In this week’s Pet Talk, Maneka gives tips on how to de-stress a dog and about changing dog’s food

By Maneka Gandhi

Is it okay to change a dog’s food on a routine basis?

Yes. It is a great idea to change a dog’s food on a routine basis. The monotony of the same old routine is not meeting all of your dog’s nutritional needs. Rotation feeding involves varying your pooch’s menu on a periodic basis so he can broaden his palette, and experience a wider range of nutrients and ingredients.

How can people who live outside India help and support animal welfare?

Indians, and Non-Indians, living outside India can do various things to support and help animal welfare. Firstly, they can donate either in cash or kind to any animal welfare NGO of their choice.

They can also campaign for animal welfare on social media, start a petition to increase the penalty for animal cruelty. Using social media, such as Instagram or Facebook, to advocate for a higher penalty against animal cruelty can be of great help towards the welfare of animals.

International Animal Welfare NGOs can collaborate with NGOs based in India and host fundraisers on a large scale. This will ensure generation of funds as well as awareness, which is equally important.

What’s wrong in drinking dairy milk?

In order for a cow to produce milk, she must have a calf. Dairy cows are impregnated every year so that they will provide a steady supply of milk. In the natural order of things, the cow’s calf would drink her milk. But the babies, of cows on dairy farms, are taken away within a day or two of birth so that humans can have the milk that is intended for the calves. Female calves on dairy farms are slaughtered immediately, or raised to produce milk. Male calves are often killed immediately, or confined to tiny veal crates that are too small for them even to turn around in.

Because of the high demand for dairy products, cows must be pushed beyond their natural limits, genetically engineered and fed growth hormones so that they will produce huge quantities of milk. Even the few farmers who choose not to raise animals intensively must get rid of the calf (who would otherwise drink the milk). The cow is sent off to slaughter, or thrown into the street after her milk production wanes. The dairy industry leads directly to the leather industry.

What is a vegan diet?

It is called mindful eating. The practice of eating neither meat nor other animal products, such as fish, milk and milk products, eggs and honey.

What is the main cause of green house gases?

According to IPCC, meat industry and dairy industry are the major cause for green house gases. Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of green house emissions. Cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day. Methane is responsible for 24 times more global warming than carbon dioxide.

How to de-stress an animal?

1. Know Your Dog: First off, try to avoid exposing your dog to situations you know he can’t handle. Loud noises, lots of people, and a bunch of other dogs in close quarters, can be big triggers for many dogs, especially if they haven’t been well socialised.

2. Calm Your Dog: If your dog is showing signs of fear and stress, reassure him that everything is OK. Resist your first impulse to stroke him gently while quietly telling him “It’s OK, don’t be scared.” Your dog can interpret this kind of reaction as a reward for being stressed out, so handling it this way could make it worse. Instead, show your dog there’s nothing to be worried about. Speak reassuringly to him in an upbeat voice. Give him some pats rather than stroking him and act confident yourself. Because he sees you as leader, he will take his cue from you.

3. Rescue Your Dog: Some situations are just too much for dogs to handle. Even the most well socialised dog can become very stressed out over the sounds of fireworks or gunshots, for example. If your dog is extremely stressed in a situation, take him out of it. You don’t want to traumatise him.

4. Consider Medication: If you have a very high-strung dog who can’t handle travelling, strange people coming over, or thunderstorms, talk to your veterinarian about medication. Acepromazine, Xanax and other prescription sedatives, can help your dog feel calm when he might otherwise freak out.

You can also consider Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP), or Adaptil products that mimic the soothing scents emitted by a mother dog to help calm her puppies.

5. Expose Your Dog: To help your dog learn to cope better in stressful situations, gradually expose him to these events in small doses, offering lots of praise and treats when he endures them without coming unglued. This is best practiced when your dog is a puppy, but no dog is too old to learn to rely on you for comfort when he’s feeling stressed out.

Do humans have to eat meat to stay healthy?

Dietetic Associations, all over the world, have endorsed vegetarian diets. Studies have also shown that vegetarians have stronger immune systems than meat-eaters, and that meat-eaters are almost twice as likely to die of heart disease, are 60 percent more likely to die of cancer, and are 30 per cent more likely to die of other diseases. The consumption of meat and dairy products has been conclusively linked to diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, clogged arteries, obesity, asthma and impotence.

My dog’s eye has turned red. What could be causing it?

If they appear red or bloodshot, it can be a sign of many different eye problems, ranging in severity from mild allergies to something as serious as glaucoma, which can cause blindness. If you notice red or bloodshot eyes in your pet you should take him into see a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Do plants feel pain?

The scientific community is just beginning to recognise plants’ advanced capabilities, and we now know that they experience a variety of sensations. They can close or open up to avoid an attack, or to await rain, for instance. Studies show that plants can feel a touch as light as a caterpillar’s footsteps and send out signals — similar to those sent by the human body — to warn their other leaves to release bad-tasting chemicals in order to deter damaging insects. Studies show that plants also communicate with one another; share medicinal compounds with other plants through their roots, an underground fungal network, and the air; release pheromones; see, hear, smell, and react to dangers in the environment via sensing proteins; pass knowledge on to younger plants; and more.

Just as at one time, many people did not realise that octopuses — whose nervous systems differ significantly from that of humans and other animals — are extremely intelligent and sensitive to pain, it’s possible that plants have intelligence and sentience that humans cannot yet detect. Perhaps one day, we will learn that they have ways of experiencing pain that we have yet to comprehend.

Whether or not that’s the case, there is no need to harm plants unnecessarily. While we must eat in order to survive, we can harm fewer plants by going vegan, because eating plants directly, rather than feeding them to animals and then killing those animals for their flesh, requires far fewer plants, and hurts fewer animals who, we already know for sure, feel pain.

Cows, for example, must consume 16 pounds of vegetation to yield 1 pound of flesh, so by being vegan, we save many more plants’ lives than if we ate meat. And of course, vegans also save nearly 200 animals every year — living, feeling beings who, scientists now know beyond a shadow of a doubt, experience the full range of sensations and emotions, including pain, discomfort, fear, and sadness.

Whether it can be proved that plants experience pain or not, vegan foods are the compassionate choice, because they require the deaths of fewer plants and animals.