A wildlife attack on a dog is uncommon for an ordinary visiting walker in Sweden, but it does happen, mostly to hunting dogs working off-lead in wolf territory, and official Scandinavian guidance on large carnivores gives direct advice for the moment it occurs rather than leaving owners to guess. According to a joint Scandinavian large-carnivore information brochure on wolf encounters, roughly ten dogs, mostly hunting dogs, were attacked by wolves in the year the brochure covers, and protective equipment for hunting dogs was still being developed and tested at the time.

The brochure's direct advice if a wolf attacks your dog: don't step between the two animals yourself. Release your dog's lead so it can move freely, and throw something at the wolf to try to drive it off, rather than physically intervening between a wolf and a dog in the middle of an attack.

After any serious wildlife encounter — a wolf, a startled moose, or a territorial dispute with another animal — treat visible wounds as needing a vet promptly, even if a dog seems to be walking normally afterward, since puncture wounds and internal injury from a bite or a kick can be far more serious than they first appear. If you're in an area with known radio-collared wolves, some Scandinavian regions run a telephone service reporting their recent positions, which is worth checking before heading into deep forest with a dog off-lead.