Mean street dogs

Hi
here's my opinion on street dogs in Mauritius ...for sure it is in Pereybere
I start by saying that I have never hated animals, I have never been, I have not been afraid of them, I have not given a reason for the attack myself ... maybe I have managed them, I am not looking for contact with them.
But now in one week I have had two attacks ... both "contactless" or without a bite, but now I carry a piece of cable to protect myself on my longer walks. I have also seen a herd of nine individuals ?? I think I should somehow reduce them here, because this problem will not go away.
Perhaps it is understood from the first attack, and the victim may be ... children, women ... it doesn't really matter ... who, but these attacks should not occur at all ...

Complaints are easy - Do you have a solution?

The UK's daily mail claims credit for stopping the old government policy of catch and kill, so perhaps you have another idea the Daily Mail will accept as reasonable.

A spay and neuter initiative would be helpful but it's not a quick fix and takes resources. Basically a van with trained animal surgeons drives around catching, sedating, and performing spay and neuter procedures on dogs and cats so they can't reproduce and then they get released. As I mentioned, this won't have any immediate and quick benefits to the amount of strays but over time the population will decrease exponentially.

In the meantime search for a Ultrasonic Dog Barking Deterrent device online to protect yourself.

Kaupo Klaas wrote:

but now I carry a piece of cable to protect myself on my longer walks..


In general a dog won't attack a human unless it feels threatened or it's protecting its territory. Waving a cable around may be more of a problem than a solution and, if a dog did attack, it won't do enough damage to stop the animal.
You might like to rethink the idea.

There is no waving of the cable, it is hidden until it is needed ... as with all weapons, they must be hidden

Fred wrote:

Complaints are easy - Do you have a solution?

The UK's daily mail claims credit for stopping the old government policy of catch and kill, so perhaps you have another idea the Daily Mail will accept as reasonable.


From a dog's point of view, no solution is right for them, but what to do ...
however, if it is necessary to start reducing large herds and picking up aggressive specimens, it will be a timely solution to the consequences of an unresolved problem.

Kaupo Klaas wrote:

There is no waving of the cable, it is hidden until it is needed ... as with all weapons, they must be hidden


A better weapon would probably be dog treats .... then use an ultrasonic whistle if food doesn't work.
If you really feel the need to do something physical, a last resort would be a water pistol filled with weak vinegar or lemon juice. That will make them think twice. Aim for the face - No serious harm but a couple of drops up their nose in an eye will stop them in their tracks.
I was threatened by a dog in a Buddhist temple in Thailand. The weapon I used was being nice. No attack and the dog ended up sitting down with me.
Much better because the rest of the hounds shut up barking when they realised I wasn't a threat.

Packs of wild dogs are one of Mauritius least attractive features. I hope the government will not be put off by the patronising and  bigoted attacks on it's control measures by the Daily Mail, who whip their audiences into frenzy over animal matters with skewed reporting.

peterg123 wrote:

Packs of wild dogs are one of Mauritius least attractive features. I hope the government will not be put off by the patronising and  bigoted attacks on it's control measures by the Daily Mail, who whip their audiences into frenzy over animal matters with skewed reporting.


The only people who believe the Daily Mail are Mail readers - it's an echo box for the opinionated that like showbiz gossip and sex stories presented as news, but a loud one.
I would sum up most of their customers as too thick to understand the times, and too right wing but embarrassed about it to read mein kampf.
It's on my daily reading list of world papers but I only skip through their headlines on the off chance their editor accidentally manages to stumble on a real story.

Expats need real, on the ground, information so perhaps you can help. Do these dogs actually attack people, or are they just a pain in the bottom?

I haven't seen or heard those dogs atrack anyone espcially in Pereybere. Please continue reading Daily Mail as that is the real source of truth for all world issues and it is written for people who hardly learn to read.

Ivan_Katinic wrote:

I haven't seen or heard those dogs atrack anyone espcially in Pereybere. Please continue reading Daily Mail as that is the real source of truth for all world issues and it is written for people who hardly learn to read.


Assuming that was sarcastic, you're about right for the badly written rag we know as the Daily fail but, since there's a thread on the subject, it's possible expats would be interested in the truth (something the Fail rarely manages)

The best part is when you're enjoying a romantic sunset on a stunning beach with your dream partner , and in your peripheral vision you notice a movement , and turn to see an emaciated stray dog squeezing out a huge Pooh next to you 💩
I'm sure the daily mail will not find it such a nightmare when a local Mauritian child is eaten by a pack of starving stray dogs.

Retornado wrote:

turn to see an emaciated stray dog squeezing out a huge Pooh next to you 💩


That is very clearly a bit of a pain and obviously unpleasant (Unless you've hit an an awkward silence and the conversation starter saves the date.

Retornado wrote:

I'm sure the daily mail will not find it such a nightmare when a local Mauritian child is eaten by a pack of starving stray dogs.


The Mail simply wouldn't report it, but are there actual attacks?

No attacks. When you are in Rome or London or whenever and having a coffee and a pigeon or flying rat sprays it's poo you don't complain. This portal is not for members to criticise Mauritius. As i mentioned it many times; who doesn't like it here feel free to go. Especially I like when peopke from funny contries that yhey escaped from are not happy here but criticise.  What next? Is it too hot and all of us shoukd put aircons full blast and open windows to cool the place down?

Ivan_Katinic wrote:

No attacks.


Coclusions:

The dogs are a pain in the bottom
The dogs look messy, make a mess, and damage the country's reputation
The dogs don't attack people but may bark at you (probably through fear)
The dogs can ruin your chance of some nookie on the beach (get a room)
The UK's Daily Mail is a crappy rag that prints sensationalist rubbish (I've known that for a lot of years)

Would you agree?

Whether stray dogs or irresponsible dog owners leaving their dogs roaming around, unfortunate incidents happen. Dogs barking, growling, running after people is common. Biting not so much apart from the recent incident of an accountant being attacked by 2 rotweillers which left him in a serious state.

When i go out for a run, I usually carry a bottle of water with me and whenever a dog (stray or not) starts growling and running after me, i throw some water at it, straight from the bottle. I have been lucky so far it worked for me :D But yes, someday i might be confronted to a more fierce dog  :sosad:

There was a time where authorities caught the dogs and killed them or left them to die without food in cages. This is no longer done fortunately. A more humane way is to sterilize the dogs. Some non profit organisation and governmental institution provide this kind of service. Since Covid things have been put to a halt.

I bet that those two rotweillers that attacked the accountant were not sugarcane dogs bug someones pets. Those stray dogs get fed bt people and could vark or something but they are not so aggressive

@ Ivan absolutely Right! Irresponsible owner leaving his dogs on the street + not giving proper training.

Kaupo Klaas,

I have a beautiful Doberman puppy that I must find a new home for. If you were to have this beautiful lady accompanying you on any walk no dogs would go near you. If you could give her the love she deserves, she would protect you for the rest of your life.

I have just put up a post on expat, searching for a new owner.

regards,
Ian

I know many expats in Nord (and other areas of Mauritius) who with compassion help to sterilize as many stray dogs as possible, and find adoption for abandoned puppies. I also know many people feed them  , I live in Flacq area and poor starving strays are all round. As with other stray dogs they never attack...typical behavior of strays here is :1. too shy and afraid, backing off from people as abused , 2. friendly to people and calm as learned this is way to find some food  , 3. lethargic from hunger and hot sun . I have never seen dangerous stray dogs here .

It is also to be kept in mind that some dogs that many as strays as dogs owned which are kept with open yards and allowed to walk around . I am not patronizing anybody and everybody has choice what to think or do, my one and the same for many expats and Mauritian here is of compassion.

I personally could not live with myself knowing i have called MSAW (one way transport) or some private companies doing illegal dirty work of picking up dogs on call and "disposing " of them (i rather not go into details) just so that beaches appear nice or roads dogs free . Whilst Mauritius may appear as advanced (many new malls, shiny shops, villas and residential colmplexes ecc) it is still not there yet with animal welfare subject , and as visitors i think we are to help to improve it and not go down to current local level ( not sterilize and provoke proliferation, abandon puppies and adults, abuse and not penalize , and ask to catch and kill).
I also thin Daily Mail . HSI and PETA  and other well know international organizations who know what they are doing . Article refereed to was from 2015 pending well supported with proofs investigation (video is on you tube and may chill any heart, if ever you manage to watch it until the end). ... pls lets be part of solution and not pointing out to problem which will be fixed in cruel way

@elkazbarbara0709 

Hi - Lynn Hart, I would like to become part of the solution. Does anyone know where, how , who to contact in government ?

Or which foundations are here in MRU - like a SPCA , Animal Anti Cruelty League,  PAWS ? Kitty Haven ?  Please email me on 

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@Fred this is absolutely untrue, dogs though not necessarily attacking try to play and for someone that doesn't know it is an attack, cos you never really know, dogs bark when there's no one talk less of when there is someone, pl

Dear Lynn, if you are on Facebook pls contact me via my profile ***** so i can connect you with people. If you are in North, there is All life matters shelter, ANIMO, there is Community sterilization campaign run by 2 great ladies from SA who  collect donations and organize free sterilization. Of course there is PAWS Mauritius who does a lot of great work and few other NGO's - Happy tails and Indies World in South, RAID by Pretty Satchi in center ecc (but less then dozen in total) . If you are in other part of Mauritius let me know and i shall advise you. On FB page you can access page called Animal adoption/Rescue/Rehabilitation which will give you full insight into situation and main NGo. Anything you wish to do , big or small , is welcome . Every kind gesture matters after all, specially to so many abandoned animals here .

@lynn84 I have left reply bellow , many thanks

The stray dog situation is growing and becoming out of control.

Stray dogs exist because humans abandoned them. The solution is to implement a strict law that would force people to pay annual subscription fee to allow them to keep animals and limit the number of pets they can have based on their income. MSAW was forced to stop Catch and Kill approach and that's why they very rarely intervened. Massive sterilisation campaign is the only "immediate" solution to try to drive the number down progressively. Until then, stay away from stray dog, do not feed them and keep your eyes wide open.

Good luck to all.
BTW, what is the best weapon against attacks? I was unpleasantly surprised that dog sprays are banned here, I used sprays in former times, they were pretty effective.
BTW, what is the best weapon against attacks? I was unpleasantly surprised that dog sprays are banned here, I used sprays in former times, they were pretty effective.
- @MaaBoo
I wouldn't recommend carrying any harmful object. If you spot a group of stray dogs that might put you in danger, best you avoid them by crossing the road..

For isolated cases, grab a rock, a stick or throw some water at the dog if it wants to attack...again, it is very rare that a dog will attack.

From my personal experience, I have been confronted to growling dogs only during my daily runs (i might have got too close as they were eating something...)