A plucky pet dog squared off with a huge king cobra in front of a family's home.

Footage shows the pooch barking and trying to threaten the deadly, which had half of its body upright like it was ready to strike anytime.

Despite trying to scare the reptile away, the serpent stood its ground while the residents watched from a distance in Songkhla province, Thailand, on February 20.

Shocked filmer Mongkol Chitalai said: ‘The dog was very brave in protecting the property against the wild animal. We immediately contacted the rescue workers who caught the snakes.'

The pooch was unhurt, and rescuers later evacuated the cobra.

Researchers found that 7,000 people are treated for snake bites each year in Thailand. Suchai Suteparuk from the Division of Toxicology at Chulalongkorn University reported that 30 of those die, with cobras being the biggest killer.