Dogs and Me

I have to admit that I have a fairly major fear of dogs. I suppose in the past I would have identified it as a phobia, but I have been working on this for many years now and trying to overcome this overpowering fear. At the height of my phobia I would be petrified by any dog in any circumstance – even say a teeny weeny dog. I don’t quite know how to describe it but it’s like there is an immediate and exaggerated bodily response to the presence of a dog. I get a massive uncontrollable adrenaline rush and if I allow my instincts to take control I will do anything ANYTHING to avoid that dog. In the past it’s made me do strange things, riding my bike on torturous routes 10 times longer than they need to be just to avoid the possibility of a dog. I’ve called out hysterically to total strangers.. etc etc. In later years I’ve taught myself that dogs on leads are okay (as long as you don’t get too close) most dogs behind fences are okay (but only if you are on the opposite side of the fence, and this is not always easy!) and usually dogs with owners are okay. But approaching a free running dog, is petrifying and approaching a dog protecting its property is terrifying.

So you can imagine what Mongolia has been like for me where dogs do run freely – across the vast landscapes, and they are the primary protectors of gers. In fact in Mongolia the standard greeting as you approach a ger is ‘Nokhoi Khorio!‘ which means ‘hold the dogs!’. And the dogs here are really REALLY big. I’m not sure why this is, probably because they need to be the kind of dogs that can grow thick coats in the wintertime and last running over vast vast distances. The dogs also have practical purposes. When you visit a ger you don’t knock and stick your head in the door and ask ‘may I come in?’ you just boldly barge in through the door (not forgetting to stoop because the entrance ways are low). So the dogs barking give some forewarning that someone might be about to come into your ger. Furthermore as I discovered on my first ger family stay – the dogs follow you to the ‘toilet’ (read: the great outdoors) and they eat your excrement with great gusto. No joke. This is not too much fun if you happen to have an attack of the runs in the middle of a freezing cold winter night and you have to run out to release your bowels and you are followed by 5 large and eager and snarling dogs…. Not to mention the fact that there are wolves about. But surprisingly enough I have faced this situation and coped with it okay. Well, I survived without external injury. There is not a great deal of affection shown towards these dogs, they are working dogs after all, and I’m not sure I would want to cuddle up with a dog that’s just eaten my shit….
This is a countryside ger dog which initially terrified me, in a more placid moment.

If you see a dog with a red scarf tied around its neck that means it’s a ‘naughty dog’ (as translated by a Mongolian friend) which usually means its bitten someone. Handy to know…

this is a 'naughty dog' branded that way for biting someone - and he's been tied up outside the ger

There are also many dogs in UB. Some people keep dogs, and given that many people live in apartments, it can be quite strange to see that they have Alsatians on their tiny balconies! But most dogs that you see are the type of dogs that live on the streets. They can usually be found rummaging about the rubbish piles or trotting around the streets looking for a rubbish pile to rummage in. Most of the dogs in the city are also BIG dogs, but there is a strange component of shaggy poodle-like dogs. They are medium sized and have curly shaggy hair that overhangs their eyes – usually black or gray (might have been white originally but nothing stays white in UB!). in my experience these are the dogs that are more likely to confront you with barking and sometimes humping your leg. I tend to avoid them. The other dogs in UB are dogs that are protecting peoples’ gers. They are usually large like countryside dogs but more ferocious because their area to protect is much smaller. The scariest thing for me is to see a pack of dogs. Boy oh boy, I cannot face that. But I feel comforted by the fact that most people are nervy in that situation.

Interestingly, Genghis Khan (called Chinggis Khan by Mongolians –and he is the biggest hero, I’m not sure why we say ‘Genghis’??) who is fabled for being the toughest most ruthless man ever, was apparently also afraid of dogs. Fancy that. I’m in good company.

celebratory ger set up for Chinggis Khan 800th Anniversary in Binder, Khenti.