Dogs are a natural part of Aboriginal community life. Most people like to have a few dogs around. Like the rest of the Australian population, many Aboriginal people have a close relationship with their dogs. This relationship needs to be acknowledged and respected.
| Dog dreaming There's a dog dreaming and we have to respect that as our dreaming. That's why certain people keep them. That's why they keep them for protection, for hunting, for company. With two old people by themselves with 15 dogs, them dogs will watch them, no worries. Before doing anything, get permission to go and do things. The important thing about dogs is their health. Environmental Health Worker |
Sometimes dogs have no one to take care of them and feed them. At times, there will be many dogs in the community, causing problems such as:
Some researchers such as Elliott and Baxter (in Williams 1992:5) have considered that dogs carry germs and infections that can affect humans. It has been thought that certain things such as giardiasis, various worms such as hook-worm, skin diseases, and diarrhoea causing organisms found in dogs may cross infect to humans. Currie (1994:8) questions how much unhealthy dogs lead to increased rates of human infections in Aboriginal communities. Infections such as diarrhoea and skin disease are most often attributed to over-crowding, poverty and poor hygiene.
Work carried out by the Molecular Parasitology Unit of Menzies School of Health Research points strongly to the conclusion that dog and human mites are different and that dog mites are not contributing, to any major extent, to the human disease burden.
Many people who work and live in communities feel that improved health in dogs has led to other improvements in the community. For a number of reasons, communities are often interested in doing a dog program.
| Pride in healthy dogs Many direct and indirect benefits of dog programs have been reported in Top End communities. It is claimed that there is a reduction in "skin infections, gastric complaints, anaemia and malnutrition in children in conjunction with the canine treatment program" (Palmer & Presson 1990:34). Also noted has been a development of pride in the healthy dogs and possibly improved awareness and efforts to elevate the level of public health in the community. In several communities in which the program was introduced in the Top End and Central Australia, it has not been sustained and it is obvious that the process is even more important than the outcome, so that considerable efforts must be expended on the "how" the program is done. Williams 1992:6 |
The aim of a dog program is to:
Generally dog programs involve dosing all dogs with a measured amount of a systemic anti-parasitic drug (such as Ivermectin) which helps to eliminate parasites and cure mange. Hair grows back, animals gain weight and do not have as many sores. Dogs are healthier, more alert, have more appetite, and breed more. Dogs may also become more aggressive and bark a lot at night.
A successful dog health program leads to an increase in the number of puppies so birth control then becomes important to prevent unwanted dogs. To control fertility:
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See 'Improving dog health' in Section 2 | |