Weds 22nd July: Suddenly it's puppy time again

New pups Ruby and Esme

For what seems like the longest time we, and other rescue groups, haven't been seeing the usual number of puppies coming in, and certainly not from AFCD (who are now once again on restricted working hours).  We resorted to taking in waifs and strays that were found by volunteers, and all were adopted as quickly as they arrived with the last of the four "T" litter, Theo, due to go to his new home on Thursday.  We do still have baby Bumpy, who was rescued when he was only a couple of weeks old, in a foster home and doing well thanks to the experience of his temporary carer in bottle feeding.

Little boy Wellie

Kit is a gorgeous older puppy

With the arrival of a few puppies from AFCD on Monday, and five more due to come on Thursday (four are very young and going straight to foster homes), we're starting to fill up again.  We even have some smaller-sized puppies, meaning those who won't grow into large adults, including Kit, the gorgeous eight month-old who was returned the other day.    If you want to see more photos and videos of any of the Ap Lei Chau dogs and puppies you can check out two Facebook pages which are open to the public, one being our trainer https://www.facebook.com/cactusndogs/ and the other volunteer-turned-staff Eagle's https://www.facebook.com/HKDR.DOGGIES/


One of the biggest challenges facing puppies when they're adopted is that they have to learn to live in a human world, something that isn't a natural way of being for a dog.   In nature dogs live in family groups and have the freedom to make their own choices about what to do and when.  A dog living in a human family home has to adapt to a way of life that is so unnatural that in many cases they become stressed and develop various illnesses, skin problems and allergies, not to mention behaviour issues.  The expectations and demands put on dogs to behave in a certain way is huge, and with so many people living in busy areas and in small apartments offering no space for a dog to run and play it's no wonder that many snap, sometimes literally. 

I agreed to take in another dog for rehabilitation, and not surprisingly he's a shiba inu, the most popular breed in Hong Kong and one of the most challenging in terms of behaviour traits.  They may be small(ish) but they're brave, feisty and without fear, and it's always incredibly upsetting to see how many shiba puppies are bought when their buyers know absolutely nothing about dogs.

This shiba doesn't know how lucky he is going to be

The shiba I'm bringing back to Lamma is one of those, and since the day he arrived in his home the training started, and that means non-stop pressure.   Three different trainers, including a behaviourist known to favour the drug (dog Prozac) option, have worked with this dog, and all have failed.  There has been no consistency in training methods, but most of all there has been no break in the relentless pressure to be what a shiba is not, and to behave in a way that the humans want. 

My previous success story Damson 

As I said when I agreed to take on this case, my methods are very simple:  I just leave the dog alone. He will have space to run and play with other dogs, he will be fed and have water, but other than that there will be no demands made on him and his time.  He can rest, unwind, relax and just be the dog that he is, nothing more.   At four years of age he may or may not become homeable after a period of time, because the damage done is already deep-rooted, but the previous "untrainable" shiba I took in is now having a great life in her new home.