[wgX44EEn]

Its so weird being down here and seeing how different the dog culture is, especially with pit bulls. Heres a few things that are interesting..

theres no pound here for dogs to be kept or euthanized. Stray dogs remain stray and *most* thrive well that way. Its kind of survival of the fittest at its finest. Like nature prevents the lame dogs from breeding because theyre faced with the harsh stray world. If the dog isnt in great health or very smart it will get sick from being unvaccinated or hit by a car so only the strong survive to breed. These strays are friendly with all dogs and all people because they were reaised on the street. Its just kind of interesting.

Also here in Mexico you dont have to keep your dogs contained.. they can roam freely on the street as long as they have a collar. The dogs like this play with the strays and also become very dog and people friendly from such lifestyle.

However people here all manage to have the common sense to not let the bully breeds run the streets like the other dogs. Ive only ONCE seen a free roaming bully and its the stray pit mix that found himself a home in the downtown area away from other dogs. Theres TONS of bullies here and I see all of them safely locked behind peoples fences. I still walk Sam during the day because she hasnt turned on (although I carry a break stick in case she ever did or got into a fight) but most bully owners walk their bullies at night so as to avoid the strays coming over.

People here value the bully, unlike in the US, and I really like that. So many bullies get PTS up there for lack of homes but down here it just doesnt happen because those precious pit bull puppies are like diamonds and even if there was a stray pup, they get scooped up right away because a free pit is a NICE find. None are stray and none get PTS, its really great to see!

Anyhow theres some tidbits for anybody who cares to read lol. I just find it interesting to see the difference in the dog cultures!

[Meenepek]

That's pretty cool

[gambleingsites]

That's interesting... loads of dogs just roaming the streets would scare the crap out of me, dont care who what where told me they were friendly! lol

[Ornamiviant]

Very interesting, however I would never feel as though my dog's or myself are safe lol

[Zaxsdcxs]

I found that interesting! I can't even imagine letting my dogs roam the neighborhood like that, I'd be so worried they'd get hit by a car, stolen, etc.

[SarSerceSaice]

I travel a lot in the middle east and it's totally different there. There are lots of stray dogs and cats (partially because there is often a lot of trash on the street in some of the bigger cities like Cairo) and people generally don't keep dogs as pets. Muslims generally believe dogs are pretty vile - someone once told me that if you have a dog in your house then angels won't visit. So pet dogs aren't generally common there, except in some of the wealthier and expat circles. I was considering a job in Jordan but one of the things that kept me from doing it was the thought of trying to navigate having Amy there - with so many stray dogs carrying god-knows-what diseases, difficulty finding vet care and good food, etc. Not to mention I already totally stand out as an American - walking a big old pit bull would just make everyone either say nasty things to me or give me a wide berth - way too uncomfortable.

[casinobonusa]

I know several people who have Mexican street dogs they've imported... and they love them! They're neat looking, too

McRose - I'm jealous of your travels! I really want to go to Saluki COOs (Countries of Origin). Salukis are the only dog breed the Muslims don't believe are unclean

[Crundaangerge]

is rabies an issue in Mexico ?

[VastDrura]

I'd love a random sampling of pics if you ever get bored. My husband and I have talked a lot about what dogs would look like if allowed to free roam and breed based on their own selection of mate vs kept dogs who breed (mostly) based on human selection of mate. I saw a documentary about dogs in PR called 100,000 and those dogs seemed to be living much as you describe dogs living in Mexico. If anyone wants to see that documenatary, you have to email the guy who made it for a log in code so that the site doesn't become overwhelmed. If you don't want to wait, send me a PM and I can give my code to one person at a time.

[gambleingsites]

Not all Muslims feel this way. There is a majority i suppose, but not all. My mother is Muslim and she adores her dogs. My grandfather the same, my aunt the same.. so on and so forth.. we're a dog loving family.

[tuszit]

When I was in Mexico I noticed a lot of free roaming dogs, and yeah it really didn't seem like it was a big deal there.

As someone asked above though: Is Rabies a concern down there at all?

[wgX44EEn]

rabies is only as much of a concern as it is in the USA. Sam will be getting hers soon, as you need proof of rabies vaccine to bring a dog up to the US.

I couldnt let my dog roam freely either for fear. Especially seeing what happened to my cousins dogs -_- they started out with 3 dogs. One of them got hit by cars like every few weeks and eventually died from being hit AGAIN (he wasnt so bright) and the other little guy got sick and died. (the owners really piss me off because they never take care of these dogs or take them to the vet when these things happen). HOWEVER the one dog that survived is quite the amazing specimen.. Hes the same dog I posted about a while ago that followed me a mile and a half to the downtown and was able to find his way back home on his own. He also got the same sickness that the other dog got but he survived. Survival of the fitest. The idiot dog died and the weak dog died so now only this genius super healthy black lab survived and he thrives very well.

Ill try to remember to do some photo shoots of the dogs in my neighborhood today and post a few here tomorrow.

The reason most people let their dogs roam and dont worry is because with this life style, the dogs usually are smart about it. They dont roam far from home and manage to never get lost because theyre USED TO being out and about, unlike american dogs who escape and are like ¨ZOMG IM FREEEE, RUN RUN RUN!!!¨ Also getting hit by cars is rare because people here see a dog on the street and can assume its possibly somebodys pet so everybody is very careful driving through neighborhoods not to hit anybody.

---------- Post added at 09:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:41 AM ----------

I travel a lot in the middle east and it's totally different there. There are lots of stray dogs and cats (partially because there is often a lot of trash on the street in some of the bigger cities like Cairo) and people generally don't keep dogs as pets. Muslims generally believe dogs are pretty vile - someone once told me that if you have a dog in your house then angels won't visit. So pet dogs aren't generally common there, except in some of the wealthier and expat circles. I was considering a job in Jordan but one of the things that kept me from doing it was the thought of trying to navigate having Amy there - with so many stray dogs carrying god-knows-what diseases, difficulty finding vet care and good food, etc. Not to mention I already totally stand out as an American - walking a big old pit bull would just make everyone either say nasty things to me or give me a wide berth - way too uncomfortable.

Thats pretty crazy! Its weird how different some countries are with the dog culture. I can picture you and Amy walking down the street in Jordan with all eyes staring at you like ¨wtf is she doing??¨

[Meenepek]

I have some pictures of Iraqi dogs squirreled away somewhere I think.

[wgX44EEn]

hey post them if you can hunt them down, id be interested to see!

[casinobonusa]

I have a few Saluki friends who live in Israel and other countries over there... their pictures are awesome. The way Bedouins and other Middle East natives live and hunt with their hounds is amazing!

[BypeVupyide]

I'm not trying to be racist in any way but I always thought that in countries with a lot of strays (like Mexico) that they helped keep down the population by eating them also and selling their meat, etc.

Maybe I always thought this because when my step-dad was younger and living in Washington his family, along with everyone else in the neighborhood, new to keep their dogs inside a certain time of the year because when the Mexican's would come to do seasonal harvest, they would steal any dogs they could get their hands on (whether on the street or in someone's yard)... it was assumed that they were eating them based on how many they would take.

I'm sure not all people in Mexico eat dogs.... but isn't it part of their culture?
Or am I all wrong? I guess I'm really asking if it's illegal to eat dog there?

And I too am on the list for wanting to see what stray dogs in other countries look like

[SarSerceSaice]

noooo mexicans don't eat dogs! Definitely not part of the culture.

I can confirm that in Korea and China dog is a food, but not a really common or popular one. And yes, I have eaten dog in China. But it's not like the neighborhood stray. They're raised for that purpose. Still, it's weird. But there is nothing to swims, crawls, slithers, flies, or walks that the Chinese won't cook and eat.

Asia you don't see a lot of pet dogs either. I guess it makes sense though - in most of the world people are sufficiently poor that the thought of having another mouth to feed for no good reason is just weird. Working dogs are fairly common, including in the middle east and Asia. But not as pets. I was in Egypt a few months ago and told my guide that my dog slept with me and I think he thought it was the most awful thing he'd ever heard But there's nothing like being spooned by a pit bull.

I'll take pictures the next time I go. In Iraq there were mangy jackal-looking dogs that were pretty common. There were cute ones too but those jackals freaked me the eff out.

[SarSerceSaice]

Here, here's one of those jackal dogs from Iraq. Gahhh they scared me!

[Meenepek]

I'll take pictures the next time I go. In Iraq there were mangy jackal-looking dogs that were pretty common. There were cute ones too but those jackals freaked me the eff out.

Completely agree. Those Iraqi dogs are some wicked looking mofos.

[Ternneowns]

My grandfather in Mexico, let's there dogs roam freely. His dogs are mostly farm animals. Where my grandfather is from its a small community, no more than 500 or less people. At day time the dogs are to go to work and then roam. Soon as it hits night gates are closed but his dogs will come out at night. same as the neighbors dogs. I shit you not the dogs in that community will go out at night looking for a fight. Yea Mexicans eat dogs lol. There is a store my father told me about the meat the butcher in town used to sell.... Guess what dog. He also told me they used to make tacos out of dog cause dog meat was cheaper.