ILLINOIS COCKER RESCUE Adopting a Puppymill RescueAdopting a puppymill rescue is not for everyone. These dogs have not had a normal existence, and their contact with humans, if at all, could have been very unpleasant. In a nurturing environment, however, they have the potential to become the awesome companions they were meant to be. This does not happen overnight and can take many months. It requires patience and lots of love. Most puppymill rescues lived their entire early existence confined in a small cage with other dogs. As a result . . . Eating Housetraining Leash Training Collars/Harnesses. Puppymill rescues have the uncanny ability, if frightened, to buck and squeeze out of normal collars and bolt. If outside in an unsecured area, this may result in your dog getting loose. If the puppymill rescue gets away from you, he will starve before approaching another human being for food or shelter. Note that very few who have escaped have ever been caught and have met their demise. Consequently, collars need to be very tight. With toy breeds, a well-fitting harness can solve this problem.
These dogs are the most innocent of creatures. Working with them
through these issues can be a very rewarding experience, but only if you are up to the
challenge. It requires time, patience, understanding, and most of all, lots of
love. They will blossom and become awesome members of your family.
An
excellent piece by ANSOL on Puppy Mill Dogs:
Hi!
My name is Teddy.
Teddy and Night * * * Rosie was the sweetest, petite, platinum blonde Cocker you have ever met. Like most puppymill rescues, she had been used to living in her crate her whole life with no freedom and no love. Despite this, Rosie's strong little spirit survived. One day last September, while my roommate was adopting a Cocker Spaniel from Illinois Cocker Rescue, Rosie decided that she too wanted to live in family, especially since her friend Zorro (now Will) was getting adopted and one of the nice ladies (me) had another pretty blond female Cocker Spaniel to hang out with. Thus, I can honestly say that Rosie chose to go home with us and the other two Cockers. True to the description of puppymill rescues above, Rosie had no idea about potty-training or living in a house. To make things more difficult for her she was blind and also hearing impaired. Rosie attached herself to her new mommy with a sweetness not met in humans. Many an evening Rosie sat in my lap and snuggled or laid at my feet and chewed a bone. She slept snuggled up in my roommate's bed every night. Although housetraining was difficult, Rosie learned from the other dogs in the house and was a quick learner. This was especially important because Rosie told us in no uncertain terms that she did not "do" crates anymore. She lived in a family now! not at the breeders. Rosie was very close to her Cocker brother and sister and often cuddled with her sister. Her sight problems were no problem, she got the layout of the house down and her brother taught her how to climb stairs very carefully. After our initial adjustment (both Rosie and me), you could see that Rosie was very happy living in family. Everything was new to her from the smell of wine (yummy!) to the sound of the dishwasher (scary!) (oh yeah, with proper cleaning and a little medical attention we discovered that Rosie was not hearing impaired--her ears were just clogged with gunk). She was even beginning to warm up to new people. I would adopt another puppymill rescue in a heartbeat. With just a little patience, you are rewarded with love and kindness beyond value. Unfortunately for Rosie, years of neglect had taken a toll on her and she passed away while undergoing surgery to restore her sight. Anyone who ever met her was inspired by her sweetness and stout heart. It was amazing how a little love brought out the best in her. If you would like to see a recent picture of Rosie, please visit Rosie's memorial. --Maureen O'Brien Christmas 2005 will always be extra special to us -- we adopted two toy poodles that had been rescued from a puppymill......Simone and Suzette -- Monie and Suzie for short.
We had been looking for another poodle to keep our miniature poodle - Missy - company. She is four and spoiled rotten but a really good dog. As always, we were checking the internet -- a site called www.petfinder.com. Ron checked it everyday and one day, he said "Oh, she looks so sad!" There was the picture of Monie - from the Illinois Cocker Spaniel Rescue organization (Cockers and Poodles). The site had great information and the more we read about rescued dogs, the more we wanted Monie. (The info on rescued dogs was invaluable.) However, she was bonded to another poodle -- Suzie -- and they were to be adopted in pairs. I don't work outside the home so we decided we could handle two! We filled out the application, emailed it to them, and waited anxiously. Very shortly, we received a phone call and the process started. One thing I really liked was that we were to bring EVERYONE in the family to the adoption. Smart because you can't tell over the phone or internet if you'll "click" with the dog or not. And I definitely wanted Missy there because these were going to be her new sisters! We bought 2 large dog beds for them -- large so they could be together. One was in the kitchen and one was in the living room. Their bed was put in our bedroom and is actually a wire rabbit hutch without the top or door. The sides are 16" high. We put another large dog bed in the bottom and some towels for them to move around when making their "nests." (They really like it -- we've even found Monie UNDER the dog bed a couple of times!) It was love at first sight -- and it was obvious from the start that Monie was Ron's dog and Suzie was mine! Missy was oblivious -- then! Aly had told us how unsocialized they were; she had been unable to catch them the first 4 months they had lived there. She explained current and possible health problems they had as well as the diet she recommended -- a raw meat and bones diet. We must have visited another hour about the dogs and then off we went. We had taken a large wire crate so they could stay together on the ride back home -- about 2 1/2 hours. We didn't hear a sound out of them all the way home -- they just huddled together.
When we got home they quickly spied the bed, jumped on it and cowered -- shaking the whole time. Since it was about time for them to eat again, I got the raw hamburger out and sat on the floor. I held out my hand with little bites of the hamburger in it. Hunger got the best of them and they ate it but refused to leave their bed -- I was the one stretching to them and the meat had to be right on the ends of my finders. We had decided that I would be the "food lady" and would be the only one to feed them since I would be with them all the time. It didn't take long -- about a week -- before they were coming off the bed to me to get their meat. I was still sitting on the floor when feeding them and they were still extremely afraid and shook when we were around but we had made some progress. Bedtime was non-eventful; they actually seemed more relaxed when in the bed. We assumed that might be because they were used to wire cages and even though it hadn't been the best living conditions for them, it was still something they were familiar with.
One of the other early decisions we made that has worked out great is that each evening, Ron would hold Monie and I would hold Suzie for about a half hour. We started that the first week. We would take them to their bed in the living room, let them settle in a bit, and then pick them up and hold and pet them while we watched TV. I quickly learned that they didn't feel quite as threatened when we went to pick them up if we got down on our knees about 2' away from them and then reached out to pick them up. We were on their level instead on towering over them and reaching down. They shook so hard the first couple of weeks I wanted to cry. Aly had told us they probably wouldn't want their heads and necks petted since their collars, which had become embedded into their necks at the puppymill, had to be surgically removed after they were rescued. So, that was where we petted them. You could feel their skin "crawl" when you petted them in addition to the shaking. How could people treat them so terribly? It's beyond my comprehension! Potty training has been interesting! (Understatement?) From the beginning they had collars and harnesses on. We used the harnesses only at the first. I would put their leashes on, pick both of them up, and take them outside. Suzie was great -- she would go right away and then just shake. Monie just shook! We had put up two child gates so they stayed in the kitchen but could explore it if they wanted.....and mistakes could easily be cleaned up. After three weeks, we were only having about 2-3 mistakes a week. (and I had a CLEAN floor!) I was taking them out every 2 hours. After four weeks, I started stretching that to 3 hours. That meant every time I heard them moving around at night, I got up and took them out. Monie was having trouble with the diet -- her stools were very loose with lots of mucus. I have irritable bowel syndrome and I think she does too. When she was nervous, she would have more mistakes. She was also vomiting from time to time. Suzie didn't exhibit many of those symptoms -- she did something very different and very scary. I went to lunch with a friend one day and when I returned, a large pool of blood was on the floor. Suzie hadn't eaten for a day -- just drank water -- and was more lethargic than usual. Then this. I took her to the vet! After several tests, we determined that she had ulcers -- thus the blood -- and the vet recommended a low residue dog food. So, we started using the canned dog food in combination with a good dry dog food and not only has her problem gone away, but Monie's stools are now normal. YEA! I've learned by observing them that Monie will go get a drink of water when she is thirsty - Suzie won't. So, when I mix their meals, I put water in Suzie's so she gets enough fluid during the day as well. What we've learned is that dogs are like people -- stress mounts up. In less than a year, they had been rescued, sent to rescue organization, and home with us. That's a lot for anyone and thus the problems -- behavioral and physically! Their personalities started coming out even the first week. It was obvious Monie was the braver of the two. She snooped every corner of the kitchen several times while Suzie was glued to the bed. Even in the living room, Monie was curious but stayed on the bed there.
Now, not quite 2 months after adopting them, here is where we stand. When I take them outside, I say, "OK, girls, let's go outside." They hop off their bed, come to the door, go down the stairs to the back door and wait until I get their leashes on their collars (the harnesses are off!). They still back off a little but are more and more just standing there while I put them on. I open the back door, they jump out and go to the "potty" area. With all the snow we've had lately, we shoveled a space so they don't get buried in the snow. Suzie still does her business quickly and is ready to go back in -- often heading to the back door before I do. Monie is very picky and SLOW! She has to find the right spot, circle about 20 times, and then do her job! They have also gone to the kitchen door on their own a few times and I'll take them out and they do their business so they are learning! We still have a few mistakes but we've come a long way! When I take them out at night (I take the leashes upstairs at night and leave them next to their bed)- which is now usually after about 6-7 hours of sleep - I just leave them on the leashes until we get back upstairs where they wait until I get the leashes off, pick the dogs up, and put them back in bed. (Just an aside -- Monie is learning that if she makes a "bark" in the morning, I'll get up to get their breakfast. And it's usually about the same time each morning -- 5:30 - 6:00. I'm actually waiting for the bark because I want them to learn how to communicate vocally -- not just with actions. Missy comes to us to let us know she wants to go outside by barking -- once. That's where we can hope this eventually leads!) My sewing room is upstairs and when I go up, I say "let's go upstairs, girls" and they follow -- not necessarily to the sewing room but to the bedroom. They ARE coming when called though! Suzie likes the bed in the living room better than the one in the kitchen so if the gate is down, she buzzes off to the living room on her own. Sometimes, they get confused when I want them to come back to the kitchen and they go upstairs! It's such a hoot to watch them scoot up those stairs. Of course, I have to go get them and carry them back downstairs but it's just exciting they are learning. Feeding time is a circus. I get their bowls out and they come running - Monie just goes round and round in circles until the bowls are ready and on the floor. I even caught them playing with each other one morning -- that had to be the highlight of my day! Missy is jealous but we're working on that as well. She is a "daddy's girl" so when Ron is holding Monie, Missy gets a little peeved -- either just sits staring at him, barks at him a little, or lays down under the lamp next to the sofa -- a place she has NEVER laid down before. So now, Ron takes both Missy and Monie on the sofa with him and they are getting to know each other better and Missy isn't quite as anxious about the whole thing. It really is like having kids -- they are all different, respond differently, act differently, eat differently, play differently, sleep differently, etc.
The best sign I've had that we're making progress is that when Ron's niece came over the other day, instead of shrinking away as she would have in the past, Suzie actually stretched out her neck to sniff Jen's hand and let herself be petted without shaking. WOW! I could go on and on -- guess I already have! -- but the two words that are key in working with our new babies are consistency and patience! And remembering where they have come from and enjoy -- even revel in -- each little bit of progress they make -- it's addictive! * * * FRANCESCA
AND FRANCOIS Here we go ---- again! It has been nearly 6 months since we adopted Suzie and Monie – and in that time, their former puppy-mill "mates" had still not been adopted…….soooooo, you guessed it – we did!
Now is the time to say that you don’t want to have any pre-conceived ideas going into a puppy-mill rescue. Yes, many of them were very ill-treated and have "issues" BUT they are just like people – they want someone to love! Chessie & Frank are sweethearts. It’s been almost 2 weeks and they are making significant progress……they go down the steps and wait for me to put the leashes on (still shy away but nothing severe) and go out when I open the door. When we’re done, they jump back in, wait for the leashes to be taken off and then go back up the stairs to the kitchen. Every day around 4:00 pm, I take them into the living room to be on the sofa with Suzie and Monie – they all go to sleep. Around 6:00 we go back to the kitchen for supper and then again to the sofa for the evening. The potty training is making progress but slowly – especially since Frank likes to "water" everything in sight!
It has been interesting in comparing the two pairs of dogs: Suzie and Monie were and still are very structured. They go from point A to point B and usually don’t stop anywhere in between. Frank and Chessie just kind of wander – they are very curious and want to check out everything! Suzie and Monie like to sleep and lounge the day away; Frank and Chessie follow my every step and get into lots of things; they even made a "den" in the broom closet until I blocked their access to it. Frank and Chessie aren’t as startled by loud noises as the other two and seem to take things more in stride, although I have noticed that when Frank is anxious, he chews his tongue! Suzie and Monie were somewhat food aggressive when they first came to live with us but now exist peacefully with a water bowl and bowl of dry dog food on the floor at all times. On the other hand, Frank and Chessie are almost frantic – lots of barking when I’m fixing the food and Chessie starts eating before the bowl is completely on the floor. They are also natural beggars --- something towards which Suzie and Monie have shown no inclination. So, nature or nurture?? They lived in the same puppy-mill under the same conditions but are so different. They do share some things – being uncoordinated for one. They have never walked long distances or gone on a run! Monie is still the awkward "puppy" when she runs and they have just learned how to jump onto the sofa….Monie still struggles with it a little. Frank and Chessie are the same; Frank has no trouble going up the stairs but is hesitant on going down. Chessie on the other hand, goes down just fine but hasn’t quite gotten confident in going up!! The other interesting part is comparing them to our other poodle, Missy. We got her from the breeder when she was 12 weeks old and she has been at the head of her class in everything – including potty training! Jumping, running??? No problem!! It makes you appreciate even more the progress the other four have been making. Missy and Suzie have even started playing together occasionally.
This has been one of the most rewarding things we have ever done. Patience, patience, patience!!! And the outcomes and rewards are nothing like you’ve ever experienced before. Try it, you’ll LOVE it!! December 26, 2005 -- the day we adopted our first two "angels-in-training" -- Monie and Suzie Now, nearly a year later, they have graduated to full fledged "angels" with another two working their way up - Chelsea and Frankie. It's been an interesting journey. Here are just a few highlights. For the first few weeks, they were so frightened they visibly shook. To get them to eat, I sat on the floor with the food in my outstretched hand; they, in turn, would stretch their little bodies and necks as far as they could to still get the food but avoid contact with me. Ron and I held one every evening while watching TV just to get them accustomed to human contact and to us. They quickly adopted the philosophy that the bed in the kitchen and the bed in the living room were "Safe" spots for them and would quickly run from one to the other. We started them sleeping in a rabbit cage - without the top - in our bedroom. Within 3 months, they had "moved up" to our bed. Interestingly, it proved to be the "safest" spot for them and they started playing with each other on the bed at night and in the morning. (and sleeping all night without having to go outside OR make a mistake) And Miss Monie became a "daddy's girl", always sleeping against Ron. Potty training was a challenge; having lived 100% of their lives in a wire cage meant you just went when you had to go. Now, we were trying to teach them how to "go outside". Well, that meant they had several new things to adjust to and learn: being on a leash, going up and down stairs, going through a door with a human holding it, in addition to doing their "business" when outside. When you raise a dog from a young age, you just take for granted they have to learn those things and when you adopt an older dog you assume they already know how to do those things. We had to learn to keep the collars nice and snug because they are quick to pull out of them and what fun to try to lure a frightened dog back to the house. They are frightened by loud sounds, unexpected movement, and the unfamiliar experience of being outside. And, of course, all of those were present when we took them outside. I started walking them around the house on their leashes to get used to the leashes, the street sounds and the yard. That proved to be an important step because one day Monie pulled out of her collar and, of course, just went the other direction as you went toward her. Ron "followed" her as she went around the house in the same way I had taken them many times on the leashes, and as she came to the back door, I had it open and she popped in! Eventually, they learned that when we brought the leashes, it meant we were going outside and they would run to the back door and down the back stairs after the leashes were attached. Now, I just say "OK, kids, time to go outside" and they jump up, go to the back door, go out and do their business and come back in -- all without leashes!! They also had graduated from staying in the kitchen to now going to the living room and being on the sofa -- without my supervision. BIG STEP! Now if I could just get them to sleep all night!! Meeting people and going to unfamiliar places was another obstacle. Although they had adapted to our presence, visitors brought on the shaking again and pulling back. We would just tell our visitors to ignore them and then later, to hold out their hands to be sniffed. Now Suzie actually gets up, wags her tail, and approaches our visitors. Unbelievable!! Monie is still very shy but doesn't pull back when visitors reach to pet her or to let her sniff them. We had decided that it would be good for them to get used to going to different places as well as how to ride in the car. They go to Ron's office at least once a week and spend a day. They have their own bed there and the run of the office. Initially, it again brought on great shaking but they have learned to get into the car -- without the leashes -- get out of the car when we get home, without the leashes, and where they need to go to get to the office (up outside stairs, through the door, through the warehouse, into the office, up the stairs to the upstairs office and their bed)!! And, as if this wasn't enough (!), we adopted two other puppymill rescues - Frankie and Chelsea - in June. They were rescued from the same puppymill with Monie and Suzie and had been buddies while waiting to be adopted. What a reunion! Ron went to get Frankie and Chelsea. When he got home, we put them all together in the kitchen; I have never seen so much excitement! Suzie was beside herself sniffing Frankie and Chelsea and her tail was going non-stop! They quickly re-bonded and a "pack" was born! Frankie and Chelsea had become much more socialized while waiting to be adopted and were willing to be petted but still didn't care much for being held. Unfortunately, their arrival set back Suzie and Monie's potty-training several months. So, back to the kitchen! Frankie, being the boy he is, just HAD to mark everything - several times! And there were days I didn't get much done except cleaning up after them. Suzie and Monie were still on leashes for going outside so taking all four of them was quite a challenge! Ron finally put a large hook on the side of the house. I would take Frankie and Chelsea out and attach their leashes to the hook (we have those 20' retractable kinds) then go back and bring Monie and Suzie out. So, you can imagine how great it was to get them off the leashes to go outside!! MANY times I was literally wound up with the leashes -- does a spider putting away her dinner mean anything to you?? We are now where 95% of the time, they are good inside. They have also expanded their territory to include the craft/computer room. ( At night, they all run into the living room and hop onto the sofa to watch TV with us.) That way, I'm with them most of the time and can catch their subtle hints about going outside. Some of those hints include, but are not limited to (!), practically jumping up from a sound sleep to shaking themselves and looking at me as if to say "NOW", and wandering in circles. We've even had a couple of times where Frankie and then Monie had the runs and in the middle of the night, they jumped down from the bed, ran down the front stairs, through the house to the back stairs, down them to wait by the back door until we could hastily grab a robe and catch up with them. Each time they made it outside before they had an accident. Now THAT's progress! That's all the good news -- the bad news is if left alone for more than a few minutes, and they are awake, there WILL be an accident. I have a large yard and garden and this summer I would go outside to work and leave the dogs in the kitchen. Sometime during my stay outside, I could hear them playing with loud barking; I would go inside and there would be several "accidents". Ron and I are not sure they are really accidents -- it's almost like they are saying "free at last"! Yikes! I'm sure that with time, this, too, will diminish. I hope it's not a LOT of time! :-) And, there wouldn't be a story without the trips to the vet. Their regular exams were boring -- pretty normal. But we've had a few instances where we had to take them in for unexpected problems. Like the time Suzie passed a lot of blood. I came home from a short shopping trip to find a pool of blood on the floor and it wasn't hard to see it was Suzie who wasn't feeling very well. Turns out she has/had an ulcer and with all the changes in her life, her body let us know about the stress she was experiencing. She also had a high bacteria count and had to take an antibiotic. The second time it happened, I didn't freak out as much. It required adding a low-residue canned dog food to her diet and we've had no problems since. Frankie also had a problem that required a vet trip. He became lethargic and instead of greeting, wagging, and bouncing around as normal, he started distancing himself from us and the other dogs. Then we noticed that if we petted him below the neck, he would wince, yelp, and back away. Turns out he had 3 inflamed discs in his back! We had to carry him up and down the stairs, lift him up and down from the sofa and bed for about 2 weeks. After a little pain killer and some anti-inflammatory medicine, he's back to his normal tail-waggin' self. One other little story. Often when I'm in the craft/computer room, I'll put up a board across the doorway to keep them in the room. I knew they could go over it if they wanted but they didn't know. Then one day, they roused themselves to go outside and when I said, "OK kids, let's go", Suzie promptly hopped over the board like she had been doing it all her life. She has done it a few times since -- both going in and out of the room -- but never unless it was going outside or coming back in. Then one day, Monie did it as well. I think she was as surprised as I was! They've come a long way from the un-coordinated little dogs we first brought home! Frankie and Chelsea had to learn steps as well; Chelsea had the worst time. Chelsea's eyes aren't real good so going down stairs is a slow process but when she was learning to go up the stairs, I thought I'd die. She would stand at the bottom of the stairs and "worry" about how to get up them by pacing back and forth, putting a paw on the step, and then pacing some more. She just couldn't figure out the "what goes first" sequence! Now she goes right up them but still very slowly. Maybe she has some arthritis as well. And, we have another dog as well, Missy. We have had Missy since she was a puppy and her growth and development have been normal. But it is the differences between what a normal dog looks like and what a puppymill rescue looks like that make you realize what a hell-ish life the puppymills have had. All the things we accepted as "normal" with Missy are anything but with Frankie, Chelsea, Suzie and Monie. How has Missy adapted? It's been difficult for her as well. She is no longer the only "daddy's girl". Her behavior is, by human standards, normal. Just like a new baby can bring about jealousy, bids for attention, and a little temper - so it did for Missy. She now settles for being petted by dad while sitting at his feet because Monie is on the sofa, glued to Ron's side. If you are playing with or holding one of the other dogs, she immediately wants to be played with, barks, jumps on you, etc. Are they becoming a united pack? A little at a time. Missy has taken to mothering Chelsea by cleaning her eyes daily. I don't know if she realizes Chelsea's eyes are bad but she does it without fail. Missy and Frankie have a tolerant relationship. They've been known to growl at each other but they also sniff each other as well. Monie is by far the shyest; she wouldn't make eye contact at all when we first got her but now she will look at you without flinching. Chelsea is more like Monie. She still pulls back a little at being petted but is the one to stand with her front paws on Ron's legs at suppertime! Suzie is the next bravest. She greets visitors as I mentioned above but she still doesn't like to be held. Suzie and Monie are the little "ladies" of the group, Chelsea is the "tomboy", and Frankie -- he's a MAN! He has a little swagger to his walk, his tail is ALWAYS going, and he actively begs at suppertime. With that little tongue always sticking out to the side (no teeth!), he is quite the character. Would we do it again? Yes but I think I would have waited longer between Suzie/Monie and Frankie/Chelsea. Suzie and Monie just needed more time to get their new way of life ingrained into their beings before the others were brought on board. Last thoughts --
The main thing these little "angels" need is love, routine, kindness, and tons of patience. If you CAN do it -- then go for it. It is an extremely rewarding experience! * * *
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