Mon 4th Nov: Remember that HKDR offer the best training advice

Jason is just a year old.

It was the first time that I'd seen the new arrivals at our Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre when I took them to Acorn today for their health checks and vaccinations.  While the five puppies were in travel crates at the back, French bulldog Jason insisted on sitting at the front between me and Ming, the driver, so he could enjoy cuddles while watching the road.  At that point I had no idea of his age other than that he seemed to be young, but Dr Seems estimated him to be just a year old when she checked his teeth (all clean and white).

You can't really see just how cute Freddie is

Jason was microchipped and blood taken before being given any vaccinations, and while waiting for the blood test results the puppies were pulled out of the crates one by one for their turn. I'd seen photos but can honestly say they didn't do these pups justice as they are so beautiful, and I'm sure they're related to a previous litter from the same source, so they will probably grow to be smaller sized adults (or long body/short legs).

It was also a huge relief that the pups were healthy and could be vaccinated, while Jason turned out to be positive for erlichia, a type of tick fever that can be treated with antibiotics.  That means we have to wait for a while before he can be vaccinated, as only fully healthy dogs and puppies should be given any sort of vaccination.

First thing we'll do is take the chain off his neck

As I'm always writing, new dogs and puppies come in all the time and from a variety of sources, and on Tuesday we'll be taking in a yellow labrador whose family are leaving Hong Kong without him.  The dog is four years and and has no behaviour issues we're told, so if you're interested in adopting please complete the Adoption Questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire as a first step.

Luckily dogs leave the Homing Centre as well as arrive, although Lottie has done both as she was adopted as a puppy before being returned as a doglet, and adopted again on Sunday.

Lottie going home again

As a reminder to all past and potential adopters, one of the many benefits of adopting from HKDR is that we have one of the best and most experienced trainers in Hong Kong available to give free help and advice as and when needed. In fact I'd go as far as saying that Cactus is as good if not better than any other trainer here, and I'm also happy to give the benefit of my many years of dog experience so we often work as a team. 

In almost every case of a dog or puppy being returned the adopter hasn't made any effort to contact us to ask for help, so the first thing we hear is that the dog has behaviour issues and needs to be returned.  It's almost always the case that such issues are easy to resolve using the correct and appropriate training, which usually applies to the humans just as much as the dogs.   As in Lottie's case she was a very normal, happy and playful puppy with lots of energy that needed using up in a positive way, and the only problem was that her first-time adopters didn't understand or appreciate that, nor did they ask for any guidance from us.  It's frustrating for us and unfair to the puppies.