‘Hurrrr….’ ‘Hat hoo….’; they command their flocks in a brew of Gojri, Urdu, Hindi, Kashmiri, and Dogri. The tone and tenor are vital; hand movement and whistling work.
Their dogs help chaperone their herds, treating the people in the family as part of the flock. Gaddis and Bakarwals, the shepherds of the Himalayas, train them by nurturing intimacy. They, in turn, pick up on quite a bit of what they say!
The heelers nip at the heels of animals, pushing them forward, staying behind the herd. The headers get in front of the animals to stare them down to stop their movements.
Some run along the backs of the flocks; so are said to head, heel, and back.
- Many species have lived with us as happy family pets. Poodle, Apsos, Pomeranians, Labradors, German Shepherds, Chihuahua, pug and even Rottweiler are a few to name.
Presently, we have chosen ‘Desi’ dogs. Manu got us a pair from Uttarakhand. For me, good behaviour is a priority. The combination of quick learning ability, physical strength and loyalty makes them front runners.
‘Catch them young’; raising the puppies alongside the flock to build a sense of pack and belonging.
These tending dogs act as a “living fence”, guiding livestock to graze while preventing them from wandering astray. They are good family companions and are at their best when they have a job to do.
Being medium-sized and mobile, they are muscular, lean, and agile. Their paws are well protected from thorns and sharp stones: toes are compressed into a tight lump, paw pads are thick, and claws are strong. Besides, they have good eyesight and hearing.
Our ‘Desi’ has well-pigmented eyelids, lips, nose and paw pads. The shepherd, however, is golden brown with no such marks.
“Dogs are people, too.” They are jealous when we pay attention to another dog or person.
Dogs can be right-pawed or left-pawed, just like humans are right or left-handed. We have to pay attention to which foot our dog leads with.
May it be the feeding time, snack time, or their time to go out for a walk; they let us know.
- For us, every time is a learning time. Moreover, I keep surfing the net.
Puppies are born deaf and blind.
All dogs are directly descended from wolves, even breeds like the Pug and Chihuahua.
A dog’s sense of smell is incredible. Its nose is its fingerprint. They perspire from the nose, and their sweat glands are in the paw pads.
To cool down, they puff.
Licking is an important part of pack behaviour. Members lick dominant dogs to maintain harmony within the pack. It makes them feel good and helps them relieve stress.
Dogs wag their tails just out of happiness. The lower the tail, the more submissive the dog may be feeling.
Dogs aren’t colorblind.
They enjoy the aroma more than the taste of their food. Chocolate can be fatal to a Dog.
Dogs Learn about each other by having a sniff around behinds. It’s a dog’s way of introducing themselves and getting to know one another.
Dogs kick with their back legs after pooping in the backyard because they’re marking their territory using the scent glands in their feet. It’s kind of their way of telling that they were there.
https://hillpost.in/2021/02/bridge-over-lailas-pillow/115212/
Prof. (Er.) Chander P Mahajan is an art critic & a free lance journalist. The Environmentalist stays in Shimla and Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh, India.
