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In this episode of Canine Conversations, Kayla talks to Michael Shikashio about street dogs in Latin America. Michael has traveled to Mexico, Colombia, and Chile, where he enjoys observing the street dogs. Back in the US, Michael runs Complete Canines, where he works exclusively with aggression cases.
Kayla recently returned from a nearly year-long road trip down the middle section of the Pan-American highway (Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama).
They discuss how the lives of street dogs differ from those of pet dogs – especially how they’ve got more choice and control over their lives. Both Michael and Kayla noticed very little, if any, aggression between street dogs during their travels. However, Kayla noticed a lot of barking and lunging from street dogs directed towards her dog Barley. Many of the street dogs seem car-savvy and know how to get good food from tourists.
They discuss the implications of removing dogs from this life for “rescue” in the US. While there are cases where this might be necessary and beneficial, there are also times where this huge upheaval may not be great for these dogs!
Finally, they discuss ways that you can give your own dog a bit more freedom, choice, and control at home.
In This Episode:
- Information on Michael’s upcoming seminars, conferences, lectures, and courses.
- Michael’s Facebook page on aggression
- Some of Michael’s videos of street dogs
- Puppy Culture
- Kong stuffing recipes
- SMART x 50
- We also recommended Hannah Brannigan and John McGuigan
Kayla founded Journey Dog Training in 2013 to provide high-quality and affordable dog behavior advice. She is a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant who’s worked with hundreds of private clients, thousands of shelter dogs, and dozens of working detection dogs. Kayla’s dog and cat behavior advice has been featured in NPR, the Chicago Tribune, and Pet MD. She’s an avid adventurer who is currently doing #vanlife on the Pan-American Highway with her two border collies and a cat. Aside from running Journey Dog Training, Kayla also runs the nonprofit K9 Conservationists, where she and the dogs work as conservation detection dog teams. You can get 1:1 advice with a Journey Dog Training team member here.
