I don't believe in the "pack theory", the "alpha theory" or the "dominance theory". I make it quite clear too that I don't. But I am not always very articulate when it comes to expressing why I just don't buy this theory. Of late there are more and more articles appearing that explain the flaws in this theory and this is one of the good article. It's written by Winkie Spires, a behaviourist from England and the Chairman of PDTE. This is an excerpt from her article in the PDTE Newsletter.
Firstly, what does "Dominant" mean? Controlling, commanding, prevailing over all others, very important, powerful, successful. For years, the word "dominant" has been used to describe dog behaviour. It seems to be used as a nice tidy blanket term to diagnose a large number of behaviours or actions that are deemed to be undesirable to the human. Once a "dominant" diagnosis has been made, it can, in some cases, lead to justification for harsh, inappropriate, cruel, ignorant, dangerous, painful and confusing training techniques being practiced on the dog.
I really believe that dogs are wrongly diagnosed as dominant and that more needs to be done by professionals and owners to understand the true motivation for the unwanted behaviour. The only truly dominant behaviour seems to be practised by humans and unfortunately for animals and the planet no-one has come up with a dominance reduction plan for us!!
Who originally came up with this term "dominant"? It may have orginated with studies done on wolf packs which may not be hugely relevant when we are actually dealing with domesticated dogs who have undergone 10-15,000 years of selective breeding. Although dogs share many characteristics with wolves we will only really learn about domesticated dogs if we observe and learn about domesticated dogs.
The fact is that many dogs now live in social isolation from their own kind and their humans, often for long periods of time, which will obviously have a bearing on their behaviours.
This theory of hierarchy was popularized by David Mech. It was based on observing wolves in captivity and then extrapolating that behavior to dogs in our homes. That would be like observing apes in a concentration camp and generalizing that humans in normal lives behave the same way. Now finally after years of pushing the alpha theory, David Mech himself questions his own theory. It takes a lot of evidence, not to mention immense humility to debunk ones own theory.
But there it is...that theory is out dated. We really need to get past it, put it behind us and start looking deeper. Look for the real issues and not just shroud everything under the "be the alpha" approach. Pretending to be a furless 2-legged overbearing dog is not going to fix all of our problems. In fact it's not going to fix any. Instead of trying to be a dominant dog, perhaps being a compassionate human being, might just start fixing a few things. Wny not give that approach a try?
I often get the question of what kind of "training" once needs to do when feeding a puppy. Some trainers recommend taking away a puppies food to teach a puppy not to guard. I believe that taking a food away from a dog actually teaches the dog to guard food. My teacher, Turid Rugaas, International Behaviourist and President of PDTE puts it quite articulately:
What we see is that at about the age of 4 - 6 weeks, puppies learn to respect teach other. In fact, they learn this so well that it sticks with them for the rest of their lives if we do not disrupt it. That's when we will see the mother leaves food for the puppy to take and she will never claim it back. That means that by the time you get your new puppy, he has already learnt that when he's got food, nobody will take it from him. Now you know why they get so scared and frustrated when people start grabbing their food. Never, ever, take a puppy's food away - or an adult dog's for that matter - because that is how you teach them to be food aggressive.
When Tigger came home she had severe resource guarding - food guarding being one of them. When she was eating if any of us so much as looked in her direction, she growled visciously. We let her keep her food and stayed as far away as possible. We watched how Nishi dealt with her. Nishi did the same. She figured out the distance that Tigger was comfortable with and stayed at that distance at all times. As the days passed, this distance gradually reduced. Tigger tolerated more and more proximity. Nishi gradually approached, always mindful of respecting Tigger's need for space. Today the food guarding has disappeared. She no more sees the need to guard her food from Nishi or from us.
Often I hear clients say this to me. Many complain that their dogs are fussy eaters and take forever to finish their meal. But the fussiest of eaters polish off their meal when in the the company of other dogs. Why is that? Because the presence of another dog often poses a threat to the food. I have seen one thing common among all shelter dogs - they polish off their meal in a jiffy. No fussy dog whatsoever. So, what's going on here? The dog is stressed out and gobbles up the meal in an attempt to consume what she perceives to be her share.
The insecurity around food is the worst form of insecurity, is it not? I often wonder how it must feel for one to fear loss of food. Sounds terrible. And to inflict fear of such nature on another sounds barbaric, to say the least. I once read an article that rightly posed this question "Is it really too much for a dog to ask for some personal space and time each day to eat his meal in peace, away from other dogs, away from children, away from guests - in his own private corner?".
So, I ask you this. Why not make that a little ritual. One little corner and a tiny slice of time dedicated for our companion's meal. I am sure it's not impossible to dedicate a spot on the balcony or kitchen or even an unused bathroom where a dog can go in, enjoy his meal and not have people or dogs walking around him and for us to guarantee that he will NOT be disturbed as long as he is eating. Of course, if my dogs chose to walk out, without finishing their meal, then I clear the food up, so that there are no literal bones of contention lying around. But as long as they are chowing down, I consider their meal time as sacrosanct as mine. I don't like to be disturbed and I don't like my plate to be taken away from me while I am eating. I am sure they don't like it. And I see no wisdom in doing it. Watching Nishi with Tigger told me that dogs don't believe in such rude behaviour either. So...how is meal time going to be?
Yeah! I know...we all want to think our dogs are posh dogs. We want to wash them in shampoos that smell of berries, put shiny collars on them and think that our dogs love the good things in life. Yes, they do love the good things in life. But their idea of good things and our idea of good things are perhaps a tad different.
All said and done, dogs adore half dead or fully dead rodent. Yeah...squeal all you want. But that's what it is. So, it does not take much to figure out that a toy that looks and feels like a half dead rodent is going to be popular with them.
Check out those eyes!
One toy that I found that comes very close to this is Skineez. These are squeaky toys, have little beady eyes, are limpid like half dead rodents. There are a few others who make squeaky toys with this structure. But what I like about these specific toys is that they have no stuffing! Yep. They are stuffing free.
Tigger is my true hunter dog! She likes to not just have a kill but actually dismember the kill! So she goes after all her toys and pulls all the stuffing out. Not that she likes eating it, but she loves pulling everything out. In the process, I fear that she might accidentally eat some. So a toy that does not have stuffing that she could eat is always very attractive to me.
Note the "No Stuffing" sticker. I like that a lot
Nishi is my gentle girl. She picks up the toy in her mouth, prances around the home, shaking her head side to side, swinging the toy. Again something dogs love to do with half dead animals rodents - playing with them till they die. So the toy is fun for her to play by herself. In addition, it is a good toy to play fetch with. I have also seen the girls play tug with the toy quite frequently.
So a tug, fetch, engaging toy that the girls can use to play with us, play with each other and play by themselves and not destroy it in the process or harm themselves by ingesting stuffing - That's why it's my pick of the day today.
Skineez makes this toy in 2 sizes, shaped like a few different rodents - squirrel, raccoon, skunk or meercat or something like that. I don't know. Not that I care much, neither do the girls. They have also introduced something called Crazy Critters. We have not used it. So this review does not apply to that toy yet.
Pros: No stuffing, squeaky, good fetch toy and tug toy, dead rodent like structure makes it very interesting for dogs to play with it by themselves.
Cons: Is a furry texture. So can get dirty and might be hard to clean. Not indestructible
Not sure if this is a pro or a con. You decide: It looks so much like a dead rodent that Uttam once saw it in the garden and jumped back thinking it was indeed a critter from our garden that had met an untimely death on our vegetable patch! :)
Where to buy:Dogspot, Paws (CALL:+91 80 41317297), Glenands Koramangala, Most leading pet stores
Now now! Don't wince and dismiss this blog as some psycho's sick fetish. Bear with me a bit. I am now going to head back to Nishi's health and some coping strategies we used. As my earlier blogs indicate, Nishi's accident left the right side of her face completely damaged. Her right nostril does not produce any moisture resulting in crusting on the inside. We have to frequently clean it out (at least once a day) using tweezers for this purpose. How annoying and scary for a little dog like her. While few of you have perhaps had to stick something up your dogs nostril, I am sure you frequently encounter situations where your dog has some irrational fear of something and you want your dog to get over that fear and get comfortable with that object or situation, just the way I needed Nishi to get over her fear of tweezers and get comfortable with me putting it in her nostril. So, here's how dealt with this.
Picture taken 3 months after her accident showing the constant crusting in her right nostril
One afternoon, we found ourselves sitting on the floor and pinning Nishi baby down, trying to calm her down, wrestling with her and the tweezers and losing the battle, losing patience and the will to continue. Finally I gave up, stood up, threw the tweezers away and yelled out that I could not do this any more. What the hell were we doing? Here was a puppy who had just been through hell and we were making things worse. We are her parents. We had to be making things better! "Why won't she understand that this wont hurt and it's for her own good Uttam?" I yelled. He calmly said "How is she to know that?". I huffed and walked away.
Finally when the frustration gave way to reason I kept turning that question in my head. "How is she to know that it won't hurt her?". I had to tell her. I had to somehow tell her. But how? I took a deep breath. I knew then that I had to learn to communicate with her. She was so good at telling when when she was afraid or happy or sad or hungry. Could I not tell her something? I went back out and found her sitting in a corner, feeling utterly miserable about this whole episode. My heart went out to her. I took a few cookies and went up to her, knelt in front of her, apoligized and gave her some cookies. She tentatively look a few then started slowly wagging her tail and licked my wrist. Bless her little soul for getting past it so fast. A tear dropped down my cheek and I was determined to make it all better.
I got up, shook myself the way she has taught me to shake myself [and fetched her ball. We started playing. We forgot all about the episode and we had a fun fun game. She finally collapsed after a tiring game of chase .(update: I no more recommend playing fetch with dog).] I took a few more of her favorite treats and went up to her and started giving her the treats one at a time. I slowly pulled the tweezers our and put it on the floor, far away from her and continued giving her the treats. I don't think she noticed the tweezers. I kept the treats coming and slowly started moving the treats towards her, talking softly to her. At one point, she noticed it from the corner of her eye and froze. I stopped moving it and pulled it away. I continued talking softly. Wearily she moved her attention back to the treats. I slowly moved the tweezers closer again. She kept an eye on it, while she continued to take the treats. I stopped moving the tweezers. Just kept talking to her and treating her. Finally she lost interest in the tweezers and rolled on her back asking for a belly rub. I took the chance and moved the tweezers closer. After a 30 min long session of treating and conversation, the tweezers were right under her nose on the floor. She had examined it and decided that it was not worth thinking of. Battle 1: WON! "Tweezers are are not the enemy."
UPDATE:I now recommend different methods. If I had to do this now, I would just put the tweezers down and sit calmly around it and allow Nishi to examine it. I know she will take time and pretend like she is not interested in it. But eventually she would examine it. If I saw she was not nervous around it anymore, I would encourage her to examine it by leaving a few treats near it and just giving her time to examine it at her own pace, even if it took an hour
Now I had to move to step 2:" Tweezers are friends!". For this, I went back again, picked up a few more treats, and everytime I dropped a treat on the floor, I dropped the tweezers with it. At first, she jumped back, looked at me confused, then slowly steered clear of the tweezers and picked up the treat and bolted! But as we continued doing it, she started to ignore the tweezers. After the 10th time, we moved to the next level. I'd drop the tweezers first, then drop the treat a few seconds later. By the time I had done that a few times, she got the idea. "Tweezers means Treats". Now the tweezers had become her friend. She started wagging her little stubby tail when she saw that small piece of metal.
This step was so successful that by the next day, when I pulled the tweezers out she would start prancing about. So we started playing a game. I would touch it to her little nose, make a little high pitched sound - "boop" - and then run. She would chase me and when she caught up to me I would pet her, treat her and repeat. She would stand look up and offering up her little black nose for the "boop" and ready to chase. UPDATE:I now recommend different methods. If I had to do this now, I would tone down the excitement, slow down the process so that she had time to realize learn and process faster
After 2 days of this, on the 3rd day, I decided to go for the last and final step. I dreaded it! If just getting over the fear of the apparatus took so long, how long would it take to put it in her nostril and clean? I took a deep breath [and we started with a high energy game of ball.(update: I no more recommend playing fetch with dog).] When she was exhausted, we collapsed under the fan and we started playing a mild version of the "boop" game. "Boop" and treat and pet. No running. After a few attempts, I tentatively put the tweezers a little into her nostril and quickly pulled it out and treated her, dreading that she was going to get up and bolt. To my utter surprise, she had no reaction at all. She just kept playing the "boop" game, slowly losing interest in it. She finally fell flat on her side and just wanted to be petted. I continued the "boop" game, petting her everytime I put the tweezers a little deeper into her nose. She seemed to have lost all interest by now. After a few seconds, she just shut her eyes. I am not sure if she was sleeping. I ventured trying to clean up a bit and no reaction! So I went ahead and cleaned it all up. No reaction at all! Hmm...perhaps she was tired. I had to try again to be sure. So later in the day, we tried the whole thing again. First ball play, then the "boop" game. This time, it was right after her meal. So she was not particularly interested in the treat and she had lost all interest in the "boop" game, but did not really care about the tweezers. It was as if she was telling me "Mommy! Please stop with that silly game. You want to clean my nostril? Just do that and get it done with. This boop game is no fun at all".
Today, we breeze through it. Before bed, we have a routiene. I have to brush her teeth, clean her eyes, put drops in them, clean her nose, put moisturizer inside her nostrils and on her snout. She is quite bored through all of it. But she is not scared. She tolerates the whole thing, waiting to be done. Then we start petting her profusely. If she is interested, she stays back and gets petted. Else she bolts after the toy that has been on her mind all along.
It's been two years since I managed to get Nishi over her fear of that dreaded metal object. Now, after a lot of reading, I realized that this technique has a name to it - Desensitization and Counter-Conditioning or DnC or D&C.
Desensitization is what I did as Step 1 - teaching her The Strange Object is NOT THE ENEMY. So exposing her to the object at a distance or intensity that will not spook her and then slowly increasing intensity or decreasing distance. Till she finally is close enough and is realizing "This is not scary. It's not going to hurt me".
Counter-Conditioning is Step 2 of this process - teaching her that this non-enemy is actually HER FRIEND. So, basically, every time she is in the proximity of the object, treating her to something she loves. Eventually, as approaches the object, she starts expecting great things. In her mind "Tweezers are cool. They get me treats" and the very sight of this object makes her so happy.
We have since, used this method to deal with so many fears. We got her over her fear of water and taught her how to swim. In fact, we even taught the vet about it. When we took her to the vet and he had to clean her nostril, she started wriggling. We told him to slow down a bit and play the "boop" game and give her some treats. I had carried the treats with me that day. He was amused, but humored us. Now, he and Nishi are best of friends because she will let him do anything to her - Anything! The "boop" game is powerful :)
This is a video of Nishi swimming.
Desensitization was achieved by us getting into the water.
We stood 2 feet apart and let her swim between the two of us.
We did this till she realized that she could swim then gradually increased distance
Since she loves to play, we used her favorite floating toy for Counter-Conditioning.
If anyone reading this has other suggestions on how they got their dog over irrational fears, please do leave comments. I would love to know.
Here was a man telling that your dog spent most of his life trying to surreptitiously take over your life! As I watched the show, I looked at Nishi, sleeping with her head on my lap, snoring away to glory and wondered how that made any sense. I don't see her capable of any such sieges. All she wanted was her food, walk, petting and play and she was happy to do whatever she could in return.
Here was a man who would go visit a poor ol lady who loved her dog and would make her feel terrible about herself by saying "You have no confidence. That's why your dog does not obey you"!
This reminds me of an eccentric teacher in school. We hand stringent rules in school about how we had to tie up our hair and she would pull us up even if a single strand was not in place. We would whine point out to the obvious that it just would not stay that way. My teacher would say "You are not obedient. That's why your hair does not obey you".
That is when I started looking around for reviews on this guy and other views and opinions on the subject. That opened up a world of training methods based on reason, logic and love. There was no chocking and shocking and scaring and dominating involved. The cause and effect was very clear in these training methods. It did not leave pet parents scratching their heads about how to become "more confident" or "how to behave like an alpha dog". I mean, I did a lot of preparation before getting my dog home. But I never thought someone would recommend that I learn how to BE a dog if I wanted to GET a dog. Cmon! There HAS to be another way right?
One American website articulates my thoughts so well that I am just going to quote from the site.
American Humane expressed dismay over the “numerous inhumane training techniques” advocated by Cesar Millan and several instances of cruel and dangerous treatment -- promoted by Millan as acceptable training methods -- including one in which a dog was partially asphyxiated. In this instance, the fractious dog was pinned to the ground by its neck after first being “hung” by a collar incrementally tightened by Millan. Millan’s goal -- of subduing a fractious animal -- was accomplished by partially cutting off the blood supply to its brain.
"The field's most respected behaviorists and trainers are concerned that many of Millan's ideas are unfounded and some of his methods are downright harmful. In Cesar’s world, physical corrections - such as snapping a dog's leash, finger jabs, and forcefully rolling the dog onto his back - are an effective way to garner compliance and good behavior. One technique often used by Millan is to overwhelm the dog with the very stimulus that terrifies him. Imagine treating your dog’s fear of thunder by locking him out in the yard in a severe thunderstorm. Many behaviorists argue that this technique, called "flooding," actually leads to further psychological trauma."
Over the years, I have poured over the works of several behaviourists and trainers. Gone through several DVDs and books. Contacted the trainers directly and done Q&A sessions with them. There are wonderful people in this area. Due to her loving relationship with the dogs that's based on mutual respect, I personally adore Turid Rugaas. So my own education has been with her. I highly recommend all of her books and DVDs. This quick 5 minute preview of her DVD in itself is a great tool to start understanding the body language of dogs.
As I spent time learning the calming signals of dogs, watching Millan's videos was so revealing. In stressful situations, dogs express their desire to calm down or diffuse the situation down by licking their lips, yawning, pacing and looking away. Armed with this information, when I watched the videos again I was shocked to see how he was scaring the living daylights out of the dogs. I had earlier posted a clip here that demonstrated it. But that clip has been pulled down! :( Not cool!
For me, it boils down to just 2 things, when evaluating a trainers methods:
Is the trainer giving me a practical guide that is clear and concise with actionable items,
If there is a nicer way to communicate something to my dog, is my trainer using that method.
Why poke and prod and shock when a cookie might do the trick? Why punish my dog for doing something wrong, instead of praising her for doing something right?
Millan's methods fail on the first count with rather vague goals like "be the alpha". With his shock collars, choking methods, scare tactics etc sorely fails on the second. If someone with this approach came anywhere close to my Nishi...perhaps then we can see what an Alpha Mommy looks like! Grrrrr! Step away from her and no sudden movements alright!
Yeah! I am into retail therapy. The quirky part, however, is that I get my shopping fix at pet shops. Consequently our household has tried dog foods of all kinds, treats of all kinds, leashes & collars of all kinds and toys of all kinds. So! here is a dump of the different kinds of leashes available in the market & their utility.
When I walk about leashes, I also need to talk about collars and harnesses at the same time. You might wonder why omit all other things like shampoos, dog foods etc... Well, to my mind, leashes are critical. The wrong leash and collar can be lethal. And with the right leash and collar and loads of love and some simple training techniques, even the strongest of dogs can walk well. Nishi is 40kgs of all muscle and excitement and energy. So, I have given this a lot thought. Hence, I can write something that could perhaps be useful.
Collars & Harnesses
Ok. So, let me start with one end of the leash...the dog. We have 2 options to fasten a leash to a dog - The Harness or The Collar. Nishi has both, each serving a distinctly different purpose. She has a thin metal collar that sports a pretty name tag and a bell. I have heard of too many cases of lost dogs and I'd like to believe that having that name tag, with our number on it is wise. I never want to take it off, ever. Hence the choice of metal, so that I don't have to take it off, even when it's wet.
But we NEVER use this to leash her. Choke chains, pinch chains and collars are known to damage a dogs trachea, neck & spinal chord. So we use a body belt or a harness. Turid Ragaas, one of my favorite trainers explains very well the kinds of harnesses and helped me decide to get a 2-stage harness for her. We have all these products available in pet stores in Bangalore.So, a good harness, in our experience, is a good investment, well worth it's money in gold. In Bangalore, I have found Puppia, Karlie and Rogz market 2-stage harnesses. There are some specialty harnesses/collars too.
One of them is the Halti. It is supposed to help reduce pulling. I personally prefer training her not to pull, rather than using a product like Halti. So, I never went for it. Hence, there is not much I can tell about a Halti.
There are pinch and choke collars. I personally despise these and NEVER use them to leash Nishi. It is inhumane to use this product - Read the PETA article. And if you want to use it, this blog is not going to be useful to you. I like to handle my Nishi with tender love and care. So I don't buy into any argument that says that "some dogs need it".
There are also purely ornamental collars. I use these on Nishi frequently, as the function of leashing her is done by the harness. So the collar is used ornament-ally and to sport her name tag.
Handmade Ornamental Collar
I also found one with LED lights on it. I was tempted to buy it to put on her on vacations, when she runs away in the dark. But these were not water proof. So my opinion - thumbs down!
One thing that I am on a look out for, but don't find frequently is collars with a reflective surface on it. These are occasionally available in the market and I am always on the look out for it. These are again useful to find her in the dark especially because she is so dark. Nishi, indeed (we named her Nishi, because Nishi means "the night" in sanskrit)
When Nishi goes out for a short walk to relieve herself, we sometimes put a collar on her. In this case, we get a collar that has padding on the inside, so that it does not cut into her neck. We also pick a collar with a strong quick-release buckle, instead of the metallic buckles seen on belts. This encourages us to remove the collar as soon as we get back, thus not leaving marks on her neck. The dog I had when I was growing up lost all his fur on his neck because he had a collar on at all times. Collars kept on at all times can also get damp. Damp collars harbor infections and fungus and have to be frequently changed and aired. So, I am quite keen not to keep a collar on at all times for Nishi.
Traditional Metallic Buckle
Quick Release Buckle
Leashes & Tethers
Now, the leash. To determine the right kind of leash, what matters is the other end of the leash - which most times is me or my husband - the walker. So large part of picking the right leash is based on my comfort. Nishi does a good job of Loose Leash Walking. But she is an excitable girl and will lunge when she sees something exciting. So, the leash needs to be comfortable on my hands, strong, reliable and predictable. The other occasion when I use a leash is when we tether her to something. We frequently take her to restaurants, friends houses or on vacations. On several such occasions we need to tether her. So that is the other criteria. Here is the long and short of several of the products I have seen in the market.
Warnings from Flexi Website
Retractable Leashes
These can be extremely convenient, especially for Indian city walking. When we take Nishi out, she decides to go into empty sites or go explore on top of sand piles and we don't have to go in with her. We can stand a safe distance away and let her explore. You know what I mean...no need to step on muck, leave that up to her :) Having said that, there are some things to remember.
The quality of the product matters a lot because there is a spring mechanism involved. So we have ended up buying a poor quality product, where the spring gets ruined in no time. Flexi is be best quality I have seen available in he market today.
These come in 2 types: tape and string. Both have their advantages. The Tape tends to get twisted, if you extend it too much. The String can cut or burn into skin quite easily. I have experienced both.
There is much debate on the safety of this product. Check out the warnings that are extracted from the Flexi website. This blog post discusses the Flexi pros and cons in a bit more detail: The Great Flexi Debate
So, bottom line: I am not a fan of this product. But my husband is. So we try to use it sparingly. I want to find a good leash to tie the flexi to my husbands waist, so that the device does not run after Nishi, if he accidentally drops it. Will update the post, if this works. As of now, I remain skeptical on this.
String/Chord Retractable
Tape Retractable
Non-retractable leashes
Ergonomic Leashes - easy on the hands
These come in chains or fabric. Obviously, I prefer fabric, because I am the one, who is going to be at the other end of the leash and I am no masochist to put my hand in chains. The fabric leashes too come as flat ribbons or rounded ropes. But what matters more to me is not the ribbon or rope, but the loop that I will be holding on to. Several leashes today come with a good amount of padding in that loop. That makes it very comfortable to hold. In fact, I recently saw an "ergonomic" leash. It's pricey. But if it works, it might be worth the money considering how strong Nishi is. At the end of the day, what matters is that it needs to be comfortable for the walker. Regarding the strength of the leash, obviously, strong dogs will need strong leashes. What is perhaps a bit less obvious is the weight of the leash. Tiny dogs and puppies will need light leashes. It's not just the weight of the rope or tape, but also the hook that hooks to the collar. That metallic piece could sometimes be heavy, even if the rope/tape is thin or weak. So, I have learned to look specifically at that piece and get something light for the puppies I foster.
My favorite tether that is also a great leash,
with sufficient padding to offer a comfortable grip
Tether
We have several tethers of different lengths. We use relatively shorter ones for restaurants and friends houses. We use longer ones for resorts and gardens, where we are ok with her running around, but don't want her to leave our sight entirely. One thing we have experienced is that having a hook at the tethering end is useful, especially if we want to tether her to cafe & restaurant tables.
Floor pegs
My brother-in-law recently picked up this product that I thought was fabulous, particularly because we take Nishi everywhere with us, even to places that have nothing I can tether her to. It is a peg that screws into the ground. We are often at Airlines Hotel, getting ourselves a dosa and buying Nishi some idlis. We just screw this into the earth and tada! We are all sorted, we stand by the car, eat our dosas and idlis, get our filter coffee and are on our merry way.
We recently picked up a variation of this tether with a spring attached to it. Dogs on such a long leash can forget they are on it and bolt. A sprint in the tether can cushion the pull when the dog reaches the end of the leash and I love this product.
Portable screw-in peg along with a 15m tether - a must have for gardens and vacations
Where to Shop
I bet this is a lot of information. So here is a quick list on where you can find several of these products. For most of the products I visit one of 2 stores:
Paws, the pet store: This is off brigade road. The shop & collection of products is awesome, but the approach is poor and parking is hard. But good news is that they have a website and a good facebook page with product details AND they will deliver the product home - http://www.pawsthepetstore.com/ . Wonderful owners who will give you prompt responses on facebook, if you have product queries. Do check out their Puppia Harness. I swear by it.
Glenands, Koramangala: There are multiple Glenands stores. But I have only been to the one in Koramangala and I simply love it. I have seen the ergonomic leashes only here. Also, one very cool thing is that you can buy a nametag for your dog and get it etched then and there, in 2 minutes. I just love that. I gift nametags to all dogs I know :) GLENANDS PET SHOP # 475, 1st Cross, 5th Block, KHB COLONY, KORAMANGALA, BANGALORE 560098. Phone: 40927524. Mobile:9739000950
Shreenidhi Vet Pharma: This is the only place I have found the portable screw in peg. It's a good combination of a pet shop as well as a vet pharma. A good place to stop off for people in North Bangalore. Shreenidhi Vet Pharma, No. 49, Opposite to Veterinary College, Bellary Road, Ganganagar, Bangalore - 24. Ph: 23533238
There are other online shops. But for Collars & Leashes it is best done in person, as the fit and the feel has to be just right. So I always take Nishi while shopping for these and will try it on, pull and tug and see how it feels in my hand and how Nishi reacts to these, how easy it is to put on and take off etc...and only then pick them up.
So, this is my take on collars, harness, leashes and tethers. If there
is anything available in the market, worth mentioning, please do leave
me a comment. I am very interested in knowing about all of them and
trying out all of them. Meanwhile happy walking :)
The first chapter of Nishi diaries has to be - Walking the dog. This topic is closest to my heart for reasons that will soon become obvious. I have read so much about it, ruminated so much and filled my head with so much on this topic that if you brought up this topic after I have had a few glasses of Chardonnay, you WILL regret it, irrespective of what you have been drinking all evening. I will go on and on and on and then some more.
The dogs I grew up with did not walk well at all. They were so bad that, one even dislocated my dad's shoulder. At this point we got dog walkers and considered the problem solved. Today, I spend hours everyday observing dog walkers closely. Most are not even dog-people and don't give a damn about the dog they are walking. The dog eats rubbish along the way, runs into oncoming traffic, gets into fight with strays...and they don't care. Most don't even walk; they just linger on the street, chatting with their friends. And the few, who do care, know so little about dogs that it's a pity watching them struggle with the dog. End result - an under exercised dog, with bad walking habits, frequent stomach upsets, complaints by neighbours of the dogs harassing them when he is on his walk, and in extreme unfortunate cases, accidents as well.
For those of you who don't know our story, one February evening, when Nishi was not yet one year old, we took her out on a walk. We made one critical mistake and a car ran over her face. Bless her brave little heart, she still fights it with such courage. While I know that beating myself up about what happened will not reverse the events of that evening, I also know it makes me so much more careful & thoughtful with Nishi. That is something I can never expect of any dog walker. So, really no dog walker can ever be good enough for my little puppy girl.
The Walt Disney dog has really created a warped image in our mind on what dog walking is. The freckled kid, Timmy, cheerfully calls out to Buster, Buster comes skipping along with leash in his mouth, they walk side-by-side - boy and dog, go to a park by the lake, Buster fetches a stick that Timmy throws at him, the lovely neighbourhood lady who has her baby in a stroller stops by to pat Buster on his head, they all laugh and walk back home, to the sound of birds chirping!
LIES! All lies. When was the last you heard birds chirp in Bangalore?
Most of my reading on dog training made me realize that walking a dog seems to be one of the biggest challenges dog owners and dog trainers face. And this is the one thing that dogs tend to take the longest to get trained. So, it's not just me who thinks this needs special attention, it seems to be quite a common issue. But, in India, the story gets more interesting, as always :)
I compared the Walt Disney set-up to what I was up against. So where do those serene streets exist in Bangalore, that are not infested by insane cab and auto rickshaw drivers who seem to be on a mission to kill? And where are those enclosed parks that prevents your dog from bolting on to the street in hot pursuit of a squirrel? And say you found that elusive park, but looked away for a second to smile at the cute neighbour (those do exist right?) , your pooch has his face buried deep in a gorgeously stale paneer dish from Nandini Palace or worse, in some "holy droppings". In fact, on one of our vacations, we found ourselves rather embarrassed to bring back a happy Nishi, whose face was covered in...ahem..., lets say, fresh manure! Our friends, all too familiar with this scenario saved us embarrassment by trying to "dignify" this taste of theirs, and christened it Grass Mousse :)
Anyways, after an evaluation of Disney's Rue de la Buster versus Koramangala, I abandoned the Walt Disney guide to dog training, and looked at other dog training books and manuals. Almost all of them said "start in a quiet place, with minimal distractions to start training". So I tried starting in my basement. Drivers were driving like F1 drivers, in and out of their parking spots. I tried the apartment gardens and children found Nishi too cute to let her train. I looked for a quiet street.; If there were no cars on the streets, there were stray dogs. If not strays, others were walking their dogs. Milkmen and newspaper guys during early mornings, crazy cabbies at night..so where could I start this training?
That's when I realized that I needed a training strategy and technique unique to India. I am still working out what works best for our conditions. I will share all of my experiences on this blog. I want to end this entry with some good & bad advice I have received on this topic of leash training:
Bad Advice 1: (this one was by our breeder) Don't put your dog on a leash or training till she is 6 months!
Has anyone seen how big a 6 month old dog is? How fast they can get? How am I supposed to take this dog for potty breaks without a leash? And how do I put a dog on a leash and not have the dog leash trained? A 6 month old boxer is a strong dog and when she pulls, I eat mud!
Bad Advice 2: (this has come from so many areas, it disgusts me) Put your dog on a choke collar, so that you can use her strength to deter her from bad walking habits
I did try this once. I heard Nishi choking on it & abandoned it. A quick internet search showed me the health risks of this inhumane contraption. It is apparently effective if used rightly. But it is so easy to use it incorrectly. As far as my Nishi is concerned, I don't see a need to risk using this thing incorrectly. If there is a more pleasant way, I think she deserves it. The number of times I have seen "experts" putting their dog on a choke chain and the dogs tongue turning purple, while on it! Looks cruel to me and nothing will convince me to do it. NEVER! Good Advice along with some misguided information: (this one was by a friendly neighbour) Start training early and finish all training by 4 months. Dog's cannot learn after that
Initially I did freak out about the 4 month time limit. I felt I was doomed as my dog was "too old for new tricks". But to my relief, I learned that this saying is just a myth. Nishi learns so much faster and better today than when she was a puppy. She can concentrate much better.
However I did see some merit in starting early. Delayed training gives dogs room to pick up some bad habits that they need to unlearn. Unlearning is actually hard. Also, physically controlling an older dog is harder and having completed lessons, particularly leash training at a younger age, makes walks a lot easier. But, it is never too late and always worth the effort. Happy walking!
I have always grown up with animals. At home we always had cats and dogs. Each year we visited our grandparents who lived on a farm. So there were all those farm creatures - big and small. Starting from adopting strays that wander into our house to actually buying pedigree dogs - we did it all. Mutts, Doberman, Dalmatian, German Shep...All creatures great and small. We even had fish, but that was quite short lived. One of our dogs ate the fish and to this day, we are not sure which one was the guilty one.
We also had all kinds of attitude towards animals at home. My dad, having grown up in a farm, thought of animals as integral part of life, but never got used to the idea that keeping animals in urban settings was different from keeping animals on a farm. My mother hated them and could only think of all the fur and dirt and flees and the smell. My sister adored animals so much that she would sneak in the dogs at night, after my parents were asleep and hide them under her sheets. And me...I am still not sure what I thought of them then. I know I loved our pets dearly. But, being just a child, I had no philosophy on how they should be kept at home.
One would think that with all these animals around, we would be experts at rearing them. But that cannot be further from the truth. All our pets, like most animals, had enormous hearts and we adored them. But they were badly trained. So badly trained that our doberman actually dislocated my fathers shoulder on one walk. Our German Shepard actually ran away from home to grab rubbish to eat. Running away from home was such a common thing among our pets that our gates had double and triple locking mechanisms - kalapani (or Alcatraz) for our pets!
That was all in the past. Then I moved out, got married and started living in an apartment. Having seen the circus that these pets turned our house into, I did not think I was ready for a pet, when I was starting a new life with my partner. But, the thing is, you are either a pet person or you are not. And if you are a pet person, you will get one...sooner or later. So, I promptly got my adorable, reverse brindle, dark boxer puppy - Nishi. She changed our lives and I will be ever grateful for her being in our lives.
But, more importantly, she taught me that having a pet does not end with just buying a fancy collar or finding a groomer who will make your pet smell like a meadow. It is about having a conscious philosophy on pets. Nishi is neither the first pet I have had nor will she be the last one I will. But I know that she is the one who got me thinking about various aspects of owning a pet and for that reason, this blog is "Nishi Diaries".
After getting Nishi home, I have read more, watched more, heard more and learned more about dog training. Experts from the US, Canada, Europe and "experts" from India who have "foreign training". I have come across several fascinating insights into canine behaviour and even human behaviour around canines. I have covered books that are old classics to cult classics like Monks of New Skete. From the controversial Culture Clash to the hugely popular Clicker Training books by Karen Pryor. I am also hugely inspired by Turid Ragaas, the European trainer who thinks that Americans expect too much of their doggies and seems to have a tolerant approach towards training. And not to omit the latest trend - Ceaser Milan. At one point, I even considered going to Cambridge to get some formal training. But it soon dawned on me that to be a good dog training, I need to train, not as much the dogs, but their owners. At this point I abandoned any notion of being a dog trainer and returned to software :)
Going through all of these, I realized that, while there is some sound advice here, none of them look at the special needs of India. Training suggestions that work like a charm in other parts of the world fall flat on their face when in India. For example, not one of them talks about handling stray dogs. In fact, I even got in touch with these trainers to help me. They find it hard to even comprehend the Indian scene, let along give you solutions.
So...it is no doubt going to be one long learning process. One in which, I hope to minimize my mistakes for Nishi's sake. And I realize that all of my dog owning friends are in the exact same boat. So why not share our learning? Perhaps some critical mistakes can be avoided? In this blog I will try to focus on my experience, my learning, the advice I have got and highlight the bad advice, the interesting advice and the good ones and some tips and tricks I picked up along the way. I am on a wonderful journey with my Nishi and I would not trade it for anything else in the world. I hope your journey is just as beautiful.
