Weds 18th Aug: 3 in, 3 out, and some good advice

Carly going home

 I wrote on Monday's post about how many of the week's adoptions were follow-ons from meetings that took place at the weekend, and this was true for the three puppies who left the Ap Lei Chau Homing Centre today.  The adopters had been to Whiskers N Paws on Sunday and first saw the puppies there, and by chance all came back today to take their choices home. 

Chowder was adopted today

At the same time we took in a further three puppies, now Lizzie, Lyra and Lula, so once again all "outs" were balanced by "ins". 

Today's three adopted puppies were all from the same litter of six, and there are now two left (Chippy went home on Sunday).  Surprisngly they're the smallest, and I would normally expect them to go first so it just goes to show you can never tell or predict what's going to happen, other than when it's a purebreed puppy.  

Cricket and Charlie are left

We also have Candy, the mother of the six, and she's a small dog and also still young at just a year old.  Iris told me that Candy acts like a scaredy dog when visitors come, trembling and hiding, but look at her here at the end of the day when the Homing Centre doors are closed and only the staff are left to prepare everyone for the night.  

As I'm sure you know by now, all adopters from HKDR have access to the invaluable help, advice and support from trainer Cactus Mok, who's not only already highly qualified and experienced in her field but who also never stops expanding her knowledge by taking further courses herself.  The study of dogs and their behaviour is a relatively new science, which is why the old training techniques based on fear and dominance fail so badly.  At that time no one had carried out any studies to really understand dog behaviour, but now there's no excuse to be using the old harsh methods, and if anyone boasts they've been training dogs for fifty years you need to look very carefully at what they're doing. 

Two of the recent advances in the study of dog behaviour include a couple of popular practices which are now proven to be wrong.  One of these is what's called crate training, which basically involves caging puppies (and adults) to apparently teach them toilet manners.  This is an American import which has since become more popular in other countries but it's something I've never liked or used, and we don't follow this or recommend it for our HKDR puppies, all of whom learn from a very young age to use a specified toilet area.  I asked Cactus to share what she had learned from one of her recent courses about why crate training isn't helpful and this is what she sent to me:

This is a cage, not a crate

"First of all, sleep is very important for dogs. Good sleep can promote the healing and growth of tissues and immune system. It helps the brain to process and consolidate memories. It restores the balance of hormones (reduce stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, and increase happy hormones like serotonin), thus promoting calm relaxed emotions. In order to improve their sleeping quality, we should adjust a dog's sleeping arrangements to meet their natural requirements (dog's unique ethology to restore homeostasis).  

Studies on free-range dogs show that adult dogs need 10.5 - 14 hours of sleep daily on average, while puppies need16 hours. They sleep in multiple phases, unlike humans who usually sleep for a straight 8 hours at night. 86% of dogs prefer social sleeping (with other dogs or humans). They also prefer elevation and warmth. 

From our observations on the thousands of dogs that have come and gone through HKDR, dogs usually sleep around, not on a fixed spot. They may sleep on one spot for a while, then wake up and go to another spot to continue the sleep. They would choose their preferred spot based on the quietness, safety, comfort, company, ventilation, as well as their own body temperature. 

Sleeping in a small box (crate/cage) which is placed in a fixed spot, does not allow the dog to choose at all. The dog can't enjoy social company, can't move around to choose their preferred spot even if they're too hot, too cold, or the surface is too hard or too soft.  

  

We can absolutely toilet train a dog/puppy, provide a dog-proof area, and build up the dog's independence, WITHOUT using a crate." 

The second subject of desexing (spay and neutering) is more of a tricky one because it pitches science against reality, and I'll explain what I mean by that.  Recent studies into the desexing of dogs and when is the best time to do it show that males need testosterone to develop healthy muscle growth which prevents mobility problems occurring later in life, and that neutering should be delayed until the dog is a year old.  Until recently we had already recommended waiting until eight months of age, but now we're following the latest recommendations of a year.  Six months is definitely too early to be desexing a male, and I regret having done that to my older dogs who were neutered at a young age. 

The tricky part comes with females because a girl puppy can come into season as young as five months of age, meaning becoming a mother while still growing and developing herself.  Obviously this isn't a good thing on many levels, and as much as dog owners say they'll be careful it's easy to underestimate an animal's strong instinct to mate when in season.  (With intact males of course they're keen at any time if there's a female in heat and within reach).  So when should females be spayed?  One answer is definitely not before six months of age, and another is after the the first season but that risks accidental prgnancy and the birth of yet more unwanted puppies, not to mention the detrimental effects of a puppy having puppies herself.  So for now, weighing up the pros and cons,  we still recommend six months as being the age when females should be desexed.