Red bottles hang from gates! Residents seek relief from stray dogs

The sight of red coloured water bottles hanging from house gates, tree branches and even parked vehicles is becoming increasingly common in Hubballi Dharwad, as residents try an unusual ‘desi jugaad’ to keep stray dogs away from their homes. The twin cities are estimated to have around 35,000 street dogs, according to official sources, though animal welfare activists and residents believe the actual number could be higher. With complaints of dogs chasing two-wheelers, attacking pedestrians and children, littering residential areas, damaging vehicle seat covers, sleeping near house gates and creating a nuisance with incessant barking and howling at night, residents are trying different methods to keep the canines away.

One such method that has caught on is hanging a plastic bottle filled with red-coloured water near homes. The practice, which residents say they have seen in other cities, has now gained popu larity in several parts of Hubballi-Dharwad, par ticularly in older residen tial areas. For some residents, however, the trick has failed to produce the de sired result. Shobha, a resident of Anand Nagar, said she first came across the practice while staying in a rented house in another locality.

Stray dogs frequently entered the compound and scattered wet waste kept outside the house. “I hung a bottle filled with water mixed with red colour near the gate, hoping it would keep the dogs away. But it did not make any difference. The dogs continued to enter the compound despite the bottle,” she said. Another resident, how ever, claimed that the method had worked for her. She said she regularly hangs a bottle filled with red-coloured water from a branch of a small tree in front of her house.

“Since I started doing this, dogs have stopped coming near the front of my house. I have children at home, so it has given me considerable relief,” she said. A walk through several localities in the twin cit ies reveals at least a few houses using the method. Residents say the prac tice is particularly popular in some of the older parts of Hubballi, where stray dogs are frequently seen around residential clusters and areas with open waste. But does red-coloured water actually scare dogs away? Deputy Director of the Animal Husbandry Department Dr Satish Santi said there was no scientific evidence to establish that red water bottles de ter stray dogs.

“There is no scientific proof that hanging bottles filled with red-coloured water keeps dogs away. People are simply following the practice after see ing others do it,” Dr Santi said. Instead of relying on such methods, residents should focus on eliminating factors that attract stray dogs, particularly the easy availability of food, she said. “Stray dogs tend to gather where food is easily available. Proper dis posal of garbage, using closed bins and avoiding the dumping of food scraps in open spaces can significantly reduce the attraction,” she said. Veterinary doctor Dr A.G. Kulkarni, however, offered a different view.

He said dogs could associate the bottles with a potential threat and consequently avoid the area. “Dogs may perceive the bottles as something dan gerous, possibly believing that they contain poison, and this fear may prevent them from approaching the area. I have person ally observed this near my house,” he said. Dr Kulkarni added that he had also seen people using a similar practice in Indore.