Parents adopting a puppy mill rescue

LoveLandseers

LoveLandseers

New member
Hi everyone! My parents (who live about 20 minutes away and are a major part of my newfy's life) are adopting a 6 year old Yorkie mix breeding dog puppy mill rescue. They haven't had a dog in 28 years- I'm not sure they know what they're getting into. They said she is very social around people and gets along with other dogs well....and they fell in love with her of course. Anyway, I'm not sure they know what they're getting into but of course hope it works out for the best and that little Abbey has found her lifelong home.

Anyone have advice about when/how to introduce her to Morris? I want to give her some time to get settled at her new home. I'm a little worried about how it's going to go- when Morris sees little dogs at Pet Smart he backs up and looks confused. He gets along well with other average to large sized dogs but he's never spent a lot of time with a little dog. Any advice for my parents from people who have rescued would be great too! Thanks!
 
ElvisTheNewf

ElvisTheNewf

Active member
I can only recommend very, very close supervision. Elvis has always been great with other dogs, regardless of their size, until we recently watched my parents 3.5 month old lab puppy. At one point he had had enough and grabbed her by the back of the neck, carrying her a few feet then starting to shake her like he does with his toys. I asked my sister (his vet) about that behavior, and she said it's called Big Dog Little Dog Syndrome. Large dogs have actually given small dogs diaphragmatic hernias by shaking them.
 
Clyde

Clyde

New member
Good for them. My most gentle, sweet and loving dog, came from a puppy mill, used as a mother for 7 years. She lived in a cage, her fur was one big mat like a piece of felt, clippers could not even penetrate it to shave her when rescued. One eye was hanging out and the other was swollen and blind. She had only one visible issue, she would not allow anyone to pick her up or try to lift her. Other than that, she swam, ran, played, rode in the car, did everything. A Siberian. Best advice is to watch the dog around food, see if protective, and see how it responds to other dogs. Then introduce on neutral territory. No toys or treats around either. GOOD LUCK, all the best.
 
N

Newfs Forever

New member
ElvisTheNewf said:
I can only recommend very, very close supervision. Elvis has always been great with other dogs, regardless of their size, until we recently watched my parents 3.5 month old lab puppy. At one point he had had enough and grabbed her by the back of the neck, carrying her a few feet then starting to shake her like he does with his toys. I asked my sister (his vet) about that behavior, and she said it's called Big Dog Little Dog Syndrome. Large dogs have actually given small dogs diaphragmatic hernias by shaking them.
Click to expand...
Or was he trying to teach her some manners? Was she being really obnoxious?
 
Lauren W

Lauren W

New member
I volunteer at a shelter where they get in a lot of puppy mill dogs. Almost all of them are super shy and it takes weeks for them to come around. They lived in a cage, never have felt grass under their feet or have had belly rubs. So sad. But eventually they all come around and become happy dogs.

As for the introduction, I don't have any experience with introducing your dog to your parent's rescue. When we got Kasper I already had my Maggie (mix breed 65lbs) and Galahad (Dachshund 12lbs). Kasper and Galahad barked at each other for 2 weeks solid. We kept Galahad in an X Pen and supervised their interaction. It took a while but they LOVE each other now.

My favorite is when little Galahad sticks his head in Kasper's mouth and also when he licks his eyeballs. Why they do that I have no idea. So funny. Kasper is very gentle with Galahad and is very concerned about him. He tries to "Save" Galahad when I do things he doesn't like - nail clipping, teeth brushing. I do have to watch, 'cause sometime Kasper doesn't realize Galahad is in back of him and he will step on him. We have had a couple of near misses.

Here is my favorite little shelter dog. I was never able to pet Milo until recently. It took six months of me going there every week.
 
Last edited:
ElvisTheNewf

ElvisTheNewf

Active member
Oh, there's no doubt in my mind he was just trying to tell the puppy he had had enough. He wasn't growling, and she didn't whine. He had put her down by the time I got to him. He got her by the back of the neck a few more times, but I didn't stop him. She's scrappy and was able to get away from him. He never shook her again, but I did have to rescue her when he sat on her face......but I'm 98% sure that was an accident......
 
blaue_augen

blaue_augen

New member
Our trainer reccommends that when introducing dogs to have a few meetings together where they are in the same room but not interacting. So have a coffee with your parents and have the dogs both on leash sitting next to you (I actually sit on my dogs leash so I can use my hands). But be far enough apart that the dogs don't interact. Eventually, the excitement of meeting each other wanes and they will likely lie down. Have a couple of those kind of meetings and then allow them to meet and play (while supervised).

This has worked for us on smaller scales. Just last weekend at a softball game there was a little fluffy dog and Suki and the other dog really wanted to meet each other. I just keep Suki next to me (she really likes to play and jump around and I'm always worried she could hurt a little dog). After a while the little dog walked over and they met really calmly (Suki didn't even stand up).

I know it won't always go that smoothly, but it's something to try. Good luck!
 
marylouz

marylouz

New member
I agree that you should make the first few meetings not at all about meeting- meet up somewhere and go for a walk together (parallel play like toddlers) have coffee with dogs on leash, etc. I also have found it very helpful to teach my girls to do a down to meet small dogs- even a friendly nose sniff is scary if the big hairy dog is towering over you and it can put little dogs on the defensive from the start, my girls al meet little dogs and puppies from a down.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top