Doing a research about the foreign breeds of dogs in India I came to know some startling facts about their lifestyle. Besides our Indian dogs there are more than a 100 foreign breeds of dogs available in India that include the Great Dane, the Rottweiler, the GSD, the Golden retriever and the bulldog to name a few. There are different breeders available in India for different breeds. The task of the breeder is to provide an environment conducive for the breeding and than to take care of the puppy and mother once it is born.
The puppy care starts from day one like that of a human baby. The care includes prenatal and post natal vaccination. It has to be vaccinated for 9 deadly diseases the number of vaccinations is nearly the same as that of a baby, not to mention the fact that many babies in India are still born at homes without any medical supervision and even after great efforts of the Ministry of Health Lakhs of babies still miss the necessary vaccinations.
The food for the puppies has certain nutritional value including proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins similar to the food recommended to babies. Notwithstanding the prescription both the mothers and the babies in India suffer from mild to severe malnutrition in large numbers.
The cost of dog food in net sales value may range anywhere from Rs 150/ kg to 600/kg depending upon the country of processing, which can be higher than that of many sweets like “Badam Burfi” that we buy and gift on Diwali.
There are puppy cards issued by the designated clubs for pets in India. A card would have the dogs breed and the ancestral history. Microchips are implanted into their bodies for identification to search in case of theft. All this is happening in a country where the identity of a common man is lost in a mass of 1210 Mn.
There are personal care products like Tooth paste, odour neutralizer, bathe soap, shampoo and fur oil available. Many villagers still dream about these products.
There are toys, fashion accessories and designer clothes available for dogs for which an average Indian kid craves.
There are insurance products available for dogs that cover damage starting from minor accidents to death and companies like Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance, National Insurance and Bajaj Allianz general insurance have taken the lead. These insurance companies must have realized that the next big opportunity lies with dogs and not with men as all eligible men seem to have been insured.
There are dog shows and dog seminars being organised in India which get good media coverage.
Recently one company in Chandighar showed a treadmill for dogs in a dog show.
The cost of purchase of puppy could be anywhere between Rs.15000 to 50000 depending upon the breed, progeny and the age of the puppy, which could be higher than that of a child who had been trafficked from Bangladesh.
The per anum cost of maintaining a dog could range from Rs 24000 to 50000 which could be higher than the per capita income in India which hangs at Rs 46492.
After all this research I realized that it’s not too bad to be a dog especially a foreign one.
No comments:
Post a Comment