Mon 19th April: Giving dogs the freedom to choose

Pickle and Penny, two of the "P" litter

JUST IN:  There are five week-old puppies at AFCD that need fostering,  and obviously bottle feeding.  If anyone can help please email Cindy at foster@hongkongdogrescue.com, thank you!
 

We have concensus on the age of the "P" Litter after a pair went to Acorn today and two vets agreed that they were at least eight weeks old, meaning they are small for their age and won't be larger than medium as adults.  That's good news for them, the only bad news being that they may have tick fever meaning that although not actually showing any symptoms it will mean no entry in future to countries like New Zealand.   This is unfortunately a problem for a lot of dogs if they are bitten by an infected tick at any time in their lives.

I forgot to mention a very happy Tai Po adoption, that of Filly, who was a shy puppy at Ap Lei Chau before moving to the big Homing Centre.  It's taken a while but she's finally been chosen to be part of  a family.

Sweet Filly has a home now

I want to talk about something that is very common in some countries, like the United States for example, but isn't generally used in Europe and the UK and never at HKDR, and that's crate training. For a start what's called a crate is actually a cage, and I suspect that's because the word cage sounds bad.  

This is a cage

Cages are for hamsters, but ironically hamsters often have more space proportionally than dogs or puppies do in their cages.  Anyway, I like to follow example of the natural behaviour of dogs, believing that giving dogs the freedom to choose (as far as possible) makes them much happier and more relaxed. 

This is a crate

In the wild puppies are never caged, and have the freedom to leave the nests for toilet needs, which they would always do once old enough to venture out.  

At HKDR we always ask our baby puppy fosters to provide enough space for a sleeping, playing and separate toilet area, and even tiny babies will crawl to the allocated pee/poo spot as needed.   This is natural instinctive behaviour which will stay with the puppies as they grow, and once vaccinated and able to go outside, it's just a matter of transitioning from inside toileting. Of course there will be accidents, that's normal, and if you can't deal with that then a puppy isn't for you. 

Dogs love Kuranda beds

As for sleeping and having their own safe space, a crate is fine but only if the door is open.  I have many dogs on Lamma as you know, and some of the less confident ones will sleep in crates (without doors) while most of them like a Kuranda bed or soft cushion.  This is what I mean by giving dogs the freedom to choose.   By the way, we sell the Kuranda "trampoline" beds and highly recommend them as being very comfortable for the dogs, and easy to clean as you can just wipe them down. Please ask about the Kuranda beds at either of our Homing Centres. 

More adoptions confirmed are Tommy the corgi, Tanner the staffie type, and potentially Louie the puppy pending leg and hip X-rays.  Photos to follow as each of the dogs are taken home.