MD, although they will frequently be loathe to give you self-treatment information, for a variety of reasons.