Weds 29th March: Bent not broken

Not all rescue dogs are "damaged goods" that have health and/or behaviour issues.  Many come to us as puppies with a totally clean slate and no history to speak of, and what they become depends on their life after they arrive.  Those that are lucky enough to go straight into homes as still-young puppies will be influenced by their families, while those that stay with us a bit longer will have a different viewpoint on life.  We can at least know that there will be no abuse or bad treatment and the differences are usually only related to toilet training and so on. (Which reminds me, there is a new litter of five gorgeous babies at AFCD and we need foster homes PLEASE! Contact Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com if you can help).

Adult dogs of course have a history, but it doesn't always have to be a bad or sad one.  People give up dogs for all sorts of reasons, sometimes due to ill health on either side, often just because of a move to a new home or another country.  It has nothing to do with the dog's behaviour, only the lack of human commitment and caring.  Many people give up their dogs when a human baby arrives or is on the way, the newcomer replacing the four-legged one for no good reason other than the dog is no longer wanted.   Just read what Flanders new family have to say about him, remembering that he came to us as a young adult and has been staying at Tai Po Homing Centre for some time:

"We couldn't be happier with how Flanders is doing. He's really lovely and such a good boy. Happy, friendly, lovable, 100% house trained. And he enjoys our house a lot I think. He loves the garden, he loves to sniff things, and he loves seeing us in the morning or even if we just come from another room or come back from groceries".

Flanders (centre) is sweet and easy by nature

 

Corgi Adele has typical deep ear infection

Ex-breeder dogs ironically are often sweet natured but arrive with a host of health issues, many contagious like ringworm, scabies and ear mites.   None of these are life-threatening and all are easy to fix, but it does make finding homes more of a challenge.  The serious common problems are pyometra (infected uterus) and mammary tumours, both of which affect entire bitches, that is, female dogs that haven't been desexed.  Luxating patellas (slipping kneecaps) are very common in smaller dogs and they vary in grades of seriousness, and left untreated they will cripple the animal.  Many of these health problems are genetic, meaning they are passed down from mother to her puppies, and dogs like these should never be used for breeding.  Sadly not only are they, but mothers are mated with sons, daughters with fathers and so on, so both behaviour and health become inbred.

This shiba inu had the worst knees ever

Behaviour problems are far more difficult to deal with than health issues because there's no magic pill, and it requires time, patience and a willingness to understand why the dog is like and how to work through it.  We have small dogs with behaviour issues that range from mild to more deep-rooted, but I do believe that there are few that are real no-hopers.

I'm still hoping that someone will give young Maya a chance

We received this lovely update today from the adopter of pug Ivory, now Brie, and it just goes to show what a difference a few months can make, physically and mentally.  Too many expect dogs to immediately "gel" or connect, to instantly fit in an become a family member, but it takes time.

"When Brie first came home with us, a big patch of her chest hair was missing which was first thought to have been caused by allergies. She also suffered from major anxiety that revealed itself if different ways such as hyperventilating, pacing around non-stop like an expectant father and constantly licking her paws until they were raw.

The hyperventilating disappeared after the first two days and she paced less and less. We put socks on her so she couldn’t lick her paws and we switched her onto a healthy diet to improve her fur.

The great thing was that Brie came with basic training. She knew commands like sit, stay, up, paw and surprisingly even BANG! She was potty trained, but the new surroundings may have caused a bit of confusion for her. It took a bit longer for her to get adjusted. but accidents are now very rare".

"As you can see from our after photo, the bare patch on her chest is now completely filled out, and it turns out that stress, rather than allergies, was the culprit. Her fur is now also extremely soft and paws are all healed.

Brie now spends her retirement days enjoying food (with absolutely no discrimination), belly rubs, chasing after balls, going on walks or 5km runs, and bossing around her brother Baguette".

"No one can believe Brie is 10 because she has endless amounts of energy that seriously puts her two year old brother to shame.

Hopefully Brie’s story will encourage others to consider adopting older dogs. Not all of them have major health issues and those with minor issues just require a little love and care".