Samui Soi Dogs

[Tropicalevo]

I was talking to someone who works in the A & E section at one of the International hospitals, and she was saying that whilst motorbike accidents are still no 1 in terms of volume of customers, dog bites are no 2 and increasing rapidly (or should I say rabidly )

So if you friends, family or customers start talking about that 'cute dog that we saw on the street/beach today', you might want to warn them.

Opinion seems to be that there are more and more soi dogs and that they are becoming more aggressive.

Just a thought.

[steelerian]

Anyone who goes near a soi dog (or any dog for that matter), is crazy imo.

[smokie36]

Friend of mine was bitten the other day. Rabies shots aint pleasant apparently!

[notmyself]

I don't go out walking during the dark any longer. Never been bitten (close) but if I do then I shall beat the dog to death with my crutch (the walking aid type). 10-12 years ago the place (and indeed the whole of Thailand) was ravaged by packs of dogs in various states of disrepair, The King (long live the King) instructed the people to take care of the dogs which resulted in a great number being euthanized. Public outcry against the practice being against Buddhist teachings stopped everything. I guess it is OK for dogs to suffer in pain for months rather than being put out of their misery.

[spindle]

Here we go again!

Exactly how many people have died of Rabies on this Island?

The poor bloody creatures have a hard enough existence here as it is and many people here need little or no excuse to increase their misery.

I think that scaremongering doesn't help one bit and only a teeny bit of commonsense is needed

if it is felt necessary to approach a stray dog. All the years I have lived here i have never seen

a rabid dog. Although in all fairness I don't go looking for them but I do make contact by feeding the starving ones hanging around 7/!!.

It might be worth remembering the massacre that took place on K. Phangan a few years ago when

the authorities poisoned ALL the dogs, even those which were weaning. and those ones who belonged to residents. They did the same on Chong Mon and many of the beach characters were cruelly put to death.

The Samui Dog Rescue are to be thanked for taking on the responsibility to try and care for these these unfortunate creatures.

[carmine]

i think there should be a "Feed the soi dogs day" once a week. The vast majority of them are harmless and friendly. The last time someone i knew was bitten by one was five years ago and that was because he accidentally trod on it.

Conserve you efforts for getting the electric system improved rather than concern yourselves with man's best friend.

[Tropicalevo]

i think there should be a "Feed the soi dogs day" once a week. The vast majority of them are harmless and friendly. The last time someone i knew was bitten by one was five years ago and that was because he accidentally trod on it.

Conserve you efforts for getting the electric system improved rather than concern yourselves with man's best friend.

Seems that the dog-lovers are on the war path. Lighten up folks. Did I say that anyone had died of rabies, or that soi dogs should be disposed of?

The reason that I posted, is because dog bite treatment is now an earner for the hospitals. It is becoming more common. Spindle, the only reference that I made to rabies was a 'play on words' Sorry if you did not get the joke.

The guy that I met in hospital who was being kept in overnight - because a dog bit him whilst he was eating his dinner - would probably have welcomed a warning. As would others that I have met recently.

I warn all visitors 'do not feed the dogs - they can be dangerous'.

Of course there are hundreds of dogs out there that have not bitten anyone. However, there are some that have and the number is increasing. To pretend that this might not become a problem is 'ostrich syndrome'. Personally I have no problem with dogs, but most Thais that I know are frightened of them. There might be a good reason for this.

and Carmine, I will decide what I spend my efforts on, and looking after guests and visitors to this island is a main priority - I am not too worried if you have electricity or not. Let me see - painful dog bite, followed by hospital and a bill, with possible infection afterwards v no power for a couple of hours. Hmm try explaining that to the 6 year old girl at A & E yesterday.

[notmyself]

Mange is rife and for the most part untreated. Not that serious in itself but the dog ends up scratching so much it draws blood and the wound gets infected. Then it's just a matter of time before they die a nasty death. Shoot the lot I say.

[Boater]

Mange is rife and for the most part untreated. Not that serious in itself but the dog ends up scratching so much it draws blood and the wound gets infected. Then it's just a matter of time before they die a nasty death. Shoot the lot I say.

Trouble is a lot of soi dogs are ' owned ' by Thais who simply do not care for them .. It seems to them the norm is to let them roam free

[notmyself]

Mange is rife and for the most part untreated. Not that serious in itself but the dog ends up scratching so much it draws blood and the wound gets infected. Then it's just a matter of time before they die a nasty death. Shoot the lot I say.

Trouble is a lot of soi dogs are ' owned ' by Thais who simply do not care for them .. It seems to them the norm is to let them roam free

It worked ten years or so ago, the only reason it was stopped (as far as I know) was because it was against Buddhist teachings and not because it was ineffective.

[BangrakBob]

We taught our local soi dog, to sit, shake her paw and bark on command, she is near 10 years old.

I do agree though I have seen a lot more around in the last 8 months and more dogs means more chances of getting bitten. Where I live i've seen 3 litters in 3 months at the end of our Moo.

They're okay in the day round ours, but walking at night there's no street lights and it's like the dogs become mingling chavs looking for some trouble. I'm expecting one of them to ask me for a light then get bitten from behind.

If I've had a few they seem to get more narky with me, I just bark back.

[ydraw]

I was bitten by a dog last year and the post-exposure rabies vac cost me 10,000 baht (4 lots of 2500 baht each).

I'm sure rabies deaths are rare but I don't want to be the first!

[Tropicalevo]

Today's visit to the A & E (friend having treatment) - 2 motorbike accidents, 2 (at least - maybe three) diving accidents and yes - another dog bite.

[marstons]

maybe a goverment policy of neutering the females would do something, it does work but its a case of the local authoarties cannot be bothered. soi dogs on Phuket have neutered tens of thousands. the mange is cured by a few bahts of ivermectin in some pork, but again locals cant be bothered. Personally i encourage a few dogs around the house as its isolated, they dont sleep on the job or tell there mates your out and to come and rob you.

[ydraw]

Keeping dogs here is animal abuse in itself, the island is infested with ticks and every dog on Samui is riddled with them.

[insertmembernamehere]

Keeping dogs here is animal abuse in itself, the island is infested with ticks and every dog on Samui is riddled with them.

Another level-headed, well-considered thought...I suppose the answer to this, then, is to jail all dog and cat owners, destroy their pets and kill all strays with poison. No more animal abuse and no more tick-riddled dogs.

If you keep your dogs bathed and use a quality product such as Frontline for tick and flea control, there is little problem. However, you can't completely eliminate every tick during the seasons when they are active, and that's true in tick areas in the US as well, for example.

It is true, however, that many Thais (and SE Asians in general) do not care for their dogs adequately. But things have been changing over the last 25 years for the better. People here are slowly gaining a better understanding of the care and feeding of man's best friend.

[carmine]

i think there should be a "Feed the soi dogs day" once a week. The vast majority of them are harmless and friendly. The last time someone i knew was bitten by one was five years ago and that was because he accidentally trod on it.

Conserve you efforts for getting the electric system improved rather than concern yourselves with man's best friend.

Seems that the dog-lovers are on the war path. Lighten up folks. Did I say that anyone had died of rabies, or that soi dogs should be disposed of?

The reason that I posted, is because dog bite treatment is now an earner for the hospitals. It is becoming more common. Spindle, the only reference that I made to rabies was a 'play on words' Sorry if you did not get the joke.

The guy that I met in hospital who was being kept in overnight - because a dog bit him whilst he was eating his dinner - would probably have welcomed a warning. As would others that I have met recently.

I warn all visitors 'do not feed the dogs - they can be dangerous'.

Of course there are hundreds of dogs out there that have not bitten anyone. However, there are some that have and the number is increasing. To pretend that this might not become a problem is 'ostrich syndrome'. Personally I have no problem with dogs, but most Thais that I know are frightened of them. There might be a good reason for this.

and Carmine, I will decide what I spend my efforts on, and looking after guests and visitors to this island is a main priority - I am not too worried if you have electricity or not. Let me see - painful dog bite, followed by hospital and a bill, with possible infection afterwards v no power for a couple of hours. Hmm try explaining that to the 6 year old girl at A & E yesterday.

Don't be such a drama queen.

[carmine]

Keeping dogs here is animal abuse in itself, the island is infested with ticks and every dog on Samui is riddled with them.

Yeh, right.

[John 1]

Keeping dogs here is animal abuse in itself, the island is infested with ticks and every dog on Samui is riddled with them.

My 2 dogs are not infected with tick's or fleas so your post is B/S.

[carmine]

You get the odd soi dog that bites. No denying that. You also get the odd drunken violent moron of an evening that likes nothing better than to go out, get lashed up and hurt other people.

Perhaps they should be force fed rat poison aswell and left to die a slow agonising death on the beach?

Dogs are mans best friend so treat them accordingly. Be wary at first but don't label them dangerous because the very odd one is agressive. Thats simply not rational thinking.

[samuijimmy]

Keeping dogs here is animal abuse in itself, the island is infested with ticks and every dog on Samui is riddled with them.

Another level-headed, well-considered thought...I suppose the answer to this, then, is to jail all dog and cat owners, destroy their pets and kill all strays with poison. No more animal abuse and no more tick-riddled dogs.

If you keep your dogs bathed and use a quality product such as Frontline for tick and flea control, there is little problem. However, you can't completely eliminate every tick during the seasons when they are active, and that's true in tick areas in the US as well, for example.

It is true, however, that many Thais (and SE Asians in general) do not care for their dogs adequately. But things have been changing over the last 25 years for the better. People here are slowly gaining a better understanding of the care and feeding of man's best friend.

I agree, the care of dogs has got a lot better in Thailand over the last few years... and not every dog infested... I even know Thai's who wash their dogs and cats to prevent flea and tick problems. Painting everyone with the same brush .... again....

But we can't argue he's always correct & an expert about everything.... NOT!

[Oak]

Keeping dogs here is animal abuse in itself, the island is infested with ticks and every dog on Samui is riddled with them.

Something called responsibility Do you have a friend in the world?.

[nod]

I find that it's easier to trust MOST four leggers rather than MOST two leggers.

[smokie36]

You get the odd soi dog that bites. No denying that. You also get the odd drunken violent moron of an evening that likes nothing better than to go out, get lashed up and hurt other people.

Perhaps they should be force fed rat poison aswell and left to die a slow agonising death on the beach?

Dogs are mans best friend so treat them accordingly. Be wary at first but don't label them dangerous because the very odd one is agressive. Thats simply not rational thinking.

Befriend the biggest baddest soidog around....then you won't be bothered by the others!

[PoorSucker]

I was bitten by a dog last year and the post-exposure rabies vac cost me 10,000 baht (4 lots of 2500 baht each).

I'm sure rabies deaths are rare but I don't want to be the first!

Bangkok hospital???

Bandon charges 800/shot.

[samuijimmy]

I was bitten by a dog last year and the post-exposure rabies vac cost me 10,000 baht (4 lots of 2500 baht each).

I'm sure rabies deaths are rare but I don't want to be the first!

Bangkok hospital???

Bandon charges 800/shot.

Nanton Hospital probably much less

[ydraw]

I agree, the care of dogs has got a lot better in Thailand over the last few years... and not every dog infested... I even know Thai's who wash their dogs and cats to prevent flea and tick problems. Painting everyone with the same brush .... again....

You can wash your dog twice a day if you like, as soon as it dries it will have ticks again. That's just the way it is here.

[carmine]

I agree, the care of dogs has got a lot better in Thailand over the last few years... and not every dog infested... I even know Thai's who wash their dogs and cats to prevent flea and tick problems. Painting everyone with the same brush .... again....

You can wash your dog twice a day if you like, as soon as it dries it will have ticks again. That's just the way it is here.

Well thats not necessarily true but there you go.

[Tropicalevo]

I agree, the care of dogs has got a lot better in Thailand over the last few years... and not every dog infested... I even know Thai's who wash their dogs and cats to prevent flea and tick problems. Painting everyone with the same brush .... again....

You can wash your dog twice a day if you like, as soon as it dries it will have ticks again. That's just the way it is here.

Poppycock. I used to treat my dog regularly with Frontline Plus , and he did not have a tick problem. The only time that the blighters survived was if I was late with the treatment.

[carmine]

I was bitten by a dog last year and the post-exposure rabies vac cost me 10,000 baht (4 lots of 2500 baht each).

I'm sure rabies deaths are rare but I don't want to be the first!

Bangkok hospital???

Bandon charges 800/shot.

Yes but to say 10000 for rabies jabs sounds so much more dramatic!