CHENNAI: Close to 400 dogs strutted into YMCA for the All Breeds Championship Dog Show conducted by the Madras Canine Club. One dog owner, wearing a fancy suit despite the blazing sun, was intently watching another dog owner adjust the posture of his Great Dane, as a group of these big canines posed for a photo.
“The Great Dane Club of America puts down exactly the way the head, back and tail of a Great Dane should be while taking part in the obedience trials. There are other trials like Agility, Field, Tracking and Protection,” a Great Dane owner said.
They were so well-behaved that one would expect them to have had months, if not years of training. But that isn’t the case, says Ramachandran Subramanian. “Just 10 minutes of training is enough for a dog. I begin training when a dog is about 40 days old. Dogs are ready for training when they start to eat food from the owners’ hand,” he opines.
Three of his dogs, two dobermans and a white Rajapalayam, were lying beside him seemingly oblivious to the reporter’s presence, when one of them suddenly stood up to stretch herself, and Ramachandran said, “Helga, lie down,” in Tamil. She obediently lay down beside her master. Ramachandran trained dogs in America and Australia before he returned to Mylapore to raise his own dogs. With close to three decades of experience, Ramachandran says it is not advisable to hit dogs.
“Only the human is left miserable if the dog does not act according to his wishes. Anger is a lazy response when it comes to dealing with any situation in life. We should become one among the pack to train a dog,” he explains, and adds that operant conditioning is the golden standard of training dogs.
In its simplest form, operant conditioning is to add or remove a reward stimulus. The technique has served Ramachandran throughout his career and has helped him train elephants and even goldfish. “I participate in these dog shows to display the worth of the local breed — Rajapalayam.”
Another Indian breed lurking nearby was the Mudhol Hound, James Mani. Suresh Kumar (James’ owner) said that his father had been passionate about dogs and horses, but with the population explosion over the years, he has been able to raise only one dog. James, who won 14 best of breed awards around India looked menacing with its long legs, an indication of the canine’s speed.
A fox terriers, an afghan hound, and quite a few spaniels, and rottweilers were seen at the event. Canine lovers had a fun day, and a quick look at the number of wagging tails proved that the dogs enjoyed it too.