The Terrible Problem of Puppy Mills

I just heard from a reader who responded to my email about adopting from shelters whenever possible. This shows why I believe this is so important.

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Hello Tom,

I have been the foster and now owner of a Papillion for the past year. I
belong to a group called, pap911RescueandAdoption My dog was an owner
surrender because the mother, human became very allergic to him, Our group
spends immense amounts of money to try to take every pap, being culled from
the puppy mills. Some are 5 to 7 years old and have never been outside or
even seen grass. They spend their lives in cages having babies, sometimes 2
or 3 litters a year. They are never vetted, never have vaccinations, never
have good food, and very seldom have human contact. They come to us full of
flees and they stink so badly that we can hardly put them in the cars to
transport home. The usually need 2 or three baths to rid them of the
horrible smell. Some of them socialize to people after a few months and
some of them never trust people again. Can you blame them.

There was an auction today.
They had quite a lineup of dogs, all breeds, for sale, unfortunately, our
group is stretched to the limit with dogs coming in this year and with vet
bills for them and foster homes to keep them till we find suitable homes.
We would have loved to be there to bid on every pap we could just to free it
from a life of torment. We have been trying for years to inform the public
about puppy mills and pet stores but it is hard to get the word out.
Ultimately we need the government to change their laws about puppy mills and
pet store practices.

We all do whatever we can but funds to go to these
auctions is such a hurdle. I commend your friend at the Second Chance
Animal Shelter for all he does. Keep up the good work.

Thanks for listening to me rant.

Emily

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Thanks Emily for the work you are doing.

Tom Kelly
artofdogtraining.com

Keeping Your New Dog Safe in the Yard

Simple steps to protect your dog from hazards in the backyard:

1. Check your fence for any ways of escape.

2. Fence off any dangerous plants or property

3. Remove any yard chemical or poisons including rodent and insect poisons

4. Store tools out of reach

5. Keep the door to the garage or shed closed

6. Make a final walk of the yard to check for anything to which a dog my be attracted

New Dog Creates Problem with Old Dog

Caroline recently wrote:

Tom, Buster is almost 7 years old.  I did recently got a puppy which has increased Busters bad behavior ( peeing,barking etc.)  the puppy is a double edge sword.  One side he is a great ruff houser for Buster.  Second, Buster is a little jealous which is probably why Busters problems have accelerated.

My response:

I think you are right.  A dog’s behavior is easily disrupted by small changes, and this is a big change.  They also need a very clear pecking order to be happy and need to know where they stand.  Here is some additional information: Getting a second Dog

Best Leash for Training

The best leash for dog training depends on how you plan to use it:

For agility training use a training tab.  This is a short leash about 8 inches long that will keep from getting tangled in legs or equipment.

For a leash you can leave on your dog while in the house use a drag leash which does not have a loop on the end.

For those times you need to keep the dog close to you use a 15-18 inch traffic leash.