Im a pretty big guy and I think there are a lot of dogs that would own me. Its all about element of surprise and not wanting to rip some flesh out of your self.
Define "own"?
Of course the dog would damage you. But if it came to it and you absolutely had to kill the dog at any cost, do feel you would be able to do it? Obviously the extremely large dogs would be very difficult to handle due to their power and speed, but most dogs do not fall into this category. Most dogs are a lot lighter than the average human.
My thinking is that if the human realised that the fight was to the death, then the human would go absolute rabid, to the point that the human may start to bite the dog and take chunks out of it. The human may resort to the most basic of instincts - hammering the dog in the face with fists, gouging out the eyes, attempting to separate the dog's legs, tearing off the dog's ears, biting the legs, etc. If this happened, I honestly cant see the dog lasting. It would get to the point where the human would kill the dog at
any cost.
There are only a few dogs who would fight till they are dead (pitbull terrier being one), but most dogs on the street in England, will realise when they are beat, at which time, will flee the scene.
Until now, it seems we have been assuming that the human being attacked is docile, fat, overweight, weak, lethargic and passive. So instead, what if we now assume that the human is very fit, strong, athletic and totally animalistic once he/she realise they are in a serious fight?