Changing Roles of Dogs in Urban African Society: A South African Perspective

Abstract

In Southern Africa domesticated dogs date back to the Iron Age (circa 1430 BP). Mainly of the sight hound type, they were traditionally used for hunting. In some more pastoral societies they played a role in guarding stock. Dogs were expected to forage for food and there was no control over breeding. Today South Africa has a large urban population and the interactions between humans and dogs have changed. A survey of households (n= 871) in Soweto, a densely populated urban area in Gauteng, was conducted using a structured interview and non-participant observation. There was a dog/human ratio of 1:12.4 or 0.42 dogs per household. This is not remarkably different from dog populations in urban areas elsewhere in the world. Dogs were kept for personal security, as companions, for guarding property and to keep feral cats away. The problems respondents had with dogs included strays in the road and in their yards, fighting, killing chickens, noise, biting children, faecal contamination of public places, bitches in season, tearing open rubbish, uncontrolled breeding and animal welfare. It was found that 98.5% recognized the names of commercial dog foods and 83.5% knew about sterilization of male and female dogs. Only 13.1% of respondents' dogs were up-to-date with vaccinations and only 6.2% knew which vaccines had been used. In the majority of cases (55.1%) the father was seen as the owner of the dog. It is concluded that dog—human interactions in modern African society differ from the traditional interactions. Dog owners feed dogs commercial pet food and are aware of surgery to reduce fertility. Their problems with dogs are similar to those in other urban environments. They form a high enough proportion of the urban population to have a say in municipal planning and the formulation of municipal regulations.