Madurai canine show, a big draw

The ground was buzzing with 209 dogs belonging to nearly 40 breeds. They came all the way from Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and even as far as Kolkatta to participate in the show, said the organisers. The show that commenced on Sunday morning went on till evening. The dogs’ size in the show ranged from 8 to 36 inches, the breeds from Chihuahua to Harlequin Great Dane. 

Prominent varieties like the Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Great Dane, German Shepherd, Doberman and so on and lesser known varieties such as Siberian Husky, St. Bernard too were a delight to see. “Being the silver jubilee of the Madurai dog show, this year we arranged it in a grand manner. Two judges from the Philippines Maribel Sy and Emiliano Aquino Valdes adjudged the best dogs in each breed,” said one of the organisers.  

The dogs were adjudged based on their physical appearance, stamina and maintenance. The dogs were segregated according to their breed and let in inside their respective rings. Separate dog handlers were there for each dog. The judges assessed the dogs’ cleanliness, strength of their muscles, height and weight. “The strength of the dogs will be measured by their muscles. If a dog is kept tide, the muscles will be loose and whereas a properly exercised dog will have tighter muscles,” a handler explained. 

The best dog in every category was shortlisted and all the best dogs were clubbed in the finals. Out of the best 40 dogs 8 were selected and awarded. Apart from that prizes were also given for the best native breed and also for the best handler. 

The dog show conducted at Madurai was a breed show and no action was expected. But the dog owners and visitors were treated with a surprise when dogs of Commando Kennels, a private organisation based at Secunderabad, performed stunts. The dogs performed relay race, hurdle race, crossed tunnels and grabbed. Sugandhar, a trainer attached to organisation, said they came to the show to make the silver jubilee of the club  memorable.

If you want to pet a dog without feeling the pressure of bringing it up, experts suggest that you make an informed choice of the breed to be adopted.

“Though many people are coming forward eagerly to have dogs as pet, most of them lack knowledge on what type of dog will suit their conditions and need,” said a canine expert. He added that dogs were one of the few pets that were grown inside the houses and were seen as a major stress buster. But in some cases, wrong selection of breed could make raising of the dog a stressful act to the owners. 

Speaking to DTNext, Vinayaga Moorthy, president, Madurai Canine Club, said that not all dogs were suitable to be owned by all. The main criteria to choose the type of the dog was the size and type of the house of the owners. 

“People living in individual and compound houses can raise bigger dogs. But, people living in row houses and apartments must go for smaller breeds. People who have a farm and large area surrounding it should opt for hounds,” suggested Vinayagamoorthy. Ramanathan, secretary, Madurai Canine Club, said that apart from the type of the houses the purpose of raising dogs also matters. 

“If dogs are raised for reducing stress, smaller dogs should be adopted and if the dogs are used for security purposes, then large breeds should be opted for,” he explained.  “Hounds should not be tied. If tied, they will howl and irritate the owners to the extent of disowning them. Petting a dog can be a great experience if people make well informed choices on the breed most suitable for them,” stressed Ramanathan Food and climatic conditions too matters, said Rishi, a dog owner.

In the season of growing support for anything native, participation of native dog breeds in dog shows has been considered as a positive sign by organisers. “People now-a-days are giving more importance to native breeds,” said an organiser of Madurai Canine Club show.

Nearly 40 native dogs participated in the dog show conducted by the club on Sunday. The native dogs belonged to breeds such as Rajapalayam, Chippiparai, Kombai, Caravan hounds and so on. This is the first time that such high numbers of native breeds had participated in the dog show at Madurai. 

Vinayagamoorthy, president, Madurai Canine Club, claimed that there is an increase in the participation of native breeds in the dog show. “The trend is visible in the recent days as the participation of native breeds had increased in all the dog shows across the country,” he added. 

In the dog show, a special prize for the best native breed is given to encourage owners who breed them.  “The main reason for people not opting for native breeds is that they are of hound variety of dogs. They need more space for raising,” said Vinayagamoorthy. 

The president of the club explained, “The native hound varieties were created when the Europeans brought Grey Hound dogs to India centuries ago. The grey hounds were mated with local dogs creating many varieties of native hounds.” The Grey hound breed when mated in South created Chippiparai, Rajapalayam and Kombai varieties, he added.