Sun 2nd Jan: Thinking aloud

Once again we had a lot of potential adopters either coming to visit or completing questionnaires, and while we may not have dogs or puppies to suit everyone immediately new dogs come in all the time so please keep checking.  The four new arrivals at Ap Lei Chau will be going for their vet checks and licensing in the coming week, and there are two adult poodles and a terrier-type boy, all adults, and a mixed breed but cute puppy.   We don't have any small-breed puppies, but we never know what to expect, or when. 

Percy was the lucky puppy today, and as always I hope to be able to share more good news in the coming week. 

 I read an article in a UK newspaper today about how many puppies bought during the lockdowns are already being abandoned as people realise that having a dog is much more work than initially envisaged, and I have to admit this is a concern I have when so many are currently working from home and want to adopt.  Thinking about being able to pop home at lunchtime or getting a dog walker in once a day when normal office hours resume or schools are back to normal doesn't really work in real terms, and isn't fair on a dog that has come to expect full-time attention from their human.   You have to also consider that when bars, restaurants and gyms re-open, the chances are that people will want to go out in the evening, not to mention take holidays abroad, and the dog is always going to be there whatever you do. 

I understand that the idea of having a live-in companion when you're a single person working from home seems like a great idea, but perhaps fostering is a better option.  If we don't have foster dogs available there are many organisations that might be grateful for such offers.

From our point of view as a rescue organisation wanting to find suitable homes for the many dogs and puppies in our care, we also have to be realistic and bear in mind the many years of experience we have in placing dogs, including the adoptions that haven't worked out.  I've talked endlessly about the puppy biting that seems to come as a surprise to too many adopters, even though it's explained every time that this is natural behaviour and nothing to do with aggression.  This is more of an issue when there are young children in the home, but the same applies to adult dogs who find the grabbing, poking and even cuddles from young children too much to tolerate, and all parents need to understand that constant supervision is essential with every dog and child.  It's unfair to expect a dog to tolerate being sat on, jumped on or annoyed in any way, and feeding times should be absolutely out of bounds to all children. 

Our very experienced trainer Cactus is available to offer help and support to all of our adopters, and we do encourage everyone to take advantage of this service.   It's important to us that both dog and adopters are happy, and that any potential problem can be dealt with early on and before it becomes anything more serious.