DOGS THE ADORABLE STRESS-BUSTERS

Dogs have always been a part of the human world. They are excellent companions and demanding task masters. This bond continues to strengthen as more people reach out to them. Dogs and humans share the gift of love, affection and care that is beyond words... UpperCrust goes on a culinary hunt to stir up a doggy appetite and encourages you to bring one home if you haven't already. It's good for your children, good for you!

Most of us pet owners contend that caring for pets is good for our souls, mind and bodies. Most of us know the positive effects a pet, especially a pet dog can have on our lives. The grinning mouth, the wagging tail, the look of utter devotion in those melting eyes - these are the best pick-me-up, and they come with added health benefits of lowering high blood pressure, preventing heart disease and combating depression.

Dogs can force us to exercise more, get out and laugh longer. They even help us make new friends with other doggy owners. Watching their antics can keep us in good cheer, make us forget our blues.

Few pleasures can beat the welcome we get when we come home from work. To see our dogs go berserk with happiness is unfounded joy. Every dog owner is familiar with the high-speed-jump-around-in-a-circle-act accompanied by happy barking which is so amusing, we can laugh our heads off, office problems forgotten.

And then when it is a lazy Sunday and we are home all day, watching T.V. with our dogs at our feet or when we are in bed reading, with our dogs lying alongside, it is pure Nirvana. When they follow us around the house all day we feel oh-so-special (never mind the fact that they do so in the hope that we will give them a treat).

And we know pets are good for children too. They help them gain a sense of independence that can set them on the path to becoming mature, responsible adults.Children with dogs in their lives tend to be more active and physically fit as well as being more social, independent, emotionally well adjusted and less selfish towards the needs of others. Pets prepare kids for life situations. Bringing a pet into the family can be an effective way to help prepare children for real life scenarios of illness, death or a new baby.

Be warned though. Dogs are costly, high maintenance animals that require tons of love, understanding and just plain work. Bringing a dog home needs a high level of commitment from all family members. So if the thought of walking, feeding and cleaning up after an animal on a daily basis seems like a bigger commitment than you are prepared for, then think twice.

But if you do consider bringing home a dog, rest assured there will be a new sense of fulfillment and joy in your life. You will thank God one day and your kids will thank you for it someday!

"Serra, stop it!" chides Shirin Merchant, the editor of Woof and the pioneering dog behaviour therapist in India. It's quite a sight - the stunning, blond Labrador Retriever affectionately licking any new comer who enters the Merchant household, followed closely by the calm and well behaved Honey- her black companion. As we begin chatting with Shirin, her love for dogs is pretty evident. She began her career twelve years ago as a canine behaviourist and then launched her very own magazine Woof as well as a non-profit organization called 'Canines Can Care'.

When questioned about pet dogs in India and their diets, she vociferously states, "You have to respect the fact that dogs are carnivores." She continues, "And it is wrong to feed them five meals a day. The problem with India is over-feeding is considered a sign of love, thankfully that is changing." As more and more people are opting for healthier lifestyles, pet dogs are also being driven towards the organic and home-made concept of food. We learn that poorly fed dogs are always hungry, such an act being their natural instinct. "You cannot put your dog on a crash diet. It must be monitored by a vet," she advises. Pet foods are becoming passé here due to several scams and recalls by several leading dog food companies across the globe. The staple dog foods come in flavoured pellet forms. She informs us of Ms. Kat, based in Bandra, who makes organic holistic cookies especially for dogs and even distributes her treats at one of her sessions. Although Shirin has essentially trained Serra and Honey as well as her farm dogs primarily as working dogs, they are a part of her family now. "Virtually every day, we make a pressure cooked broth of meat, barley, and mixed vegetables and feed the two Labradors at home as well as five stray dogs in the compound. Sometimes Serra and Honey get a treat of the leftover egg preparation that my son Zahan has refused to eat. The scraps off the table are also their favourites," exclaims Shirin. The golden-white Labrador, Serra, is the friskier of the two, more energetic and agile as she is younger. Honey, the black one, appears more content and serene with age, although she loves her cheese and eggs, anytime," Shirin trails off. Choo-Stix, a flavoured chewing stick is a gourmet treat for her doggies. Shirin considers her family and herself as doggy people. She conducts trainer courses at her home in Dadar. Her training pad at home is perfect, with an adjoining open terrace. Some sessions also take place at her farmhouse just outside of Lonavala - the den for her four Rottweilers. She has also just concluded an international course in collaboration with her U.K. based mentor and colleague John Rogerson, specializing in behavioural canine training. This was to encourage voluntary work along with some monetary benefits. Having grown up with these beautiful creatures, Shirin intends to demonstrate her love and devotion for them to the maximum, through an off-the-beaten-track career as an animal shrink. Just as a baby needs parental affection when young, so do dogs. It's imperative for dog owners to reach out to their pets in order to cement a relationship that's long lasting.

Next on our journey of meeting doggy people, who better than the doggie doctor, Dr. Sangeeta Vengsarkar Shah, another stalwart in the world of dogs. She's a trained veterinarian specializing in cardiology and practices from her clinic at Shivaji Park. An avid dog lover, she always knew she wanted to be an animal doctor. When asked what the ideal diet for dogs should be, and the brouhaha surrounding pet food and home-food, she states matter-of-factly, "You can broadly talk about a healthy diet consisting of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and fibre." The proportions she advises vary on the age, size and often, breed of the dog as well. A common myth about milk and dogs is cleared when she explains, "Milk can be a valuable source of proteins in vegetarian households. Otherwise it triggers food allergies and indigestion, so I would not advise milk as there is a possibility of intolerance." In the midst of our rather nutrition-centric conversation, we are interrupted by the soft sniffing of her beauty, Anais. The dog, a cross between a Weimaraner and a stray, is indeed a stunner, with an ebony shiny coat and the composure of a Buddha. Dr. Vengsarkar points out, "She doesn't like food in the dry form like normal pet food. So every meal is made with dog food and home food in equal proportions." She stresses that skin and gastrointestinal diseases in dogs result from adverse reactions to wrong dietary intake. The best remedy she prescribes is "a hypo-allergenic diet of rice and cottage cheese for a month followed by lentils and chicken." She describes the process of elimination as a cure for food allergies. "Garlic and onions as well as chocolates, given over a long period of time, are often harmful," Dr. Vengsarkar warns. There's a whole array of colorful pet food packets lined up across the counter, like in a candy store. We learn that if you are a pet owner, it's essential like Dr. Vengsarkar does, to feed your dog a balanced mélange of fresh food and ready made dog food. Dog food is primarily found in the form of pellets and the moistened type. The devoted doctor continues about her Anais' favourite foods. "Any dish is okay. Anais is completely part of the family," she adds. Anais always turns up at the table to devour her share of the favourite after-dinner apple which the family often enjoys. When on holiday, Dr. Vengsarkar always adds a dash of eggs or lentils to the prepared dry food for Anais and advises the same for other pet owners. She also guides us through the influx of supplements in dog food. It's enlightening to know about the wide variety of diets, including ones to combat hip and joint problems. She confesses that prepared dog food balances the amount of nutrients depending on age, stature, activity and breed of the dog, otherwise a Herculean task with home-cooked meals often lacking the essential nutrients. "Somehow in India the concept of home-cooked versus prepared food has always been debated," she ponders out aloud. The only concerns, she feels, are the artificial and harmful additives prevalent in prepared dog food. In between putting a patient puppy on a drip and answering our questions, Dr. Vengsarkar shares her dog's gourmet fantasies, ranging from chewy sticks, moistened food to scrambled eggs. She also explains how Anais is a part of her rare Sunday morning breakfast treats, consisting of eggs and even Masala Chicken. "Anais is very particular about time, whether it's getting to the clinic in the morning or staying on beyond working hours in the evening," Dr. Vengsarkar concludes lovingly about her quirky Anais. Care and mental stimulation are the only power boosters that help a master bond with his pet, she advises. She graciously shares Anais' favourite recipe with UpperCrust.

Anais' favourite chicken broth

Ingredients:
- 200 gm chicken mince
- 1 egg
- 1/2-cup rice
- 1 cup mixed vegetables (spinach, carrots, French Beans)
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp. grated cheese
- 1 tbsp curd
- salt to taste

Method: In 1 tablespoon oil, saute the chicken for five minutes. Add egg and the rest of the ingredients and saute for two additional minutes.
Add 2 cups water and pressure cook for two whistles.
Voila! Anais' favourite chicken is ready, in three minutes. Most dogs love this dish. It is nutritionally balanced, offering a good combination of protein, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins and calcium. Contrary to popular perception, salt, oil and rice can be given to dogs.

Fashion designer, Maheka Mirpuri, is an avid dog lover. She has a Shih Tzu named Vodkaa, whose fur is like luminous gold and snow white in colour. "Vodkaa is my child," she exclaims. The designer was on one of her holidays in Miami, when she decided to get Vodkaa. She proudly admits that she knew he was the right choice from the very beginning. Her husband and she selected him at a pet shop there. He is a part of the Mirpuri household now and even goes to a groomer. "I think most dogs love meats, basically non- vegetarian food and milk," she says, when asked about dog food. "Of course it's the habits you cultivate in them," she adds, warning about the fussy eating habits of small dogs. She often varies Vodkaa's meals and treats. Cooked chicken and mutton is healthier for dogs, according to her, although some of her friends have cultivated vegetarianism in their dogs too. "Give them all kinds of non-vegetarian treats, as they are available in packets, and don't have to be cooked," she advises. Maheka also points out that pets must be healthy and not overweight. She has a great relationship with her dog, who accompanies her to work and even sleeps right by her side. She pampers him with occasional treats and lots of affection.

"They say your pet takes over your personality, after staying with you," she muses. With a smile in her heart she winds up, "It is very true, Vodkaa is just like me...." Maheka, the creative designer, often puts on her 'chef's hat', while stirring up some quick and tasty treats for Vodkaa. The chef recommends:

Breast pieces of chicken, with mixed vegetables along with little chicken stock and rice cooked together and pieces of mutton with little gravy, salt to taste, along with rice or roti. Both are freshly made and cooked at home.

She shops for her dog at leading pet stores in Mumbai as well as from her vet. On her trips abroad, she often picks up interesting treats and moist or dry food packets for Vodkaa. Her last piece of dog food advice is: healthy, high fibre -food and trusted brands such as Pedigree, which are her favourite.

Another dog lover is the handsome, young Dutch restaurateur, Matan Schabracq. The enterprising man, who claims to be the only person he knows who walks his Rottweiler, Gappie, himself, has some interesting trivia to share. The owner of Zenzi Bar and The Bagel Shop in Bandra explains that having grown up with German shepherds back home, he loves dogs. He frowns upon the lack of places in the city for pet owners to unwind with their animals. The idea occurred to him some time back that he could start a casual café where people could relax over a cup of coffee and even bring along their pets for company. That's how the quaint little eatery The Bagel Shop was born. Besides an array of lip-smacking bagels and sandwiches, he also serves dog food and treats, especially Royal Cannin, a popular French brand of dog food. These are complimentary for pets that unwind here. There is a pretty backyard area where the dogs can scamper about with balls and other dog toys being tossed in for their entertainment. This is surely a gracious step towards inclusion of pets into our world.

                                     

Talking of restaurateurs, we next have the delightful Kat Ferrera, perhaps the only dog patissiere in Mumbai. This middle-aged, 'powerhouse doggy chef', as she likes to call herself, is based out of Juhu. Kat grew up with animals. From working with the Manhattan Zoo in New York, for seven years, to interacting with veterinarians and breeding horses, she now runs a private made-to-order doggy treats business called Waggy Bags. The energetic lady, who began about two year ago, assures us that her gourmet treats are made with hundred percent pure love. Philosophising about eating habits in dogs, she states, "You are what you eat." She also believes that it is important to respect the carnivorous habits of dogs, who were born to be hunters. The pastry chef further adds, "We as humans have a choice but anything that contains a high content of meat is great for dogs." Most of her treats and biscuits contain some form of meat. Her delicious cookies are made from the reduction of vegetable and meat broth along with some flour and eggs with a dash of innovative flavours. She swears by her favourite honey based biscuits and even the unique cheeseburger cake she once cooked for dogs. "If you don't have fifty dogs following you around after they sniff my biscuits, I will give you anything," she challenges with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Cooking for animals has always been a passion and she even bakes cakes for them. She is against chocolate, cocoa, garlic and onions, so one will not find a trace of these foods in her delectable range of dog desserts. "They can trigger off renal failure over a period of time," she reiterates. Kat feeds five 'compound dogs' in her building and misses her golden retriever who passed away not too long ago. Her pastry treats are meant for special occasions and not for daily consumption. The popularity of her business is soaring and she handpicks the ingredients from the market ensuring that the treats are wholesome and fresh. She believes in maintaining personal relationships with the dogs she bakes for and even bakes cakes for special occasions like dog birthdays. The treats are steeply priced, starting from Rs. 200 for 200 gm. Kat however uses natural and nutritional ingredients only. "If you are giving a dog meat, you are giving him an essentially balanced diet," she reveals. The jovial food chef adds, "When the dogs devour my goodies, they jump like somebody gave them a vitamin shot." Her elaborate menu, which could put a Cordon Bleu chef to shame, consists of interesting combinations like parsley broth biscuits, pork and apple treats, tuna biscuits, and ham and honey biscuits. Pork cakes and chicken liver cakes rule the cakes section. Once, at Christmas time, she conjured up a turkey and cranberry broth cake for her pet. Her apple, peanut butter and honey cake is a hot-selling vegetarian cake. It's interesting to observe that this dog lover contributes to dog society, through voluntary work at non-profit organizations like Save Our Strays and Welfare of Stray Dogs. The talented chef is quick to share some of her favourite and easy to make recipes with UpperCrust.

Pupsicles: a great cooling treat for your dog, during summer.

Ingredients: - 1 litre fruit juice preferably berry flavours
- 1 banana
- 1/2 cup yogurt

Method:
Mix all the ingredients into a blender and set in ice-trays and freeze.

Thaw a bit before serving as ice can flatten the dog's teeth. You could certainly spruce it up a bit with a teaspoon of vanilla or honey.

On our excursion to Bandra we also met up with the man behind the highly successful dog tiffin service called Home- Care. Wasiff Khan is the man behind this unique home-made dog food service. It began about three years ago and has been a roaring success ever since. It made a profit of six thousand rupees in the first month of its launch. From its birth as a random idea that occurred to Wasiff, to becoming a household name for pet dog owners across the city, this venture has scaled the mountains of success. "I had to face a lot of challenges as people in Mumbai are very brand conscious. I have never marketed my products," he admits. He began cooking from home and sending out samples to potential clients. That is how the wholesomeness and quality of his meals became popular. The creative head now operates from near Bandra station. He has a team of twenty five employees and ten scooters, delivering home food to pets all over Mumbai from Colaba to Malad. His meals are wholesome, nutritious and preservative free; hence they are ideal for daily consumption. After sampling his meals, the clients place monthly tiffin orders. The meal plans are however flexible, depending on illnesses and age or breed of the dog. He had to work with an expert team of dog nutritionists and veterinarians before expanding his project. The pizza style delivery service is very unique. This passionate man states, "Dogs are like us, they too need a good balanced meal." The pet industry is in its nascent stage in India and he sees a great future for it. With expansion plans even outside Mumbai and setting up franchises in Bangalore and Delhi, Wasiff has struck the right chord with pet owners across town. Home-Care's elaborate menu has something for every kind of pet owner. The elite order the premium meals, made from haute quality meat and meat organs, whereas the money conscious clients order the regular type, consisting of a lip-smacking porridge of cereals and meat and vegetables. The prices range from Rs.30 - Rs.120. Wasiff admits that he does not have a dog himself, but his love for dogs knows no bounds. He intends to own a German Shepherd someday as he believes they are the best companions. Before zooming off on his scooter for the next meal delivery, he shares his best and most basic recipes with us which he claims will be a runaway hit with dogs. It was indeed endearing to learn how people are reaching out to their favourite companions and going all out to ensure that their pets are healthy and satisfied.

Banana Strips: a great recipe for dog snacks

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup banana peeled and mashed
- 1 egg

Method:
After peeling and mashing the banana, add egg and beat well.
Spread on a microwave plate and nuke for three minutes.
Cool thoroughly and serve to your dog. Watch him go bananas.

Giampaolo Cutillo, the Consul General of Italy in Mumbai, is another dog lover who swears by the friendship he and his family share with Chinasky, his well travelled Alaskan Malamute, probably the only one of its kind in Mumbai. He says Chinasky is like a son to him. The name was given to him by his wife Elisabetta, from a character in a novel written by Charles Bukouuski. Giampaolo bought him in Caracas, Venezuela, 10 years ago when he was posted there. And since then Chinasky has travelled with him to Islamabad, back and forth to Italy and now Mumbai. He takes him for walks in the streets and on Sundays to the Priyadarshini Park. Chinasky was very much around when his daughter Eloisa was born, five years ago. And from his very first sniff of her, Chinaksy has become the caring, elder brother. One of Giampaolo's big pleasures in life is to watch them both play together. And what's the food diet of this strong, handsome, furry boy? "Well, he eats once a day, dinner time and I give him some balanced dog food, pellets from Italy. He needs a special kind of diet. No, no fresh food. Though he would eat a full chicken at each meal if I gave that to him. But as a treat or when I want to reward him he gets some chicken, sometimes. However, Eloisa takes care of spoiling him. When she is eating her food, Chinasky will always be around her. You see, she feeds him from her plate and he loves that!" Chinaksy is a big dog, he looks like a wolf but has the heart of a baby lamb. "Little children, very strangely are so attracted to him, they come up to him and put their arms around him trying to hold him with their little arms!" Giampaolo smiles.

Food for a dog's thoughts...

When you think dogs you think ... wagging tails, curious barks and irresistibly moist noses and often wonder, what it is that gets a doggie's tummy growling. Most vets and dog food researchers have cleared the confusion surrounding dog preferences.

Variety is certainly the spice of life, although the dogs' digestive systems would disagree! Many veterinarians swear by milk formulas from companies like Brento-Kronen, as it contains the perfect nutritional balance for dogs of varying ages, sizes and breeds. The France based Royal Cannin even endorses immunity boosters as an alternative to bitch's milk. A vibgyor variety of nibbles are available, which make for a sumptuous treat. There are so many brands available in India; amongst them, the most popular is Pedigree for being a cheap option to home food. Propack, Venky's Pet, Nutripret and Eukanuba are among the heartiest choices that pet owners can make. Dog food is essentially available in dry pellet forms and moistened forms. The dry form contains the spunk of chicken whereas the moistened gravy form is available in multi-minced meat types ranging from beef, chicken, lamb to even rabbit. Foreign brands are readily available at all leading pet shops and at all veterinarian doctors in Mumbai and the rest of India. Pedigree is available at even small grocery stores, departmental stores, super markets and malls.

In general, salt (in moderation) is needed for fluid regulation. For dogs with heart problems, however, salt should be eliminated from the diet. For older dogs with kidney problems, the protein content in the diet (meat) should be reduced. White flour and sugar are poisonous as well. Soy and wheat flour are great substitutes for dogs. Avocados and raisins are often fatal and hence avoided. Many dog culinary experts and doctors advise against the use of spice agents.

Some pet shops in Mumbai:

Shake Hands, Crawford Market and Colaba.
Ebrahim and Sons, Kemps Corner.
Paws & Fur, Bandra West.
Pet Mats, Malad West.