Sally's Daily HKDR Life: Fri 24th Sept: Puppy parade time

Friday, 23 September 2022

Fri 24th Sept: Puppy parade time

Can you foster sweet Frodo?

Before anything else, I need to ask for a foster home for a sweet poodle boy Frodo, who's waiting to have his wobbly knees fixed but can't go ahead with the surgery unless we have somewhere for him to stay during his recovery. A potential foster family decided against it in the end, so now we have to ask again for a place for Frodo, and preferably within easy reach of Acorn in Sai Ying Pun. If that's you, please email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com as a first step.

3-legged Aiden needs a home

We also need a new foster for Aiden, or even better an adopter of course, as he has to leave his current foster home. As a reminder, Aiden had to have a leg removed so that he would be able to walk, and he's doing really well. He's a very sweet medium-sized boy, halfway between puppy and adulthood, and again please contact Cindy if you can offer Aiden some space in your home.

With the weekend here again it's time to remind you about the puppies that we have staying at various places, with some of them now inching towards doglet stage, the name I gave to older puppies that are past the cute baby phase of their lives.

There are pros and cons to all ages, with the young puppies having needle-sharp milk teeth and no or little sense of control when it comes to using them on tender flesh. These baby teeth start to change to permanent adult teeth starting at around four months of age, and by six months there should be a gleaming white new set which are definitely more gentle on skin. At this age most puppies also have learned bite control through playing with other puppies, which is just one of the many reasons why it's important not to separate puppies at too young an age.

Other than age difference, every puppy has his or her own personality, and choosing the right one is much more important than making a decision based on looks. If you have children, or are planning to start a family, this is even more important because not all dogs are able to tolerate the high energy and screaming of young humans. It's totally unfair to blame a dog for finding excitable and noisy children too much to take, and there should always be a place in the home where a dog can retreat to when they need peace and quiet. This is one of the reasons why the typically small Hong Kong apartments aren't at all ideal when it come to having a dog, because lack of space puts an enormous amount of pressure and stress on any but the most laid-back of dogs.