IIRC, I've seen this before, on one of those TV video clip programs. I think this interviewer is like a lot of parents, so it certainly clears up the question of why so many kids are bitten. 
Yes, exactly what toddlers and other children (who are not taught otherwise) do when they run up and hug a strange dog around the neck, obscuring the dog's vision, hearing, and smell, and looming over the dog's head. The reporter didn't have the excuse of being a small child.Kristen Cabe said:.........I think the reporter should have known better than to put his hands around the dog's face and throat and then lean over him. .....and this strange person encloses their hands around his throat and leans over him, he did the only thing he felt he could do; he protected himself. If he had meant to do serious harm, he could have.