Let me first stay the dry lectures have been great!
Here are some scenarios:
1. Car breaks down in a remote area/road. No cell reception. You walk up to a nearby farm house. How do you do that to not be threatening to the owner?
2. Same as above but before you get to the house, barking dogs race toward you. What do you do?
3. Somewhat related to above, are there stuff to look for that says a stranger may be more of a threat than not?
Wow. Lots of replies! I'll state up front that Mark gave some great answers. Much of self-protection is intuitive, even though the physical techniques may not be. Agreed that walking up to a strange house for help is dicey. They might have been reading one of my threads just before you arrived.... The advice about appearing non-confrontational is good. You might also ask them to make a call for you, so that they do not have to let you into their home. Tell them they may call the police for help, that will help ease their minds as to your intentions. You will probably have to wait for AAA or the local mechanic anyway, so alerting police will not cost you any extra time, but it may help the whole process go smoother.
Next, threat of animal attack is very serious. There's no talking your way out of that one. The first layer of protection is awareness. If you intend on approaching an unknown home, you would be well-served to be extremely vigilant as you get near to the perceived "property line". The second layer of defense could be one of the non-lethal weapons discussed in another thread here. Dogs don't have the same motives for attacking, so they can be more easily dissuaded in most cases. As a last resort, remember the image of the dog trainers who wear the heavily padded arm for the dog to latch onto.... if the dog latches onto your arm, you can attack its throat. And no, I haven't had to personally do this. From what I've been able to gather from reports, this is probably the highest percentage move.
For determining the intentions of an individual, see:
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...ral-Cues-that-can-alert-us-to-Imminent-Attack
These clues reveal an imminent lunge at you. Movements of their hands around their waistline, with repetitive touching of certain spots, can indicate the presence of a concealed weapon. Non-professionals often use holsters, etc. that do not keep the weapon in a predictable place and orientation, so amateurs often continue to "check" on their weapon for reassurance.
Lee