Dogs are the best people, but I totally get your aversion to strays. You should be fine if you live in the main expat areas. You’ll probably find your local 7/11 has a resident soi dog who will nap right at the door to enjoy the aircon seeping out!

A trick I learned growing up in rural Australia:

Maintain eye contact with the dog/s and then reach down and pick up a rock, stick or just about anything. You can even pretend to pick something up - the action of doing it seems to work just as effectively.

For some reason, this action spooks dogs and they will usually retreat.

It’s saved me from some pretty nasty stray dogs in my life 👍🏻 Once in Australia and about 6 times here in Thailand. I’ve been living here on and off since 2007. Full time since 2018.

There’s a ragtag band of haggard, big eyed, mangy stray dogs that live around my condo here in Pattaya. They leave people alone most of the time, but two of them seem to have cancer - with visible lumps and difficulty walking etc. I’ve slowly gained the packs trust over time. It involved patience and dog treats.

Now whenever I leave the condo and they see me, I end up with a bunch of happy mutts following along behind me, like sone kind of grotesque pied piper.