I love dogs. I grew up with dogs. I can't remember any point of my childhood when I did not have a pet dog.

 

But having lived in Thailand for over a year, I ironically find myself now calling for a mass culling.

 

If they don't have collars or names or tracking devices, I do think that they should be euthanized. Not sent to the pound -- that would be inhumane. But euthanized. At the *very* least, sterilized.

 

This video was taken weeks ago in my neighborhood. It has not been altered in any way.  This is completely out of control. This is what it's like most every night. 

Where are you located?

 

Sadly you are learning the hard way that living in close proximity with Thai villagers (or any low income housing) is going to be a problem. If it's not this it's going to be something else. If you haven't already, now is the time to start doing some reckon to find a location where you can avoid as much of this as possible.

That's terrible. It was similar when I lived in this house in San Sai. Dogs everywhere.

 

Luckily I moved to a mooban village, basically a mooban cluster. There's civilized middle class people mostly, so very few stray dogs.

Sounds like you got a pretty solid synchronizated chorus going there. Does this group of vocalists perform gigs all around the country? And then when the sun starts coming up, the chickens will join in too. Ah, absolute peasant class bliss. 

I hate dogs so agree mass culling is what is needed, but it will never happen here unless there is a mass rabies outbreak

1 hour ago, Krillin said:

At the *very* least, sterilized.

 

Direct answer first: In Thailand, the most effective and humane way to manage stray dogs is through mass spay/neuter programs, often implemented as CNVR (Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return). Local NGOs and humane organizations run clinics and mobile units that sterilize stray dogs and vaccinate them, returning them to their original areas. Access typically involves contacting reputable organizations or local municipal programs to arrange assistance for free-roaming dogs in need.

What to do next

• Identify reputable organizations operating in your area

  • In many regions, CNVR-style efforts are led by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with mobile clinics, sometimes in collaboration with city authorities.

  • Look for established groups with a track record, transparent reporting, and vaccination data.

• How to request help for stray dogs

  • Contact CNVR programs or animal welfare NGOs to request sterilization for free-roaming dogs, prioritizing females in heat or pregnant animals when possible.

  • If you’re in Bangkok, Phuket, or other major cities, larger programs often have ongoing operations and can direct you to the nearest mobile clinic or partner clinic.

  • For rural or provincial areas, local humane societies or municipal animal control offices may coordinate CNVR outreach or can connect you with a veterinary team.

• What to provide when requesting sterilization

  • Location and approximate number of dogs needing help

  • Any observed health concerns or injuries

  • Accessibility details for mobile clinics (roads, gates, security)

  • Contact information for follow-up and pickup if needed

• Costs and eligibility

• Some programs offer free services; others may charge a small fee or rely on donations. In some NGO cases, documentation or proof of residence isn’t required, but programs vary.

Key organizations and concepts to explore

• CNVR programs, which are widely regarded as the most ethical and effective approach to stray dog populations in Thailand and elsewhere

• Local animal welfare NGOs and shelters that run spay/neuter clinics or mobile units

• Community outreach efforts that combine sterilization with vaccination and humane education

Safety and ethical considerations

• Ensure any program you engage adheres to animal welfare standards, provides anesthesia and pain management, and uses sterile surgical practices

• Confirm post-operative care guidance for any dogs released back into the community

If you’d like, share your region in Thailand (city or province) and I can tailor a few specific organization contacts and steps for arranging CNVR in your area.soidog+2

1. https://www.soidog.org/content/spay-neuter-and-vaccination-cnvr
2. https://support.soidog.org/content/request-sterilisation
3. https://www.wfft.org/projects/dog-and-cat-spay-clinic/
4. https://www.reddit.com/r/Bangkok/comments/16wr89d/where_have_all_the_stray_dogs_gone/
5. https://www.happydoggo.com/our-work
6. https://tmtrd.org/blog/dog-rescue-thailand-help/
7. https://www.facebook.com/groups/k9aidstreetdogsaroundtheworld/posts/9468178289959792/
8. https://www.happydoggo.com
9. https://www.reddit.com/r/Thailand/comments/1iw4t1i/how_to_help_animals_specially_catsdogs_in_thailand/
10. https://www.vetvanthailand.com

From Perplexity.ai

Culling is a wonderful idea. 

Any dog who bites any human being in a serious manner should be put down within 24 hours, no questions asked and no appeals possible. Dogs should never be given priority over humans and doing so is a sign of a broken society. Not only that but the owner should face a massive fine, there's just no excuse to have a poorly behaved dog who's aggressive toward others, especially defenseless children. 

 

If you must, carry pepper spray, or a can of insect spray. Nearly all creatures hate insect spray, as they cannot handle the smell. A long strong bamboo staff also helps. If nothing else works, culling is a good practice. I have done it a few times. I do not want a lecture about animal cruelty. . Most soi dogs are a nuisance. Most are mangy, some are disease ridden, many are hungry, tired, and lead terrible lives of desperation. Some attack people, some terrorize neighborhoods. Many harass the domestic dogs, and cause them to bark all night long, like in my neighborhood. Nobody wants to do anything about it.

 

Culling is the answer. If they found a budget for it, they could do it Western style. Round up the dogs, clean them up, vaccinate them, and put them up for adoption. The ones who are not adopted after 60 days are simply put down. Nothing cruel about it. Not doing something like this, is both cruel to the dogs and to the neighborhoods they infest.

 

The average dog bite cost alot money. A series of rabies shots, etc. And that is assuming someone was not hurt badly, like a small child. So, we should prioritize the health of mangy, miserable soi dogs over the well being of the human population?

Twenty or thirty years ago, there used to be packs of stray dogs roaming the sois of Bangkok. They could get pretty aggressive at night, and it was always a bit nerve-racking coming home late. I never see packs of stray dogs in Bangkok anymore, and even the occasional stray is rare. I haven’t seen any in at least fifteen years. So in the city, it really isn’t a problem anymore. You used to see all kinds of sad-looking dogs covered in mange, sleeping on the streets with oozing wounds from fights with other dogs. All of that is gone now. Non-existent I would say. 

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

 If nothing else works, culling is a good practice. I have done it a few times. I do not want a lecture about animal cruelty. 

Where in Thailand did you do the culling?

Yeah, didn't think so.

Probably worse living in nakon nowhere, in Pattaya at least they seem to have an unofficial policy of getting rid of alpha dogs, the others then settle down.

 

Side note, your windows need a clean

I've heard that tune before... 

 

https://youtu.be/bvUCeQQSDhw?si=B7QSRjN56bHhSuBt

When I closed my eyes, it sounded like around my home at night, the village dogs going after the females that live around my house, owned by my neighbor. Mating time. As far as what's ethical and humane, Lee65's advice is what should be done, and is to a small degree. It should be paid for by the government, as it affects most everyone in Thailand. 

12 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

getting rid of alpha dogs, the others then settle down.

 

the dogs must be communicating with each other.

they seem to understand that if they attack people, they will be put down.

 

17 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

the dogs must be communicating with each other.

they seem to understand that if they attack people, they will be put down.

 

Yes I've seen boss dogs stopping others kicking off at farang.

 

Interestingly geckos don't come in my condo anymore, they've communicated to not enter 

11 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Interestingly geckos don't come in my condo anymore, they've communicated to not enter 

 

one gecko to another: don't bother with this felang. his cooking sucks. 

The government struggles to enforce traffic laws. Can they address the stray dog issue?  They also need to TNR cats. 

13 minutes ago, TedG said:

The government struggles to enforce traffic laws. Can they address the stray dog issue?  They also need to TNR cats. 

They're eating the cats, they're eating the dawgs!

It's genuinely ignorant to think that getting rid of alpha dogs will solve anything. There are always "vice alphas" waiting their turn. Getting rid of them all, by whatever means, is the only way to stop maulings and death caused by these vermin.

53 minutes ago, TedG said:

The government struggles to enforce traffic laws. Can they address the stray dog issue?  They also need to TNR cats. 

Not sure how things are handled in the area where you are, here in the rural areas in the north it’s up to the locals to deal with the unruly pesky dogs, some do and some don’t and it doesn’t have anything to do with the economic status of the mooban, it’s dealt with according to the complaints from the local residents.

8 hours ago, short-Timer said:

Twenty or thirty years ago, there used to be packs of stray dogs roaming the sois of Bangkok. They could get pretty aggressive at night, and it was always a bit nerve-racking coming home late. I never see packs of stray dogs in Bangkok anymore, and even the occasional stray is rare. I haven’t seen any in at least fifteen years. So in the city, it really isn’t a problem anymore. You used to see all kinds of sad-looking dogs covered in mange, sleeping on the streets with oozing wounds from fights with other dogs. All of that is gone now. Non-existent I would say. 

 

Yeah, I remember those days. That was before 7-11s were everywhere. Now the soi dogs all hang out in front of 7-11. Progress.

A few days ago, I bought some kilos of steak at the Ratanakorn market.

The friendly vendor removed the strips of fat and wrapped them in a separate bag.

Back home, I sautéed and salted the scraps a little, then put them back in a bag.

Then I went to meet the stray dogs in a nearby vacant lot. A mixed reception, as always, mixed with flight, fear, and aggression. Always a little dangerous to leave the vehicle in this situation.

But when I distributed the food piece by piece, I clearly sensed an increasingly friendly atmosphere. Some with imploring looks. A need for life, a need for love...

Then I left the place with a heavy heart, promising myself to return soon with more feasts.

10 hours ago, short-Timer said:

Twenty or thirty years ago, there used to be packs of stray dogs roaming the sois of Bangkok. They could get pretty aggressive at night, and it was always a bit nerve-racking coming home late. I never see packs of stray dogs in Bangkok anymore, and even the occasional stray is rare. I haven’t seen any in at least fifteen years. So in the city, it really isn’t a problem anymore. You used to see all kinds of sad-looking dogs covered in mange, sleeping on the streets with oozing wounds from fights with other dogs. All of that is gone now. Non-existent I would say. 

 

They must have moved to the suburbs where we are, a night the roads are full of strays, lying in the roads, running after cars and in small packs. No way can you walk about when it gets dark. They did collect 15 strays from the estate a few years ago- then just dumped them a few kilometers away! Every single 7/11 round here has at least 2 dogs sitting outside the doors.

3 hours ago, proton said:

 

They must have moved to the suburbs where we are, a night the roads are full of strays, lying in the roads, running after cars and in small packs. No way can you walk about when it gets dark. They did collect 15 strays from the estate a few years ago- then just dumped them a few kilometers away! Every single 7/11 round here has at least 2 dogs sitting outside the doors.

The city center was the same for a long time. Then I remember about 15 years ago there was a big meeting of dignitaries in Bangkok, maybe for the UN, though I can’t quite recall. It seemed like they got rid of all the strays right before the event to avoid the optics of influential people seeing all those battered dogs on the streets. Besides the mangy ones with no hair, there were others limping or missing limbs after being hit by cars or motorcycles. There were some really sad and neglected dogs on the streets. These weren’t the ones running in packs at night, but the ones lying around everywhere because they were barely able to move. It was a very sad and disturbing sight. But they got rid of all the healthy looking strays too at that time. Since then, I feel like that was the turning point when they got rid of them all.

 

I also remember that many years ago locals told me about pickup trucks from the northeast that would go around other parts of the country, visiting rural villages with loudspeakers, telling people to bring their lazy, troublesome, or unwanted dogs. In exchange, they would receive a big plastic wash basin or something like that. Back then, I think the dogs were taken to parts of the country where dog meat was eaten, though I’m not sure if that still happens today.

25 minutes ago, short-Timer said:

I also remember that many years ago locals told me about pickup trucks from the northeast that would go around other parts of the country, visiting rural villages with loudspeakers, telling people to bring their lazy, troublesome, or unwanted dogs. In exchange, they would receive a big plastic wash basin or something like that. Back then, I think the dogs were taken to parts of the country where dog meat was eaten

 

Should be government sponsored or maybe 50 baht for every dead mutt brought into a centre before they throw it on a fire, they are not  even fit for eating.

4 minutes ago, proton said:

 

Should be government sponsored or maybe 50 baht for every dead mutt brought into a centre before they throw it on a fire, they are not  even fit for eating.

 

 

You can tell the difference?

50 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

You can tell the difference?

 

stray dogs are only fit for cremation

16 hours ago, Krillin said:

I love dogs. I grew up with dogs. I can't remember any point of my childhood when I did not have a pet dog.

 

But having lived in Thailand for over a year, I ironically find myself now calling for a mass culling.

 

If they don't have collars or names or tracking devices, I do think that they should be euthanized. Not sent to the pound -- that would be inhumane. But euthanized. At the *very* least, sterilized.

 

This video was taken weeks ago in my neighborhood. It has not been altered in any way.  This is completely out of control. This is what it's like most every night. 

 

Grounds for culling for sure.  But there are those that think Dog’s have a sixth sense and know when someone had died in their neighborhood, maybe thats why they are howling like that.

23 minutes ago, proton said:

 

stray dogs are only fit for cremation

 

 

My brother-in-law ats them................ there is obviously a market for them (especially as you head to Sakhon Nakhon, Laos...China) or the family would not have so many washing up bowls....

I sometimes wonder whether the alarm that Europeans feel when they hear dogs barking at night isn't felt by people in South Asia because of the different evolutionary trajectory that the relationship between humans and dogs took in Europe as opposed to here. Maybe to them the sound of dogs howling at night or tearing each other to shreds is like crickets chirping.