Hi everyone
I love walking, but the dogs in Taitung really scare me. There are so many of them roaming the streets. Is there anything that I can use apart from a walking stick that will stop them coming near me? My husband says they can see/smell that I am a foreigner. Does anyone know of any repellant or device I can buy?
Thanks in advance
To be honest the street dogs here are mostly quite placid, and if you learn to relax and just ignore them, they will normally just leave you alone.
If you start to act skittish the will pay more attention.
Well, they are not placid when they see me, they go berserk. Maybe it is because I have more meat on my bones than the locals. 
There might be some territorial tension going haha, but if you don’t behave in a threatening manner for them, they should ignore you. Sometimes they bark at people in bikes, or maybe someone is having puppies and is behaving defensively.
I’m not sure how much experience you have dealing with dogs, or how comfortable, but I’d recommend learning about stray-dogs & human interaction, there is a lot of nice knowledge around the net, things like:
Anyway, I don’t think you should look for defense/repelant tools against dogs, but rather try to learn to avoiding conflict with them and avoid their attention. If they don’t think you are a threat to them, they won’t threaten you. Maybe that means finding another road in your case 
Where are you having troubles in Taitung? I’ve lived here 30 years and never had any problems when walking. Riding a motorcycle or bicycle, yes, they sometimes bark or lunge.
Even out at the ocean end of Flowing Water Lake where there are many abandoned dogs I’ve never been approached by one; they mostly look for food.
This is good advice:
As of this, i have a belly like a mountain pig and i’m sure it looks tasty to a hungry mutt, but i’m quite confident around dogs even strays.
I think you need to try and keep your distance and try not to engage them if possible, at least until you build up some confidence.
Most of the time they are more frightened than you and just bark so you go away.
I walk mostly that road parallel to the sea. I am not sure what the name is. It is where you can rent all the bicycles. Going further right you will get the coast guard offices on your left.
In Taitung City?
Maybe I’m hanging out there in different parts of town, but I’ve never thought of or encountered stray dogs there . . .
Guy
Yes, in Taitung City. Personally I have never seen so many stray dogs in my life. Perhaps if I live here longer I will also not notice them anymore, but they are definitely here. Anyway, my question was about what I can buy to defend myself against stray dogs, not how many there are.
Thank you to everyone for your advice.
And of course the reaction of locals, especially children, on being approached by a strange dog is to raise your hands in the air and start screaming, so the dog thinks you are attacking,
Pepper spray? As mentioned above, follow the right behaviours for dogs. They are pack hunters, so avoid looking like prey.
They dont see/smell you being a foreigner and attack you for your race HAHA, ignore that kind of rubbish. They may see your fear/body movements and decide you are a target.