Sat 20th June: Adopted in a flash

Carter

This might be a record speed for puppy adoption as the two brothers Jackson and Carter were adopted together less than twenty-four hours after arriving at the Homng Centre. In fact as they still haven't been microchipped and vaccinated yet we're holding into them until that can be done on Monday, as well as making sure they're checked over by a vet too.

Jackson

Ben (l) with little Tessa who's still available

Just before the baby brothers were adopted, lovely Ben, the last of the "B" litter was also chosen.  Ben was the one who needed eye surgery which is why he wasn't adopted sooner, but now he's fully recovered and one hundred percent fine.

As much as we highlight the need for all dogs to have adequate exercise and the opportunity to socialise and play with other dogs, it's important to understand that puppies are still babies with immature immune systems as well as still-growing bones and joints.   In the same way that you wouldn't dream of dragging a human toddler along for a hike, it's important that puppies aren't forced to do long walks either.  Outings should be restricted to toilet needs, and play with other dogs and puppies which allow the puppy to stop and rest when tired.  As we see with our HKDR puppies they can be playing and running around like crazy, then suddenly they crash and fall asleep.

"When you get your 8/10 week old puppies, please keep this image in mind. Their bones do not even touch yet. They plod around so cutely with big floppy paws and wobbly movement because their joints are entirely made up of muscle, tendons, ligaments with skin covering. Nothing is fitting tightly together or has a true socket yet.

When you run them excessively or don't restrict their exercise to stop them from overdoing it during this period you don't give them a chance to grow properly. Every big jump or excited bouncing run causes impacts between the bones. In reasonable amounts this is not problematic and is the normal wear and tear that every animal will engage in.

But when you're letting puppy jump up and down off the lounge or bed, take them for long walks/hikes, you are damaging that forming joint. When you let the puppy scramble on tile with no traction you are damaging the joint.

You only get the chance to grow them once. A well built body is something that comes from excellent breeding and a great upbringing-BOTH, not just one.

Once grown you will have the rest of their life to spend playing and engaging in higher impact exercise. So keep it calm while they're still little baby puppies and give the gift that can only be given once."

See how there are spaces between the bones

We love to stay in touch with our adopters and to hear how the dogs and puppies are doing.  Of course included in the updates are often sad stories of dogs having died, and that's the inevitable downside to loving them and giving our hearts.  The average lifespan of a small dog is longer than the larger ones, but if you take fifteen years as standard that's still a long time, and I have several dogs on Lamma who are considerably older than that.

  As a tribute to the life of one much-loved dog who recently died, one of our adopters (who currently has beagle/basset Fred and had others before) is donating the profits of her bakery sales for one week to HKDR.

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