Just a quick update as we enter the Year of the Snake, because there were two small dogs whose details were shared on our social media pages and who received a lot of attention. One of these was a poodle puppy we'd been asked to take, and after immediately agreeing and arranging a drop-off time, the now ex-owner said she had passed the puppy to a friend. While it might seem like a good result, we know from experience that this is how and when behaviour issues begin, because it's almost inevitable that this pup will be passed from home to home before ending up as a "Red" poodle, meaning basically unadoptable.
As I have written so many times before, the early months of a dog's life will shape it for ever, and it's very sad that so many puppies end up with behaviour problems due to the lack of socialisation and training when young. The French bulldog Guy, who's the second case I wanted to write about, is almost certainly one of these, because the breed is one that's normally very friendly with people, even if they can sometimes be a bit of a problem with other dogs.
Guy had probably been caged, which some people like to call 'crated' as it sounds better, but what happens when you lock a dog in what's essentially a small box is that their brains and personality don't develop properly. Puppies are no different from human children in that they need to be able to have the freedom to make decisions, to move around, to play and to learn, and taking this away from them has life-long repercussions. Of course there may be times when a puppy needs to be contained for a while, but a fence or baby gate can do the job while still providing some space.
Anyway, in the end we had to move Guy out of the Homing Centre for his own sanity, and he was sent over to Lamma where a large-ish area had been fenced off for him. It was already early evening when he arrived, but he seemed very happy with his new space, and after having something to eat he spent a long time sniffing out every interesting smell, of which there were plenty. We'll see how things go over the Chinese New Year break, but for now all adoption enquiries will be put on hold.
To finish, two lucky (and lovely) Tai Po dogs found a home together. They are Sunshine and Isa (who has been with us since she was a newborn puppy), and it's a wonderful end to the Chinese year.
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