Absolute, pure horse dooky. Have (ridiculously) had at it with a variety of dawgs in a line of part time work I did in my undergrad days. Explode their heart? Bologne. Unfavorable outcomes? If you can find your skills with your mind, and your nuts with either hand, you'll be fine.
The only time you're in trouble with a dog is if you're mentally off your game. From Dobie's to American Bulldogs with big heads and muscally bodies attached to their heads, your natural weapons from karate will serve you well. Gross motor patterns (none of that "grabbing the jaw and left earlobe" crap)...blast him in the middle of his charge with a very hard front snap kick to jaw, throat, chest, head, mouth, etc (aim at the dog, and hit him), then follow with a series of raining downward punches to whatever presents. If he latches on to one of your hands, keep punchnig him maniacally with the other in the head, muzzle, soft tissues of the neck, etc.
If they jump up to lunge at you, thrust kick them in the belly. Most big, mean nasty guard dogs fold when faced with a bigger, meaner, nastier dog. You just have to make sure that dog is you. Exhibit dominance by grimacing; kiai-ing louly and fiercely with each blow, and never back up. Bum rush the dog as soon as you even suspect it's on, and give it cause to believe you are the GOD of the alpha hounds. It doesn't know better unless you communicate otherwise with your actions.
I now leap with seething anger and rage at dogs in the middle of dominance fighting. G-friend (well, ex now) was/is a dog trainer, and it's not uncommon in the first few days of class to have idiot owners who've failed to establish dominance with their mutts, also fail to control their aggression. Broke one up the other day between a bull mastiff and an akita (about the largest dogs you can get, and as far as I'm concerned, the Akita is one of the least sociable you can get). Everyone else split the instant they started fighting. I leapt at them hollering at the top of my lungs that they weren't going to pull that crap on my shift, snap punched one and foot-swept the front legs of the other at the same time, before latching on to them and shoving their heads to the ground via a well-placed grip on the tops of their necks just behind the skull. Both of them, large scary dogs, instantly got that "oh, no" look in their eyes and went soft. Akita attempted a trial pull, so I put my face right in his and growled my most menacing grunt, nose to nose. The kid peed from fear.
Dogs are easy. Blast them. They also respond to grappling. Nothing fancy; just throw one in a headlock, controlling its lateral movement (searching for something to bite on to), and hang on until it quits squirming. It will try harder in predictable increments. First, a bit of increased energy as it still thinks its fighting. Harder as it starts to sweat for its life; you hang on, it gets the message, and eventually quits strugling, realizing it's been bested. Nothing more than a tight headlock. Keep in mind controlling their initial escape response, which is to move rearwards with all their might. You can check that by picking them up, body slammnig them down (all in the headlock), and laying on them so they don't go anywhere/get footing.
The rest is dramatic silliness.
Dave
