“The average dog is a nicer person than the average person” (Andy Rooney)
When we have visitors, I always tell them the same thing about our dogs: “Ignore them; don’t look at them, but look at me and talk to me instead” – if they do this, the dogs are happy to leave them alone. The next step for the visitor (assuming they are willing!) is to come on the daily walk with the dogs…and that’s all that’s required, after that the dogs will maybe give them a cursory sniff or two and then pretty much ignore them after that.
Locals are very good at following this advice but westerners (particularly dog lovers) are not so self disciplined. They find it hard to resist trying to pat the dogs on the head, or will hold out their hands for the dogs to sniff….usually this results in a very quick barking reprimand from the dogs.
One of my friends who is simply terrified of dogs came to visit a few years back… she followed the advice and the dogs left her alone to the point where she felt able to sit outside with the dogs in the evening (which was quite an achievement for her). However even I could see the nervousness of her body language and the dogs certainly picked up on it, so it was a slightly tense situation and there were a couple of set backs when she automatically flinched when a dog came near, prompting a fury of barking.
This is the catch-22 for people who are not confident around dogs – the dogs sense this and are more likely to bark and hassle someone who appears in anyway fearful of them, so people who are scared of dogs are more likely to have problems with dogs, reinforcing their fears. It can certainly be a scary situation (and one that has happened to me a number of times) when you have a pack of strange dogs all following you and barking furiously and, almost invariably, they will try to get behind you which makes you even more unnerved. In those situations I force myself to concentrate on something, for example, “I am walking to that tree and I am very focused and interested in that tree and I am not even noticing these annoying dogs”….it almost always works.
In the villages of the Orang Asli the (many!) dogs simply run free, no-one bothers to try and control them and it is up to the visitor to behave in a way that doesn’t send the dogs crazy… generally all this requires is to walk confidently and ignore the dogs altogether (don’t even look at them) and, above all, don’t try and make friends with them. A good idea when approaching any sort of village or jungle settlement is to call out before you get too close and an Orang Asli can come out to meet you and accompany you in…that way you will have no problems at all with the dogs.
The other thing about jungle dogs is that they are almost all fearful of humans to some extent…there is little tolerance here for a dog that hassles humans and most of the locals won’t think twice about lobbing a stone at a dog that is giving them problems. As such, it is very unlikely that a local dog will actually attack a human and will limit itself to a lot of barking instead.
As someone who grew up with pedigree dogs in the UK, these pariah dogs were a revelation – they are, quite simply, the best dogs I’ve ever come across – hardy, intelligent and (unlike a lot of pedigree dogs) not in the slightest neurotic. All my dogs were rescued and all had been attacked or abused by humans and yet, within a matter of months, they would overcome whatever horrors lay in their past and became calm and good natured.
In the video below I am also (fairly shamelessly!) trying to find a home for some puppies that were born (on April 30th) to a feral dog that took up residence at the end of our drive. I would dearly love to keep the puppies but simply can’t manage any more dogs so, if you are interested in owning one of these dogs, drop me an email.
So, if you are looking for a real dog that is at home in the jungle then I can really recommend these type of dogs and, personally, I would never even consider getting a pedigree dog again.
As mentioned in the video, there is a truly wild dog in Malaysia and you can click this link to watch the video footage captured by the WWF in the jungle.
What’s the rabies situation like there? Here in my local area in the US it comes and goes depending on how many wild animals are infected. Mostly bats, raccoons and skunks and it is sometimes passed onto dogs that come into contact with them. I don’t think it is a law in my area to have a dog vaccinated, but most are, but like everything else it costs money so I always assume feral dogs are not vaccinated. Jungle dogs seem a little like farm dogs here, some will come and greet you, but others will hang back.
Thanks
Hi Losmandy,
Sorry for slow reply but I have been away and then dealing with puppies! Anyway in answer to your question I have never come across any rabies cases here and I think, although I’m not sure about this, that rabies has been eradicated here in Malaysia. However you are right that most jungle dogs are not vaccinated and, as a result, often get ill with common but easily preventable diseases.
These dogs are born friendly but, as a result of abuse, can often become fearful around humans and this can cause them to appear aggressive (when in fact they are just scared).
Anyway, thanks again for the comment and apologies for slow reply.
Cheers!
Paul
What cute puppies! My wife said she wants one. It’s a good thing we’re literally on the other side of the earth.
I was out mushroom hunting in the woods with my dog a few weeks ago. I got 3 mushrooms and 12 ticks on me and even more on my dog. Bad year for mushrooms but it’s always a good year for ticks. I use a mix pesticide spray used in horse stalls. I spry my close and my dog. It kills the ticks but not fast-enough to keep them from attaching. There are so many things ticks carry here. I recently met a guy who got bit by a lone-star tick “one of the most common here” and can no longer eat red meat without having a allergic reaction that could be fatal . I have known a few people to be hospitalized over tick bites. I was wondering if you had any tips? We call Kentucky Ken-tickie!
Dave
Hi Dave,
Many thanks for the comment and sorry for the slow reply but I’ve had my hands full recently with the puppies! The mother managed to escape with one of the puppies and hid it in the jungle and it took me 48 hours of almost non-stop searching to find it!
Ticks are a problem here and, as it happens, I just pulled one off this morning that had attached itself to my waist without me realising. There are many types here but this one was so small that I thought it was just a scab from a leech bite….then the surrounding skin started to go red and I realised that there was tiny tick in there. I get them off simply by putting some soap on them to loosen them off and then pull them out.
I am not certain about this but I think the ticks here don’t carry the same nasty diseases that are found in ticks in other parts of the world.
The reason we get so many here is that the wild boar are infested with them and then the dogs pick them up. Frontline is a good solution to the problem but needs to be applied tot he dogs every month and that can get quite expensive!
Anyway, thanks again for the comment.
Cheers!
Paul
Love your video as always, very informative.
Just curious, do you come across ghost in the jungle? I heard that there are a lots of sighting in South East jungle. And usually kampong dog can give you warning when they saw ghost, is it true?
Thank you.
Cheers!
Harry
Hi Harry,
What an interesting question you ask! I don’t believe in ghosts myself (although I kind of wish they did exist as it would mean I could continue messing around in the jungle even after death!) but I can well imagine why people think that dogs can sense them. On numerous occasions the dogs have started barking and getting upset when there is nothing around and I begin to wonder if they’ve all gone nuts….they haven’t, they can simply smell things that are not immediately obvious to the naked eye. Snakes, in particular, cause this problem as the black cobra is almost impossible to see when they come into the garden but the dogs always know when one is around.
Anyway, many thanks for the question.
Cheers!
Paul
It would be nicer if you used mongrel, which I think is what you intended to say, instead of writing “pariah dog”. Pariah is an ethnic group. I’m sure you wouldn’t find it polite if everyone started using terms like cockney dogs, or english dogs, or dogs etc.
Hi Slightly Irritated,
Many thanks for the comment and a fair point you make….I don’t usually refer to the dogs as Pariah Dogs and call them simply Jungle Dogs, but it is a commonly used term over here which, I guess, derived from the Indian Pariah Dog (check out this wiki link) and the word ‘Pariah’ itself has a few different dictionary definitions.
Nevertheless, I shall avoid using the term in the future and thanks again for the comment.
Cheers!
Paul
Hello Paul,
I was wondering how would you go on a hike in the rainforest with one dog, or more.
What gear, who would carry it?
What would change regarding your habits of sleeping, cooking and so on?
I wish I could learn to dogs to get some kindling 😀
Thank you, be safe.
Hi Wawa,
Thanks for the question and it’s a good one. I have gone hiking with the dogs before and am thinking of doing it more regularly. The problem with the dogs is that you need to keep them on a leash most of the time otherwise they are liable to run off after a wild boar and disappear for hours (this has happened to me). However walking a dog on a leash through jungle is not that easy because the lead gets caught on rattan or wrapped round trees which can be a bit of a pain. The other problem is that the dogs can be over protective at night and bark a lot to warn you about the many animals that they sense around them.
Saying all that, it’s great to have a dog with you when you go camping!
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Thank you for the answer, it’s great that you can help me with that. Thanks to the Comment system 🙂
I guess it takes practice for the handler and the dog to hike in the jungle in good conditions.
Do they get snagged and cut by the rattan?
What would you think of a dog backpack?
I was thinking that the backpack could be some sort of protection for the dog; and keep it focused because it gives him a job to do.
Solo Jungle hike with multiple dogs would be a challenge 😀
Bye 😉
Hi Wawa,
Thanks for the comment and glad the explanation made sense. The dogs don’t really get snagged by the rattan (their hides are pretty tough) but they can get cut open at the base of the paw if they stand on something sharp (e.g. cut bamboo). The thing they really don’t seem to like are the leeches and they get them both on the legs and in their noses….not so much a hazard but I’m sure it is uncomfortable for them.
I have bought a Mountainsmith backpack for one of my dogs who I want to take in with me but simply haven’t got round to it yet..,when i do I’ll try and film it and you can see the design.
And you are very right….dogs like jobs!
My plan is to go in with one dog….going in with multiple dogs is just too much of a hassle!
Anyway, thanks again for the interesting questions.
Cheers!
Paul
Hello Paul,
Glad to learn they don’t get snagged up by rattan, although I’d be looking for cuts and punctions around their paws, and for ticks too!
By the way I read a report of bikers (Malaysians in Malaysia), everytime they passed near stray dogs, or kampung dogs, there was a little chase from the dogs.
Now I can’t wait to see your video with your backpacking dog. I’m sure you’ll have an interesting approach on that subject.
Thank you for the answer.
Hi Wawa.
Thanks for the reply and sorry for being slow to get back to you but just got back from a trip to the jungle.
I see quite a few bikers (of the push bike variety) cycling past at weekends here and have often wondered if they get hassled by dogs…must be a bit of a nuisance.
And you are right about the ticks – the dogs pick them up and quite often they transfer over to me which is a real pain.
Anyway, thanks again,
Cheers!
Paul
Hello Paul, you are awesome!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge about the Jungle.
I would be so happy if you told me all of your personal experience/knowledge about the specific dog breed TELOMIAN?
(Its not much information about them on internet)
cheers!
Mathias
Hi Mathias,
Many thanks for the comment and support, much appreciated.
I don’t have much more knowledge to share with you on the Telomian breed other than stuff you can find on the internet. I suspect a lot of my dogs are part telomain somewhere down the line but they are by no means pedigree! Certainly I notice that their hunting instincts are very strong compared to dogs I was brought up with back in the UK.
I seem to remember that there was someone in the states who was breeding them. Possibly the more pure bred telomain are over in Sarawak? I don’t really know.
I wish I could help you more.
Cheers!
Paul