Tues 28th Feb: Flying (back) Saucer

Max is for very experienced adopters only

I posted details on the Hong Kong Dog Rescue (HKDR) Facebook page of the shiba inu, Max, who is looking for a new home, and immediately received a large number of offers and enquiries just because of the breed.  Someone made a comment that she wished people understood about the difficult nature of this kind of dog, and I couldn't agree more.  The fact that they are small and cute means that they end up in homes with inexperienced owners who really have no clue, and the end result is inevitable.

My first real experience of a shiba inu was when I accepted a four month-old puppy that had already been assessed as untrainable and aggressive by a dog behaviourist, and he really was quite an angry little guy when he arrived at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre.  I brought him back to Lamma where I did what I always advise adopters to do with problem dogs, and that is to ignore them.  It took a few days for Gringo to calm down and stop screaming (and this high-pitched screech is a shiba inu trait), but after that he quickly adjusted and started playing with the other dogs and behaving in a perfectly acceptable way. In fact his behaviour was so good that I asked his previous owners if they would like to take him back and try again, and we met at Whiskers N Paws where they agreed he was like a different dog.  However after just a day back with them Gringo reverted to his old ways and was returned to me, and subsequently adopted by someone who could offer him the type of home he needed.

If nothing else this one experience proved that it's not the dog that has a problem it's the humans, although certain breeds do have particular characteristics that need to be taken into account. So many people buy dogs or ask for a particular breed when adopting based on looks, and that is asking for trouble.  Poodles are another breed that suffer from this ignorance as they are smart and have a very high energy level yet they are treated like toys.  Of all the dogs that end up with real behaviour issues, poodles come top of the list and we have to turn down surrender requests for these dogs. We already have too many that we can't place in foster homes let alone permanent ones.

So going back to Max the shiba inu, and another female that we're also expecting in the next few days, we can only let him (them) go to homes that fully understand the breed and use positive training methods, have the time to be with the dog and exercise properly, and don't have any children.

Saucer, adorable but full of beans

It's not even just the purebreeds that are chosen on the basis of the way they look, and today I got an email letting me know that puppy Saucer would have to be returned because she was too energetic. The annoying thing is that I had gone to great lengths to explain exactly that to the adopters, and had asked them to consider a more placid and laid back puppy.   They did think about it and looked at those I had suggested, but in the end confirmed they wanted Saucer.  She is an extremely beautiful, soft and cuddly puppy, happy and friendly too, but she has tons of energy and needs a home that can cope with that, preferably with at least one other young and playful dog.

A happy ending for poodle Gem

There was one happy ending today as poodle Gem went for desexing in the morning and was adopted in the afternoon.  Her new family have been warned about Gem's unstoppable energy and her willingness to befriend everyone she meets, and at least the home is large enough that she can race around inside without running off.