Don’t Fret My Pet

One’s heard of nervous kids undergoing treatment for wetting the bed, but how does one stop an unhappy dog from doing the same? It’s in times like these that a psychologist comes into the picture. “I initially put him on tranquilisers to help him relax and feel secure. Once he became better, I advised the family to engage him in a physical activity to distract him,” says Dr Ramandeep Singh, who has done a bachelor’s degree in veterinary science and a course in dog psychology and behaviour from Leeds University, US.

Dogs are sensitive and, like human beings, find it difficult to cope with a loss. In Singh’s case, the loss of his father proved fatal for his two golden retrievers, who were so grief-stricken that they stopped eating and finally succumbed to weakness. “I was in college then and couldn’t comprehend what my dogs were going through. I still feel guilty for not helping them when they needed me. I should have taken them out on joyrides and cheered them up,” he says. While his pampered dogs were unlucky, Gogol, a stray bitch got a new lease of life after her saviours took her to a vet for treatment. “I spotted her two months ago. She had a broken leg, a smashed jaw, a missing tooth and a deflated spirit,” says animal-rights activist Neeru Mittal. Gogol was taken to Dr SK Choudhary’s clinic at Vasant Vihar and was put in a makeshift home along with her abandoned siblings in a nearby market complex. An antibiotics course and a heavy dose of love and affection resurrected the canine.

Anxiety and loneliness, yes, but are there other doggy woes that miss the owner’s attention? “Dogs go through behavioural problems during the breeding season when they are not allowed to mate. They show symptoms of depression by going off food, becoming aggressive or even violent. In such situations we give them behaviour-modulating medicines and recommend sterilisation,” says Dr Choudhary. While some cry because they lag behind in the mating game, others, especially hefty dogs, get claustrophobic in their owner’s matchbox-size houses. “Hyperactivity is another psychological problem that occurs due to lack of exercise. In MCD and NDMC parks, dogs aren’t allowed. They need to be taken for regular walks, failing which they go berserk and resort to incessant barking,” explains Dr Choudhary.

It’s pretty clear that from infancy to old age, man’s best friends undergo a lot of stress at every stage of their lives. But considering we in India still have no concept of a specialised doctor for the pets’ less obvious mental ailments, life’s a rough ride for most once the going gets tough. Their foreign counterparts, on the other hand, are a thousand times luckier as a lot of attention is being paid to improve their quality of life. According to the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants, there are approximately 3,000 registered practitioners in the US who charge close to $100 an hour. Many universities offer postgraduate courses in animal psychology where research includes studies in behavioural ecology and animal cognition. There are also online programmes for those aspiring to read the complex minds of canines and felines. Americans may not be famous for stability in their human relationships, but it’s a different story when it comes to bondsing with animals. The 2005-06 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association reveals that 63 per cent of all US households owned a pet of which 73 million were dogs.

Back in Indian veterinary circles, the picture remains grim as the very idea of seeking counselling for a pet seems ridiculous to most. This kind of personal attention is showered on a pet here if he has a devoted owner, the kind we found in Karen Hymbaugh, an American working in Delhi with the World Health Organisation. “Sometime ago my dog Chaco started behaving strangely. He began drinking a lot of water and urinating on the floor, became lethargic and had a glassy look in his eyes. After a lengthy trial and error treatment, he got diagnosed rightly,” she says ruffling her 12-year-old black-and-white husky’s fur as he sits quietly with his head on her lap. Says Dr Ajay Guiliani: “I’ve been treating Chaco since September when I found out that he was suffering from Cushing’s Syndrome. I did a lot of research and placed an order for Cushex drops online, which contain a mix of homeopathic and Chinese medicines.” Hymbaugh and Guliani even worked out a diet, which along with the medicine, was imported from the US.

To cut the long dog story short, their effort and Hymbaugh’s money (she has spent Rs 70,000 in six months) did not go in vain and Chaco who’d gone through a personality transformation recovered. He has started playing with his stuffed froggy again, has regained his appetite for the special biscuits made of chicken broth, mint and parsley that Hymbaugh bakes and is showing constant improvement with each visit to the doctor. If only other dogs were as lucky as him and Brandy, then ‘it’s a dog’s life’ will get a whole new meaning and specialised veterinary doctors will become a reality instead of a rarity.