lodi Gardens has turned into a training centre for stray dogs. Implementing its innovative plan to use stray dogs as guards, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has begun their four-month long training.
For lR Yadav who has worked for nearly three decades with the SPG dog squad in the Prime Minister’s residence, the civic agency’s idea is noble but challenging. He has been appointed by the NDMC for grooming stray dogs in lodi Garden — a pilot project depending on the success of which the council plans to extend the programme. Under training since October 1, the dogs are currently being taught to be friendly beasts. When asked on how Yadav plans to achieve it, he promptly replies, “Discipline and love are the two aspects which make a dog friendly. It is very important to discipline a dog where it is taught what behaviour is acceptable. This way it also becomes friendly and less hostile.” The dogs take 15-20 days on an average to be friendly, he added. The second stage would be for a few chosen dogs that will be leashed and taught commands, he said.
The civic agency has also appointed seven other guards who are learning tricks from Yadav on grooming these mongrels. “There are around 20 dogs in this garden. Around nine have so far responded to the obedience training. The others will come around soon as these dogs have been in the garden for long and so they are used to living with hundreds of visitors,” informed Yadav, who was also formerly employed at the National Training Centre for Dogs. The training lasts from 7 am to 3 pm and by then, the guards have made around three-four very slow rounds of the garden. For now, Yadav is taming the dogs by offering them dog food as “reward training”.
Meanwhile, the civic body has chalked out a proper plan to arrange their food and shelter in order to speed up training. The agency claims that all stray dogs in its area are vaccinated. Besides, the ones in lodi Garden will be moved to kennel after a complete checkup is conducted. This apart, it is in the same garden that the NDMC has deployed its own ‘May I Help You’ squad. “Apart from physical training, the guards have been given training in soft skills, first-aid and walkie-talkie usage. Now we are helping them become familiar with stray dogs as that would help enhance the security,” said a NDMC official.