Sunday, December 5, 2010

Little Red



Last week, a puppy mill in Eastern Iowa begrudgingly gave up all of their breeding stock, because they lost their USDA license. They were encouraged by the USDA to euthanize the "stock", rather than giving them up to rescues. Luckily, they wanted to give their stock up to other breeders, and somehow A Heinz 57 Rescue got into the loop, and prevented this from happening. See, millers HATE rescue. We give dogs away for free, compared to them (Usually $75-175, depending on vetting compared to $400-1,400 for a purebred puppy) and we drive down the cost and the demand for breeds.

The mill consisted of mostly mutts--"designer" dogs-- malti-poos, yorkie-poos, shih-tsu-poos (shit-poo?) and beautiful, friendly, social Golden Retrievers. It was obvious that the millers were only really interested in Goldens, the other dogs were an afterthought--a way to make fast money.

When the transport arrived, it was late at night, freezing cold, and the Heinz 57 staff weren't even sure what all they HAD in the van, they simply accepted absolutely everyone that the breeder was giving away. No health records, no names, no breeds were explained. They were simply man-handled over to the rescue, who had been called only the day before. They were originally to hand over 20-ish, dogs, they turned over 42. Because of the larger number than originally planned, not all of the dogs had a place to go for the evening...when the staff pulled out a red and white Cocker Spaniel, and lamented that she had no place to go, I knew I couldn't say no.

So, P and I are working to rehabilitate a puppy mill dog. And I am incredibly proud of the progress she's making. In a week's time:

She does not run away from us when we walk around the house. At first, she would run laps, run away from where we were, constantly check the perimeter of the first floor. She was always panting. You would, too, if you were always running. Now, she follows us from room to room, she is curious about what we are doing, and wants to be near us.

Stairs. She can now go up and down, she was terrified of them when she arrived. Most mill dogs don't have a clue how to do stairs, they never have occasion.

Recognizing her name. We named her Prudie, as a joke, because she kept presenting herself to Copper, our dominant male. The name didn't stick, she comes to "Little Red" when called. She will come up and allow you to stroke her head and ears. She will also take food from your hand, as well.

Housetraining. She understands we wish for her to do her business outside. Her lack of training has not been a problem, because we are crate training, we are always supervising her food and water, and we let her and the other dogs out to do their business on a consistent basis.

Walking on a leash. She has been for a few walks, and is beginning to make progress being on a leash. Things we take for granted, scare her. Like mailboxes. And shadows.

I attribute all of this progress to a few factors. First, dogs. We have her in a house with 3 other dogs. She has someone to show her the ropes, to model how to act--to take her to the yard, the food, the water and most importantly, show her how to RELAX.

Second, Noise. There is a LOT of noise and activity at our house. I clean almost every day, we watch tv, the dogs bark, the phone and doorbell ring, we entertain friends. There are a lot of noises and a dog gets used to a home with commotion quickly. We go for car rides, and we meet strangers. This is all part of socializing a dog, and giving them confidence that strangeness will not hurt them.

Third, No expectations. We don't take it personally that she wanted nothing to do with us at first. That she has yet to consistently wag her tail. That she may not be potty trained. That she has to learn things we take for granted in our hounds and Sophie.

Eventually, we will be looking for the right home for Little Red. We love her, but we are well-equipped to help other dogs, and we want to have room in our home for more dogs to be helped. Little Red will need a home with other dogs to show her the ropes. She will need a fenced backyard, and an owner who will recognize that she can easily revert to mill ways--being frightened, being skittish, trying to bolt when she sees a chance to escape. With the progress she is making right now, she might be ready to go to a new home as soon as January!

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