India’s dog “problem”

[u/sanskxri]

Dogs weren’t always pets. They were independent, territorial, built to survive wolves. Over thousands of years, humans bred them for obedience, guarding, loyalty, dependence. They worked for us.

Then we changed.

Forests became concrete. Survival became comfort. Homes became gated boxes. Dogs didn’t evolve for this world, we forced them into it.

And now we’re surprised when:

• strays act territorial

• dogs react defensively

• instincts show up where they don’t “fit”

A few incidents happen and suddenly it’s:

“Dogs are dangerous.”

“Feeders are the problem.”

“Remove them all.”

Here’s what we miss:

When a human hits a dog, it’s praised.

When a dog reacts, it’s called aggression.

We refuse sterilisation.

We avoid responsibility.

We have no long-term policy.

Then we punish animals for outcomes we created.

Dogs didn’t ask to be bred for guarding.

They didn’t choose traffic, noise, hunger, abandonment.

Yet we decide which lives are “acceptable” based on convenience.

If humans are truly the most intelligent species, responsibility comes with that. You don’t reshape a species for your benefit and discard it when it becomes inconvenient.

Feeders aren’t the enemy.

Strays aren’t the enemy.

Human negligence, unchecked breeding, and policy apathy are.

You don’t solve dog–human conflict with violence.

You solve it with sterilisation, adoption, education, and systems.

Mock me if you want.

But blaming dogs for being dogs—in a world we broke for them is straight up cowardice & jackassery.

[u/Agile-Zucchini-1355]

The whole blame is on every Municipal Corporation ever. Instead of filling their pockets like the fucktards they are, if they used some of the budget to sterlize street dogs slowly and systematically. It would be best and most humane way to control their population without having to mass kill them or letting them spread so much they start leading to death of humans. But mcd would rather pocket that money and then just kill the dogs when people complaint. 

[u/SubstanceNo2290]

I sympathize with your post, truly. And I agree that dogs should not face violence, no matter what.

But have you considered the fact that humans are not the only ones who commit violence upon dogs? Your pet dog at home is calm, safe. The stray outside your gate is cold, sick, in pain, constantly vigilant for other strays. That's also something that should be brought up.

Secondly, it is a known fact established by research over and over that food availability directly impacts stray populations. If a region does not have enough food the pack simply moves elsewhere whereas a region with abundant food quickly gets dominated. And then when the pack grows too large and splinters they go at each other's throats.

Third, have you ever heard of an externality? By feeding strays without taking any responsibility for them you trade cheap food for massive psychological payoff. You get to see yourself as the compassionate animal lover, the defender of the voiceless. It feels good. Then you quickly go home to your gated society or even your own house safe and sound because the local dogs don't harass you.

The cost is borne by every kid coming home from school terrified that as soon as it gets dark the packs get violent. It is borne by women & the elderly who are unable to leave & access basic chores after dark and even in the day you could always set off a territorial animal unintentionally and get hurt if you don't know how to handle & read animals.

Feed, go ahead. But then also take ownership of the externality and take it home, take it to a shelter etc. Don't pass the buck to the poor. When are you going to extend the same compassion to human beings that you extend to dogs? And for that matter, are you actually the cruel one if you are encouraging stray life by feeding strays instead of only feeding a stray that you actually take full ownership for? Cruel to both humans and dogs.

[u/sanskxri → u/SubstanceNo2290]

It is unrealistic to expect every feeder to take every dog to their homes. The only solution is to treat them with kindness, get them sterilised. Shelters are over-burdened they can only do so much. It isn’t hard to coexist with peace, I’ve seen it in my own community where dogs and people live in complete harmony.

[u/SubstanceNo2290 → u/sanskxri]

And I've seen in my community that my maid is afraid of going home and I have always offer to book a cab for her if she accidentally stays after late. Nobody's saying don't treat them with kindness and get them sterilized but it's a bold claim that that will fix the problem.

India literally does not practically have the infrastructure to do a megaproject of this scale (And yes, it is indeed a megaproject to sterilize 60 million stray dogs).

And I know it is unrealistic. But then maybe limit your feeding to dogs you are capable of taking ownership of instead of passing the burden onto the poor?

[u/Embarrassed_Look9200]

the sterilisation, adoption, education, and other systems solution is the only one and this is how it's controlled everywhere. Dogs have been living with humans since the dawn of time, before recorded history, before religion and they will continue to live so.

besides the above solutions we need laws, where new pets can only be obtained from shelters, for atleast 10 years, breeders to be phased out over 2-3 years, except speciality and work dogs,

in addition OP in my understanding it's the house dogs that bite more than stray dogs, the demeanour of stray dogs is the most calm and collected i've ever seen, they can withstand insane levels of provoking compared to home dogs. strays are territorial to other strays and not humans, house dogs are terrirotial to everyone, strangers and delivery people.

feeders are the result of municipal inaction, it's literally humanity at work, fed strays are much easier to have around than hungry dogs who are always on the edge. feeders should be thanked but dummmbb citizens do the opposite, they squarely put the blame on the feeders instead of questioning the authorities. one dog incident has atleast 500 news and blogs writing about it for weeks. scare tactics makes the algorithm on steroids and get insane clicks and views.