This is going to sound stupid as hell, so please bare with me.
I think that animals in general, especially dogs, are more in tuned to emotions, intentions, and positive or negative "energies," if you will. Once again, bare with me. I'm no animal expert, or "Jedi Mind trick" expert, so this is going to sound retarded. Anyways, dogs do not rely on rational thought like we do; so their way of survival is instinct. Part of their instinct is to recognize the emotion and "intent" of the other animals. This is an important survival tool for many animals.
This instinct can work for against a victim. Example: If the victim is afraid, waiving the hands or yelling will only provoke as opposed to scare; the dog will sense the fear. However, we can use this instinct to our advantage as well.
To use the dogs ability to recognize intent to your advantage, try creating a picture in your head of exactly what action (or non-action) you want the dog to take, and focus on projecting that image to the animal when you give it a command. No, I don't believe the dog will read your mind, but it will recognise your intent (emotions, "energies") and it will be more apt to follow your commands.
Example: My girlfriends roomate has 2 huge and undisaplined dogs. If the dog has my shoe in it's mouth, and I worriedly think about the dog chewing my shoe to bits while I tell him "NO!", the dog will continue to try to chew my shoe until I take it. If I picture the dog dropping my shoe while I calmly but sternly tell it to put down the shoe, it more often then not listens.
This has worked on more then one occasion, with more then one kind of animal.
So, when I am attacked or in danger of an attack by a dog (which has happend more then once to me) I picture the dog being my friend. In the back of my mind, however, I am ready to fight any animal to the death if it comes to that. I really believe that the animal can sense my intentions and will more likely then not pick another victim.
So, try adding this to whatever "technique" you try. By picturing what you want to happend in your mind, you will be distracted from other negative emotions (like fear), and the animal will be more apt to recognize your intent.
Sorry for the ramble!
