• 

  Boss, a St. Bernard, with his special treat from Doggie Dabbas, Gurgaon

Soon, Bruno's doggie dreams come true as a liveried delivery boy from Homecare Dog Food arrives at his Andheri home on a bike that is fitted with a hot case full of goodies.

The delivery boy offloads his parcels — two piping hot tiffin boxes containing freshly cooked chicken tossed into nothing less than organic brown rice.

A wide grin splitting his powerful jaws, Bruno trails the house-help from the gate to his waiting bowl where the contents of one box are upturned. Within minutes he greedily slurps off every morsel and then, replete, heads off for a siesta. And it's not just Bruno but also his master, Kartik Natrajan, who feels content once Bruno has eaten.

This has been Bruno's routine for seven months, ever since Natrajan started ordering home-delivered meals for his thoroughly spoilt labrador. Natrajan unflinchingly forks out about Rs 6,000 a month for Bruno's high-class, 'premium' meals (about Rs 180 per classy doggie tiffin).

Pooches like Bruno are living the high life. And it isn't just about high-class meals-on-wheels. Dogs with style are now snacking on gourmet cookies, yummy cakes, pasta, risottos, pizzas and even quiches. And relax, there's nothing unhealthy about these snacks — they are prepared with recipes specially formulated for canines with low-salt and low-sugar and everything that a healthy canine needs. Also expect donuts and dim sums made of short-grain rice flour as well as brown rice and spinach.

• 

  Mamta Sharma is currently renovating her restaurant for dogs, Bow Wow - The Barking Buddies Club ; Pic by Jagan Negi

The pampering doesn't end with just exciting menus. You could take your dog out to resorts, restaurants and give them specially formulated treats.

Cut to Gurgaon where Lucas, a golden retriever, is being treated to his favourite chicken pizza and donuts. His owner, Mahika Aggarwal, recently organised a birthday party for him complete with his canine chums from the neighbourhood. The 2-kg cake for the birthday dog came from Gurgaon's pet chef, Rashee Kachroo, who runs Doggie Dabbas, specialising in meals and baked goodies for dogs.

Kachroo got a brainwave about getting into the cuisine-for-canines business when she realised that her own three dogs preferred her cooking over branded dog food products. 'I reckoned that if my dogs preferred my cooking then other dogs might just too,' she smiles. Kuchroo added to her canine knowledge by taking an online course in dog and cat nutrition. She first set up business in Mumbai and kept it going when she moved to Gurgaon.

• 

  Wasiff Khan's Homecare Dog Food delivers freshly cooked regular and premium meals for dogs ; Pic by Gajanan Dudhalkar

Lucas, for one, is certainly not complaining as he loves Kuchroo's cakes. And he's not just dependent on one caterer for his goodies. On some weekdays he feasts on special doggie biscuits like banana cookies and peanut butter cookies from Bee The Baker, a Gurgaon-based bakery that has branched out from cooking treats for humans and has added canines to its customer list.

Lucas, Bruno and their kind are ensuring that canine caterers don't have a moment to spare. Bruno is one of 500 four-footed customers in the books of Homecare Dog Food in Mumbai. The company which started operations in 2004, catering hot meals for dogs, has a team of 14 perpetually on-the-move staffers who operate out of a 500sq ft kitchen in Bandra. Every day, they distribute tiffins from Colaba to Andheri and go through about 100kg of fresh meat.

Homecare Dog Food, is the brainchild of Wasiff Khan, one of the pioneers in the doggie catering field. He's now facing stiff competition as other pet chefs and bakers leap into the game.

Says Khan: 'The pet food market in India is booming.

People don't have time to cook for themselves let alone for their pets. It's easier to order fresh meals for their dogs.'

Taking pet care to another level is the husband-wife duo of Roshan and Priya Poduval. Their Peppy Paws Pet Resort in Pune offers pet boarding, lodging, grooming and fun activities apart from freshly cooked meals.

And if your dogs just feel like stepping out for a meal, then they should head for Bow Wow - The Barking Buddies Club, a doggie restaurant in Gurgaon. Pet lover Mamta Sharma started this exclusive restaurant for dogs in March 2004 with an extensive menu. Currently she's in the process of renovating the outdoor restaurant and giving it a complete facelift.

Bow Wow is often booked for dogs' birthday parties, and owners are spotted reading books while their pooches go through the extensive menu. 'It was also a social interaction site for dog lovers who could get their dogs to interact while also fixing dates for those looking for mates,' says Sharma. The pets are served by a team that's experienced at handling all breeds.

Although the restaurant is currently under renovation, it still does takeaways from the original menu.

• 

  Bayiravi Mani at Bee the Baker bakes peanut butter carrot cakes (below) for canine birthday dos ; Pic by Jagan Negi

• 

Peanut butter carrot cake

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ¼ cup peanut butter ¼ cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup honey 1 cup of shredded carrots 1 egg

Method: Preheat the oven to 180ºC for 10 minutes and grease an 8-in round cake pan. Whisk together the whole wheat flour and baking soda. Now add the rest of the ingredients to the flour and soda. Using
a rubber or wooden spatula thoroughly mix all the ingredients. Pour this batter into the cake pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean. Frosting: You can use peanut butter, hung curd or even pureed cottage cheese for frosting.

(By Bee the Baker)

A dog lover, Sharma was bothered by the fact that in India pets are not welcome in restaurants, stores or malls. 'The idea was inspired from pet restaurants that I saw in the US,' says Sharma. She developed the restaurant's dog-specific menu after extensive research in coordination with food consultants and vets in Delhi and Gurgaon.

Khan too deeply researched on dog food before launching Homecare Dog Food. 'I created a canine menu after market surveys and interacting with owners and vets,' recalls Khan.

Cut to Calcutta where animal lover Sayantani Bhattacharjee quit a career as a gynaecologist and launched Calcutta's first dog food service, Doggie Tiffins. Though currently Bhattacharjee only takes orders a day in advance, she's planning to launch a same-day service soon. She adds: 'Before introducing the pet menu I consulted a vet to maintain a balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates and fats.'

Customised plates

Fur-faced customers couldn't have asked for more as most dog-food caterers customise their dishes according to their health, allergies, likes and dislikes. They also keep in mind that chocolate, onions and garlic are big no-nos for dogs.

So, before preparing dishes, Khan's staff checks out their chart for information on each dog's preferences and allergies. 'Some clients insist on high-quality or organic lean meat and brown rice,' says Khan.

Kuchroo of Doggie Dabbas too uses only the healthiest ingredients. 'The key ingredient in most of my preparations is special short-grain rice flour, which is easily digested,' says Kuchroo. She avoids using wheat, soya, corn, sugar and butter because some dogs may be allergic to them.

• 

  Pizzas and donuts are hotsellers at Rashee Kuchroo’s Doggie Dabbas ; Pic by Jagan Negi

Kuchroo, who prepares all the pet meals herself, follows the principle that dog meals should have 17 per cent protein, five per cent carbohydrates and one per cent fat per 100gm of food.

Similarly, to make the meals healthy, Priya of Peppy Paws Pet Resort adds spinach and cabbage to the food apart from chicken and rice, balancing protein, carbohydrates and fats. Priya charges Rs 100 per kilo for the meals she prepares using cod liver and soya oil which makes the food appetising for dogs (they love that fishy smell).

What's on the menus

When the pet chefs insist that their menus are extensive — they mean it. Kuchroo's menu is split into different sections — chicken, vegetarian and egg. Some popular dishes include Juju Chicken and Rice that's made with chicken and brown rice, while Zorro's Basket contains spinach and chicken risotto. Kuchroo also bakes special treats like rice flour pizza, donuts, cakes, quiches and dim sums using short grain rice flour.

Special offers include Make Me Kissable which ensures that a dog's breath smells fresh as mint (along with whatever the canine likes) is a key ingredient. 'The monthly package for a Labrador would work out to around Rs 6,000 for about 800gm of food per day,' says Kuchroo.

• 

  Sayantani Bhattacharjee loves to pamper pets with innovative dishes like (below, clockwise from far left) Chicken Idli, Egg Nest and Cupid’s Pudding ; Pic by Subhendu Chaki

• 

The other goodies Kuchroo tosses up include Vanilla Muttkins (pumpkin and vanilla muffins for Rs 120 for six) and Pup Cakes (rice cup cakes at Rs 150 for six).

Meanwhile, an innovative Bhattacharjee has introduced a unique menu with dishes like Chicken Idli and Doggy Pasta (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) for her pooch customers. While the Chicken Idli comes with four idlis served with chicken gravy (Rs 100), the pasta is made of whole wheat or semolina (Rs 100 for 200gm).

Even food suppliers who've aimed at human stomachs are now realising that there's money to be made in pooches.

Bayiravi Mani of Bee The Baker, for instance, added canine goodies to her 'regular' bakery in Gurgaon. 'Besides birthday parties, orders also come for gatherings of dogs and their owners,' says Mani. Since she is so busy, she takes bookings a week in advance.

Bee the Baker cookies are priced at Rs 300 for two dozen. A double-layered cake weighing 700gm with a frosting of hung curd or peanut butter is priced at Rs 750 while one that weighs 1,400gm is priced at Rs 1,500.

There are more ambitious plans on the way. Soon Sharma's Bow Wow-The Barking Buddies Club will be back in action with more facilities and a dog specific menu in position.

With a balanced diet and occasional treats coming their way, it's a win-win situation for the pets and their owners and definite proof that it is indeed, a dog's world.