Mon 15th Feb: The way a puppy grows

 

5 baby gemstones

The new puppies arrived today and were sent straight out to their foster homes, and again a huge thanks to everyone for taking the babies in.   One of them is weak and may not even survive, but  the foster home is experienced and knows what to do, and in fact even has two of the pups from the previous litter staying there.  That's dedication for you.

Puppies grow so fast that even a week sees big changes, and a month is like a lifetime.  At two weeks, which we estimate the new litter to be, the eyes are just beginning to open and the pups are fully reliant on their mother, or the bottle of milk, but even by three weeks they'll be starting to explore on wobbly little legs. At a month they can walk and are already playing with each other, and they can eat by themselves even if still preferring mother's milk when available.  Of course as orphans the process of weaning has to be speeded up and the babies learn to cope without a real mother, but they have each other which is so important for proper development of social skills as well as comfort.  Puppies will always sleep tightly up against each other, and not having that when young is what creates the later problems such as separation anxiety and other emotional instability.  It's really sad to see puppies sold in per shops at a very young age and knowing that they will often be left alone for very long hours with no company at all.  It's no wonder so many adult dogs have behaviour issues.  Although this is a promotion for a brand of dog food (and actually not a bad choice), the following is a very good explanation of a puppy's development and worth reading for all puppy adopters/fosters: https://fish4dogsus.com/blogs/news/the-main-growth-stages-of-your-newpuppy

Pretzel is the perfect age for adoption

In a way many mongrel or mixed breed puppies are luckier than the purebreeds because they never have to experience the trauma of a breeding farm or a pet shop cage.  They are far less likely to be separated at a very young age, even if taken early from their mothers like all of our baby pups are out of necessity.  The puppies that are currently staying at our Tai Po Homing Centre are still together at three to four months, and that contributes greatly to their emotional well-being.  It doesn't even have to be a blood sibling as long as a puppy has a friend and playmate, and there's quite a group of youngsters at Tai Po now that have joined into one big family.  One of them was chosen for adoption today, and lucky Pretzel will be heading off to his new family home tomorrow. 

If you'd like to meet Pretzel's siblings or any of the other puppies staying at either or our Homing Centres, please start by completing the adoption questionnaire at www.hongkongdogrescue.com/adopt/adoption-questionnaire/

Please note that we don't have any small/medium-sized puppies or young adults available at the moment, and all of our puppies will be at least medium-to-large as adults.