Stray Dogs

[chicky]

Dear Fellow IFGians,

Would like to discuss this very real issue in almost all towns of India. Stray dogs have become a menace to the safety of humans, nothwithstanding what Madam Meneka says. There are a lot among us who are naturally scared of dogs and there have been cases I know of where adults have been attacked unprovoked by stray dogs.I am aware of the huge publicity given to the decision of culling stray dogs , last year in Verkala, Kerala.I do not advocate culling is the only option we have to control this issue, but the State Governments should look at this issue very seriously. Nutering is a possible way out, it not only reduces the aggression in male dogs but also inhibits further reproduction.
I would like you all to see this news on NDTV today, an incident which could have gone horribly wrong but thank God, didn't.
http://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/hyderabad-b ... ecialevent



Chicky

[mundaire]

As a young lad, I've employed the above tactic as well, the child most likely has dogs at home so isn't afraid of them (people usually fear the unknown).

That said, strays are certainly a grave problem across all of India. One of my wife's friend's was attacked just last month and she sustained multiple fractures when she tripped & fell while trying to get away from the strays! IIRC India has the highest incidence of rabies in the world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevalence_of_rabies

An estimated 31,000 human deaths due to rabies occur annually in Asia,[1] with the majority – approximately 20,000 – concentrated in India.[2] Worldwide, India has the highest rate of human rabies in the world primarily due to stray dogs. Because of a decline in the number of vultures due to acute poisoning by the anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, animal carcasses that would have been consumed by vultures instead became available for consumption by feral dogs, resulting in a growth of the dog population and thus a larger pool of carriers for the rabies virus.[3] Another reason for the great increase in the number of stray dogs is the 2001 law that forbade the killing of dogs.[2]

Not only stray dogs, stray cats are a serious menace as well, see viewtopic.php?f=18&t=25183

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[PRITAM PATEL]

I have been facing serious stray/ street dog problem since long time.

There are 3- 4 unused houses in my neighborhood ( where most dogs shelter and breed in every season)
One of my neighbour is religious and feeds these dogs regularly

few years back one of the dogs developed rabbis symptoms and was running and chasing people, I was worried about my 4 year son who used to enjoy ridding bicycle in the street. Complained to local municipality authority many times and no one came to tackle the dog menace.

My boy was not allowed to ride alone, and once my wife was barely survived from bitten by that same dog

Giving up hopes from authority, at one time I made up my mind to solve this mad dog issue with the help of .22 LR, but fearing complain or any adverse consequences, constrained myself from resorting to that option.

(Un) Luckily that dog eventually got weak and had long-painful death,

many times I had personally visited Civic Centre to complain the dog issue, not a single attempt is taken by the authority till today.

even when i am writing this post, they are barking and fighting outside of my home

Mera Bharat Mahan

[Shivaji.Dasgupta]

Its almost same all across the County where the municipality is not strong enough to take care of Stray animals. My wife and daughter is strongly against killing this Stray Dog and cats ( More over we have a some animals called Khatas ( Large indian Civet cat) and Bham ( small Civet) due to close proximity of hills and jungle)
I use a catapult and 1/2 inch Black stone chips used for Construction work. its not kill them but give them a good punch so by nature from next time they try to avoid the area where they usual get face some resistance.
Regards

[goodboy_mentor]

Every living creature has it's place in the ecological balance of nature. Dogs have been living amicably with humans for thousands of years, probably since the time of prehistoric early man. It was a mutually give and take relationship. Dogs have keen sense of sight, smell, hearing and guarding instincts. Humans used these qualities in dogs to serve their purpose of hunting, safety and survival. In return the dogs got easy food from humans.

Since dogs are sentient creatures who are able to forge strong emotional or sentimental bonds with humans, therefore any indiscriminate or large scale killing or culling of dogs is bound to create uproar and opposition. Of course rabid or mad dogs need to be killed in a humane manner.

If one carries a stout cane of about three feet or more long, it is usually more than enough to keep most of the dogs away. Without any exceptions, one must always keep away from a lactating b**ch or her puppies, who has delivered pups in last two or three months. During this period the b**ch due to the laws of nature, is unusually vicious in protecting her pups. Children need to be made aware of this because they tend to get attracted by cute looking puppies and try to lift or cuddle them. This is the most dangerous step since their mother is surely going to react viciously due to her natural instincts.

[chicky]

Coincidently there was a news clip in the Hindustan Times today , I am forwarding a link of the same for your reading ...
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-new ... b2cSN.html

Added in 7 minutes 22 seconds:
I must confess, I have always been a dog lover, have a Labrador as of now, and have had them since the past 30 years. As a pet, it's the best therapeutic medicine one can have...with only delightful side effects of faithfulness and joy.

[goodboy_mentor]

Yes read that news clip. In the end, it itself has mentioned the cause as well as solution to the problem is human behavior. It is the human behavior that is destroying the environment, creating environmental pollution, disturbing ecological scheme of things, causing climate change etc.

Similarly massive human population growth coupled with rapid urbanization has created it's own peculiar problems. Survival and population growth of any living creature also depends on availability of food. These urban centers provide lot of food to these dogs, in form of garbage thrown by households, hotels, roadside eateries, butcher shops etc. You control the supply of this type of "food" for dogs, you can control their population to a large extent.

[marksman]

These dogs seem to be curious more then being in attack mode from their behavior I noticed, at least in this scenario.. The little girl's running may have caused them to chase instinctively I feel. The boy indeed was brave and held his ground to neutralize the situation. These dogs seemed pretty harmless to me.I have seen people getting petrified of most innocent and playful dogs not unlike when they encounters a non venomous snake.
Marksman

[essdee1972]

Every living creature has it's place in the ecological balance of nature. Dogs have been living amicably with humans for thousands of years, probably since the time of prehistoric early man. It was a mutually give and take relationship. Dogs have keen sense of sight, smell, hearing and guarding instincts. Humans used these qualities in dogs to serve their purpose of hunting, safety and survival. In return the dogs got easy food from humans.

Since dogs are sentient creatures who are able to forge strong emotional or sentimental bonds with humans, therefore any indiscriminate or large scale killing or culling of dogs is bound to create uproar and opposition. Of course rabid or mad dogs need to be killed in a humane manner.

If one carries a stout cane of about three feet or more long, it is usually more than enough to keep most of the dogs away. Without any exceptions, one must always keep away from a lactating b**ch or her puppies, who has delivered pups in last two or three months. During this period the b**ch due to the laws of nature, is unusually vicious in protecting her pups. Children need to be made aware of this because they tend to get attracted by cute looking puppies and try to lift or cuddle them. This is the most dangerous step since their mother is surely going to react viciously due to her natural instincts.

Agree.

In the video, the girl did everything wrong, the boy did everything right. Never never never run when faced by dogs. Stand and face them. They can smell fear.

I have had incidents when I was chased by dogs on a bicycle ( I was on the bicycle, the dogs were on all fours). I stopped, faced them, and gave them some "good language".

Even sweetly behaved pets like to scare people who are scared of them. My pup likes to sniff people are already scared. It's just fun for him, but someone running away might trip on stairs and suchlike.

[ganeshn]

the strategy of standing one ground works with black and brown bears and charging elephants, provided its not a mock charge.you have to show that you are the alpha however big and frightening the animal is.the moment you turn the back one instantly becomes a prey and the animals predatory instinct kicks in.

[nitroex700]

I grew up playing with strays and found them as loving as any pet. Thus far I am yet to encounter a stray that chases and attacks if you don't scare it too much or trigger it's predatory instinct.. They're animals and we just have to play by their rules to stay safe and even enjoy their company...

[PRITAM PATEL]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 102276.cms

[arni_genius]

While I am also a dog lover. I pet stray dogs whenever I find them amiable and all tail waggy-waggy. I have stayed in multiple cities (Kolkata, Bangalore, Patna, Guwahati and Delhi) for more than 1 yr at each place.
Never have I found stray dogs as menacing as in Delhi. And people feed these dogs (no problem from my side).

Few observations
1. Stray dogs become more menacing at night when you are walking alone or in small groups
2. It is the alpha of the pack that leads the charge
3. They become more menacing as the pack become larger.

I have been attacked unprovoked 3 times (2x at night around 11-12ish) and once in the morning (9-10ish). This never happened to me across any place I had stayed...so I feel the problem has some spatial distribution properties and people behaviour towards these critters. I usually shout, throw my slippers and sometimes chase the largest of the pack when attacked.....

People may not like it, but I had to do what I had to do. Sometimes it is needed to prove who is the dominant species in this world. And the earlier they learn the better they adapt.

Regards,
Arnab

*** Edited - please engage your brain before posting on a public forum. - Moderator ***

[sdb]

I too have been victim of dog attacks, but thankfully never got bitten. I am avid dog lover too and as many above have played with strays or pedigreed dogs, due to my interactions I have grown to understand them better which has helped me avert getting bitten. Most of the attacks were in dawn and late nights or dusk (counting only when i was in foot). Key to avert dog bites is to behave confidently and to never make sudden gestures.

If in motorcycle, dont try to rush away, but if possible stop or slow down. Most of the times they come nearer if you try to speed up and scatter away as you slow down (maybe luck or maybe enfield helps here a bit). While trying to speed away might seem to be a good option but in indian roads you never know when you hit a pothole and fall flat !!

While on foot it helps if you have a stick to scare them away (i never used to carry one as most of the time I would be jogging 10kms when the attacks would occur), I used to simply stand my ground. If its the same dog that always chases you (as in my case), i would first try to make friends with it in daytime - if this is successful then you will not get bothered. If that is unsuccessful then you have to keep doing the same routine everytime.

Please dont try the following, funny incident though:
As I was getting chased repeatedly by this pesky old dog everyday i used to go for a jog, i got to know it was more afraid of me than I was of it. What I did was to make friends with its cohorts (3-4 other dogs) while this fellow will look all menacing and bark its lungs out. After a few day all of its army used to wag their tail seeing me and this dude will just try to run after me. One day I had enough, sure of the fact that none of its soldiers are going to chase me and this dog itself was somewhat afraid of me but used to show bravado, instead of the dog chasing me i chased the dog for around 100-150 meters at full pace ... though it was much faster, it got the point that day.

3-4 times after that everytime it used to bark i will chase it down, finally it understood its not worth getting chased 100 meters by a stupid man by barking unnecessarily. And after this the dog used to hide quietly whenever i will jog past it. While its gang used to pounce on me and lick my hands.

But still I stopped going there now, its too much of a risk for me even though I know it wont repeat its mistake. But who would trust an old dog's memory and get bitten due to that !! However the same dog is quiet friendly with a person who stays in that area and feeds it on the street. Maybe this dog mistakes me of xoming to steal its dinner and chases, who knows !!!

[arni_genius]

Hehe.....SDB. Happened with me as well. You have much more patience than me in these matters
I usually give a chase when am in bad mood