Friends of Lana

Dog training is both an art and a science. Ideally, every dog should be trained with the basics – from learning to walk on the leash to being comfortable with strangers and house guests.

In this article, Mr. Pritpal Singh, who has been a dog trainer for almost 48 years, joins us for a chat. Not only does he talk about some of his own experiences, he gives us some tips regarding training, his thoughts on the positive vs. negative reinforcement debate, busts some myths which have been around far too long and provides an insightful glimpse at how the times have changed.

It’s that time of year again; the mercury isn’t boiling anymore. Days are rather warm and humid. Monsoon and the transitional season that follows proves tricky for dogs with sensitive skin. From redness and itchiness to hot spots and bald spots and everything in between, the sight of our fur darlings scratching themselves silly unfortunately becomes quite commonplace.

For some of us, using just the right shampoo or medicine can take all our precious fur baby’s skin woes away. But often, especially with allergic conditions, it’s not common to have solutions which are quite so spot-on. Misdiagnoses are common, often with heavy medication being prescribed where it may not be needed at all!

A recent survey done by Lana Paws, Pet Dogs of India 2019, highlighted a significant observation. An overwhelming 95% of all the pet parents who took the survey felt the need for local authorities to run structured programmes to sensitise children towards being kind and compassionate towards animals. Cases of dog bites have been widely reported and, in some cases, even sensationalised by the media. Many of these cases have been directed at children. Public opinion regarding stray dogs is at an all-time low. As a result of this, some people (children in particular) panic upon the very sight of stray dogs.

Thanks to over 1500 pet parents like you who took the time out to complete this survey, we are excited to present some of the interesting lifestyle trends highlighting the shifting pet parent-dog dynamic.

Four-legged Therapist

Right off the bat, a whopping 49.5% of the respondents said they turn to their dog for emotional support, more than their friends and family. Second in line was 42.5% saying that they turned to their dogs for emotional support, along with their friends and family.

With our survey last year, Pet Parents Unleashed 2018, we wanted to cast a spotlight on the shifting trends in pet ownership. We highlighted a remarkable phase in the Indian pet industry wherein the rules of pet parenting in the country are being completely rewritten. In the same vein, our current survey has been designed to find out how capable, open and friendly Indian cities are to support this new dynamic people share with their pets.

Our survey metrics took into account a range of factors that are generally considered important for pet parenting - from access to good vets, parks, boarding & grooming facilities, to ease of renting houses as well as measuring other people's mindset towards pets/animals in general. Can you guess which Indian city was voted most pet-friendly?

Dog mothers pour their love, time and effort into their fur babies as much as their human babies. Whether it's taking days off from work to look after a sick dog or their phone galleries being full of pooch's pictures (and subsequently showing off their fur kid to almost everybody they meet), all dog moms are true moms - supermoms, actually - and are as deserving of celebrating Mother's Day as any other mother!

To commemorate all you dog supermoms & dads on this beautiful day, we decided to talk to a few of the amazing dog moms who decided to do things a little differently.