BajaNomad

street dogs?

handlebarmike - 12-27-2023 at 08:44 AM

We haven't been down to Mexico (we live in New Mexico) for a handful of years, mostly because my wife just couldn't handle the situation with the abundance of street dogs. We knew some were owned and cared for and just running free. But many were obviously suffering from malnutrition and mange. I love Mexico (especially Baja) and would like to go back for an extended time in the winter. But she won't go if the situation hasn't improved. What's everyone's experience in the last couple of years? Are there specific places where it's better or worse? We like the smaller towns, especially between Lerado and Santa Rosalia. Thanks for the add to the forums and thanks in advance for any feedback regarding the dogs...

Bajazly - 12-27-2023 at 09:08 AM

Well, there hasn't been any kind of large scale rescue effort if that is what you were hoping to hear. Dogs are dogs here, they are part of society.

And there is no "D" in Loreto.

Lee - 12-27-2023 at 09:11 AM



Dogs have been a problem in the gringo enclave where I live (S. of Rancho Pescadero, San Pedrito Beach). Some gringoes don't care that their dogs run through the neighborhood. People have been bitten and no one seems to care. Not sure what can be done, anyway.

Walk the beach most days and carry an open knife on my belt. Every now and then I see pit bull type dogs on leash with young MX men and it alarms me. Those dogs are checking me and my Lab out.

Dogs have been problematic for farmers in the area with dogs running through their fields. I've heard they put out poison. Dogs have been poisoned at Cerritos beach too. Wouldn't have my dog off leash there.

I have a healthy paranoia about MX dogs. I don't let down my guard around these dogs esp. if they are in a pack of 2 or more.

None of this is reason not to visit Baja. Just be cautious and aware of your surroundings.


mtgoat666 - 12-27-2023 at 06:14 PM

Quote: Originally posted by handlebarmike  
We haven't been down to Mexico (we live in New Mexico) for a handful of years, mostly because my wife just couldn't handle the situation with the abundance of street dogs. We knew some were owned and cared for and just running free. But many were obviously suffering from malnutrition and mange. I love Mexico (especially Baja) and would like to go back for an extended time in the winter. But she won't go if the situation hasn't improved. What's everyone's experience in the last couple of years? Are there specific places where it's better or worse? We like the smaller towns, especially between Lerado and Santa Rosalia. Thanks for the add to the forums and thanks in advance for any feedback regarding the dogs...



I grew up in pre-leash law rural and suburban America. Dogs ran free. They bred freely. I miss the old days when dogs could be dogs. Many of the dogs in mexico lead free lives that are envied by gringo dogs.

Mexico dog situation could be worse,… ever seen how dogs are treated in stan land, middle east and china?

Every town in mexico seems to have dog lovers that do good for some of the strays. I also know several gringos that travel with a bag of dog food in their vehicle and feed strays.
Maybe your wife would like the mexican dog situation better if she became part of the solution, rather than just the critic.
There are lots of dog lovers posting on social media about dog rescues in their community… and lots of opportunities to adopt strays instead of buying puppy mill designer dogs


[Edited on 12-28-2023 by mtgoat666]

Don Pisto - 12-27-2023 at 06:33 PM

I think your wife has a legit concern, i've grown pretty leery of our canine friends after a couple close calls where locals thankfully intervened, old and slow rex and duke had the definite advantage. this to the point where I stay off the side streets where they can smell a fearful gringo and carrying a golf club and mace isn't something im prepared to do. now I do walk up and down benny juarez almost daily wheres theres tons of people and I find myself amused at the street dogs that appear well fed and healthy that seem to be having a ball roaming around looking for a snack and probably go home at night but im a firm believer in letting sleeping dogs lay. so yeah I think it matters where you find yourself.
now side stepping the land mines they leave behind is another story, it is mexico! good luck:coolup:

BooJumMan - 12-27-2023 at 06:41 PM

My subjective opinion is that it is better than it was 10-20 years ago...

AKgringo - 12-27-2023 at 06:45 PM

My 90 pound dog is a constant companion north, and south of the border. She gets plenty of exercise running free when we are away from camps or communities, but I never let her run loose otherwise.

So far, aggressive dogs have not been an issue, but as Lee pointed out, dogs in a pack could be a very different situation. Almost all the dogs we encounter are friendly, or timid.

Feeding strays is not a mission I set out on, but I always have a large supply of dog food and occasionally it winds up being the right thing to do.

4x4abc - 12-27-2023 at 07:04 PM

the good life for dogs in Baja is over
too many aggressive Gringos
they catch them, castrate them and send them to dog school
just like they treated Natives

Gringos hate things that are not under control

if "rescuing" and supporting were their true calling - they would help orphanages and schools (you know, the places with humans in need)

leave the happy dogs of Baja alone!




happy baja dogs 1970 cabo san lucas.jpg - 142kB

[Edited on 12-28-2023 by 4x4abc]

[Edited on 12-28-2023 by 4x4abc]

4x4abc - 12-27-2023 at 07:12 PM

Quote: Originally posted by handlebarmike  
We haven't been down to Mexico (we live in New Mexico) for a handful of years, mostly because my wife just couldn't handle the situation with the abundance of street dogs. We knew some were owned and cared for and just running free. But many were obviously suffering from malnutrition and mange. I love Mexico (especially Baja) and would like to go back for an extended time in the winter. But she won't go if the situation hasn't improved. What's everyone's experience in the last couple of years? Are there specific places where it's better or worse? We like the smaller towns, especially between Lerado and Santa Rosalia. Thanks for the add to the forums and thanks in advance for any feedback regarding the dogs...


your wife needs a shrink
leave those poor dogs in Baja alone!
they are as happy as can be

more food and more care does not lead to happiness
just look at the well fed Gringos - most of them are as grumpy as can be

surabi - 12-27-2023 at 07:48 PM

Oh, please 4x4. Yes, there's nothing wrong with letting dogs run free if they aren't aggressive, but spaying and neutering dogs is a good thing. It isn't anything like sterilizing humans as a form of eugenics.

And I can assure you that starving and mangy dogs are not "happy". And that's what you end up with when dogs are allowed to reproduce like crazy.

When I first came to my town there were lots of starving, mangy, dying dogs everywhere. Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated woman and many volunteers, that situation no longer exists here. She instituted an education program regarding people getting their dogs spayed and neutered, puts on regular free spay and neuter clinics, where vets also volunteer their time, has rescued dogs suffering in horrible conditions (like being tied up all day, underfed and living in their own faeces), and finds homes for dogs that need them.

She has a program where people can adopt a dog, often being flown to the US or Canada with someone who offers to take them up there. I had a guest from Portland Oregon who comes to Mexico almost every year and brings dogs that homes have been found for back with her. I asked her, "Surely there must be dogs in Portland that need adopting? Why do people want dogs from Mexico?"
She said no, that because people up north are responsible about getting their dogs spayed and neutered, the demand for rescue dogs is greater than the number of dogs available.

And no, the woman who runs the rescue program doesn't catch dogs that are healthy and run around free and have homes they go back to at night, nor believe that dogs need to be kept at home or always on a leash, or anything like that. But she and the other volunteers, and those willing to foster and adopt dogs have given unwanted, uncared for, ill and starving dogs a better life.

[Edited on 12-28-2023 by surabi]

Cancamo - 12-28-2023 at 12:26 PM

Stray dogs are omnipresent in Latin America. I've witnessed street dogs being fed rat poison in hot dogs, often for the entertainment of the feeders.

Puppies and adult dogs in Mexico are often released around Gringo enclaves, or the dump, with the intention they will get adopted or at least have a chance at survival.

Although the treatment of dogs as a pet/companion is beginning to improve, most dogs are treated very poorly. Just act like you are picking up a rock, you will see their learned response of fleeing. Most ranch folk where I live just began feeding their dogs not very long ago. Before they survived on slaughtered animal waste, and by hunting rodents, etc.

My theory is that they are the last in a long line of the abused and exploited in a corrupt society. The hierarchy is something like this. After the politicians, authorities, patrons, husbands, children....then it's dogs, it runs downhill. The last in line.

A shame as dogs often are better creatures than those abusive humans, and smarter too!

BajaBlanca - 12-30-2023 at 07:14 AM

Ohhh I find the stray dog situation very hard to deal with. I have a good story about a La Bocana dog, I will start another thread and tell it, one of these days.

Dogs were sometimes dumped at the dump....it was heartbreaking.

surabi - 12-30-2023 at 12:29 PM

It isn't just Mexicans who dump unwanted dogs, either. I have a friend who lives in a town nearby that has a marina. She told me that tourists who come by boat often leave their dogs behind when they leave. She has two dogs she took in that were left behind by American yachties.

And in the Lake Chapala area near Guadalajara, expats have posted about snowbirds leaving dogs behind when they go back up north.

Also, stray dogs are more often than not full of intenstinal parasites. So it doesn't matter how much food they manage to find to eat, they are always hungry.

[Edited on 12-30-2023 by surabi]

AKgringo - 12-30-2023 at 12:55 PM

The dog that I have now is not one that I would have picked for myself, but I agreed to "foster" her until a couple with a four year old son could find either a landlord that would allow a dog, or someone willing to adopt her.

That was almost eight years ago! She is an intelligent, but challenging companion that both enriches, and limits my lifestyle, but we have a bond that I value very much!

pauldavidmena - 12-30-2023 at 02:54 PM

Playa Lucia in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, is nicknamed "Dead Dog Beach" on account of the number of dogs abandoned there. The Sato Project has rescued hundreds of "satos", vetted them, and placed them in the U.S. mainland.

Working in Australian Cattle Dog rescue, many Heelers are dumped for either not having the expected herding drive, or having it in unwanted settings (like a family home). It's definitely a universal problem.

[Edited on 12-31-2023 by pauldavidmena]

4x4abc - 12-30-2023 at 04:27 PM

I loved my Heeler!

surabi - 12-30-2023 at 06:49 PM

Quote: Originally posted by pauldavidmena  


Working in Australian Cattle Dog rescue, many Heelers are dumped for either not having the expected herding drive, or having it in unwanted settings (like a family home). It's definitely a universal problem.


That happens with a lot of breeds. I once had a great dog- a huge Alaskan Malamute. I got him from a guy who was working in the Yukon, the dog was going to be put down because he wouldn't pull a sleigh, and this guy decided to bring him home. But he already had a German Shepherd, who wouldn't accept a new dog on his territory, so he he put an ad up looking for someone to take the Malamute.

And my most recent dog, whose origin I don't know, because she simply appeared on my property one day, was, I think, a Korean Jindo. There are lots of Jindos in rescue centers because people think it's cool to have some rare breed. So they get a puppy, without doing much, if any, research on the breed, then find out the dog needs tons of exercise, is highly intelligent and willful and needs a lot of firm training, so they just dump the dog somewhere.

And many shelters now are full of dogs who people got when locked down for Covid- a pandemic puppy. When things got back to normal, suddenly the dog became an "inconvenience".

pauldavidmena - 12-30-2023 at 07:44 PM

Quote: Originally posted by 4x4abc  
I loved my Heeler!


I remember seeing a photo of you with a dog and thought "that's an Australian Cattle Dog!" We've had 2 mixes in the past and then adopted purebred Red Heeler with an unfortunate past (puppy mill, hoarding, etc.). We're still trying to teach her how to be a dog.