Dog: Desire in city, shepherd in village
Dogs are traditionally used as the shepherd's charioteer in animal husbandry, which is done by keeping a shed that can be shifted easily.
KATHMANDU: Dogs are often kept in urban areas. Dogs are a popular hobby among the wealthy. Although the role of the dog kept in this manner is not unique, the dog kept in the barn in rural areas becomes the shepherd’s security.
Dogs are traditionally used as the shepherd’s charioteer in animal husbandry, which is done by keeping a shed that can be shifted easily. In dense forests, mountains and mountain ranges, as well as sheep and cattle sheds, dogs serve as the primary watchdogs.
Yuva Prakash Pun, an Annapurna Rural Municipality-5 sheep breeder, stated that dogs were kept to guard the sheep in the sheepfold and to protect the sheepfold. “We are also in the barn, but there is a risk that wild animals will attack the sheep in the barn; dogs are very helpful in resisting wild animal attacks and protecting the livestock,” he explained.
In Khopra and Khayar, there are ‘Bhote (Himalayan Sheepdog)’ breed dogs in every shed where commercial sheep rearing takes place. As the dog spends the majority of his time in the forest, he has superior hearing and sniffing abilities, and he is regarded as a gatekeeper for the protection of the shepherd and sheep in the barn.
Shepherds and watchers, as well as cattle and sheep, are kept as shepherds and companion dogs, particularly in hilly areas. According to Him Bahadur Chantyal, a sheep breeder in Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-5 Malkabang, the security of the shed is dependent on the dog aas the distance between the sheds is kept far apart for the grazing area. He stated that dogs play an important role in reducing the damage caused by violent animals such as tigers, leopards, and bears to sheep and goats.
“Dogs herd sheep and goats from the herd to the forest pastures, and because the dogs recognize the sounds and signals of wild animals quickly, they bark loudly and chase them away. We are reliant on the dogs in the herd “He stated. Two shepherds and four dogs looked after the sheep in Chantyal’s shed, where he raised over 600 sheep.
Lalbir Tilija, 78, of Annapurna Rural Municipality-5, who has been active in sheep farming for the past 60 years, said that even in the grazing area, dogs keep sheep and goats from wandering into dangerous areas and assist in bringing sheep and goats to the barn in the evening.
To protect the dog who became the barn’s charioteer from wild animal attacks, a thorn necklace is worn around the dog’s neck. Cattle rearing is a practice in the district’s Lekali region. The importance of the dog, which is known as a gentle, obedient, and dependable animal for security, is heightened by the Tihar dog festival.
The dogs were given sweet treats to eat on the day of Yamapanchak’s Kartik Krishna Chaturdashi, or Diwali festival. It is a religious belief that when going to Yamalok, the dogs named Shyam and Sabal, who live as gatekeepers at Yamaraj’s door, leave the road.
