Vol. 11, Special Issue 10 (2022)

Author(s):
DC Moliya, TKS Rao, NB Patel and RR Singh

Abstract:
The dog has been a very good companion of human being since domestication. Dogs like to be a part of the pack and choose human being as their leader. Dog keeping now considered as status symbol in society and well associated with socioeconomic status of owners. Study of dog behavior helps in achieving desired behavior like obedience & toilet manners. It also helps to control bad habits in dogs. Separation anxiety controlled by positive behaviour towards the pets and exercise. Two hundred owners rearing dogs were randomly selected from Surat city of South Gujarat during year 2018. Data were collected from owners emphasizing dog-owners relationship through personal interview with the help of structured questionnaire and visit of house hold. Behaviors were studied along with bad habits. The collected data were analyzed for frequency & chi-square test (X²). Most preferred breed was moderate size Labrador followed by German Shepherd in study area. Dogs were generally very docile and mixing type (70.0%). Most of the owners (62.00%) were unable to control dog while exposure to strangers. Reactions to loud noise include excessive barking, in dogs as reported by 42.50 percent owners. Majority (38.00%) of owners observed less walking in dogs. Majority of the owners observed game playing in their dogs, moreover, this behaviour varied significantly among the owners. Majority (88.50%) of owners reported proper care of puppy by bitch and rest of respondents observed no dam-puppy interaction. Dam-puppy interaction varied significantly among the owners. Majority of owners showed undesirable behavior similarly most of the respondents used anti-barking collars in pets although mainstream owners adopted the use of puppy training pads related to toilet manner. Only 14.0% of owners faced complain against dog barking by their neighbor. There is a need to improve awareness and information to dog owners towards scientific rearing.