Comparative Study of Free-Roaming Domestic Dog Management and Roaming Behavior Across Four Countries: Chad, Guatemala, Indonesia, and Uganda

Dogs play a major role in public health because of potential transmission zoonotic diseases, such as rabies. Dog roaming behavior has been studied worldwide, including countries Asia, Latin America, and Oceania, while studies on dog are lacking Africa. Many those investigated drivers for roaming, which could be used to refine disease control measures. However, it appears that results often contradictory between countries, caused by differences study design or the influence context-specific factors. Comparative needed better understand domestic address these discrepancies. The aim this was investigate demography, management, across four countries: Chad, Guatemala, Indonesia, Uganda. We equipped 773 dogs with georeferenced contact sensors (106 303 217 149 Uganda) interviewed owners collect information about [e.g., sex, age, body condition score (BCS)] its management (e.g., dog, origin owner-mediated transportation, confinement, vaccination, feeding practices). home range computed using biased random bridge method, core extended sizes were considered. Using an AIC-based approach select variables, country-specific linear models developed identify predictors roaming. highlighted similarities term countries. median size 0.30 ha (95% range: 0.17–0.92 ha) 0.33 (0.17–1.1 (0.20–0.61 0.25 (0.15–0.72 7.7 1.1–103 5.7 (1.5–27.5 5.6 (1.6–26.5 (1.3–19.1 Factors having significant impact some included being male (positively), younger than one year (negatively), older 6 years low high BCS hunting shepherd time when not supervised restricted (positively). same outcome have country no another. suggest is complex closely related owner's socioeconomic context transportation habits local environment. Free-roaming completely under human but, contrary wildlife, they strongly depend upon humans. This particular dog–human bound understood explain their deal free-roaming issues.