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Tegha Kennel in Media

Apr 18
Love2

Now, pet dog owners send them to dog school for socialising

By Tegha Kennel in Media No Comments
(Shallu Jindal with her Shih…)

Vijaya Rathore

If happiness is a warm puppy, then this is one big high net-worth happy family. Out here, a birthday surprise could be a dense-coat Siberian husky, a Valentine’s Day gift an apple-head Chihuahua, or as the granddaughter of a top realty tycoon willed it recently, a pair of Shiba Inu dogs imported from Japan — the price tag, a cool Rs 21 lakh — which was her present to her boyfriend, himself from another top Delhi-based business family. She got the idea from the Richard Gerestarrer Hachiko — a drama based on the true story of a college professor’s bond with an abandoned dog he decides to take home.

Yet, there’s a whole bunch of dyedin-the-wool dog-lovers who don’t need to take inspiration from the silver screen. Like Louise Fernandes Khurshid, wife of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, whose house in Lutyens’ Delhi is home to a variety of animals, including turkeys, bantams, rabbits, Persian cats, cows and, of course, dogs.

“When we are happy we buy a pet, when we are sad we buy a pet,” says Louise, trying to control the army of canines keen to catch her attention. The couple has over 30 pedigree dogs, including a mountain dog Gaddi and other breeds such as Apso, Pekingese, Chihuahua and Dachshund at their Delhi residence, and more at their home in Farrukhabad — Khurshid’s constituency.

“I mostly pick up my pets from shops in Delhi or wherever I travel or adopt the abandoned ones. Many of them are also gifted by friends,” she adds. Politician and former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu’s Newfoundland named Bozo breathed his last about a week ago, but he lost no time in ordering another dog of the same breed from Thailand, which will be delivered to him shortly. A couple of days ago, he bought a Havanese Puppy imported from Finland, the latest addition to the family of eight exotic male dogs, including mountain dog Caucasian Ovcharka and a Shih Tzu, at his homes in Amritsar, Patiala and Delhi.

“I have loved dogs since childhood and my whole family loves them, especially my wife,” says Sidhu. “We get regular orders from top businessmen, politicians and celebrities from across India for importing dogs. These are exotic breeds, many of which can cost a few lakh rupees,” says Harsh Tegha, director, Tegha Kennel in Delhi. This week, his boys will deliver a Rs 2-lakh Japanese Akita to a senior executive of the tech firm IBM.

“We have a regular customer in Mumbai, the grandson of Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who is crazy about dogs,” says Tegha, adding, “The family has numerous breeds, including Chow Chow, Saint Bernard, Neapolitan Mastiff and French Mastiff.” According to Tegha, any professional breeders, though limited in number, are breeding dogs in India, which are sold for half the price of an imported dog.

“But knowledgeable people prefer imported ones,” says Tegha. Mumbai-based Gaurav Assomull, director, Intergen Energy, has a Chinese Chow Chow that he imported from Thailand a year ago. Gaurav, who spent over Rs 1 lakh to import the dog, feels that since it has an aggressive temperament, it is important to train him well.

“I not only get a personal trainer twice a week for Rio but also send him to a dog school nearby where he socialises with other pets and does fun things such as swimming and playing with the rest,” he adds. In Lutyens’ Delhi, Kuchipudi dancer Shallu Jindal, wife of businessman and Union minister Naveen Jindal, recently brought home a black pug.

“I love my pets and spend a lot of time with them. I personally supervise their meals,” says Jindal, who also has a Beagle and a Shih Tzu. One of the pets travels with her within India. Textile firm JCT Mills’ MD Sameer Thapar owns eight pedigree dogs including a Siberian husky, a Chow Chow and a Rottweiler and Bullmastiff mix breed, and plans to get a Tibetan Mastiff soon. Mount Shivalik Breweries Managing Director Sanjeev Bali is the proud owner of 12 dogs, including German Shepherds, Mastiffs, Rottweilers and Saint Bernards.

“I prefer to spend as much time with my dogs as possible and keep them in large farmhouses in Delhi and Jaipur so they get large spaces,” says Bali, adding, “All of them have been gifted to me and I do the same to my friends.” For Raghavpat Singhania, special executive of JK Cement, his Beagles are like stress-busters after a long day at work. DLF’s Rajiv Singh has three stray dogs at his home in Delhi.

The family has also set up a trust that operates CGS Hospital, a veterinary facility, in Gurgaon. Leela Hotels’ Amruda Nair and family rescued a Neo Mastiff about six months ago and also adopted a Yorkie. Nair works closely with Thane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and helps the hospital find people interested in adopting rescued stray animals.

Former Tata group chairman Ratan Tata has two German Shepherds at home, but he has ensured that even stray dogs have free access to Tata Group’s headquarters, the Bombay House, located at Homi Mody Street in Mumbai. According to reports, post-retirement, the ardent dog-lover plans to set up a veterinary hospital of international standards in Mumbai.

Apr 18
Love5

Dear Indian dog owners, Saint Bernards and Huskies do not belong in Delhi or Mumbai

By Tegha Kennel in Media No Comments

Wealthy, urban Indians have a new obsession—and they’re spending thousands of rupees on bringing the wrong pet home.

With rising disposable income in Asia’s third largest economy, the number of pet dogs in Indian homes has jumped from 7 million in 2009 to over 12 million in 2014, according to research firm Euromonitor.

And more and more of these include foreign breeds such as Saint Bernards and Siberian Huskies.

But trapped inside small apartments in hot, humid Indian cities, increasing numbers of these dogs are ending up with serious health problems—and unable to cope with their expensive needs, owners sometimes simply abandon them.

Why the fascination?

Two words: Beauty and vanity.

“People find Huskies good-looking…they have blue eyes,” said Mohan Kadam, a pet store owner in New Delhi, pulling up a picture of a 15-day-old Husky puppy up for sale on his iPhone.

While more commonplace breeds like Cocker Spaniels, Labradors and Beagles remain popular, demand for exotic dogs—including Saint Bernards and Siberian Huskies—has steadily grown over the last 10 years, pet store owners and brokers told Quartz.

In fact, more people are keen on buying Huskies today even though they can be twice as expensive as Saint Bernards. 

“Siberian Huskies are so common now that they are not even an exotic dog breed anymore,” said K.K. Trivedi, secretary of Oudh Kennel Club, adding that they regularly feature in dog shows.

Other expensive, foreign breeds such as the Kangal, Alaskan Malamuteand Tibetan Mastiff are also up for grabs. Some are even available on online classified websites such as Quickr and OLX.in.

A Husky puppy, according to estimates from brokers and pet store owners, sells between Rs40,000 ($647) to Rs60,000 ($970) while Saint Bernards can be bought for Rs25,000 ($400). The price can go higher depending on the quality.

Labrador Retrievers, on the other hand, can be bought for Rs11,000 ($178).

“It’s about showing off,” said Harshdeep Singh, a pet store owner and dog breeder in New Delhi. “Specially north Indians, they like big dogs like Saint Bernards.”

Singh claims to sell around 20 Huskies and 30 Saint Bernards every month, a number that has steadily increased in the last six years. His clientele includes many well-heeled executive and politicians.

“People are just crazy about these breeds without knowing how to keep them,” said Anil Kadha, who runs Kapspets, a pet store in Mumbai.

Nonetheless, Indian dog owners are spending lavishly now, especially on food and healthcare.

Pampering not enough

Hitesha Deshpande, who runs a brand consultancy firm with her husband in Gurgaon, bought a Saint Bernard a few years ago. “We saw him at a breeder’s, out in the heat, and we thought we can give him a better life,” she told Quartz.

But taking care of Zuzu hasn’t been easy.

Hitesha Deshpande and Zuzu.(Hitesha Deshpande)

Deshpande takes her dog, who turned six in February, for a walk three times every day. When summers are at its peak, he is made to run on the treadmill inside the house for about half-hour. “He is a big dog, he needs regular exercise,” she explained.

Zuzu’s brown and white hair is brushed once every month, he goes for a shower twice a month—sometimes at home, or at a dog spa—and even travels with the family to the hills every year. And like any other Saint Bernard, he has a large appetite, eating 20 kilograms of dog food every month.

The family ends up spending Rs5,000 ($80)-7,000 ($112) every month on Zuzu, about double the amount they spend on Filu, a Cocker Spaniel.

But money doesn’t solve everything.

India’s harsh summer takes its toll on these dogs and they develop a lot of health problems, said Pradeep Rana, a veterinary doctor in New Delhi, who treats Zuzu for his stomach ailments.

Today, Rana treats around 30 Saint Bernards and five Huskies every month. Six years ago, only about 15 Saint Bernards would come to his clinic, while Huskies were largely non-existent.

Typically, these dogs suffer from chronic skin and breathing problems, said Rana. Also, their appetite goes down in summers, which eventually leads to nutritional deficiency and sub-optimal growth.

That’s because these breeds aren’t built for India’s climate.

Huskies, with their thick coats, are from the Siberian peninsula where temperature can be as low as -60 degree celsius. And the Swiss Saint Bernards, famously employed to locate travelers trapped in snow storms, have a low tolerance for heat.

“The Huskies I have seen, people buy them because they have seen them in movies and they look beautiful but they are not as healthy,” Rana said.

And since many of them suffer from health problems, their owners eventually decide to give up on them.

“People buy them but many of them are unhappy,” said Singh, the pet store owner in Delhi. “They return their puppies to us.”