Motorbikes and Thai Dogs - How Big A Hazard?

[PeteC]

VS, statistics say 100,000 per year here get rabies shots, 200-300 die before they get them. Thailand is still high on the worldwide list for rabies. A dog doesn't have to display madness to have rabies. It's infectious even before that stage.

Dawn, white courtesy phone please. Am sure she knows much more about this than I do. Pete

[DawnHRD]

Yes, Thailand does still have rabies. I know Samuidog www.samuidog.org said that they had made Koh Samui rabies free by a comprehensive & Govt supported vaccination drive a few years back. I'm not sure if that is still the case. I hope so.

I have never once come across a rabid dog in HH. But, rabies does exist in Thailand and the vaccination programme in HH doesn't even reach all owned dogs, never mind soi dogs. If you get bitten by a dog & you don't know their vaccination history, go to the nearest clinic & start your course of 5 injections the same day as you're bitten. Of course, it goes without saying, you should always clean & disinfect any bite wound thoroughly, as soon as possible; within minutes, if you can.
Bear in mind, all mammals can carry rabies, so the same goes for a monkey/cat/rat/whatever bite

[Guess]

"You can usually outrun them" and "they don't usually bite" have been repeated a few times already on this thread.

They are both true statements IMO but the "usually" doesn't help me. It is the unusual situations that are dangerous.

In a country lane near my house there is a bend where a small motorbike chasing dog hangs out sometimes. I just gave him a bit of distance and throttled up. I had lost him, even uphill after about 50 metres. After three or four times I stopped to make friends. He was bemused at first but turned out to be OK. No problem.

Two days ago he wasn't in his normal spot and I carried on up the hill and did a right onto a larger road at the end. He suddenly leapt from nowhere and forced me on to the wrong side of the road and into the bushes.

Now, what if there had been traffic coming towards me, or I had hit a tree.

So yes, usually no problem and I am sure he was not a biter. Usually he would not cause any problem.

Statistically though, it is only a matter of time before he causes serious injury to someone. So what usually happens is not really of any consolation to someone lying in hospital.

If he keeps it up I am going to have to put him in the truck and dump him in the hills where he can lurk in the bushes and jump out at passing pythons.

[phillostar]

Beware the dogs that hang out on the side of the road outside the owners place that just incessently bark at and chase cars, they're the ones to watch.

During my vacation i did some walking around HH and i also noticed that dogs on the property of their owners were more aggresive. The soi dogs were usualy friendly or the barking out loud ones.

On a walk to the elephant village/temple along the dog pounds on the road there i had some fear when i was followed by 2 groups of barking strays. I just kept on walking not to try and show any fear or give them any attention but i was already imagening getting a rabies shot at the hospital Luckily nothing happend and i guess they got fed up of barking and following me.

[MrPlum]

These days I try to not to trigger an attack, by avoiding eye contact. Often I will squat on my haunches, whisper sweet nothings and offer the back of my hand while again avoiding eye contact. Dogs usually settle down.

If a dog looks menacing, I will bend down and make like I'm picking up a stone. If it's a small dog, I may stand still. If I feel an incisor depress the skin, I'm up the nearest tree or the dog gets launched unceremoniously.

Carrying a rolled-up umbrella upsets some dogs. If a dog gets spooked, I'll drop the brolly and make soothing noises.

[Spitfire]

In my experience,

Don't take any chances with the dogs, they can really f*** up your sweet existance here.

Sorry to say it everyone, but many have fallen foul of this one.

You're not dealing with the pedigree labrador here, more like vicious monsters that belong in a Steven King book.

Forgive me the dog lovers, I'm sorry, just seen it too many times.

[kendo]

In my experience,

Don't take any chances with the dogs, they can really f*** up your sweet existance here.

Sorry to say it everyone, but many have fallen foul of this one.

You're not dealing with the pedigree labrador here, more like vicious monsters that belong in a Steven King book.

Forgive me the dog lovers, I'm sorry, just seen it too many times.

Spitfire you are not being unreasonable i am a dog lover and love the countryside and nature, i have a Staffy she is 10 years old in October, i have had her from a pup.
In our village you have to walk everywhere with a stick, at first i thought the wife was joking, but thats not the case there are some very unpredictable house dogs that confront you and also packs of wild dogs that go through the village fighting everywhere, i must say they frighten the sh*t out of me, i have posted before that i carry a lazer pen from Tesco Lotus, and use this as a distraction, Dawn dismissed this, but trust me it does work.
I have had one or two close calls with these unplesent dogs, i give the mighty Honda Wave full throttle on the dirt track and could not get enough traction, one beast was trying to bite the front wheel and i nearly lost control, i was only saved because of a couple of ten year olds pulled up alongside kicked the dog away and then they blasted of up the dirt soi leaving clouds of dust behind them laughing and shouting "farang farang", in our village there are a couple of kids with bad facial scars from dog bites, back home me Staffy is daft as a brush, but i would not leave her unattended with small children so i would never trust a soi dog.

[Nereus]

Spitfire you are not being unreasonable i am a dog lover and love the countryside and nature, i have a Staffy she is 10 years old in October, i have had her from a pup.
In our village you have to walk everywhere with a stick, at first i thought the wife was joking, but thats not the case there are some very unpredictable house dogs that confront you and also packs of wild dogs that go through the village fighting everywhere, i must say they frighten the sh*t out of me, i have posted before that i carry a lazer pen from Tesco Lotus, and use this as a distraction, Dawn dismissed this, but trust me it does work.

I think that you have spelt that incorrectly Kendo, should be "Taser".
I grew up on a farm and have been around dogs all of my life, some as working dogs, some as pets. They are like people: some are a--holes, some are friendly and some are indifferent. And I treat them the same: be friendly to me and I will be friendly in return, mind your own business and I will also.

If you choose to live in a rural area where there may be working dogs, or dogs roaming around the countryside, then there may be grounds for the dogs to feel it is "their" territory. There is no place, in my opinion, to tolerate aggressive dogs in any suburban environment. And ANY dog that attacks a child should be put down immediately--no excuses`s.

[kendo]

Spitfire you are not being unreasonable i am a dog lover and love the countryside and nature, i have a Staffy she is 10 years old in October, i have had her from a pup.
In our village you have to walk everywhere with a stick, at first i thought the wife was joking, but thats not the case there are some very unpredictable house dogs that confront you and also packs of wild dogs that go through the village fighting everywhere, i must say they frighten the sh*t out of me, i have posted before that i carry a lazer pen from Tesco Lotus, and use this as a distraction, Dawn dismissed this, but trust me it does work.

I think that you have spelt that incorrectly Kendo, should be "Taser".
I grew up on a farm and have been around dogs all of my life, some as working dogs, some as pets. They are like people: some are a--holes, some are friendly and some are indifferent. And I treat them the same: be friendly to me and I will be friendly in return, mind your own business and I will also.

If you choose to live in a rural area where there may be working dogs, or dogs roaming around the countryside, then there may be grounds for the dogs to feel it is "their" territory. There is no place, in my opinion, to tolerate aggressive dogs in any suburban environment. And ANY dog that attacks a child should be put down immediately--no excuses`s.

I do see your point about the territory issue and the difference between some of these dogs, there are just so many and then you get the packs of dogs come through and there is fighting everywhere, and there is allways someone getting bitten or frightend. Our village is really nice but it could be better without all these dogs, when i eventualy buy a house in HH,i will drive around a lot of soi's to try and gauge how bad it is in HH, this will deffinatly be a factor in my final decision.

[shrimphead]

i was almost attacked a few months ago whilst walking down soi 88 at night. five or six dogs appeared under a fence and chased me down the road. luckily i had an umbrella with me so i managed to keep them far enough away, but after that night i always took my bike instead.

[kendo]

i was almost attacked a few months ago whilst walking down soi 88 at night. five or six dogs appeared under a fence and chased me down the road. luckily i had an umbrella with me so i managed to keep them far enough away, but after that night i always took my bike instead.

When you have had a few wets it's so easy to forget about personal safety and security allways have your wits about you my friends.

Kendo.

[margaretcarnes]

Interesting article in todays Telegraph comic. Apparently theres a noticeable and world wide increase in unprovoked attacks on humans by animals. Some - like a badger, zebra, foxes, elephants, and chimps, are animals not usually known to be a threat. Also an increase in attacks by wolves, bears, big cats and dingos.
Some scientists are treating the phenomenon very seriously and looking at psychological and environmental reasons.
As far as HH is concerned, IMO some Thai people unecessarily provoke dogs. In particular kicking at them from bikes. Little wonder the dogs view bike riders as enemy number one.

[Spitfire]

Had a look at that report Mags, interesting, worth a read. Think you're right about the Thais are unreasonably harsh to the dogs in general. Maybe they are used to doing it as the dogs are mainly used as cheap security, not as possitive additions to a family environment.

I thought about what you said Kendo and it's interesting to know that back home you are a big fan of dogs but here you find yourself scared sh**less(me too). When I was young, my mother and father always had a family dog too(labrador or golden retriever) and I have no problem with dogs of such nature, they're great.

Here however, I don't see any dogs as I would describe them. I'm actually not sure what they are. So far, I have failed to come up with an adequate classification for them, not sure what they are, but not what I call dogs.

So far, the best I can describe them as are ANGRY THINGS.

Others have mentioned about 'close shaves' with the so-called dogs and I also have had my far share of walking down a soi at night to find it teeming with psycotic nightmares, got out the other end thinking that I should have taken an M16 with me.

Some of these so-called dogs you see in peoples driveways, behind the gate, could frighten off 'The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse', let alone me.

The very fact that so many people are bitten(especially children), so many crashes are caused by the dogs, should be enough for the government to do something about it, but oh no, that would make too much sense, denile always prevails with this sort of stuff. Maybe the religion and other factors play a role in this.

By the way Randy, your picture on the 1st page is most appropriate, spot on, disturbingly.

[STEVE G]

I think Thais look after dogs more in the countryside where they’re seen as working dogs for security and looking after livestock.
I was just speaking to my partner on the phone and she was telling me how they are in the middle of vaccinating all the dogs in the village for rabies.
To save money they buy the vaccine and one of the locals has been trained to inject them himself. Apparently by doing it this way they can do it for 5 bt a dog.

[PeteC]

Just an opinion, but I can't help but think the reason the dog problem may be so bad in HH is because of who resides there, and the fear that a mass roundup or cull may bring thunder and lightening to the extreme, given his love of the animals.

Now, the stories on here from HH residents makes readers in other parts of Thailand think the situation is out of control. It may be. Dawn did her best to help but the problems seem endless.

Much larger locations don't seem to have the problem to the degree described on here in HH. At least I've never seen what I saw in HH on one holiday, three dog attacks on other dogs at three different locations, gang attacks. Also, a woman restaurant owner putting up at least 10 cut up chickens on a wall next to a vacant and overgrown field next to the Thai Navy office by the beach, and at least 15 dogs jumping up on to the wall to devour them. Pete