Pooches are loyal, affectionate and adorable. They are ideal pets and intelligent animals and that is one of the reasons they are considered canine companions to humans. They are known to be loyal and love their owners unconditionally.
With the current trend of most people living in buildings, it is not advisable to adopt bigger breeds as pets. Maintaining them in a closed environment is difficult as also using the elevator to ride up and down can be strenuous for them. People living in high-rise buildings usually prefer smaller breeds that can be easily maintained and looked after.
Common breeds that Indians prefer to pet in high-rise buildings are:
Beagles:
Beagles are friendly and intelligent dogs. They’re adorable and are preferred as companion animals world over. The breed is a small to medium sized and are sometimes used as sniffer dogs in airports because of its sharp sense of smell. They’re most often tricoloured – combination of white, with black and tan or brown.
Some common features of Beagles include:
They have a tendency to eat whatever food comes their way. They are known to overeat, so monitoring the quantity and type of food is extremely important.
This breed needs a thorough housetraining and it may take almost a year to train them.
They’re not considered ideal as guard or protection dogs, as they’re usually amiable to everyone they meet.
Labradors:
Labradors are friendly and companion animals who make each member of your family fall in love with them. Their social skills with neighbour dogs and other humans is what makes them special. They are most commonly seen in yellow, black and a luscious chocolate colour.
Some common features of Labradors include:
They require high-quality food keeping in mind the dog’s age - puppy, adult or senior. It is crucial to feed them the necessary nutrients that the breed requires. Labradors are highly prone to obesity.
They have a thick, water-repellent double coat which requires occasional grooming.
They are extremely agile and energetic and require a lot of exercise. The highlight of this breed is that they are highly obedient.
Golden Retrievers:
Golden Retrievers are very popular as pets due to their loving and obedient nature. They are quite intelligent and are open to training. They are good as guard dogs. Their coats are water resistant, dense with straight or wavy outer coat that require regular grooming. They are most often seen in cream and rich golden colours.
Some common features of Golden Retrievers include:
Their bodies demand high-quality food. The breed has a history of suffering from obesity and this is why watching your pooch’s calorie intake is significant.
The breed sheds its thick, water-repellent coat once or twice a year and hence, brushing is extremely important. Nails also need to be well trimmed.
Golden Retriever’s are usually outgoing, loyal and eager to do something new, making it very easy to train them. Early puppy socialization classes are recommended.
Shih Tzu’s:
This breed is known to be cute, loving, affectionate and charming. Shih Tzu’s are very affectionate towards children. They are small and most often love spending time indoors, they make good pets if you live in an apartment or lack open space. Shih Tzu’s idea of fun is sitting in your lap acting all cute and adorable while you’re busy.
Some common features of Shih Tzu’s include:
Shih Tzu’s are known to wheeze and snore and are also prone to dental problems. As they are flat faced, they are prone to heat strokes too.
The breed is known as companion animals, and that’s what they want to do. They just want to spend time around you. One cannot expect them to hunt, guard or protect.
They’re alert and agile. They may bark at strangers or new comers entering their homes. But soon enough, they’ll make friends.