Simba is my oldest Lhasa Apso male and on 31st August 2011 he turns 5-years-old; although he mostly behaves like a serene monk Simba has been the naughtiest of them all having pulled of some of the greatest pranks as a pup. The whole of India will also be welcoming Lord Ganesha into their homes on this day - just as we did five years ago. Well, back then I was taking home a little pup along with the Ganpati processions on the streets of Mumbai.
Perhaps the urge for a pet came when my niece gifted my brother with an American Cocker Spaniel pup named Honey, although after losing my first pet Tweetie when I was fourteen I had thought that no other pet could take her place.
When I finally decided to own a pet I fell back on memories of Tweetie and was keen on getting a Pekingese but a quick research on the Internet showed that the breed required constant company at home. At that time I was working long hours away from home and found out that Lhasa Apso dogs who are independent by nature don't need someone constantly around them.
Being a first time pet-parent I made lots of mistakes with Simba, using the old pet disciplining techniques which I'd grown up with. I quickly learnt that he hated the whacking sound of a rolled newspaper, even if I was only thumping it on the ground to scare him with the noise. Another thing he hated right at the beginning was grooming and being a Lhasa Apso he absolutely had to be accustomed to it from the beginning.
Simba became a rebellious pup and by the time he was 3-months-old I had almost given up all hopes and even thought about returning him to the breeder since I could see that he did not appear to trust me, and that was the saddest of all. But I was ashamed at my failure and decided that I couldn't give up on him and began to seriously research on dog training. That's when I found out that using the rolled newspaper is now considered faulty and came across a technique called Dog Whispering.
Whispering or speaking to Simba in a mild tone worked instantly and he magically became a changed dog. He began to respond to me and bond with me. Many people have noted that I'm partial to Simba and favour him over my other pets. The fact is that this poor baby has been through lots of tragic events in his younger days which affected his temperament and personality.
To begin with, the breeder lied to me about his age - I took him home under the impression that he was 7-weeks-old although I wanted the pup to be at least 8-weeks-old. I found out exactly a year later on his birthday that he was in fact just 6-weeks-old at the time and though I had found it strange - and mentioned to the breeder too - that, the little pup I had taken home was not yet able to drink milk from a bowl. He had probably not been weaned from his Dam and here I was trying to teach him to behave in ways acceptable to humans!
Simba and I found our way to each other but by the time he became a year old he had been assaulted by my friend's pet (when we tried to introduce them to each other), by strays in an unfortunate incident and finally at his breeder's kennel where I had left him for a week.
One thing I learned from my experience with that breeder was ETHICS. I used this lesson when I decided to get a female companion for Simba because he had completely isolated himself from all canines, having learned to hate them. I've mentioned in a previous post about Simba's cautious beginnings with Lasya and how she has been a huge help in his socialization.
Over the years I learned considerably more about dogs' psychology and in particular about Simba's temperament. Watching their pups grow has also been an eye opener for me and I can see how Simba might have developed as a tiny pup with his litter-mates.
Today I can proudly say that Simba is a happy and confident dog and we understand each other's body language. He understands every spoken word of English and Hindi and even picks on my phone conversations and knows just what is happening! There's a world of a difference in his temperament and we truly enjoy our relationship as pet and adoptive parent.
There's a yummy birthday cake waiting to be cut later but since it is the early hours of 31st August already - Happy Birthday Simba!
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