An Egyptian federation is helping to transform ordinary dogs into guard dogs, writesMai Samih




“We started the project in 2010 as we wanted Egypt to join the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI), the World Canine Organisation. After contacting the FCI to find out how to join, we set to work and the EKF, the Egyptian Kennel Federation, was officially inaugurated on 15 January 2012,” said Mohamed Al-Azhary, chair of the Federation, which is designed to promote a better understanding of dogs in society at large.

According to Al-Azhary, the EKF not only raises awareness of dog-related issues, but also provides classes for dog-owners that provide them with better training methods and enhance their skills. The Federation also informs owners about issues relating to the health and welfare of dogs across Egypt through lectures and information on its Website at http://www.ekf-eg.com.

It provides registration services for dogs, organises shows and works on enhancing relations between dogs and humans. The EKF publishes a regular newsletter on its Website, which also contains a list of accredited vets and tips for those wanting to buy a dog. The Federations also organises competitions, hoping to run three this year alone.

“The Federation hopes to take care of everything concerning all the types of dogs in Egypt, some 48 families and 343 breeds,” Al-Azhary said. “Not all dogs have the same traits – for example, some people believe that all dogs have a strong sense of smell, but actually this is not true as they can vary in their ability. In general there are two types of dogs: working dogs, such as guard dogs, and dogs that are kept for other reasons, among them as pets.”

Working dogs may receive specialist training, such as hunting for targets and conducting rescue operations. “But we want to develop the skills of dogs no matter what type they are. If a dog is a natural guard dog, we work on helping it acquire the relevant skills,” Al-Azhary said.

The Federation’s work lies in identifying the skills that an individual dog has and then helping to develop these. It evaluates dogs in terms of obedience, for example, and gives detailed guidance to owners. “We ask someone to hide and then encourage the dog to find him. If the dog obeys its owner, and does not attack the individual when it finds him, we consider that it has passed the obedience exam. The idea is to help control a dog’s reactions and to train its behaviour.”

One aspect of the Federation’s work that has received special emphasis is teaching dog-owners how to transform their dogs into guard dogs. “We do not train dogs, but we train their owners or trainers in training them,” Al-Azhary comments. “We first organised training courses for owners in 2012 and 2013 to enable them to take part in contests, and we have now organised four courses and trained 500 trainees.”

“In 2014, we intend to organise classes to enable owners to teach their dogs the skills of working dogs like rescue and guarding tasks. The courses will last for three months and be divided into two phases with an exam. If a participant passes the exam, he will be allowed to go on to the next phase.” In general, dogs take around nine months to train and less time to learn rescue skills.

Mohamed Wafaa, a dog-owner and trainer in the Federation, gives more details about the courses. “A few years ago, I read about the AKF online and I liked the idea. Working dogs serve the police and the army, and they can help detect bombs and drugs. They can either be guard dogs or help the police in combating terrorism, and it is skills like these that we hope to pass on to private owners.”

“Social media has helped owners buy their dogs online, but it has done little to build skills or to help them care for them. But if an owner is unable to deal with a dog efficiently, it may become aggressive and so life becomes harder for both dog and owner. I myself have chosen to specialise in rehabilitating dogs that may not have received the correct training,” Wafaa said.

A dog can be like a child, he added, having a complicated psychology. It must be treated properly, and, if not, rehabilitated effectively. “What I am interested in is the rehabilitation of both dog and owner. We try to correct any wrong ideas an owner has and any wrong behaviour this may have led to in the dog by teaching owners how to train their dogs properly.”

“Three to four years ago, an organisation of this kind barely existed. What triggered its creation was people wanting to know more about dogs for guard activities after the Revolution. However, the Federation’s role is much wider than that, and it also aims to raise people's awareness of the rights of animals in general,” Wafaa said.

“We would like to see greater awareness of such issues throughout the country. It has to be done by an effective media campaign, as this will have the strongest impact in raising people's awareness. However, this could take years, and for this reason the Federation is planning its activities over the long term.”

According to Al-Azhary the Federation hopes to work more internationally, though red tape can prevent this. “We have had trouble admitting dogs into Egypt from other countries to participate in our competitions. There should be greater co-ordination with the ministry of agriculture to assist the veterinary quarantine department to ensure the rapid entrance of dogs for contests and to help owners,” he said.

“In fact, we need to organise more competitions inside Egypt in general, inviting other countries to take part in our activities. Some owners do not have cars, and this can make it difficult for them to take part in competitions outside Cairo. Here too we need greater coordination with the authorities, this time with the ministry of transport to allow owners to move freely with their dogs on public transport, for example. Our hope is that all this will make Egypt a magnet for dog-lovers in the future,” Al-Azhary concluded.