Attacked by dogs in Southeast Asia
Dogs are amazing; I love dogs. But that hasn’t always been the case. Ever since the first time my grandparents’ two jumpy Yorkshire terriers chased me around their house as a kid, I think there has always been some underlying apprehension when it comes to canines. Unfortunately, these childhood memories are still buried somewhere deep inside of me, meaning that when I arrived in Southeast Asia, the dogs could sense my fear…
This post will go over my experience being attacked by dogs in Southeast Asia (thankfully a lucky escape), and the things you can do to prevent a similar experience yourself.
Dogs in Southeast Asia
In Southeast Asia, there are stray dogs everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I mean literally everywhere! You will see dogs in almost every street that you walk around.
Some are clearly well-fed, friendly, and happy to see people. After all, tourists can often be very generous with food and strokes! One dog (that we named David) even followed us to a restaurant, fell asleep under my seat while I ate, and then followed us back to the hostel again! Oh, how I miss you David!
Unfortunately, others have been mistreated. Some are abused for lingering near properties, while others are riddled with disease. Poor cleanliness and sanitation in the streets of Southeast Asia make it difficult to stay healthy and health often deteriorates quickly if illness strikes.
One of the saddest things I witnessed in Southeast Asia was this poor dog crawling along the tarmac. It looked like it had a broken leg and its body was covered in bumps that looked like tumours. It was dragging itself along the ground at the side of the road attempting to rub itself on the floor as it struggled to bend around to scratch.
Sadly, seeing dogs in this condition isn’t such a rare sight when visiting Southeast Asia.
But the thing is about dogs, whether well-treated or not, it’s hard to tell what they are thinking! And unfortunately for me, you will pretty much always have to pass them in the streets when you are making your way somewhere. Especially at night.
Now I’d only had good experiences so far… until I reached Vietnam!
Hue, Vietnam
I had just arrived in the Imperial City of Hue in central Vietnam. Having checked into my hostel with a couple of friends I had met on the road we were discussing what we wanted to do next.
With not much time scheduled in the city, I was eager to try out salt coffee – a specialty in the area. The others were more eager for a beer! I guess after you come off a long sleeper train you’re in one of two moods: either you want to wake yourself up (me) or you want to kick back and relax (my travel buddies).
We set off in opposite directions. I headed towards the home of salt coffee, Cà phê muối, and my friends disappeared in search of some beer.
I followed the directions on my phone and after 15 minutes of walking, I made it! With the cafe located on the opposite side of the river to the Imperial City and other attractions, I didn’t notice much of a tourist presence.
I sat down for my coffee in peace, seemingly one of the only backpackers in the cafe (though apparently this is quite rare), and enjoyed the experience.
NOTE: you really should try salt coffee if you ever get the chance in Hue!
The dog
As I left Cà phê muối, my friends decided on a location to have some food. I plugged it into my phone to get directions. Only a 25-minute walk!
Following the directions, my phone took me via a different route back toward the centre of town. The backstreets were pretty quiet, but it was great. It gave me the opportunity to appreciate my surroundings and see a side of Vietnam that I hadn’t yet been exposed to.
As I walked along one particular road, Google Maps then told me to turn left down a smaller walkway. Since I had chosen pedestrian routes, Maps was reducing the walking distance by selecting a route in between some of the buildings.
I turned, passing a couple of men who sat out the front of their building having a chat and smoking. We exchanged a brief look as I continued to walk past them.
I noticed a dog looking at me from the doorway of their building. Its head followed me as I passed.
This was the first time in two months in Asia that I had thought, “That’s a suspicious-looking dog”. But I continued down the walkway, it wasn’t long until the route reconnected me with the main road again.
The alley had a couple of short turns as it winded between the housing blocks.
Then all of a sudden I heard a bark from behind me.
I glanced behind me and it was the same dog as before. It had followed me from when I entered the street by those two men.
I thought to myself, “If I just carried on, I’d be back on the main road soon, and hopefully, this dog will stop following me“.
Surely it was just being territorial about the house? Or maybe it was just being friendly and I’m being paranoid?
I continued walking away. This time a bit faster than before, trying not to look back and provoke the dog. But also trying to be aware of where it was exactly.
Then, the worst happened!
I turned the next corner and there was a gate across it. Locked…
The route that maps had taken me was blocked off!
As I turned around the dog was baring its teeth and started barking at me again.
I was trapped.
“Now what?” I thought.
I stood there for a moment, knowing that I had to go past this dog.
Then, as if the situation couldn’t get any worse, another dog joined the commotion! Thankfully it was a lot smaller than the first! But still another mouth full of teeth to potentially give me rabies…
I had to go now before any more came along, so I tried to speed walk to the side of them. And to my surprise, I got past!
The relief hit me.
And then seconds later, so did a dog!
The larger of the two had jumped up and nipped me on my side.
I burst into a run, I needed to get back towards those people and escape.
The next thing I knew, like something out of a comedy sketch, except it was real life. This greyhound-like dog had latched onto my shorts with its teeth.
I was swinging around trying to get it off. Meanwhile, the other smaller dog was trying to bite my legs, and a third dog had also appeared.
I started shouting. To this day, I’m still not sure what I was shouting, but let’s be honest it was probably a mixture of obscenities!
Then as I threw the dog off of my shorts, they all regrouped. I was still trapped between them and the locked gate. There was a standoff as they growled and I shouted at them to leave me alone. All the blood had rushed to my head – it’s pretty difficult to remember exactly what happened next.
But as all three came at me once again I continued shouting and they barked. The two men from the street corner appeared on a scooter.
The next thing I knew, the pair both jumped off! One of them grabbed the smallest of the dogs and threw it through a door and shut it in there. The other was trying to pin down this other dog. The last of the dogs was still chasing me in circles around the bike.
It sounds pathetic but my mind wasn’t thinking straight at this point!
One of the guys got back on the bike and ushered me to hop on! Without a thought, I did.
We zipped down towards the entrance to the walkway by the road again. The two remaining dogs barked and chased behind until we were far enough away!
We dismounted the bike and I thanked them. I actually thanked them over and over AND OVER again. Probably said thank you at least 20 times in total, my voice quivering.
They didn’t speak a word of English but I think they understood how grateful I was. One of them put his arm around me, laughed and patted me on the back as if to say – go.
They sat back down on the two seats, as the dogs slowly pattered their way back down towards them before taking a seat back in the entrance to their accommodation.
The aftermath
Somehow relatively unscathed, I walked away! Emotionally exhausted and on a bit of a buzz from the ordeal (not the coffee I promise), I made my way to our meeting point.
I rocked up, still breathing heavily, and sat down.
Having explained the situation to them, they came to the conclusion that stuff like this can only happen to me… I definitely needed a beer after that!
Not just a one-off
I guess my friends were wrong though, it’s not something that could only happen to me! Events with dogs, though not all as traumatic as my experience, happen regularly in Southeast Asia.
In the Philippines, these cute dogs that belonged to the hostel really disliked Chinese tourists. Every time they walked past, they would get up from their naps and defend the perimeter, barking and growling aggressively.
In Yangon, Myanmar one attraction that tourists enjoy visiting is an abandoned theme park. If you sneak your way through the fence, a group of stray dogs awaits. There are even guides online on the best way to sneak past them as they are renowned for chasing and biting people!
After dark in the quiet town of Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar, there are more dogs on the streets than humans! Cycling home, a group of 15 dogs chased my bike barking. Thankfully a quick detour, coupled with the dogs scrapping among themselves, allowed me to make it home safely.
The common themes of these, are territoriality, fear and past experiences. In the theme park, these dogs have almost taken ownership of this area, therefore anyone entering may be seen as a threat to their territory.
Equally in the hostel, the dogs are trying to protect their area from faces they don’t recognise and aren’t familiar with.
On occasions when you are on your own, particularly at night. Dogs may sense vulnerability or fear.
Tips for not getting attacked by dogs
With these triggers noted, there are a few things that you can do to reduce the risk of being attacked by dogs. These are things that I have learned from since my experience and try to bear in mind.
- Try not to look scared.
- Move slowly, confidently, without making high-pitched noises.
- Travel around in larger groups.
- Avoid places where you could get trapped.
- Try to avoid places where tourists don’t go – if dogs don’t recognise you, they may get territorial.
- I’m not saying carry a weapon, but there is definitely a reason why expeditions into areas with dangerous animals often carry sticks. If it makes you feel more comfortable and able to keep dogs at a distance if necessary, grab a stick or some rocks.
Attacked by Dogs: Final Thoughts
Do go out and get salt coffee in Hue. It really is great.
Consider where Google Maps is taking you before you blindly follow the route.
Dogs can be unpredictable and can take an innate liking or disliking to someone, so be careful. Some dogs just don’t like people (particularly tourists with unfamiliar faces)! Make sure to take these precautions to try and stay safe and avoid getting attacked by dogs!
If you do happen to get bitten, don’t suffer in silence. Even if you’ve had the rabies jab, you still need to see a doctor to get checked out.
Before you go
Thank you for reading my post on getting attacked by dogs in Southeast Asia. If guides, itineraries and travel content like this interest you, head over to my blog page to find out more.
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Happy travelling!
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