Citybuzz on Sunday 23, January 2011
A residential school for dogs has just opened its doors in Bengaluru, but it’s not just dogs they teach, reports Sonali Desai

If you have been wondering how to deal with your dog’s cranky behavior, this school offers to train it. The school also trains you to handle dogs.

Amrut S Hiranya, who recently came to India from New Zealand after studying canine behaviour, says, “It’s not just the dog that needs to be trained, it’s the owner who needs to learn how to handle it.”

His interest came from childhood, when he used to sit across his school compound and observe street dogs; this eventually helped him earn pocket money when he started selling puppies.

“India does not have such a course. I wanted to study more about how dogs behave. That’s why I took up training as my profession,” Amrut says.

Amrut offers behaviour consultation, obedience training, dog therapies and owner training. He charges Rs 15,000 for the package. He teaches dog behaviour to MBBS students and others. He also facilitates puppy sales, stud service, boarding, and pet grooming.

Amrut“Dogs observe everything in the house and identify the master. They follow their master if they are instructed properly. It is important to make some time for the dog. Here in India, we have no idea what we are doing with our dogs. We feed them rice, milk and chocolates, which are not good for canines,” he says. After a pup crosses four months, milk is like water in its diet, just a hydrating agent.

“Egg, buttermilk, curd and 300 gm of meat every day is very good for a dog’s health,” he says. He also recommends three hours of walking.For those who think the dog should look adorable, here is a piece of advice from Amrut:?Let them be the way they are. Wash them once in five months and every second day brush its coat. This helps reduce hair fall and make its hair shine.” You can spend just Rs 300 a month on your dog’s diet, but you should know what you are feeding it.

Prashanth Varadaraja, a module lead at Mind Tree and owner of a golden retriever, had problems with its aggressive behavior. “I took obedience training for my dog when it was four-and-a-half months old because it used to annoy everyone in the family with its impulsive behaviour. It never obeyed my orders and created problems when I took it for walks. A friend told me about Amrut and I approached him for training,” he told City Buzz. Prashanth says he understands the dog better now. The dog is now 11 months old.

If you plan to buy a dog, Amrut can suggest what breed is best for you. If you want a dog to guard your house, for example, a labrador is a bad choice. “Such mistakes can be avoided if people consult me,” he said. Amrut has trained around 15-16 dogs so far. He is now working with a group of army men who want to help epileptic patients.

Dogs are trained to observe changes in the patient and signal an imminent attack. The patient then relaxes and prepares to face the seizure. “Dogs can detect cancer through their sense of smell,” says Amrut.

You can visit Amrut‘s website www.dogguru.in or call him on 9964222211 .