My love for dogs started as early as during my school time .
I have faint memories of coming back home
every day from school and going to my neighbor’s house to meet Ron and
Bon, two handsome Doberman Pinschlers . This was the beginning of my lifelong love for dogs. I would go to my neighbours house with biscuits and pet them after school hours. Today Iam a proud pet parent to
Polo, an eight year old Labrador Retriever and Pixie, a four year old German Shepherd .
The tradition of giving biscuits has remained since then and the reward
would be gratifying each time I give them biscuits. I have always
been greeted with kisses and wagging tails whenever there were showered with treats .
 |
| Polo -8 Yrs |
 |
| With Tatya - Friends Pet |
 |
| Arunima and Pixie - GSD-4 Yrs |
What prompted me to be a trainer is not a mystery thou .
Though, as it is said that every man has
his or her tryst with destiny. My calling was always to be a
trainer and a K9 consultant . After a long corporate career I finally decided that I needed somebody professional to guide me through to add it on as my extra skill set . How did that urge of getting in to K9 training started is some thing I would like to emphasize a bit .
When I had my first pet Polo join our family , the initial days of cuddling started and the time when the training need came up I felt a bit handicapped . The problem occurred when I wanted to
take him for long walks . He would pull with all his might and I would be dragging myself behind Polo most of the times. I hired
a professional trainer to correct the behavior but to his misery Polo
did not learn how to leash walk. The only thing that he learned was to shake
hands. Ironically Polo started being scared of this trainer as you would know the kind of methods most trainers use. I hired
another one decided that I would be an integral part of the
training this time and to my surprise this trainer stopped coming to
his home after a few days stating he wouldn't be able to train Polo. It was time then I decided that I would
train Polo myself. I got some books and watched some You Tube videos
to train myself first and then further train Polo .
The training took time but there was an
improvement in the way Polo walked within the first three weeks. I take him for a walk for at least 30 to 45 minutes on an everyday
basis and it was during this time that I started communicating with
other dog owners as well and would share tips with them on regular basis
to help them bond with their dog better .
Once I attained success with Polo, my friends and wife advised me to take this up professionally as I loved
dogs and enjoyed training them, thus began a journey, which has only
brought me closer to the canines but has given me patience as well.
There was nothing which could stop me once I had my heart set on the dog training
course; I enrolled for the best possible course that was around.
I
joined a course offered by Shrin Merchant, a qualified practicing canine
behavior counselor in the country.
Her success can be garnered from the fact
that she has been working for the past sixteen years and till date have
been able to help people train with the dogs across various countries
such as England, India , Middle East and Sri Lanka. She has over six thousand trained
dogs in her repertoire. Only 9 people in the world to have earned the canine behaviour accreditation -Gold Card so far .
 |
| Shirin Merchant |
After such an impressive portfolio there was no
stopping for me, I took leave from my work, scheduled the classes , picked up my motorcycle and rode all the way from Gurgaon till Mumbai to be a certified dog trainer .
 |
| Started from Gurgaon |
 |
| On my way |
 |
| Reached Mumbai |
Today Iam a certified K9 trainer and consultant from Canines Can Care catering to Delhi/NCR region. Communicating with pet parents during initial consultation , analyze their need and provide training to pets accordingly is what i follow. I believe that its extremely important to communicate with pet parents , share feedback , motivate them with a strong training followup on a regular basis .In fact there are at times I even allow kids to be a part of training process which is fun . There is no pain involved in my training methods and its just praise and reward . For me its a big big NO to prong / shock / choke collars or any tool or method which causes pain or fear .
 |
| Training Zara n Zoro |
Positive reinforcement training uses praise and or treats to reward dogs for doing something you want him/ her to do . Because the reward makes them more likely to repeat the behaviour . Its the most powerful tools for shaping or changing dogs behaviour . There has been no looking back since then . Every time I meet a pet parents or a trainee dog there's always something new and different to learn . At last here's a glimpse of co trainees and amazing dog lovers I had met during my K9 training certification by Shirin Merchant .
Before I come up with the next write up here's something very interesting " It is a truism to say that the dog is largely what his master makes of him: he can be savage and dangerous, untrustworthy, cringing and fearful; or he can be faithful and loyal, courageous and the best of companions and allies." Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Cheers n Love Dogs :
Pravin (Tail Magic)
Twitter : @pravinmac
Instagram : @pravinmac
FB :https://www.facebook.com/GurgaonPetZone
