EDITORIAL

Love for our Pariahs!!

BREED PROFILE

AfghanHounds: aristocratic 'n' alluring

Tall, slender, elegant, athletic, graceful, with long and silky flowing tresses...an Afghan Hound is everything you can dream of. Aptly termed as the 'king of dogs,' here's some more info about this beautiful and exotic breed.

All love and little discipline... makes Lab a perfect boy

Spruce up your Pooch

- Gauri and Urmila

10 Tips to style up your GSD

5 Tips to style your Labrador Retriever

Shedding Blues

Count the calories-maintain the nutritional balance

- by Dr. V. Balakrishnan

The Humane Society of the United States - healing the animal world

"It's the moral obligation of humans to protect the animals, whose habitat we share" indeed a wise thought. Well, it is actually the belief of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) - an organisation wholeheartedly dedicated to animal welfare. Here's some more on The HSUS and HSI - the international arm of The HSUS.

PRODUCTS SPOTLIGHT

Pawfect Chews

Pawfect Nutrition

Pawfect Puppy Diet

Pawfect Eco Litter Solution

Pawfect Weaning Diet

Pawfect Protection

Pawfect Nutrition

Pawfect Nutrition Balance Senior

TRAINING...  

Training your K9 kid

A dog's personality depends on various factors, but you can mould him into a properly behaved member by training him at the right age. Last issue, we gave a few tips to train your lil' one on socialisation and winning his love and respect. Here are a few more tips on housetraining your pup, preventing him from chewing and jumping..

 - by Philip A. Butt

Dr. K. G. Umesh (MVSc, MSc ( UK)) is a Postgraduate in Clinical Medicine. He has been a lecturer in clinical medicine at Vet College in Bangalore for 15 years, and has won the 'best teacher' award in the year 2000. He is a member of European Society for Vet Dermatology and is presently working for WALTHAM as Regional Associate for south Asia.

FEATURE...

Little pet parents

Little pet parents

The way you teach kids to treat your pet is going to reflect on how he will interact with his peers, environment, family and eventually reflect on his life.

- by Amrita Sharma

Donating the gift of life

Tips for adopting older dogs from the shelter

- by Dr. Dewey

Emergency never informs us, neither accident warns us; so it's always better to be prepared for the worst, we cannot take chances with our pooches. Just imagine if our loving pooch is battling for life, and vet asks for blood transfusion. What next! Most of us are clueless. D&P always understands the medical needs of pet parents. Thus, here we bring some useful information about the nitty-gritty of blood donation and donor club.

• Talk to the dog in a friendly, high-pitched voice, and see if his tail wags.
• Test to see if the dog is 'hand shy': Move your hand toward the dog's face and see if the dog moves away. If so, it may have been punished harshly by a previous owner and would need extra care.
• Put the dog on a leash and take him outside the kennel, a dog's personality may change completely outside a kennel. Crouch down so you are not approaching the dog from above. Next point, do not stare at him, talk in a high voice, pull him gently towards you, and see if you can pet it tenderly around the nose or shoulders
• Will the dog play with a ball? If yes, it is a good sign.

Brave little Bella!

Caesar and little Ms Confidence-Bella, need no introduction to D&P readers, the cute and loving canine kids of Raven and Josh. Their cute tiffs, phony rivalry and fake arrogance had left us amused in the last issue. Well, siblings tussle never ends (see! we all agree), so, here we bring another episode about I-am-the-best and I-know-it-all contest between our beloved siblings on their visit to a city.

- by Tricia Orr

Beautiful dogs on stamps : a collector's pride

Everyone has a hobby or two and if you are a dog lover and a philatelist, then what would you collect? Dog stamps! This is exactly what Vinayak Moorthy does. He has a huge collection of stamps featuring dogs of all breeds, sizes and ages from all over the world. Here's a peek into his vast collection.

Rocking 'n' rolling with Rock Star

The innocent gazing eyes of the tiny pup, when I first saw him, had totally left me spellbound. All I could think was, I wanted him. I rushed to my parents and pleaded for consent to bring home the cute, lovable ball of fur. But, they gave no response. Although dining with my friends, I could only think of those beautiful amber eyes. When I came back home, guess what! I found those most beautiful eyes staring at me with lovable pick-me-up look. I jumped with joy as my heart pounded with elation. I hugged him, close to my heart. The whole night he slept on my lap and next morning we were the best buddies in town. I named him Rock Star, to me he is the most handsome, faithful, and trustworthy buddy ever, and no wonder he won our hearts. There is a special connection between us that will remain forever. He is the best, the one and the only rock star... so Rocky keep rolling.

- Reea Mehta

Jazzing all the way Amor! Amor!

The words, we keep chanting... no we are not looking for love. But it is the name of our beloved pooch. He is one of his kind and is our real treasure. He fills our lives with unmatched joy and fun. He came to us as a two-month-old chap and sooner became the ruler of our hearts. His antics spread far and wide; all the kids of our locality became his buddies. Even those, whom we don't know are coming to meet Amor and he wags and sniffs his buddies, leaving us simply amused. His popularity touched newer height, when he participated in one of the dog show. His fan following left the organizers spellbound and this tiny lad won the major title, there. He tends to practice his hereditary duck hunting on pests and lizards and tries to impress us all the time. Even if we try to ignore him, his innocent gaze speaks it all, and we can't feign it longer. He keeps jazzing around everywhere; enjoying himself walking boastfully all the way to glory. His admirers are not just kids and other pet pooches; he is even popular amongst the strays. He sprinkles joys here, there, everywhere.

- Tulsi Rani Puthran

No strings attached...here comes the Max

What does Max means, it means maximum fun, maximum naughtiness and maximum attitude to us. Yes! Our seven-month-old Lab called Max wants maximum out of life. As moon around the earth, planets around the sun, similarly he keeps revolving around us and just follows us everywhere. His attitude and tantrums are no less than any star and guess what! He loves Heavy Metal; believe it or not, he listens to Black Sabbath's paranoid and goes to sleep...he's one hell of a rocker. The day we brought this bundle of joy to our home was my girlfriend Cathy's birthday and she couldn't have asked for anything better than Max. She hugged him tightly and was over joyous as if a new baby was born. Now naming him was a kind of problem but with everyone's consent, we christened him MAX, after Max Caravela, the mighty growler of the metal band SOULFLY. Max is very clear about his likes and dislikes. He's my best friend and I simply love him.

- Zak Abel

United Nations for animal welfare

Animal welfare moved one step closer to an unprecedented place on the United Nations agenda as representatives from more than 130 developing countries received an official briefing on a global initiative supported by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). This initiative aims to establish the United Nations Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare that would achieve global recognition of animals as sentient beings, capable of experiencing pain and suffering, and animal welfare as an important aspect of the social development of nations worldwide. Good efforts...great going.

Climbing the ladders to fame!

Meet Holly, a shorthaired Collie, climbing all the way to glory...nope, we are not trying out on kindergarten rhymes. Holly is the new sensation in the pooch world, who has created a buzz all over UK by climbing trees. At 30-acre Spetchley Park Gardens, UK, she first climbed her ladders to fame...Kudos! Lassie, keep climbing!

No more 'barbaric' electric collars for doggies in UK

The use of electric shock training collars for dogs has been banned in Wales, UK. These collars have been described as 'totally barbaric', which causes serious heath problems to pooches. It's a wonderful endeavour and is loved by animal lovers from world over. The collars have two metal prongs that press against the dog's neck, sometimes causing deep wounds, through which an electric current passes to shock the animal for up to 12 seconds at a time. The collars are normally operated by remote control and can have a range of over half a mile. The use of such devices can lead to further aggressive behaviour, especially if the dog links the shock to situations such as an approach by another dog.

'Rahaat Ka Ehsaas' - an initiative to care 'n' love

Pooches are known for sprinkling unconditional love and care since time immemorial. And now this love 'n' care has been used as a therapy for people in pain. Two trained canines from NGO Angel Animals - Kutty and Goldie; recently visited the relatives of 7/11 Mumbai blast victims and comforted them. This initiative is a part of the project 'Rahaat Ka Ehsaas', initiated by Bombay Psychiatry Society and Rotary Club of Bombay Central.

Oprah's best... Britney's worst

Britney Spears might have gained overwhelming popularity amongst the hip youngsters but not amongst the pooch love. The recent survey by two magazines - The New York Dog and The Hollywood Dog magazines have voted her as the World's Worst Celebrity Dog Owner for 2006...poor gal! And everyone's sweetheart Oprah Winfrey was voted this year's World's Best Celebrity Dog Owner by the magazines' readers. The host, a champion of animal shelters, owns five dogs, supposedly each with their own nanny. She also popularized the revolutionary canine training methods of Cesar Milan, known as 'The Dog Whisperer,' on her show.

Rest in peace!

Pooch memorial park coming soon in Delhi Millions of pooch lovers in Delhi and NCR will soon get a sigh of relief as they can give a decent burial and cremation to their loving pets. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) recently announced about the opening of the two burial grounds for pets. 

Pamper Hamper contest by Petcare

Results of Petcare's Customer Contact Programme - Pamper Hamper - are out! And the lucky winner, who's basking in the glory is Rosy - a German Shepherd from HD Kote, Mysore. She has won a FREE holiday to a pet friendly resort with her loving master & best buddy- V Abhijith and family. Petcare, a division of Tetragon Chemie Pvt Ltd, launched a customer contact programme called Pamper Hamper in July-October 2006 to strengthen the unique emotional connection between a family and their doggies.

A new animal society

A new society named DAWS (Disha Animal Welfare Society) has been formed in Bulandshahar, UP for the treatment of animals and the sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs, prevention and control of the zoonotic diseases etc. For more details, contact Dr. Pradeep Gaur, president, at 09412418366, 09319525687.

We love to party!

Deepa Katyal, vet and CEO of Chembur based K-9 Klub, threw a wonderful Christmas bash. Pooches and their parents were all geared up to party. The cute pooches were adorned with great looking dresses, hats, caps and frill frocks...and we know they love to party.

Vet 'n' Pet @ Visakhapatnam

The cool canines of Visakhapatnam has got another reason to celebrate as Vet 'n' Pet, the specialty clinic for dogs opens up in their own town at House No: 9-15-6/B, CBM Compound, Beside Hyundai showroom, Vizag-3. For details call - 92 47481111.

Christmas means celebrations…woof!

A Christmas picnic full of fun 'n' frolic was organised by Tailwaggers Pet Salon (Mumbai) to boost up the festive spirit of our four-legged companion and their parents. Along with Santa to cheer them, the pooches and their parents had host of other activities to keep them happy and delighted.

Pooch pampering gets a new address

For pampering pets, a new destination has come up in Hyderabad - a new pet shop, opened at Kennel Mart, S-2, first floor, Vijay Mansion, 1-19-97/1, G-1, Officers Colony, Dr A S Rao Nagar, Hyderabad-500 062. For more info, call - 9849046056.

City of Nizams turns pet friendly

Pet Friends - multi-specialty dog clinic has opened up its third clinic in the city at Road No - 36, S R Motors, near Peddamma temple, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. The new clinic is equipped with operation theatre, dog grooming parlour and pet shop. For more information, call - 9848848100 / 64544600.

New destination

Dr Sanjeev Nehru has recently opened a new dog clinic-cum-multi-specialty hospital at Beje Pass Road, Agra. It also houses a colouring and beauty clinic, which offers striking, highlighting and hair colouring with variety of eco-friendly colours for pooches.

Gyani's pet destination

Find a whole new world of accessories, treats, gifts and pooch products - for making your pet feel special, visit: Gyani's The Pet Shop, 245-B, Sant Nagar, Main Road, East of Kailash, New Delhi - 65. For more details call - 26480983 / 9810491984 or email at gyanisthepetshop@yahoo.com

Singing...all the way

Music is the food for thought...so play on. Circle of Animal Lovers is going to organise a musical show with famous playback singer Kavita Krishnamurti on February 15, 2007 at Siri Fort Auditorium. For more info call : 011-26511569.

2007

Mumbai Canine Club

January 21, 2007

19th & 20th Championship Dog Show

Agra Dog Show

January 21, 2007

RBS Degree College Ground, Agra

Noida Kennel Club

January 28, 2007

20th & 21st Championship Dog Show

Bombay Presidency

Kennel Club

February 3-4, 2007

107th & 108th Championship Dog Show

Taj Kennel Club

February 4, 2007

18th & 19th Championship Dog Show

Mysore Kennel Club

February 4, 2007

84th & 85th Championship Dog Show

Chandigarh Kennel Club

February 11, 2007

42nd& 43rd Championship Dog Show

Patiala Kennel Club

February 18, 2007

28th & 29th Championship Dog Show

PAWKIDS CORNER

Just for Fun !

Red roses, red hearts...oh! red balloons too...let's paint the sky red with love as Valentine's Day nears. Roses, chocolates and gifts, it's the love season again. The gay and gaiety of this wonderful festival is incomplete without gifts. And pooch parents can never miss out on that. So, what are you gifting your angel, this Valentine? Clueless... don't be. Here are some ideas to make this Valentine day a most memorable one for our doggies.

· Love is the best thing we can gift to our pet to make them feel special.

· Plan a picnic to some nearby resort or picnic spot; it will definitely boost the festive spirits.

· Pamper him with a nice grooming session, including shampooing and massaging, so that your pet is all geared up for the celebrations.

· Treat him well, and gift him with his favourite mouth watering cuisines, his taste buds love to gorge.

· Throw a party for your pooch and invite all his friends, believe us, he will simply adore you for that.

· Pamper him by taking him out on a long drive, while driving through the alleys, he will feel overjoyed.

· Buy him a warm and cozy sweater for this winter to celebrate in comfort.

· Last but not the least, for not-so-experimenting folks; gift some regular doggy goodies that are available in the pet shops. o by Yogini Lala