I’m working with several dogs now who were rescued from puppy mills. These are not puppies, but rather dogs who were born in a puppy mill, and forced to be breeder dogs. Their lives and living conditions were terrible. They lived in cages in a barn, and probably never stepped outside of that barn. They were never taught to go outside to potty (just went in the cages), were never given any human attention, suffered physical punishment, and were tied down to be mated with.
Now they have to adjust to being in a loving home, having some structure in their lives, learn to go outside to potty, and understand that seeing a man approaching (especially one wearing a hat) doesn’t mean something bad is going to happen. The sights, sounds, and smells of the outside world are overwhelming. Their new home is like a whole different planet.
I got a call about a breeder dog named Daisy, who was rescued from a puppy mill. She was afraid of people (including her new human parents Cathy and Scott), and would run away from them any time they approached. Fortunately, they had another dog named Jazzie, whom Daisy could follow around and emulate. Jazzie taught her to go in and out through the doggie door, and Daisy felt secure with Jazzie around.
So we started off working with Jazzie – and Daisy watched from a distance. Daisy started learning sits and downs from watching Jazzie, and would get tasty treats tossed to her when she copied Jazzie’s sits and downs. Eventually Daisy understood the cues and was able to do these behaviors by herself. Daisy was also terrified of being on a leash. So we let her drag a short lead attached to her collar when we were training.
When she was comfortable with that, we used a longer leash and worked outside. Every time someone picked up the leash that was attached to her, something good would happen – a handful of tasty treats would appear in the grass just a couple feet from where she was standing, and she would run over, sniff them out and eat them. Before long, she was following Cathy while on leash, excited to search for tasty pork chop treats in the grass! Now Daisy is getting more comfortable with the leash, learning dog skills, and starting to have fun.
Jeff called me after rescuing a 2 1/2 year old Golden Retriever, from a puppy mill. He desperately wanted to help her, but he often had to travel for work, and this dog had so many problems that he wasn’t sure if he was the right person for the job, so he didn’t name her. He knew naming her would create a special bond, and having to return her to the foster (if this didn’t work out) would break his heart.
So he called her TBD (To Be Determined). She was afraid to go outside, was afraid of the leash, could not walk through doorways, and didn’t understand the whole potty outside concept. So she pooped in the house... every day.
We started by teaching her some games, like tipping over a plastic cup to find a tasty treat. Then we had her find the cups by walking into different parts of the house, and finally out the back door and down the steps into the yard. She started to explore the yard more and more, and after weeks of training, we got her to go through the front door, and she was rewarded with doggie ice cream!
She’s finally beginning to get used to walking with a leash, and she often seems to be smiling. She and Jeff are such a great team, and he’s always there for her when she needs encouragement or comforting. I’ll never forget the one session when I was getting ready to leave, and I said, “TBD, you were such a brave girl today!”
Jeff corrected me by standing up and proclaiming, “Her name… is Leia!”
She had a name. And a new home.
Update - I got a text last night telling me that Leia woke up Jeff to let him know she had to go outside to potty!
Here at The Clever Dog, I try to solve problems from the dog’s perspective, and lead them to believe everything they do is their idea, in order to build confidence and encourage creative thinking. It’s important to make sure training is fun for these dogs, and for the new owners.
Helping puppy mill breeder dogs adjust to their forever home is a process, and takes much longer than teaching a “normal” dog. It is heart wrenching to watch these dogs, and realize how they must feel, and what they’ve been through. It can be frustrating for the owners to try to help the dogs understand and function the way they really want to. But it’s so rewarding when that realization kicks in, the fear dissipates, and they relax and start learning how to have fun… and just be dogs.
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