Tues 17th Aug: The importance of play

 I'm late posting today because I had issues with my phone that needed sorting out, as well as having lots of emails to catch up on, especially as Eva's off for this month and every staff member leaves a big gap that has to be filled.

It wasn't a surprise that Digby the labrador puppy was offered a couple of very nice homes, but as there's only one of him we had to choose, and by the time you read this Digby will have been picked up.  We're still waiting to have a definitive diagnosis on his leg/hip problems, but at least he's going to be very happy while waiting. 

Piggy and Donny 

I think you all know that we have a group of medium-sized dogs upstairs at the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre who have been nicknamed the Shy Squad.  It's true that on a one-to-one basis they can be shy, but together they have endless fun and games as you can see here: 

hkdr_eagle

Sarah was completely shut down when she arrived 

If you ever needed proof of how important socalisation and play is for any dog you need to see how it brings even the most timid of characters out of their shells.  You've all seen the puppies having the best time playing, but it's never too late to introduce a dog to the joy of having other dogs to interact with.  Sarah is probably the dog who was the most withdrawn when she first came to us, along with her litter of puppies (all since adopted), and even she has gradually started to let her guard down and become one of the group.  It's incredibly rewarding to see this transition take place, even if for some it takes a long time.

Also benefitting from the socialisation process are dogs like Donny the shiba inu puppy, presumably deprived from a very young age of having any contact with other puppies.  Now he too is joining in with the games like any normal puppy, and although still only suitable for experienced adopters he's not the "naughty" puppy who was surrendered to us.