Are dogs running wild normal where you live?

I'm reading a book about a man who decides to ride his bicycle from England to India for charity. It's a true story.

He crossed France, Germany, and Poland without incident. But, as he crossed over in to the Ukraine, Russia, and Uzbekistan, he remarks on a warning that he received before he left. Dogs in these countries are not confined or on leashes. He wasn't talking about strays, but of dogs that people own.

As he crosses these countries, he has numerous encounters with multiple dogs who run from front porches or front yards and chase him. Some of these dogs attack him as he tries to pass.

I like if suburbia in the US. Despite the incidences in my neighborhood, it is not normal for people to purposely leave their dogs unattended in their front yards. It's against the law to allow them to roam freely in this manner. If a dog so much as bites a person, they are quarantined and might possibly be put down if there is a history of aggression.

I know that things are different in different places and different countries. In rural America, it is more common for dogs to have freedom than here in the city. In other cultures, dogs have different roles.

How is it where you live? Is it a common occurrence to be approached by dogs who are owned by people? Would you be chased by one of these dogs if you were in their territory?

 

I live in the US so no, dogs running wild is not normal. I know several other countries though have dogs that we consider strays here that live on the street and are cared for by the community at large.

 

There is not so much of a problem where I live. Dogs seemed to be adequately controlled. We do have two feral dogs that roam the area from time to time though. I've filmed them twice on a remote video camera. I'm unsure if they are a threat to humans.

 

In Thailand, dogs are free to go anywhere they want.

If they bite someone, then the owner has to pay for the treatment. That's the main reason why those dogs with owners are put on a leash.

Other than that, there are plenty of strays who are being looked after, in a general way, by the people where they live. If a person gets bitten by a stray, then he has to pay for his own treatment.

I haven't heard of any stray dogs being put down for biting people, so far.

 

Same here. Dogs owned by some people are running wild and free in the community. Lol
Good thing that majority of those dogs are not really a threat but their "poops" are everywhere and their owners does not mind cleaning those for their dogs. So, the main problem is the owners.

 

I live in the US, too. In cities, no, it's not common at all. In the country, though? It's definitely a lot more common. We used to have major issues with wild dog packs when we had rabbits.

 

I live in Poland and the owners of dogs are pretty responsible here. Municipal police doesn't let dogs run freely on the streets. Only once I had this problem, I was in the park - some parks here are like forests - and there was a homeless guy sleeping. There was also his dog, that was protecting the area around his owner. I couldn't pass by, I'm sure the dog would bite me, so I had to turn back. I was pretty scared.

 

I live in the suburbs and no it's not normal to see dogs running wild. However, I can recall a few instances of seeing dogs in some areas who are free to roam where they like. I think owners have a responsibility to know the whereabouts of their dogs and to keep their dogs away from those who might not share their love of dogs. I know some people who are terrified of dogs for one reason or another and if they were suddenly approached by one the street they might become anxious.

In saying this I just remembered one dog who lives in a quiet street in my suburb that is free to roam as it likes but tends to stay close to it's home. It's really friendly and has a gentle nature and I always pat it as it follows me.

 

No?

Dogs are very rarely on the streets in the UK. When I travelled South America, that was one thing that I really remember standing out to me - the amount of dogs that were ownerless and roaming the streets. Everyone tells you not to touch them either. It's pretty heartbreaking because I always want to adopt and look after them all.

 

That's odd. I mean the part about not patting any of the dogs roaming the streets. Are the people worried about some kind of disease? Surely if there's some disease, they should be vaccinating the dogs.

 

I live in the countryside of the US. We do have several dogs that do run wild. We are always getting notices in the mail about small packs of wild dogs being seen in the surrounding areas. We also get bulletins when they have been caught and put down. Because of safety issues, they are always put down.

 

Pocs, my brother's in laws have a second house in a rural part of California. They also have issues with wild dog packs. In fact, they have had problems this Summer with dogs attacking their horses. They have been able to bite the horses on the legs, but not hurt them seriously. As yet, they have not caught them. In these case, they were people's pets, then they were dumped.

In my area, it is dangerous to let a dog run loose mainly because of the cars. I've seen dogs get run over and it is heart wrenching.

Another issue is theft. For some reason, there has been an increase the last two years of thieves stealing people's dogs and reselling them. There have been several news stories about these thefts. I have a friend who let her poodle roam her front yard even when she wasn't out there. One afternoon, the dog was gone. They called the shelters, put up flyers, etc. They never found him. They suspect the dog was stolen because he never wandered from the front lawn. They thought the dog was fine outside alone. So sad.

 

Not just disease, but attack, yes. Combine the two and it can be deadly or insanely costly. If a dog is roaming the are, you have no idea where it's been, what it has, or why it's there. It could be aggressive. It could have rabies. You just don't know. And if it's not with an owner, then you don't know if it's been vaccinated either.

 

I would be heartbroken if any of our dogs took off on their own. My terrier would like to try and attack cars, she got hit by a truck once doing that (that's how we adopted her incidentally, the owners didn't want to take her to the vet so they told us we could just have her if we wanted). Other than that, all three of my dogs were very friendly and would let anyone pet them and wouldn't bite anybody. Our beagle actually found us, she followed us home a few days before Christmas one year. We couldn't find out who her owner was so we just kept her.

 

Ah, if only they were just stealing the dogs and re-selling them to people who want to keep the dogs. As pets. In Thailand, there are gangs who go around stealing dogs. Then re-selling them to people who like dogs. As food.

 

There are strays around my neighborhood, fortunately they have a tendency to keep to themselves and not attack you as you go by. One problem I have notice and its one that really bothers me is people in my neighborhood who don't properly contain their dogs. These dogs get out and start barking, I also had one almost attack me once. I had no choice but to report these neighbors. I hate reporting dogs, but we all need to learn to keep our dogs properly pinned in our yards. I keep mine contained in the back yard. This isn't only for the safety of people in the neighborhood but for the safety of my dog. Dogs who are allowed to run around the neighborhood can run the risk of being hit by cars or other dangers.

 

That depends on the dogs. If they grew up in the streets, they are usually street-wise and know how to cross the streets safely. I remember my old dog, Benjamin, who could actually look left and look right before crossing the road. He even knew how to get to the part where there is a zebra crossing before he crosses the road.

 

Not really. The town is so worried about appearances that they make sure all strays are picked up by animal control.

Not cats, though. Only dogs

 

Yes, in my country it's pretty normal and that is the main reason I stopped going on walks. It's nothing like in europe, in my country people have dogs they keep outside roaming free with no leashes.

I call them semi stray dogs and boy do they cause problems! I used to walk every morning, and for a very long time when walking by a street there was a dog that always barked at me and threatened to get closer and closer. Of course I only laughed because he was tiny, but it still was so damn annoying. It's a bigger problem if you want to walk your dog... so many of these dogs roaming free.

I remember seeing a group of dogs... I saw them going back their respective homes (it was so early in the morning) from what it seemed to have been a night of fun with the trash cans, lol. It was so funny, it was like seeing young men sneaking into their houses after a night of fun. Those dogs were pals. Funny scenes of my country, lol.

 

I think I'd stop going on walks if there were stray dogs in my city too. I'd be scared of them! I know that most dogs are sweet and loving, but they're animals and all animals can be dangerous, especially if they're scared or hungry. Not to mention that my Homer barks at every dog he sees.