28 July 2008

Laughing Waters, RG Halli, Bangalore

TACKLING THE STRAY DOG MENACE IN A FEW SIMPLE STEPS

Problem: 12-15 resident stray dogs (dogs that have been in the layout for atleast 2-3 years
now) along with others from outside the layout, were perceived as a safety threat to the
residents owing to some aggressive behavior that they had begun to display, like:

• moving in packs of 6-7 dogs, often erupting into fights

• barking incessantly at pet dogs taken out for walks
• lingering around kids play areas in packs
• chasing vehicles on the main roads

Residents began an online discussion on this matter, demanding the association committee to
take action and ‘clear’ the layout of the stray dogs. There were a few dissenting voices that
insisted on using only legally prescribed means, while most were of the opinion that any
measure that ensured the safety of residents and their children had to be taken.

All residents though agreed that the stray dogs had to be contained and taken control of before
it caused any unpleasant accident to anyone.

Solution: The solution could not be single pronged because of the multiple aspects to it. It
involved

1) IMMEDIATE:
a. addressing the fears of the residents
b. making public areas stray dog unfriendly so they would relocate to other parts
in the layout
2) LONG TERM: containing the numbers of dogs in the layout

Addressing the fears of the residents:

Apart from the obvious presence of stray dogs in close proximity to human recreation areas,
causal talk among residents, heated debates on online forums – added to building an unnatural
degree of fear of dogs among all residents. To the extent that it was noticed that children (who
were told dogs are dangerous) were now attempting to chase them away, throw stones at
them. This was obviously not helping the already aggravated situation

In order to address this fear, ‘Peak hours’ were noted

• early morning - when residents (esp elders and those with pet dogs) were out on walks
• office going hours
• early evening – when kids came out to play in the park area

it was ensured that the stray dogs were chased away from these public places at the said
hours. This was consistently done for a week and residents were asked to give their opinion on
whether the problem still persisted – they were informed about the measures being taken and
reassured that the vigil would be maintained - with one security guard posted in the park area
at most times – making sure that the dogs also didn’t converge back there immediately after
they were chased.

Residents began to visibly relax when they stopped noticing dogs on their morning walks and
kids play time

Making Public areas unfriendly to stray dogs

There were several reasons that the dogs had begun to come together to form large packs:
• recent removal of a few strays for the ABC program had scared the remaining dogs
• the strays after sterilization behaved in a very defensive manner for the next few days
• the hierarchies within the dog population seemed to have been disturbed with dogs
trying to reclaim their territories and their place in the pack
• the pups following the strays seemed to have imbibed the fear from the adult dogs
• labourers in construction sites caused excessive garbage strewn in the open
28 July 2008
Laughing Waters, RG Halli, Bangalore

• labourers also raised these dogs in the small hutments they lived in

It was noticed that the stray dogs had developed a fear of uniformed guards (who must have
been chasing them around for some time). Guards were posted at several points around the
main road and park area, and instructed to scare the dogs away from these places (waving
sticks with cloths tied to them – to create an impact) and to split them up into smaller groups
from the large packs they were becoming.

Timing was important – it was necessary not to scare the dogs when there were many people
walking around because it tended to cause panic among both groups – the dogs and humans.
So this exercise was carried out just before such ‘peak hours’

Containing the number of dogs in the layout:

ABC program workers (CUPA-BBMP) were approached to help us spay/ neuter the dogs in our
layout so that they would not breed anymore and increase the number of dogs in the layout.
These dogs were also vaccinated before they were released

Entry points into the layout – breaches in the walls, storm water drain outlets – were blocked
with mesh/ iron gates so that dogs from outside the layout would not stray in

Work to be done:

• Keep up the pressure on the strays, not allowing them to inhabit the more public areas
in the layout
• Ensure that any unsterilized dog is sterilized
• Ensure that the labourers change their waste management ways
• Watch out for any diseased dogs and request CUPA-BBMP to take them away
• Vaccinate remaining strays in the layout