Anyone Been Bitten By A Dog?

[UKJASE]

has anyone been bitten by one of the crazy dogs here, or know anyone that has... our lass is terrified of them and tells me she was bitten in her home town when she was young. The reason i ask is that one ran out at me this evening about 11pm. I was on my motorbike going quite fast and it seemed to try to bite my ankles. dont know why it was doing this, but i cacked it and swerved my bike a fair amount.

also, went up soi 88 a bit this evening and was out in the countryside area, and saw a young bloke beating a dog to death with a stick!! it was about 8pm and this guy was smashing the dog's skull in!! me and our lass gave that scene a wide berth quickly!! i guess the dog had upset this guy about something

it's always after dark too that the dogs get tough...... they seem so likeable in the day time (if slightly unwashed!)

do you think they are dangerous, or just a bit intimidating??

[sunny6301]

do you think they are dangerous, or just a bit intimidating??

no, but the guy smashing the dog's skull in sounds dangerous

[hhfarang]

There is the rare one that is dangerous and chases motorbikes (or cars) just like any dogs anywhere but most of those are probably more bark than bite. We live near a Wat that has hundreds of homeless dogs living around it and my wife and several other ladies take turns going up there and feeding them. I went with her once and stayed in the car and it looked scary as hell to me, her with a huge bucket of food surrounded by over 100 wild dogs some snarling at each other and fighting for food but she just yells at the ones who fight and they walk away with their tail between their legs. Some sit shyly on the periphery and wait for her to bring some to them and a couple even stand up and jump up and down on their hind legs doing tricks to get her attention. We have adopted two several years ago and have found homes for several others, and in general, I believe Soi dogs have very good personalities and like people... but as I said, the rare one can be dangerous. I have heard of a couple of people getting bitten in the years I've lived here and at least one on the ankle by a motorbike chasing dog.

The bigger problem with them is dog on dog. If you own a dog and take him/her for a walk in an area of wild dogs you may find your dog attacked as they are very territorial towards dogs they don't know.

[UKJASE]

our lass likes to put food out for the dogs that reside near to our house sometimes

do you think that putting food out, will make the dogs happy, and they will recognise the people giving them food, and not give them a hard time at night,

or do you think it will just encourage more dogs to live round near to the house, and they will still bark at you in the night whenever they feel like it???

[Aforek]

do you think that putting food out, will make the dogs happy, and they will recognise the people giving them food, and not give them a hard time at night,

I did it when i came in my new house, and the dog which was barking the first days was happy and no bark anymore

from my experience in Cha am, they bark the first day, when they have never seen you; but after, they know you, and they don't bark anymore; i think they bark because they are boring and have nothing to do, but for me, they are not dangerous.

[Totster]

I'm a great believer in being confident when walking past barking dogs, pretty much ignoring them. This becomes difficult when walking around the village when dark, the dogs rule then, but being confident and not showing signs of worry makes a big difference IMO.

I am also a big believer in being kind to dogs (and other animals) goes a long way. Our neighbour has a lovely dog which we feed on occasion and always pet. This dog is the first on scene when a stranger is spotted.

totster

[chiangmaibruce]

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/224351-dog-bite-rabies/

[UKJASE]

this guy gives a vey level view......

"Posted 2008-11-23 16:45:02

Firstly you don't kill the dog yourself get a professional to catch it and take it to a vet for observation, only if it develops symptoms will it be put down and the brain examined for rabies.

Don't let out-of-date statistics scare you - you got the right treatment and there have been huge drops in mortality in recent decades, mainly due to a huge campaign of vaccination of the nation's dogs. The figure quoted (without citation) is probably from the 1980s (MITMOONPITAK et al. cite 390 deaths in Thailand in 1980 in "Rabies in Thailand", Epidemiology and Infection (1998), 120 : 165-169)

From Kasempimolporn et al. (2008)

Table 2. Human deaths from rabies, 1997-2006(6)

Year Bangkok*/Thailand

1997 7/58

1998 4/57

1999 7/68

2000 6/50

2001 8/37

2002 0/30

2003 3/21

2004 0/19

2005 3/20

2006 2/26

* Bitten by dogs located in Bangkok

These deaths would have been people who could not afford/did not seek post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

Rabies is a very efficient killer once symptoms develop - only one person ever has been documented as recovering from rabies (in Wisconsin in 2004 IIRC) They were bitten by a bat and it is speculated that bat-born rabies is less neuro-active than the dog variety.

In the old days shots were given into the abdomen, modern shots are first given in the vicinity of the bite and further ones in the arm - not so painful. Rabies vaccination (pre-exposure) is only recommended if you are at real risk from being exposed. Serious reaction to vaccine are rare and if bitten by a suspect animal you still have to get two shots (one immediate + one 3 days later) just in case. Personally I won't bother unless exposed or likely to be travelling out of reach of PEP.

Some interesting points from Kasempimolporn et al. (2008):

50,000 deaths from rabies worldwide (WHO figure -can vary from about 30,000 - 100,000 - K.

"Dog bite-related rabies cases account for 70% to 95% of the reported human rabies deaths. The other vectors included cats, non-human primates and rodents. The majority of victims were children. Cases of rabies in domestic animals other than dogs have been traceable or believed to have been at the origin of exposure to rabid dogs."

20%of Bangkok households report owning dogs with an average of 2.1 dogs/household.

"The cost of a postbite treatment in humans is about twenty to one hundred times more costly than the vaccination of a dog." (Presume the higher figure is for farangs - K.)

"The prevalence of rabies virus infection among 3,314 stray dogs [in BKK] investigated in 2004 was 0.03%"

Oh, and quit scaring yourself with youtube!

This post has been edited by phaethon: 2008-11-23 16:50:15"

[ItDontMeanAThing]

On my part of Soi 94 the dog pack gets territorial every few days when another dog comes in. That's about the only time I see them chasing motorbikes. Watching the Thai riders shows me the quickest way to diffuse the chase is to stop the bike quickly. The dog keeps his distance, then soon turns and walks away.

[travelmann]

our lass likes to put food out for the dogs that reside near to our house sometimes

do you think that putting food out, will make the dogs happy, and they will recognise the people giving them food, and not give them a hard time at night,

or do you think it will just encourage more dogs to live round near to the house, and they will still bark at you in the night whenever they feel like it???

It will encourage them to breed thus exacerbating the problem, how does that make you feel?

[UKJASE]

do hungry dogs not breed?

........... maybe feeding them will make them mellow and sleep a lot.......

[septeen]

There are some dreamers who think of dogs as four-legged humans with fur. Dogs are wonderful animals but the human influence is paper-thin. Inside every dog the wild animal still lives.

When they gather in packs all bets are off! They are capable of savage deeds. The human parallel is found in people-mobs or in the peer-pressure within gangs of children.

The new puppy within the human family seeks to establish his place in the " human pack ' ; the dominant human in the house must let the puppy know who is the pack leader.

[watcharacters]

our lass likes to put food out for the dogs that reside near to our house sometimes

do you think that putting food out, will make the dogs happy, and they will recognise the people giving them food, and not give them a hard time at night,

or do you think it will just encourage more dogs to live round near to the house, and they will still bark at you in the night whenever they feel like it???

It will encourage them to breed thus exacerbating the problem, how does that make you feel?

Some poor souls just don't get it.

I'd suggest anti-conception meds in the food as a start. Then and only then will the problem be addressed

[roly]

There are some dreamers who think of dogs as four-legged humans with fur. Dogs are wonderful animals but the human influence is paper-thin. Inside every dog the wild animal still lives.

When they gather in packs all bets are off! They are capable of savage deeds. The human parallel is found in people-mobs or in the peer-pressure within gangs of children.

The new puppy within the human family seeks to establish his place in the " human pack ' ; the dominant human in the house must let the puppy know who is the pack leader.

It sounds llike you've been watching The Dog Whisperer on Nat Geo! :-)

[seedy]

How can you tell if a dog will attack ?

"Oh, not to worry, they will not bite ..." !!!

Walk softly and carry a big stick.

[darrendsd]

There is a few mutts on Bintabaht that have tried to sink their teeth into me over the years.

[sydneyjed]

When you see dogs in a pack you can bet a pound to a penny a bitch is on heat...dangerous!Happened to me in a side soi in Bangkok after I'd taken a wrong turn down a one way street and had to walk back through them..Sh...ing bricks so I just happened to pick up a few pieces of loose concrete and started hurling it at them till they scattered..Rabies is the first thing that comes into your mind!!

[sydneyjed]

There is a few mutts on Bintabaht that have tried to sink their teeth into me over the years.

You are 'vaccinated ' though ..aren't you?

[Rider808]

I got bit by a transvestite once...long story

[sydneyjed]

What happens..you turn into a Ladyboy every full moon?

[travelmann]

do hungry dogs not breed?

........... maybe feeding them will make them mellow and sleep a lot.......

Sigh

[Rider808]

What happens..you turn into a Ladyboy every full moon?

LOL...no, but i've learned to avoid any women that appear abnormally hairy.

[americandragonslayer]

do hungry dogs not breed?

........... maybe feeding them will make them mellow and sleep a lot.......

hahaha....thats what happens to me after a big meal......

[americandragonslayer]

There are some dreamers who think of dogs as four-legged humans with fur. Dogs are wonderful animals but the human influence is paper-thin. Inside every dog the wild animal still lives.

When they gather in packs all bets are off! They are capable of savage deeds. The human parallel is found in people-mobs or in the peer-pressure within gangs of children.

The new puppy within the human family seeks to establish his place in the " human pack ' ; the dominant human in the house must let the puppy know who is the pack leader.

somebody has been watching the dog whisper......