Raising your dog right

When Nikhil Desai adopted a year-old abandoned German shepherd mix, he swore that he would never give people reasons to complain about his furry friend. “We expect others to show our pets affection just the way we do. But that does not always happen and the first encounter between your pet and a stranger is always full of surprises,” says Desai. 107391478 “I respect the thoughts of the person coming in close contact with my dog at home or outdoors.” Olive is always on a muzzle outdoors. Desai does not use his building’s elevator with Olive if a resident is uncomfortable with his presence. “I don’t mind waiting a few minutes. Although Olive is gentle, I don’t want people to feel intimidated,” says Desai. Olive comes out for his walks only after the other pet dogs in Desai’s colony have returned from theirs. Like Desai, there are several pet parents working hard to strike a balance between giving their pets all the freedom while being considerate to the community around them. It’s a tightrope walk. 107391480 Pet owners often feel pitted against two groups — those who are genuinely scared of dogs and those who refuse to be compassionate or accommodative. Each side has its own views and resultant conflicts over uncalled for hostility from uncompassionate neighbours, unruly pet behaviour and irresponsible pet parenting are not uncommon.Squabbles over pets using elevators, being walked in common areas, aggression and barking are on the rise as more and more families bring home dogs. A key cause of such conflicts is lack of awareness on raising dogs right and poor understanding of pet behaviour in general, say animal behaviourists and dog rescuers. 107391483 “As a rescuer and pet parent, I’ve encountered as many cases of conflicts on my own as in other neighbourhoods. Such conflicts are double-edged swords. While the community should be sensitive towards dogs and their owners, it is equally the responsibility of pet parents to acknowledge the dislike and fear some may have towards animals,” says Richa Singh, founder of Bowsome Senior Dogs India Foundation (BSDIF). “Practices like basic obedience training, taking the lift only in the absence of others, cleaning up after your pet relieves itself, communicating politely about your pet’s behaviour with your community can go a long way in fostering healthy community behaviours in dogs,” she adds. 107391485Animal behaviourists and veterinarians too emphasize on seeking professional help and guidance before getting a dog, instead of giving in to love for dogs, whim or social media influence. 107391489“Every breed has different needs when it comes to exercise, diet and mental stimulus. Choose the breed that your own lifestyle and living conditions can do justice to. Getting the correct breed according to your family dynamics is the first step towards raising a calm dog. Breed genetics play a critical role as well. Training and introducing enrichment activities according to breed genetics will help your dog feel fulfilled and eventually reduce reasons for it becoming anxious/aggressive,” says Nidhi Sanghrajka Mehta, canine behaviourist, trainer and aggression expert. 107391487 “Puppy or an adult, a dog can be trained in obedience with appropriate intervention. This is as important as feeding it the right food. Without the necessary stimulus and exercise, a dog can get aggressive or display destructive behaviour,” says Dr Dhaval Patel, a veterinarian in Ahmedabad. With inputs from Nimesh Khakhariya in Rajkot and Tushar Tere in Vadodara 107391492Pooja Sanghvi D’souza’s 15-year-old pet is a dog trained very well by her father. Neither has Rushi displayed aggressive behaviour, nor has he soiled in the wrong place. Rushi doesn’t bark incessantly and disturb the neighbours either. “We got him as a puppy. He heeds our commands, plays outside every day and interacts with people. Not once have we received a complaint. In fact, the neighbours have come to love Rushi.” The Rajkot resident says they never had to seek a trainer’s help. “How the dog behaves also depends on its temperament. The key to having a well-behaved dog is emotional bonding,” she says. 107391495Walking her golden retriever became a stressful affair for Anjali. Her path would often cross with her aggressive neighbour and his equally hostile dogs. “They would lunge at my pet and me without provocation. The owner had no control over them and didn’t seem to be bothered about the bad behaviour either. One of the dogs once slipped out of its harness to attack mine.” Thankfully, she was carrying a bottle of water, which she threw at the dogs to break the fight. “It was a close call.” No number of representations worked, and finally, their owner was asked to leave to society along with his pets, but not before striking terror among residents and their pets. 107391496A couple living in a highrise in Vadodara faced a peculiar problem. Their five-month-old pup would shiver at the sight of stairs. Unable to understand the fear, they roped in trainer Amit Hajarnis. “The dog had always used the elevator and thus developed a phobia of stairs,” says Hajarnis. It took hours of patient training and positive reinforcements to help the dog overcome its fear. It’s important that the pet get used to environments it will have to face, he says. A question that he often faces is about keeping a pet dog from attacking strays. “The opposite, too, happens. I train pet dogs to not get aggressive with strays. Another important lesson a dog must know is to not pick up things from the street.” An increasing number of apartment dwellers want their dogs to stop rushing out of the door when it is open as this can intimidate other residents. “I get many requests to address this issue. The dogs are then trained on not leaving the house until instructed by their owners,” Hajarnis says, adding that more than tricks, owners should train their dogs to be obedient. 107391501Training code: Patience, love and self-discipline TImes News NetworkTraining is very important to make a pet dog obedient, social and people-friendly,” says Colonel Chandan Singh Rathore (retd), senior consultant on dog training for Gujarat Police. It takes patience, love for the dog, repetition of the training exercise, reward, timely correction and appropriate punishment, he says. “Training begins at the puppy stage itself. The pup should be frequently exposed to the neighbourhood and allowed to meet or mix with people around without scaring them. A happy puppyhood will make a well-mannered dog.” Col Singh speaks from his vast experience with the Remount Veterinary Corps of the Indian Army, an instructor in the army dog training faculty at Meerut Cantt and having commanded a dog unit in the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon. He underscores the importance of rewarding desired behaviour or action with a treat or a toy, adding that it’s very important that the day’s lesson ends on a positive note. Also, self-discipline is a must to discipline a dog. A dog’s behaviour is the reflection of its master’s conduct. Subconsciously, the owner does many undesirable things which a dog with extreme sensing power imbibes them, he says. “In the wild, dogs used to live in packs and their daily routine involved physical activities to hunt or survive hostile situations. A pet dog, however, is totally dependent on its master for everything including exercise. A dog with a poor exercise routine will not only have poor health but bad temperament and undesirable behaviour, too.” Choosing the right trainer is equally important. “Check his credentials. The trainer should be well-behaved, disciplined, physically fit and have a cool temperament. He should understand dog psychology and work according to the principles of dog training. He should not be in a hurry or leave the training mid-session,” says Col Singh.