What You Need To Know Before Adopting Stray Dogs

There are hundreds of stray dogs roaming in the streets. They either get run over by speeding cars or starve perpetually. Most of us feel bad about the sorry state of these animals but very few have the gumption to come forward and adopt stray dogs as their pets. There is no doubt about the nobility of your intentions but when your pet is a stray, you need to take some essential precautions.

Here are few things that you need to do if you are adopting a stray dog as your pet
Let Them In: Feeding a stray dog and allowing it to sleep on your doorstep is not technically 'adopting' him or her. It is like giving alms to a begging child and bringing him or her home as a domestic help. If you want to adopt the stray as your pet, you have to let him or her into your home. The stray dog should be treated as a part of your family as your other pets, if you have any.

Dog Vaccination: Being a stray dog, it is definite that your new pet probably has not received any vaccinations. It is crucial to have the stray dog vaccinated. In fact, you should do the immunization first and only then allow the dog to enter into your house.

Is The Dog Sane: Mad dogs or Rabies infected dogs can be very dangerous. It is essential that you put your stray dog through a full medical check-up at a good veterinary hospital. This will include both physical and mental tests. Tests like rabies are the most important, but other minor disorders like fleas or a fungal infection also need to be treated.

What Breed Is It: It might seem like a trivial question, but the reason to determine the breed of your stray pet is very relevant? Certain dog breeds have their own set of disorders and there are different methods to care for them. For example, a Saint Bernard is a cold weather dog that cannot adjust in warm climates. Most stray dogs in India are mongrel dogs.

Potty Training: Once you adopt the stray dog and bring it home, you will have to start training it. This is not going to be easy if the dog is an adult. It is always easier to train puppies. Having lived on the streets, the poor canine will have no toilet training. You have lots of hard work to do.

Be A Good Dog: Living on the streets instils a killer instinct in stray dogs. They are naturally aggressive and this can be a threat to your kids and neighbors. You need to have a strong method to curb aggressive behavior of your adopted pet.

Major Concerns With A Border Terrier Pet Dog

If you want to have a small but sturdy pet dog, then the Border terrier might be for you. This pet is no delicate lapdog. The Border terrier pet dog is full of fun for the whole family.
Before getting a Border terrier pet dog, however, you might want to consider some of the major concerns regarding the breed. This will help you weigh the pros against the cons and will let you reach a decision that would be best for you. Here are some concerns regarding Border terrier pet dogs:
1) Temperament - when people talk about terriers, they all comment on the same behavior using different words. Some people say that their dogs are feisty. Some say that their dogs are stubborn. Some people would prefer to use the word impulsive. The point is, they all describe the same behavior. A terrier is inherently dynamic in its behavior. It is part of what makes a terrier, a terrier.

The temperament of the Border terrier pet dog may be quite surprising, if not outright shocking for most people because of its size. For such a small dog, a Border terrier pet dog sure packs a lot of energy.
2) Aggression - Border terrier pet dogs are not really as aggressive as other breeds. However, its instincts as a terrier would still urge it to run after anything smaller than it. This means that if you own a cat or even a pet rabbit, you cannot have a Border terrier pet dog. This also means that you cannot trust a Border terrier pet dog out of its leash. If it even sees something running, it will take off, leaving you yelling uselessly. This, of course, can cause accidents to happen. In order to make sure that your Border terrier pet dog does not get hit by a car, you need to keep that pet on a leash outside.
3) Escape - it is recommended by many experts that Border terrier pet dogs should be kept in a fenced-in yard to let it have some roaming space while making sure that it is safe. However, you should know that Border terrier pet dogs are clever escape artists. Even if a Border terrier pet dog is within a closed in fence, you should try to keep an eye on it.
4) The noise - Border terrier pet dogs will bark at practically anything that catches their attention. Because of this, you need to properly train them to bark only when needed. You should also be quick to stop them if they are barking inappropriately.
For this reason, you should not really get a Border terrier pet dog if you live with very close neighbors and if you work during the day. An unsupervised Border terrier pet dog is sure to keep barking all day long. This, of course, may draw complaints from your neighbors.
5) Independent thinking - what people love about Border terrier pet dogs is the fact that they can learn very quickly. This is because of their inherent curiosity and toughness. However, the same qualities that make them prize-winners can also make them very stubborn when they want to. You have to be consistent with your commands and show the Border terrier pet dog that you mean what you say. In doing so, you will be training the Border terrier pet dog properly.

What You Must Know If You Want To Adopt A Stray Dog

Every day people see stray dogs on the streets, wandering neighborhoods, and going from door to door begging for food. Fortunately, there are good hearted people who select to adopt them, bring them into their families, and give them a chance at a good life.

If you're considering adopting a stray dog, you should know that there are both challenges and rewards. Since you'll be bringing the dog into your home and family, it’s foremost to weigh both sides of it before you make a final decision.
One of the major challenges in adopting a homeless dog is not knowing its background. The dog could have been exposed to approximately anything, and you have no way of knowing before you adopt it. This can mean the dog has severe condition problems, and you won't know until you take the dog to the vet for an exam. Make sure you take the dog to the vet's office right away, and continue regular check ups to keep it healthy.

Another big challenge is his or her behavior. After living on the streets, many dogs revert back to wilder behavior, doing anyone they can to survive. This means they may be wary of humans, defensive, and not know “proper” behavior in a family setting. When you adopt a stray dog, you have to work to be extra diplomatic with it as you teach it how to socialize with humans.

Discipline goes along with behavioral problems a stray dog may have. Depending on how long the dog was on its own, it may have no discipline and not know what proper behavior is. While you're gentle, you must also be firm with the dog, and keep up the training, even if it's difficult. If the dog is an adult, it may be even harder to train, but patience, gentleness, and love will help.

Despite the challenges that come with adopting a stray dog, there are great rewards, as well. One of the most foremost is the chance to give a dog a chance at a good life. And, for many dogs, that second chance well means the inequity in the middle of life and death. Saving the life of a stray dog is a pretty big reward!

Another bonus to adopting a stray dog is the love and companionship of the pet. One of the big reasons people adopt dogs is for companionship and love. No matter what a dog’s background, if you continue to love it and are diplomatic with it, the dog will ultimately show you love and affection, as well.

People Should Have Fallen In Love With An Indian Stray Dog

India is home to one of the largest stray animals in the world. And, the most numerous among them are the stray dogs! Looks like it’s is the dog mating season! So many dogs & bitches in the Vashi area have given birth to puppies, the average litter size being 4-5 for each pair.

Compared to the pet dogs who enjoy free meals and good health care, these stray puppies are the victims of their own destiny. Born on the street, they often have no proper food or water and become the carriers of disease by living in unhygienic conditions. Many of them get injured by passing vehicles or lose their lives to starvation & disease. The puppies in this picture live in a gutter in front of my house.

Thanks to a kind man who regularly feeds them with milk, they still look healthier than most other street pups. I also drop some chapatis near the gutter from time to time which both the pups and their mother happily chew on!

Back in India after a year, I am most intrigued by that omnipresent animal, the Great Indian Stray Dog. As I have become older and possibly more mature, I am now able to fully comprehend the greatness of this feisty, versatile, and clever creature that blends so magnificently with the urban landscape of India, with its dug up roads, stinky smoky hot air, noisy streets, and real life abundance of Kathe Kollwitz prints.

It is unlikely that National Geographic will ever have these animals on its cover. The Great Indian Stray Dog usually sleeps during the day and with its ears drooping, its genitals grossly exposed, it may seem like the last animal Paris Hilton would want to kiss. But bear this in mind; the looks of the Great Indian Stray Dog can be deceptive. For when it is excited, its ears raised, its hips high and slender, its legs long and powerful, its strong jaws letting out a piercing bark, the Great Indian Stray Dog has an appearance good enough to qualify for being the symbol of any state or political party. One may argue that these dogs have been a victim of globalization, as is evident from their Jamaica style street culture. But at least these hoodlums have some personality as opposed to the arse licking, kiss seeking, shoe wearing character of the domesticated ones.

And these dogs know it all too well. It looks with disdain as rich fat people drag along with them collared hairy dogs from western lands, their tongues wagging. The Great Indian Stray Dog considers these useless opportunistic sloths in similar vein as popular culture disdains fat balding white men in Bangkok’s streets.

The Great Indian Stray Dog is also the only last animal to still believe that global warming is the biggest hoax of all times. After all, it has been experiencing something more akin to global cooling. That is because as much of the world is being converted to parking lots and more tires are being manufactured than new human legs are taking birth on earth, these dogs have lot more cool shaded areas to relax than ever before.

While animal rights activists have ensured that the urban sprawls are designated as protected reserves for them, not all is going well for the Great Indian Stray Dog. After all, since they are mostly reliant on human trash for food, these dogs are as much afflicted by obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes as we humans are. They are doing their best to cope up with this “Supersize all” culture by trying to be more active. I myself have been chased by them many times during my morning runs. But such tactics can be fatal and one can often see a martyr in the street, its entrails jutting out and offering a feast to the flies, its head mashed by the heavy tires that went over it, and its eyes being poked by a crow, the other great survivor of urbanization.

So next time you see the Great Indian Stray Dog, consider its life for a moment. And if you have some time, ask some stupid scientist to put a radio tag around one to experience firsthand how urban legends are made. Believe me; it would be far more exciting than watching endless repeats of snorting whales or pampered pandas with milk bottles on TV.

As a veterinary nurse I just wanted to put down my thoughts and experiences regarding adopting a street dog and transporting it back to your own country. Specifically countries with high quarentine regulations such as the UK or the USA. I am aware this can be quite a contraversial matter as emotions are very much a part of a decision like this.

Whilst I have met many people whom have fallen in love with an Indian street dog and decided to give it a better life by transporting it back to their own country. I fully emphasise with this situation and agree that it is very hard once you have built up a rapport with a street dog, to then leave it behind unsure of it's future. Believe me I have suffered from this on many an occasion.

However please take note of this: In the UK, as this is the only country in which I know the details of quarantine regulations, it is not possible to transport an animal from India on a pet passport system so an animal brought into the UK would have to spend six months in quarantine kennels once it had reached the UK. Six months kenneling in itself can be highly distressing for an animal, particularly one who is used to spending their life roaming stray in their own natural territory. Another stressful experience for an animal is the shipping itself in the noisy and cold hold of an aircraft although often animals are rightly sedated for this.

The next issue is the cost. Again I am only able to comment on the UK in which it costs around £3000-£4000 at least to kennel one dog in quarantine for six months and additional high costs for the shipping itself. I regularly volunteer and work as a development officer for an animal charity in north India. The charity treats sick/injured animals, mostly street dogs, at it's own small shelter and arranges for vaccination and sterilisation. It reaches and helps around 150 dogs a year. This is albeit a very small charity but is able to carry out all this work with an annual turnover of 90,000 INR so about £1000 if you'll excuse my crude currency convertion.

Thus the money you would spend on making one dog's life better by adopting them and shipping them abroad could potentially keep a small Indian street dog charity running for three years, potentially saving the lives of 450 dogs!!!!

Take Stray Dogs As "Man’s Best Friend"

Dog helped early humans to establish small colonies which eventually turned into early civilizations. Serbians from Bering Strait, Asian tribe like Athabascan and indigenous American tribes like  Apache and Navajo could not have possibly survived without the help of Dogs. Domestication of Dogs has also been recorded in the glowing history of Indus Valley Civilization.

We have studied that dog is a multipurpose animal turned into pet for more than 15000 years or so. Since then man is using dog as a security guard to home, farms and cattle, also as a friend and now even in assisting military and helping physically challenged people.

Hence, Dogs are very well known as “Man’s Best Friend” but perhaps dogs don’t know that humans are also known as “Most Selfish Creature”

Today’s Indian stray dog was once used to live proudly under the shelter of his owner who has suddenly left it abandoned, and made completely dependent on the leftovers thrown away on road side. What else could be a better way to show gratitude for whatever these “once pets” had done for human societies.

But now it’s too much. We certainly cannot take more of their howling and barking, their littering and shitting anywhere, spoiling the beauty of our cities, they can even attack us and they already did it many a times before. They are totally intolerable and annoying. So, the best way of getting rid of them is just stop feeding them till they disappear one day. We don’t care about what dogs did to our great great great grandpa’s great grand pa, why would we care? After all what is the use of uncivilized animals between civilized human society?

Clueless of what I am talking about? Let me confess, I used to believe what I wrote in the paragraph above. You can call me a merciless person but that’s what I always used to think of stray dogs till one day I saw three bulky men with iron rods tied with iron wires catching stray dogs on road. They were hunting these animals and quickly they succeeded in trapping one poor dog. That animal was unusually screaming and bleeding from his mouth, fighting with those lifeless wires and rods, finally he gave up himself to those proud he-mans.

According to the Humane Society, "4 million cats and dogs -- about one every eight seconds -- are put down in U.S. shelters each year." Several factors contribute to the burgeoning population of homeless pets: the economic crisis, the failure of pet owners to spay and neuter their cats and dogs, and lax puppy mill laws. Because shelters have so many animals to feed and protect, they are often unable to handle the volume. Pet lovers across the nation can help shelters and animal welfare organizations handle the crisis.

Consider your skills and availability. Are you a writer? Get involved with the fight for animal rights by drafting a letter or article to your local newspaper urging your fellow citizens to help the cause. Do you have experience in the legal field? The ASPCA urges volunteers with professional legal skills to aid shelters and animal welfare organizations by reviewing and challenging laws. Are you tech savvy? Creating a website for your local shelter will connect homeless pets to potential owners.

Visit your local shelter and volunteer. Depending on the shelter, you can contribute by either donating your time or money. Many shelters look for volunteers to help clean cages, dish out meals or socialize with the animals. Handymen are needed to help build or repair storage areas and cages. If you do not have time to volunteer, you can always donate money or items such as food or blankets.

Organize a fundraiser at your workplace or school. Even if you cannot donate to a shelter or organization, you can make an effort by helping to raise funds. Money collected, even in small amounts, from a group of people can make a big difference.

If you feel comfortable taking in a homeless pet, consider becoming a foster parent. Petfinder.com is a national website dedicated to matching homeless animals with their forever homes. Hundreds of shelters from across the nation advertise on the site, and many are looking for individuals with time, patience and knowledge to temporarily house homeless animals.