Stray Dog Repellent- to our horrified surprise this is a ‘product’. The pet industry is growing at a rapid pace to keep up with pet ownership. Like any industry we cater to beginners and longtime pet owners with a varied range of products and services. As the digital age plays an increasingly important role in our lives and our pets, technology (medical, digital and hardware) is a significant player in the pet space. They have advanced to help us give our companion animals longer, better and in most cases pain free lives.
Unfortunately, with the good comes the bad… Imagine if you will walking down a typical Mumbai street one morning. You are likely to come across walkers, runners and bicycle enthusiasts. Not to forget yoga practitioners and all forms of exercise enthusiasts! Covid times have pushed us all outdoors and neighbourhoods have adapted to a peaceful co existence.
With this sociable morning scene in your minds eye – let’s add a couple of actors. The local stray and pet dogs on their morning constitutional. Community stray dogs and pet dogs who meet every day are friends. They have a healthy respect for each others territory. If they do not like each other, they learn to tolerate each other. The usual players know each other, a few “ungentlemanly exchanges” between dogs and everyone is on their way!
In an astonishing move a few mornings ago this ‘lady’ pulls a can out of her bag and sprays a street dog in the face! His offence? He was behaving like a dog. His unforgivable crime? He walked up to her dog and barked.
A number of horrified onlookers, ask (rather loudly) what she’s doing? Adding to NEVER spray an animal in the face with chemicals! Her calm reply is “it’s to repel them”.
How do I protect my dog from street dogs when I walk?
A legitimate and real concern which must be addressed. If you are a first time dog owner, ask for help. Your friends, veterinarians and dog community are the best place to begin. Please do not turn to inhumane measures like Dog Repellents for stray dogs.
The complexity of compartmentalised thinking! Her dog on a leash in one hand as the other is used to ‘repel’ a dog.
She claimed to have got this spray and advice from a veterinarian! For decades in animal welfare, as a pet owner and in the pet industry we have yet to come across a veterinarian who advocates assaulting a dog in the face with a chemical spray!
To break up dog fights water is a tried, tested and proven repellent. If you are a veterinarian to a first time pet parent, please, educate them. Apart from the cruel aspect of this lady’s act, she has potentially put herself and her dog in danger. An aggressive street dog, or any dog for that matter, can easily be provoked instead of repelled.
How do you protect your pet and yourself from street/ stray dogs?
6 easy to achieve strategies to keep you and your dog safe.
- Do you see a stray dog on the same path, as your dog? Cross the street, it is the simplest way to avoid confrontation. It eliminates eye contact and dramatically reduces the “threat level” for each dog. Create a reasonable distance between yourself and the stray dog.
- Divert their attention, an easy way to avoid dog to dog confrontations is to distract them! It may be with food (this is assuming the dog is not aggressive and it is simple to do) Do not try this with a pack of dogs, or multiple dogs.
- If you have brought home or adopted a puppy being making friends on your pups first walk. As a general rule of thumb adult and senior dogs, are accepting of puppies. Build a foundation which disciplines and treats both as equals. Simply put, establish relationships with community dogs as early as possible.
- Do not encourage bad behaviours on your dogs part- lunging at dogs and people who walk past you is both dangerous and troublesome.
- Leash etiquette is essential for your dogs safety on a busy city street. Noise, traffic, stray dogs, strange smells are just some of the distractions your dog must learn to deal with. Leash manners are not your dog’s best protection and makes your dog a welcome addition to any gathering or place.
- Get involved in your local spay-neuter-release program. It is a humane, proven method to reducing stray dog populations. It is also ensures a better quality of life for the neutered released dogs.
Are you a first time dog owner?
Google is not the answer, it is an instrument of research. Answers and advice come from trained professionals and long time pet owners.
Treat them as friends and they’ll become your family.
Once you gain the love and trust of a street dog, you are ‘part of the pack’ They will protect and accept you as a member of their family. The amazing thing about street dogs is their ability to adapt. They inexplicably understand that certain family members are temporary. Some visit occasionally, may of different species (think cats and people) and some are a part of their daily routine.
It is this innate ability of a domesticated canine to read, understand and adapt to human behaviour which makes them one of the most successful species in the history of the world!
How does it benefit you to learn about stray dog behaviour?
Because human beings no longer live, work and holiday locally. We’re a species always on the move. The ability to travel half way across the globe mean we suddenly find our selves in ground realities vastly different to our home country. Imagine for a moment you’ve travelled from nordic Sweden to tropical India.
This little girl comes up to you. It benefits you to know if she’s coming up for a friendly pat, asking for food or was does her approach show aggression? You do not to become a dog behaviour expert, but it will better prepare you when you find yourself in the vicinity of a street dog. You will learn to protect yourself, your dog and the people around you, without a stray dog repellent.
