Today’s Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants will be presented in Cantonese, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Esteemed viewers, welcome to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Today’s we conclude our two-part show featuring Dogartists, a famous non-profit organization in Hong Kong which offers courses to people facing challenges in training their canine companions. Dogartists, founded in 2007, uses compassionate teaching methods to impart skills and teach appropriate behavior to our beloved dog friends.

In January 2011, Jacky Ching, the founder and chief dog trainer at Dogartists, established The Hong Kong Academy for Professional Dog Trainers.

The Academy offers dog trainer diploma courses that involve intensive study of canine behavior and emotion. Currently there are six qualified professional dogs trainers who have graduated from the school. They work together with Jacky to do canine training work at stray dog shelters, charity organizations and pet hospitals as well as give private lessons. The institution seeks to inform the community that all dogs are capable of being trained as canines are very clever, friendly, loyal in nature, and full of love and joy.

Traditionally in Hong Kong store-bought pure-bred dogs have been favored by those looking to adopt an animal friend. Puppy mills are places where dogs are intensively bred much like animals on factory farms for purposes of supplying pet stores with pure-bred canines. These facilities are places of inherent cruelty and no matter where you go, there are already plenty of dogs in shelters needing homes.

Dogartists and the Academy encourage the adoption of strays, the majority of whom are mixed breeds. Jacky emphasizes in his presentations at schools and youth centers that it is best to take in a canine from a shelter rather than buying one at a pet shop.

There are many charity organizations that work with schools and arrange activities to appeal to the youth, to bring back the proper conception about dogs. They also call on the public to adopt instead of buying dogs.

Jacky says many dog training institutions in Hong Kong focus on teaching fierce and excitable canines, but a unique aspect of the Academy is that it has developed training techniques for introverted dogs.

Now we are mainly helping shy dogs to build their confidence. Since training timid dogs needs more time, I have to train a group of people first and then they can assist me in the training class. There are relatively few people doing shy dog training; therefore we organize a volunteer team to conduct training classes in dog shelters, so the timid dogs can have more chances to be adopted.

Humans typically use language to communicate, but how about dogs? Understanding how dogs send messages to people and each other is important if one is to be successful in their canine training efforts.

Dog communication is not based on language. They have a dozen howls to express their emotions such as dissatisfaction, a sense of joy or unhappiness. They don’t use language to communicate. Dog communication mainly relies on eye contact and body language. I think when you look at your dog, you will understand what he wants to express through his eyes or facial expression. Why does he express emotions through his eyes or face? It is not only for your understanding, but also for the other dogs.

Undergoing constructive dog training makes canine companions happy and family life more harmonious. Candy Chang, one of the dog trainers from Dogartists now provides her perspectives on this topic.

Do you think that dogs need training courses?

Dog training is necessary. We have to play games with them; basically they just want to help you. After helping to do tasks, they are happy to have your reward. It’s just like kids feel happy when they go to school and acquire knowledge. When dogs learn some skills, thinking that they can help you to do things, they also feel happy. After being trained, they can help us to do some tasks. For example, at home, if a roll of a tissue-paper falls on the ground, my dog would surely help me to pick it up.

Candy trained her canine companion Bingo with Jacky Ching’s guidance. What were some of the fundamental concepts that were taught?

The training started in mid-2009, with help from teacher Jacky. He taught us how to make learning fun for dogs and how to use games for practice. We started from basic commands like “sit,” “come,” “down” and then “jump.” Leaping does make the dog happy. Later on he (Bingo) liked to jump whatever and we started to do some trick-related training such as greeting, pretending to be asleep, or walking on a cylinder. We need to be as happy as possible when we are with them, so they feel secure and very happy.

Jacky will now introduce us to two beautiful champion Labrador dogs that like to swim at the Pets Park Swimming Pool in Hong Kong. They are father and son. The father has a physical condition and thus swimming helps to maintain his fitness.

These two Labrador dogs belong to my student. One is a chocolate color and the other is black. The chocolate one is the father; his joints have problems. He won prizes and was very famous in the obstacle competitions. But later, we found that he had hip joint problems and then he never took part in the training after that. Therefore, he mainly goes swimming every week and that helps his hip joints.

Today his son went along with him to swim and play. A Labrador dog is a water dog, likes water, and prefers swimming. The black dog is his son and has been the champion for several years in the Highest Level of Obedience Competition. He got almost full marks for all events.

Could you tell us the benefits of swimming for dogs?

Hong Kong is hot. Swimming cools down their body temperature and they feel comfortable. Swimming is good for joints and muscles, improving muscle flexibility and that reduces strain on the joints. This is very important. And because he likes swimming, he is more cheerful and that definitely helps to improve the health. Swimming is good for all ages.

For example, large dogs need more exercise like running, and their cartilage requires at least 10 months to completely develop. If there are impacts or excess stress on the joint cartilage that are not mature enough and the soft tissue is still growing, that will result in inadequate strength and quantity of soft tissue in the future. Therefore it is not good to do strenuous exercise before the puppies are fully developed. But if you want them to be healthier and to do exercise, they can do sports-like swimming.

There is no need to explain much about why swimming is good for older dogs, as swimming is definitely good for their health, particularly for their cardiovascular function. If your dog likes swimming and knows that he can go to swim again, your relationship with your dog will be much improved. Therefore, swimming can bring a close parent-child interaction and relationship between the dog and the caregiver.

Jacqueline and Cherry are dog-lovers who have also brought their canine companions Pear and QQ respectively to Pets Park Swimming Pool. Why did they decide to bring them to the refreshing pool for a swim?

He (Pear) has hip dysplasia and therefore we started taking him to swim when he was a puppy. He likes swimming so much. Today we took him here to see if he likes this place. Swimming can improve muscle activity, without causing too much strain like running.

Not only can they lose weight swimming, but it is also good for their joints, as the workout is not too much. It is rather a good activity for dogs, especially in summer.

What is the best age for canines to start doing exercise?

Dogs can do exercise, but only after their bones are completely developed. How do we know if the bones are completely developed? When you find a deep pit over his skull, it means their bones and skeletal cartilage are entirely developed. Only after that dogs can do a lot of and strenuous exercises. It is because soft tissue can protect joints. If too much exercise is given to a five or six month old dog, it not only hinders the development of soft tissue but also puts wear and tear on the cartilage with the friction and pressure. So, I think it is good for big-sized dogs to have a lot of exercise after being 10 months old, while eight months old for small-sized dogs and nine months old for medium-sized dogs. Do they need exercise before that? Yes, they need it but do gentle exercises.

Similar to humans, dogs like cleanliness. We close with some canine toileting tips.

In fact, most dogs like to be clean. To manage their toilet training, it is usually easier when they are puppies, as their mothers would lick their organs after meals, to stimulate urination and defecation. Normally 15 minutes after the meal, dogs like to go to the toilet, so it is the time to bring them outdoors or to the toilet areas for toileting. But they should not be put in a confined area or an area that gives the feeling of being trapped. We should praise them when they are finished.

Bingo loves cleanliness. If I don’t clean up his toilet area after toileting, he won’t go again until the toilet area has been cleaned up.

After our interview with the team from Dogartists, we presented Jacky Ching and Candy Chang each a copy of Supreme Master Ching Hai’s #1 international best seller, “The Noble Wilds,” which they both gladly received.

Jacky Ching, Candy Chang and other members of the Dogartists’ team, our thanks for providing such wonderful advice on caring for our furry canine friends as well as promoting the adoption of stray dogs in shelters. May many others follow in your bright footsteps of working to better human-animal relations and bringing continual happiness and joy to our animal friends.

I am Jacky, the founder of Dogartists. I have watched the programs on Supreme Master Television and have found them to be very informative and educational.

Be Veg, Go Green 2 Save the Planet! For more details on Jacky Ching and Dogartists, please visit:

Thank you for your wonderful presence today on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Up next is Enlightening Entertainment after Noteworthy News. May Providence guide the lives of all beings on our shared planet.