Insights from Sleeping Street Dogs

I like the way the author of this blog post has tried to gain insight into pet dogs by going ‘back to nature’ to see what Indian street dogs do - even though the aim is only to provide (and sell) good sleeping arrangements for pets. I am not convinced by all his interpretations of why street dogs do what they do but still I’d like to encourage more people to see street dogs as the model for dog behaviour that can inform us about owned dogs rather than the other way around.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Strange Stray Dog Tweet

I came across the following tweet from somebody called Sacha Parkinson (@SachaLParkinson):

“Romania has an unbelievable number of stray dogs.. It's so sad, but they're the happiest dogs ever, tails are always wagging!”

Our firmly ingrained belief that all dogs must be owned apparently means that we find the "happiest dogs ever" sad!

Let’s open our eyes and see that unowned dogs can lead great lives without being a problem to anybody.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Reducing Rabies in Vietnam or Not?

The Vietnamese Government is introducing a project to try to reduce the risk of rabies in the country through much stricter dog control. Although I agree, of course, with their effort to reduce this fatal disease, the wording in the report I read (here) implies that all dogs must have an owner and that any stray or street dog should be caught by local authorities and euthanized if not claimed within 72 hours.

Unless all unowned dogs are removed, which is very unlikely to be achieved, then removing some from the streets may actually make the situation worse by encouraging movement within the wider dog population as dogs from elsewhere wander into dog-free areas. In this way the rabies virus itself becomes more mobile. A far better tactic is vaccination, which also happens to leave the traditional unowned village dog lifestyle intact.

When it comes to stray dogs there is far too much over-reaction and far too many misdirected, overly ambitious showcase projects.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Indian Stray Dogs at University

Seeing stray dogs as individuals with personalities makes a real difference to their relationship to the people around them. The Hindu newspaper has published a story (here) about how the stray dogs at Jadavpur University in India are part of the community to the extent that some even attend lectures (more often than some students apparently). They also have their own Facebook page (JUDogs) run by a group of lecturers and students who take responsibility for their care and other dog welfare issues in the area.

What comes across to me is how these people appreciate the individual personalities of the dogs, and more and more I feel that this is a crucial connection lacking in too many situations where human residents and unowned dogs fail to live together peacefully. Remaining as strangers is far more likely to lead to tension than getting to know eachother. The urban environment isn’t always conducive to friendliness but I don’t believe it has to be that way and a more caring community attitude undoubtedly has other benefits.

It’s great to see a story like this from India that highlights the positives about having unowned dogs around to balance all the daily “dog menace” stories.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Solving a Seychelles Stray Dog Problem Humanely

In response to unowned dogs roaming the Seychelles Bird Sanctuary and “wreaking havoc on the birds”, one man took a very humane approach to solving the problem (full story here). Nature Seychelles Chief Executive, Nirmal Shah, befriended the dogs and started feeding them outside the sanctuary at Nature Seychelles headquarters. By doing so the dogs no longer disturbed the birds and the office compound acquired “excellent guard dogs”. This informal adoption has proved very successful but as the dogs are abandoned pets he is also trying to reduce the long-term problem through campaigning against discarding pets and also accepts that this approach would not work in all situations.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Handicapped Stray Dog Video

This video of a stray dog in China which has paralysed back legs but still manages to get around by walking with a “hand-stand” has been posted on Youtube several times and on different blogs many more times. Information about the animal is very sparse and I have not seen any details about how it came to be in this condition but a traffic accident would be a good guess.

I wasn’t going to post the video myself until I started reading some of the on-line comments, which are largely anti-Chinese and either make weak jokes about nobody wanting to eat such an animal or berate the Chinese in general for not adopting the dog as a pet.

However, the fact that a dog with such a handicap can so confidently walk around in this manner and actually look reasonably well-fed suggests to me that it is actually being looked after to some extent but in east Asian culture that does not necessarily mean as a pet. Rather than wondering why nobody has adopted this poor dog perhaps we should be wondering how it is able to carry on living on the streets without being adopted. It could well be a case of care in the community that would never happen in the societies providing the anti-Chinese comments.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Cambodian Street Dogs

Here is a blog post about street dogs in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, by two backpackers travelling during their gap year. They have posted a good range of photos showing a variety of dogs, which are worth a look.

What I found particularly interesting was the picture of dalmatians with the comment about them being some of the scariest dogs they had come across and how they were “glad they were tied up”. These are very obviously pets and to me it is absolutely no coincidence that they were the nasty ones. Pets are socialised to people and react to human strangers as they would react to canine strangers i.e. by confronting them. Village dogs generally have a more balanced view of their relationship to people.

In countries with both pets and native streets dogs, time and again an open mind can see that pets are typically far more aggressive towards people than are dogs born to the streets. The problem is that most people do not realise that the dog snarling at them is actually a pet dog on the loose and thereby the generic idea of “street dogs” unfairly gets a bad name.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

StreetView Street Dogs

Inspired by a story about a rescued street dog in California that could be seen on Google StreetView (here), I had a wander around some of the streets of Bangkok on StreetView to see what I could find. Here are a few of the results:

© 2012 Google

© 2012 Tele Atlas

Then I had a quick look at where I used to live in Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand where street dogs were also quite easy to spot:

© 2012 Google

© 2012 Tele Atlas

Popping over to Mexico City I found fewer than I expected but in the right places where people gather and hang around there were also dogs:

© 2012 Google

© 2012 INEGI

Finally, on this quick tour I went to Moscow where there have been numerous stories in the recent past about the reported 30,000-35,000 stray dogs in the city. I spent about half an hour wandering around on StreetView but couldn’t find any of them. Interestingly, although I saw plenty of people walking about in pleasant weather I didn’t even see a pet dog on a leash. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean very much but does highlight to me that life for street dogs in different cities can mean very different things. In Thailand (and perhaps Mexico) they are accepted and live as an integral part of the urban community but in Moscow they seem to have to lead more furtive lives which is inevitably harder particularly given the harsh climate. 

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Moscow’s Stray Dog Problem

Moscow’s street dogs are apparently still under attack from “dog hunters” who leave poisoned bait in public parks for them. As I have reported here before, their indiscriminate baiting has also led to the deaths of pet dogs but now things may have escalated even further with suspicion that a fire at an animal shelter in the city may have been an arson attack by the same group.

This article in The Moscow News covers the most recent events and then moves on to discuss Moscow’s animal shelters including how they have to be very secretive about their whereabouts because otherwise people will dump their unwanted pets directly on their doorstep or over their fence.

From this article it seems clear to me that Moscow’s problem lies in the abandonment of pet dogs with an estimated 10,000 dumped on the streets every year. The old approach of culling strays in the city was changed in 2001 to a catch-neuter-release program that was a little pointless given that the problem was abandonment not strays breeding. Since then it has been changed to catch-neuter-keep in shelters forever, which is an enormous on-going commitment that in itself will never solve the problem.

Moscow, as elsewhere, has to tackle irresponsible dog ownership first and foremost.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Diwali Danger for Street Dogs

Every single day there is at least one report in an Indian newspaper about the “menace” of stray dogs. Then occasionally there is also a report about something different which sheds light on where this “menace” really comes from.

Buried in an article in The Times of India (here) about looking after your pets during the upcoming Diwali festival where many, many fireworks and firecrackers will be set-off is a section about also caring for stray dogs, which includes the statement:

“The atrocities kids and young boys subject them to for their own 'fun' leaves them burned, grievously injured and sometimes limbless.”

It is made clear that firecrackers will be regularly thrown at street dogs and sometimes even tied to their tails.

I do not believe that this callous attitude towards street dogs is restricted to the Diwali festival or to young boys, although the maiming may well be at its worst at this time of year.

Considering such antagonistic treatment it is no surprise that the street dogs will be wary of people and given the living situation with little chance to avoid proximity to people the dogs will feel the need to defend themselves in the only way they can.

My view is that the main cause of the dog menace originates from the treatment dogs receive from people. When combined with poor waste management supporting high numbers of dogs this creates the unpleasantly threatening atmosphere many Indian cities are apparently currently facing with their canine inhabitants.

Being more careful with waste disposal and being more humane towards street dogs is within the scope of all residents without the need to shout at the authorities to do something.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Indian Street Dogs as Individuals

A lovely article I found (here) about seeing street dogs in India as individuals made me realise that the change from village to city living whereby people no longer know everybody around them and life becomes more anonymous in spite of higher populations is also true for the relationship between people and street dogs. In cities most people do not see the street dogs as individuals as you would if you were living in a village with just a handful of dogs around you. I’m sure this affects people’s attitude to them and is part of the reason why city street dogs are far more likely to be called a “problem” than village street dogs.

However, the article, which focuses on Mumbai, also highlights the fact there is still a community heart beating in the city that includes the street dogs as the individuals that they are. 

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Stray Violence Begets Stray Violence

An opinion piece I found (here) complaining about the stray dogs in Kashmir contains the following very revealing statement: “They turn more ferocious when some one pelts a stone at them.”

Of course they do! And the more you pelt them with stones the more threatened they will feel and the more bites your fellow residents will suffer. I bet it was not the dogs that started this vicious cycle. They are just reacting to society’s treatment and statements like the one above suggest that perhaps their treatment has never been very good.

Other cultures have a more relaxed attitude to their street dogs and as a result have more relaxed street dogs.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Creative Street Dog Movie

Just an average day for a typical turtle-saving, bully-beating, skateboarding, elderly lady-helping street mongrel (or “pothound”) in Trinidad. This short film (brief report here) was made as a creative way to promote the work of Trinidad and Tobago’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Reacting To Dogs

Here is some good advice about what to do when an unknown, even aggressive, dog approaches you. The emphasis in this short article is on how parents should teach their children “to be a tree”, i.e. stand very still and not look the dog in the eye, but I think this is good advice for everybody.

It can take a lot of nerve to stand still and look away when a dog comes at you but any other action is likely to make it more of a confrontation. Running will trigger a chase, staring will produce a confrontation, and being aggressive towards the dog, which may work if you are an adult, will make sure that any future encounter will also be hostile. Your reaction can also affect how that dog reacts to other people in the future. If you are antagonistic towards it then it is more likely to see unfamiliar people as a threat, which could actually make children even more vulnerable.

I read a lot of forum discussions about stray dogs and find it depressing how prevalent the idea is that the only way to deal with street dogs is to threaten them with sticks or baseball bats or throw stones at them. This just creates tension and worsens the problem. My advice, particularly with street dogs living in your neighbourhood, is to get to know them. Smell is so important to dogs that they will not “know” you properly until they have your scent, so let them sniff your leg as you look the other way. In this way with a little bit of effort you can usually eliminate the problem of aggressive encounters with local dogs, which otherwise can become a stressful, daily nuisance.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Detroit Stray Dog Video

This video by a Detroit rapper tells the story of stray dogs in the city and his desire to help them.

Often in this blog I avoid using the word “stray” as many unowned dogs around the world are exactly where they belong and do not fit the term but in this case “stray” is exactly the right word to use. These are abandoned pets, ill-prepared for the lifestyle of unwanted outcasts and ill-suited for the harsh winters.

Many do survive and some perhaps even thrive but the difference between these struggling, wary animals and the village dogs living as accepted, valued members of communities in parts of Asia, for example, is striking and highlights the need to draw a distinction between them.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Street Dogs Help Ward Off Evil

A news story about the ongoing garbage and stray dog management problems in Kashmir (here) contains an interesting snippet about the traditional beliefs of the residents. In spite of a recently tense relationship between the street dogs and people, Kashmiris are apparently traditionally dog-friendly and after a bad dream have the belief that they should then give food to street dogs. The older generation even still “keep a morsel of food for the dogs in the street to ward off evil.”

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Street Dogs Prove Their Worth

Here is a more positive story about India’s street dogs whereby complaints about the dogs from a community’s human residents changed into support and a vaccination drive after the dogs foiled an attempted burglary. People had re-realised the security benefit of having these dogs around and loathing turned to appreciation.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Dog Domestication Dogma

A review of evidence on the origins of the domestic dog (here) concludes that the most likely route was not direct domestication of the wolf but the domestication of “a species of medium-sized generalist canid, a "wild C. familiaris," that voluntarily adopted the pariah niche and remained commensal for an extensive period before some populations became truly domesticated”. 

The author highlights the problem that our strongly held belief that we deliberately domesticated the wolf has hindered research on the subject, as has our “Failure to investigate primitive dogs”, concentrating instead on modern breeds. Genetic research on the subject still focuses on comparing “breeds” and wolves rather than investigating the readily available pariah dogs in India or southeast Asian dingoes, for example. As she points out the conventional “dogma” of our beliefs has been a real barrier to objective research.

As she also notes, her conclusions leave significant unanswered questions, most notably the origin of this generalist canine and how it was related to the wolf, but the overall conclusion is very relevant to the modern-day “stray” dog issue. Whether it was the wolf or a proto-dog that moved into the pariah niche prior to domestication this clearly supports my belief that many of the unowned village dogs living today are doing exactly what they naturally evolved to do and that the same dogmatism that is hindering research on domestic dog origins is also blinkering our attitude to the dog’s place in the world.

As I keep saying, not all unowned dogs are stray.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)

Indian Street Dog Portfolio

This free on-line book by photographer Brett Cole is well-worth looking at for anyone interested in stray dogs (if this embedded version doesn’t work well it can be viewed here). As well as being a photographic portrait of street dogs in India, it also tells the story of their lives and some of the efforts to help them.

The book concentrates on the hardships of life for dogs on the streets in order to raise awareness and support for those groups working on the dogs’ behalf and many of the photographs are quite harrowing with a shocking number of road casualties. However, it does also give the occasional hint that a street dog’s life isn’t always bad.

Learn more about the lives and issue of unowned dogs in my e-book ”A Stray View” available from Bangkok Books (readable as .pdf on any computer)