``I am first a dog lover, then a dog trainer. It all began in my childhood when my father -- who used to breed dogs in Faridkot and owned Himhunters Kennel -- inculcated the love for dogs in me. I started with breeding Boxers in 1978. The trainer's life began in 1982 when I met Sardar Tara Singh Chauhan, in charge of the Ferozepur Dog Squad.''

It was Chauhan from whom Shiv learnt the training skills as well as the psychology of a dog. Says Shiv: ``I haven't seen a better dog trainer than him. He knew a dog inside out."

After training with him for six months, Shiv shifted to Delhi and joined his uncle, who was an ex-police dog trainer. ``In the one year that I stayed with him, I trained Dobermans, German Shephards, Labradors, and almost every other breed,'' says Shiv.

Soon after, the awards started coming in. It began with a Doberman in 1985, at the Federation of Kennel Club of India-organised contest in New Delhi. And then there was no looking back. The second award, also by a Doberman, came in the following year at the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Club-organised contest. Incidentally, this Doberman went on to win the professional contest the same year.

``The difference between the dog show contest and other contests is that it is not you who is performing, but the dog you've trained,'' says Shiv. ``Therefore, there is a lot of risk involved as you can never be sure that the dog will perform. But, thankfully, no student of mine has ever betrayed me,'' Shiv says proudly. Now Shiv trains 45 to 50 dogs every year, but not just any dog. ``I don't train dogs whose owners have kept them only to show-off. The love for the pet has to be there as an active participation of the owners is required while training.''

However, this doesn't mean that he is choosy about the breeds as well. Shiv has trained street mongrels even. ``It is not the breed that matters, but the IQ of the dog,'' he says. ``It is generally believed that only the working group of dogs (Dobermans, GSDs, St. Bernard, Rotweilers) can be obedient, but this is not true,'' Shiv contends, adding, ``I've trained a Cocker Spaniel, Money, for obedience contests and she has never let me down. In fact, she has always won the first prize.''

On the other hand, the sporting group that includes dogs like Golden Retrievers, Labradors, Pointers, Dalmatians, have also done wonders. A Labrador, Noble, for instance, has been taking part in obedience contests and winning first prizes. He also won the first prize in graduate class at the Chandigarh Kennel Club show in 1998.

Ask Shiv if he has any favourites and he promptly answers in the negative. Why? ``Because for me, all the dogs are equal and they all love me alike,''says the winner of four national awards, among others.

Naturally, he chooses his dogs carefully. The first Rotweiler ever to enter an obedience contest won him the first prize. Sparky Sidhu, another Rotweiler and the only dog to figure on the Judge's choice list twice in a row, won him the second prize. Then, India's second Cocker Spaniel to continuously win four Most Obedient Dog awards has been Shiv's student.

All is not roses in this profession, though.``There have been so many contests in the country but the results have not been recorded,'' laments Shiv. The three clubs record their respective contests, but there is no one organisation recording all the winners.'' There is stiff competition between various clubs and the record-makers suffer as a result, feels Shiv, who has decided to approach the Limca Book of Records to enlist his awards.

What role has his family played in his success? His wife, too, loves dogs but isn't very happy with his timings of 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. ``I try to compensate for the absence on my extended weekend since I work only for four days in a week.'' This, however, doesn't always work out since most competitions are organised over weekends between October and February which he can't miss.