COAT & SKIN

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs

Some dogs shed all around the year. Sometimes, excessive shedding becomes a problem for house owners. The house is scattered with fallen hairs and it requires constant cleaning which becomes a very tedious and cumbersome task..

This constant shedding is normally observed in tropical and sub-tropical countries. Due to hot and dry conditions, the skin dries up resulting in shedding.  Dogs prone to excessive shedding need a lot of brushing.

Extra amount of fats and oils should be added in their food. For stubborn shedding, vinegar with glycerine should be rubbed into the coat before bathing the dog. In long coated dogs, the solution of vinegar with glycerine should be applied thoroughly and left for at least one hour before bathing the dog.

Raj Prateek Verma

How to house break a puppy?

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs

It is very important for all owners to house- break a pup after it has been introduced to the household.
This ensures that the puppy becomes trained to carry out its routine affairs without being a nuisance. Of course, initially it needs a lot of patience and perseverance but the end results are worth it.

Make it a point to take him out at least every two hours. This schedule/timetable should be maintained at any cost. This is the first thing to be done in the morning, and repeated after every meal and just before bed at night apart from the regular outings at an interval of 2 hours.

When he errs, make him realize his mistake . A slight scolding or a light slap with a folded newspaper is enough. Remember, never hit your puppy hard. This will only make him timid and it might also get badly hurt. Most dogs catch on quickly. It hardly takes two to three months for a pup to be house trained.

Raj Prateek Verma

How to keep a new puppy from crying?

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs

One of the greatest problems faced by dog owners when a new pup is brought home, is to  pacify it. Generally the puppy  gets disturbed in its new surroundings. It has been forcefully seperated from its mother and siblings. It misses the warmth of his mother's body, the litter companions..
 Following steps may be taken to pacify the pup.

1. Offer it clean water as soon as it arrives. it may be very thirsty after a long journey.
2. Keep away the children from handling it too much. Too much of a handling will surely frighten the puppy.
3. Clean bed with a new mattress should be provided
4. The puppy might keep on crying at night. This is rather irritating as the whole household will be disturbed.
5. Before retiring to bed , a hot water bottle may be kept on the puppy's bed in order to simulate warmth.
6. A loud ticking clock sometimes works wonderfully in trying to distract a puppy from crying.
7. If these dont work, a baby aspirin, or a sleeping pill may be given.

Raj Prateek Verma

Amusing Dogs

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs


It is said  that the dog is the closest animal to humans and that it makes us  laugh  more than any other. Some dogs are amusing simply because  of their appearance. The Chinese hailess dog, for instance, with the strange tuft of hair on the its head and naked body, or the Shar-Pei, buried in great folds, are both naturally funny. Some mongrels, perhaps half Labrador Retriever half heaven knows what, can be very amusing to look at. But the more the dog makes us laugh the more we love it. After all a mongrel is unique; it is impossible to find two the same!

We also find the dog's ability to copy the actions of humans amusing; it can carry the newspaper, get car sick, lean out of a window or open a door. And emotionally, too, they imitate us; they can get in a bad mood and sulk; they can give you a melting look; be playful, irritating and and as annoying to their masters as small children can be to their parents.

Irresistibly lovable at times when they look their worse; getting out of water for instance, wet, bedraggled and miserable and having lost all their panache and nobility.http://dogalogueofraj.blogspot.com

Dalmation as a pet

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs                                                                                        

 The Dalmatian does not come from Dalmatia and is certainly not of Yugoslavian    origin. One theory is that it may have come from Asia to England in the 18th century via Egypt and Greece. It is a dog of many skills and was used for carrying messages in the Balkan wars. It makes a good watchdog too. In some countries it is used as guide dog for the blind. It is a dog with calm temperament which enjoys playing with children.  It has a slightly melancholy air and depends  even more than most dogs, on human  companionship. Its white coat with black and brown spots is internationally recognizable. It is a strange fact that Dalmatian puppies are born with plain white coat.http://dogalogueofraj.blogspot.com

Despised dogs: Biblical

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs

Biblical Dogs                     : Throughout the Old and New Testaments the dog is despised as an abhorrent, unclean animal. The only polite reference to a dog in the Apocrypha (Old Testament appendix), in the book of Tobit. Tobias's Dog accompanied him on a journey to Ecbatana as a companion and friend - a very alien concept to the Semitic mind, and the dog does not appear in the Aramaic or Hebrew versionhttp://dogalogueofraj.blogspot.com

Despised Dogs

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs


Hindu                               :dogs were despised as unclean animals, animated by the wicked and malign spirits condemned to do penance for the crimes in a previous existence. If a  Hindu came into contact with a dog, he must purify himself. The greatest insult they could give to anyone was to call him a dog!http://dogalogueofraj.blogspot.com

Dogs in Ancient Rome

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs

Rome         : In contrast with the Egyptian attitude, Sirius the Dog Star presaged bad weather for the Romans, and for the Greeks. It brought the hottest part of the year, the 'dog days' of pestilence and drought. The Romans sacrificed red dogs at the feast of  Floralia in an attempt to satisfy Sirius. At the annual festival of Diana at Nemi(Vesta) which was celebrated all over Italy on 13th August, the hottest time of the year, hunting dogs were crowned .

At the height of Roman civilisation, dogs were restricted to the privileged class and the Romans were the first to feed their dogs regularly, but as the civilisation crumbled, dogs gradually became outcasts and scavengers. Rome  had been very impressed by the enormous and powerful Mastiffs of Britain and they brought home to fight in the arenas against wild animals and gladiators.  They were also used as prize war dogs.

Venerated Dogs

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs

Nepal                                 : dogs were worshipped at a festival called Khicha puja.

Nosarii                              : of Western Asia were said to worship dogs.

Peritas                              : was Alexander the great's favourite dog. A city was named after him,and his statue was placed in the square.

Persia                               : In the Mithraic religion, the dog was venerated as the companion of Mithras, God of Light. The dog is always shown springing towards the wound in the side of a sacred bull which Mithras has subdued and reluctantly sacrificed.

http:/dogalogueofraj.blogspot.com

Venerated dogs

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs.

Ethiopia                       : A dog was elected as King. If it fawned, it was found the government was good; if it growled, it was bad.

Greece                         : Hecate was a Greek goddess who bestowed wealth and the blessings of daily life; the dog was her favourite animal and was sacrificed to her.


Kalangs                       : of Java practised the Cult of the Red Dog. Each family kept one in the house - probably a wooden image - which was worshipped after the death of a member of the family and burnt after a thousand days.


Raj Prateek Verma                          Venerated Dogs          

Venerated Dogs

Egypt                        : Dogs were idolised in Ancient Egypt. Members of the family shaved themselves to mourn a dead dog in the time of Herodotus. The 'watchful and faithful' Dog star, Sirius, heralded the vital annual overflow of the Nile and was worshipped for that reason. The ancient god Anubis was probably a jackal, not a dog, but was greatly venerated. Dogs in general were still esteemed for their sagacity in the time of Pythagoras, when the Egyptians believed that at the death of a human being the soul entered various animals.

Egyptian dogs were protected from being killed; they were never considered to be subordinate animals; and they were often temple guards.

Raj Prateek Verma                       http://dogalogueofraj.blogspot.com

Venerated Dogs

Arctic                         : The Eskimos looked upon the native dog as the father of the human family. Greenlanders believed that because dogs existed before mankind they had a certain presentiment of the future; they also thought that eclipses were caused by the sun being pursued by his brother the moon, and in that frightening event the women would take their dogs by the ears on the assumption that, if the dog did not cry out under such treatment then the was not to be destroyed.

the Siberian yakuts thought less of dogs: they believed that the hum,an soul entered animals after death, and the weakest would end up in a dog.

Raj Prateek Verma           http://dogalogueofraj.blogspot.com

Venerated Dogs

America                : The Karok and Navaho Indians regarded the dog's close cousin, the coyote, as a great hero and divine benefactor known as the Fire Stealer. In Oregon the coyote inspired creative exploits, and on the Gulf Coast or the prairie wolf was the creative hero and chief supernatural being. The Tinneh Indians had a miraculous dog as their chief divine being: he could assume the form of a young handsome man and he became the first material of most things when he was torn to pieces by gaints.


Arabia                  : The Arabians thought so highly of their dogs that they were the first to give them medical attention. The Saluki was said to be the sacred gift of Allah.

Raj Prateek Verma

Classical Dogs

Horace                     :Satires II: The Tale of the Town Mouse and the CountryMouse'. . . . .when the lofty
                                   hall resounded with the baying of Molossian hounds.

Xenophon                 : Oeconomicus: : On farm management". . . . .and puppies too learn to do tricks


Virgil                         : Georgics III: Animal Husbandry in Africa and Scythia ' The african swain'. . . and
                                    Amyclaean dog'Classical dogs

Classical Dogs

Arrian                         : On Hunting, XVI Hares, gives full details of using 'fast Celtic hounds of our day'.

Dio  Chrysostom        : Discourses,VII(Euboicus) ..... took to hunting, sometimes using dogs changed from        
                                       sheepdogs into a type of late trained, rather slow hunting dog.

Homer                        : Iliad  Nine swift-footed dogs following four golden herdsmen walking beside cattle -
                                      savage lion attacks - dogs to the rescue, barking furiously.

Horace                       : EpodesII - Daydreams of moneylender . . . . with his pack of hounds from here, from
                                      there, he forces the fierce boars towards the ready nets'.

Raj Prateek Verma

Mythological Dogs continued

Laelaps                          : was destined to catch whatever he chased, but he was put in pursuit of a vixen destined never to be caught...........

Maera                            : was Icarius's faithful dog who committed  suicide by jumping into a well to join his murdered master. Icarius became the constellation Bootes, his daughter Erigone became Virgo, and Maera became the star Procyon which rises in July just before the Dog star.


Xanthippus's Dog          : was so faithful that it swam alongside its master's ship all the way to the Greek island of Salamis when the Athenians fled there for safety in 480 A.D.http://dogalogueofraj.blogspot.com

Mythological Dogs

Actaeon's Hounds          :Actaeon the hunter accidentally glimpsed the goddess Diana bathing. She changed him into a stag and he was pursued and killed by his own 50 hounds.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Argos                           : was a very old dog who recognised Odysseus when he came home in disguise after 20 years.The dog died of joy!

 Cerberus                       : was the monstrous 50- headed watchdog of Hades.


Gargittios & Orthos      : were Greyon's monster dogs, killed by Hercules. Orthos was the brother of Cerberus.             

Ancient breeds

Assyria                          : Great Dane type for hunting lions, bull, wild ass.

Egypt                             : Hounds (Pharoah And Afghan type). Types like dachshund and greyhound. Creamy
                                         mastiff war dog.

Greece                           :Wolfdogs. Beagle type of scenting hound. Ferocious large guard dogs for livestock
                                         and home.

Rome                             : Three major categories: Canes villatici(house)
                                                                                   C.venatici (mastiff type)
                                                                                   BoarHound, Grey Hound, Italian GreyHound

Raj Prateek Verma

Man meets dog

The dog has been domesticated for some fourteen or fifteen thousand years. it was man's first true companion among the many creatures with whom he shared this earth. All over the world, men have tamed members of the dog family. Wolves, jackals and coyotes can still be bred with domestic dogs and they share many characteristics of physiology and behaviour.

Chance proximity led the North American Indians to tame the coyote, while the South American Indians tamed the fox-like Dusicyon genus, halfway between the true vulpine foxes and the canid wolves. The ancestors of most of today's domesticated dogs are wolf and jackal.


Raj Prateek Verma

About dogs as human's best friend

This site is dedicated to dogs- containing a delightful mixture of serious and zany facts and fancies about man's best friend. There are blushing dogs and singing dogs; war heroes and life savers; beasts and beauties; venerated and despised dogs; royal and presidential dogs.

Raj Prateek Verma