Tips for Dealing with Street Dogs

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Anyone living in SEA has had at least one encounter with packs of dogs roaming free. Some, or even many, of these dogs have owners, but are left out on the streets; some of them are alone, guarding their home territory, but others find doggy friends in the neighborhood to pack with, and this can feel uncomfortable if you are out walking or cycling alone.
Tips from a pet care service:

We often get asked "WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT ALL THE STREET DOGS?!" Street dogs are just like normal dogs...but they live...on...the streets...
Their behaviours is the same as the dogs we know and understand. With a little patience, attention to their behaviour, maybe a bit of love, and some confidence- having a fear of street dogs will soon be a thing of the past.
For more pet tips, follow us at Pet Care Cambodia.

[John Bingham]

I've rarely if ever seen any street dogs here, let alone any packs.

[hanno]

I've rarely if ever seen any street dogs here, let alone any packs.

Plenty, go running at 4am.... But in 25 years of running and cycling, I have never had a problem. All bark and no bite. I am wary of foreign breeds though as the locals do not train them and a Rottweiler or Mastiff is not to be trifled with.

[CEOCambodiaNews]

^ For information: The OP was posted from Siem Reap.

[Matty9999]

I tend to carry rocks. I had an issue with temple dogs once inside of Phnom Penh, and if you venture outside of PP, its a bit more obvious. Also had an issue in Siem Reap once, but at the time i was carrying a stick, both times were large males but they backed off once i turned on them.

Cycling wasnt an issue, over in Thailand i used to see this a lot, i would cut the dog, so the bike would almost run him off the road, easy peasy, even with a pack of dogs this works.

[xandreu]

The very worst thing you can ever do is show fear. Dogs are masters at sussing you out and will make the decision on whether to attack very quickly based almost exclusively on your body language. Someone walking with their shoulders back, taking large strides, with a puffed-up chest and not making even the slightest change to their rhythm when passing the dog is much, much less likely to be attacked than someone who walks without confidence, with a stoop and is clearly crossing the road to avoid it.

I had this issue just a couple of weeks ago. I was walking alone late at night and came across one medium sized dog and his very large mate. They both eyed me up for what seemed like an eternity, wondering whether I was worth it or not, but I kept my cool, made no change to my pace or direction, didn't look them in the eye and they decided I probably wasn't worth it.

Unbeknown to me, a much, much larger dog on the other side of the road was watching everything and clearly decided that he'd test my new-found technique to the limit and came flying across the road at me at 100kph, barking the deepest, roughest most violent bark out of the most snarliest, ugliest, saliva dripping mouth you've ever seen. He got to within a metre of me and only then decided to take notice of the man who'd been previously sitting next to him, screaming at him to come back. To say I shit a brick would be an understatement. I almost shit an entire apartment block.

The dog glanced back at me as it was walking back to it's owner and made sure that I knew that he knew what I was thinking. If dogs could grin...

[Biffsm]

A lot of older gents and ladies take a nice walking stick.
Depends on breed and if they are in a pack.
Most have a small territory they marked.
I have read articles of people being killed in Thailand, US and Mexico.
Here in SR the hardcore dogs I have seen were fenced in and fierce.
The street dogs love to catch cats and kill them.
Hard to find a cat with a whole tail.
Most of the dogs I have encountered in SR are very skittish. You can feed them for sure.
Which may build a good rapport.
The only Mastiff I ever knew was in Zambia. He had a Rhodesian Ridgeback running mate. I loved rolling around in the grass with them and going for walks. Incredible dogs.
I had Plott hounds and German Shephards.
Great watch dogs.
They would not of liked joggers. But, I lived way out of town.
Good luck

[nemo]

Hard to find a cat with a whole tail

Common mutation all over Asia

[Cooldude]

I knew a guy who used to carry a tape measure on his hip for street dogs. They'd come close and he'd pull about a meter of tape of the measure and wave it around. They thought it was a stick and took right off.

[Anty]

Hard to find a cat with a whole tail

Common mutation all over Asia

That! Japanese bobtail is mixed in all over. At first I thought something happened to their tails but just born that way.