To mitigate the stray dog overpopulation problem in Argentina, shelters must emphasize the importance of reproductive care. It is vital to explain that spaying or neutering is a minimally invasive and safe procedure that can be done once the animal is over six months old and will prevent the suffering and harm of many animals in the future.

After talking to many American shelters, it seems the most effective strategy to start to solve this overpopulation problem is trap, spay or neuter, and release (TNR). This is a humane and very effective method at curbing stray animal population growth while keeping the animal’s best interests in mind.

1. Trap – When trapping you want to visit an area that you know is popular and familiar to many dogs, where you will find a group of them. The most humane method to safely trap the dog is to use a box trap and some type of food to entice them. Place the food inside the trap and put it in the selected area, then briefly exit to an area where you are around ten meters from the trap but it is still in sight. Watch and wait until the dog is fully inside the box, then calmly retrieve the trap so as to not panic the dog in the trap or any surrounding dogs.
2. Spay/Neuter – Shortly after the dog has been captured they should be brought to a partnered veterinary clinic or animal medical care professional who can perform the spay or neuter procedure. At this time, many veterinarians recommend checking for other medical issues that require immediate attention as well as giving the dog their core vaccinations (distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parvo, and parainfluenza). For dogs that will go back on the streets, vets will sometimes mark the belly of the dog while they are anesthetized with a green or blue line tattoo to indicate they have been spayed or neutered and vaccinated.
3. Release – Once the dog has been healed it should be released back into the area where it was initially trapped.