Many of my friends have farang as pets. I know people say they can be dangerous around the house, but I think they�re cute. Can you give me any tips on how best to care for a farang? What about licensing? If I wanted to import an exotic farang, would I need a special license to breed it? Is there any import duties involved?

Hope you can help,
Arin, Cherng Talay

Dear K Arin,

I�ve been receiving a number of similar letters and phone calls recently, on how to best care for a farang and what to do with unwanted ones etc � so here is a column dedicated to all of you currently living with, and caring for a farang.

Finding a farang

Finding a farang is not difficult, although here in Phuket we seem to have a quantity versus quality issue. However, if you look carefully, you may find a cute one and if you�re really lucky, you may even find one without a smoking or drinking problem. Do remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, ergo even if you friends think your farang crashed through every branch on the ugly tree � it�s what you think that counts. With regards to licensing and importing farangs, you will need to check with the immigration office to find out which visa your particular farang requires. There are different ones depending on which breed of farang you have � such as working or retired.

How to care for a farang

Contrary to popular belief, not all farang are dangerous, slobbering hounds. Certain animals need to be treated in certain ways, but remember a farang will need A LOT of attention. Firstly, you will often find that wild farang have incredibly high sex drives, especially in the males. With this in mind, we clearly suggest sterilisation of your farang as the best way to limit a potential population boom here in Phuket and Thailand. The last thing we want is lots of little farangs running around our shopping centres and beaches. Apart from their notorious sex drives, male farang can be quite easy to accommodate and a happy farang is an easier one to live with. Conversely, female farang are notoriously difficult to please and should be handled with great care. If this is your first farang, think long and hard before taking on a female and also consider joining a local support group.

1) Ensure your farang is well fed and watered.

When it comes to food and drink, different breeds of farang have different tastes � it may take some time to find what your farang really likes and doesn�t like. Some have stronger stomachs than others, so be patient if, during the initial process, some foods are not quite as well received as others. All farang like alcohol. Some prefer different brands, but don�t be fooled � after three or four beers the average farang won�t really care what they are drinking � and become fairly easy to control. It�s also worth noting that copious amounts of alcohol has been used, with some success, as an alternative method to reduce the sex drive in males, although it is not 100% safe. Please note, alcohol can also have the reverse affect in some females and should you have one of each in the same house (or even the same vicinity) fur can, and often does, fly.

2) Obedience and house training

It is important from the early stages that you have a well trained farang. Those that have not received any training can be a nightmare to handle and have been known to cause problems. It�s worth noting that if you have taken in a male farang you may, on occasion, have difficulty physically imposing yourself and in such cases you need to mentally impose yourself. This is actually very easy to do as male farang are easily distracted. House training of farangs in general is a notoriously tricky debate. Some quarters will have you believe it�s far easier, and you get better results, by house training a female. However, having studied female farang for many years, my personal experience leads me to believe this is not quite the case. But again, it�s a hotly contested debate and we can but try. Perhaps start them off with something simple, such as removing the garbage each night � although be sure they don�t start rummaging through it � and work up to cleaning from there.

3) Exercise your farang

Lack of exercise is the main reason why so many of farang are overweight. Take them for long walks and, if you have them well trained, a good run off the lead will do them the world of good. Also, if you have a pool or access to a beach, swimming is great exercise for them too. Once again, farang are all different � some prefer to do certain activities on their own, others prefer to do them in groups. Find something your farang enjoys, which works up a good sweat, and you�ll both be better for it!

Thanks again for your letter, if you have any other animal related issues that I can help you with, please write to me!

Email us at: paws@phuket-animal-welfare.com or got to www.phuket-animal-welfare.com/