Tues 25th Oct: Giving little "Red" dogs a chance

I really thought Maya would be in and out

I met up with volunteer Project Manager (and Events Organiser) Jamie, and Iris, at the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre today to discuss the proposed renovation.  We've been there a few years now and the place is in need of a refit, and now is as good a time as any.  The problem, apart from the obvious cost, is the number of dogs staying there and what we will do with them during renovation as well as long term.  Many of them are what we call "Red" dogs, which means they have behaviour issues.

There are several reasons for small dogs becoming biters, or aggressive towards other dogs, one of them maybe being that by nature small dogs seem to be made that way, but there are many that are sweet natured and loving. The main reasons for the common behaviour problems are:

- Puppies being bought at too young an age when they should still be with their mother and siblings.
- Being left alone for very long hours at an age when they absolutely need company
- Never being taken out or socialised with other people or dogs
- Being kept in cages for long hours
- Being smacked or punished for "bad" behaviour
- Being passed from home to home and never staying long enough to feel secure

The result of all or any of these is much the same as you would expect with a human baby in the same situation, and indeed deprived and abused human children end up with the same antisocial behaviour as any animal does.   Although dogs aren't human, if I could offer one very simple piece of advise to anyone wanting to know about puppy training I would just ask "would you like to have this done to you?".  If the answer is no, then don't do it to the puppy.  Don't lock it in a cage or crate, don't leave it alone for long hours with nothing to do and nobody to play with, don't smack or scold it for accidents, don't automatically expect it to know what you want without being taught,  and so on.

I have just received a lot of adoption questionnaires from people who already have (pet shop) puppies and who are looking for a second dog, so I know from these that there are many puppies living exactly as I have described, alone for the whole day and locked in cages.  I had hoped that by now people would have learned how this damages a puppy's brain development and adult behaviour, but sadly I was wrong, and many of these dogs end up at rescue centres like ours.

For some the damage is too deep-rooted and will never really change, but for the majority it's fixable given time and patience.  There isn't a single "Red" dog at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre that doesn't have at least one volunteer who can handle them, and many whose behaviour problems are only due to the stressful environment of the Homing Centre itself.  Some dogs enjoy being around lots of other dogs, while some just don't tolerate it well at all.

Bomber is so sweet and loves affection

What's very sad is that the longer a dog stays at the Homing Centre the worse the behaviour becomes, so we are really desperate for experienced dog owners to take the fixable dogs home to given them a chance to breathe, relax and unwind.  Two of these dogs, although there are many more, are poodle Maya and Boston terrier-cross Bomber.  When I took them from AFCD they were so sweet, and being young and small I assumed they would be in-and-out cases.  Sadly that didn't happen, and as time has passed they have both deteriorated in terms of behaviour.  Bomber is still incredibly sweet with people but not other dogs, while Maya only needs to get through the settling in period and she'll be fine.  She had some sofa guarding issues that adopters didn't have the patience to work through, but in my eyes as long as there are no young children in the home that's not a huge problem.

If there are any homes without children or other small dogs who could help rehabilitate smaller "Red" dogs like Bomber or Maya, please let us know.  You can email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com or me at sally@hongkongdogrescue.com.

Amber is today's lucky girl

Of course our bigger mixed breed dogs don't have the same pet shop and breeder experiences that these poor so-called "pure" breeds have, so they don't have these issues and are on the whole easy and well behaved.  Amber is one such dog and she was today's lucky Tai Po resident who now has a home to call her own.  Thanks once again to all adopters who choose temperament and character over looks and breed name.

You will notice from the photo that it's getting dark earlier now,  and although we officially close for adoption at six o'clock we do ask that during the winter months potential adopters come early enough to see the dogs without the need for street lighting or torches. It's quite difficult to show dogs when you can't really see!