Well! Dogs have been in the news for a long time now for their aggressive behavior. Unfortunately when we think about dogs, we draw parallels between a mad and an insane human being and a normal dog. But in reality they are quite intelligent. From times immemorial, dogs have been tamed by man, there were other animals in the offing, but only dogs were intelligent enough to earn the distinction of being one of  the first tamed and companion animals of man and have served our ancestors immensely and continue to offer their services in umpteen number of ways.
While the better breeds of dogs are used in defense, by crime detecting agencies and as companion animals, the stray dogs act as scavengers. Though the stray dogs are armed with lethal weapons of sharp teeth and claws and possess fine athletic skills like their wild relatives, they have adapted themselves within the domestic framework. They prefer to eat garbage and seldom attack our tempting livestock species.
  In fact, Almighty has bestowed them with tremendous capabilities; the most striking among them is their power of smell. In fact dogs' sense of smell is thousands of times better than ours; their hearing range is far wider; and they can taste a teaspoon of sugar diluted in thousands of gallons of water. Scientists across the world have acknowledged their capabilities and the sharp-nosed breeds are employed to recognize diseases. Some researchers have even reported that dogs can even smell fear.
With the negative thoughts, out of our ignorance, when we walk towards the dogs in an apprehensive manner, they are smart enough to know that we are scared. People experiencing fear and many other emotions give off distinct odors, and although these might not be smelly enough to be picked up by human noses, they can be detected by dogs. When it comes to fear, we sweat because we are under stress, and dogs can smell this. And if we are just a bit nervous, adrenaline will still pump through us. While this adrenaline is unscented to us, it can be detected by a dog. Thus our fear can be perceived by the dog as a threat and it attacks in self defense. When we walk in a normal manner, without any evil intentions or fear, the dog seldom attacks us, unless it is a rabid dog which is very dangerous but shows clear symptoms of madness.
The dog population has increased at an alarming pace and in some areas human to dog ratio is alarmingly high. The experts have suggested sterilization and some have also advocated poisoning. This has invited a sharp reaction from the animal rights activists. Even some people have doubted the efficacy of sterilization arguing that, would a dog stop biting after sterilization? Thus there has been a lengthy debate over this vexatious issue. But within the status quo, some tips can definitely minimize dog attacks, the most important among them being to act confidently.
Next time if you see a normal dog (not a rabid one which has clear symptoms) in your way, approach it without any evil intention or without any hesitation as if you have ignored it and then see the results. Unfortunately in the present status quo of abnormal dog numbers we cannot teach small kids to be confident, but the adults can approach them confidently, of course, in their own interest!
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Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
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