Petfinder.com forums :: View topic - 12/7 Puppy Mill Pets w/Elizabeth Marsden from Mission Dog!! [ ]

Last edited by Petadmin on Sun Dec 06, 2009 11:42 pm; edited 2 times in total

This month we are so excited to have Elizabeth Marsden from Mission Dog with us to discuss puppy mill pets! Liz will be happy to address any questions you have on fostering and/or adopting former puppy mill dogs, rehabilitation issues, and how to help former puppy mill pets transition to home life.

Elizabeth Marsden is a Certified Pet Dog Trainer who has worked in nonprofit animal shelters for more than 20 years and has been a professional, positive-reinforcement dog trainer since 2001. Her experience is with both limited-admission and open-admission shelters, where her work included designing dog temperament evaluation programs and counseling adopters. Liz was voted one of the top recommended dog trainers in Washingtonian Magazine in 2006, and continues to teach companion dog classes, private training sessions, and seminars. Liz is a Member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers. She lives in Chaplin, CT.

Liz and Mission Dog partner Leigh Siegfried, have been featured conference speakers for The Humane Society of the United States, Pet Finder Adoption Options, Michigan Partnership for Animal Welfare, Pennsylvania Federated Humane Societies, Animal Welfare Federation of New Jersey and Pet Sitters International.

Welcome Liz!!

Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 10:14 pm Post subject:

Hi Liz, and thank you for answering our questions.

I never considered the possibility of adopting a puppy mill dog; I do intend to adopt a senior dog again.

What would be the problems that I would expect to face if I was to do both; adopt a puppy mill dog that happens to be older?

How would I help a dog such as that to adapt to living inside, uncaged, loved?

How would I go about getting such a dog to trust that I would be different than those people he/she had been involved with in the past?

Liz's Answer:

Well, first of all, thanks for being so committed to the idea of adopting a homeless dog! In the past few years, I've had the chance to work in a shelter that accepts large numbers of mill dogs after raids, and I have seen a huge variety of behaviors in these dogs. I consider most of them "special needs" dogs, because they usually come with health concerns (eye and skin issues are common). Behaviorally, they are all over the map! Right now, our shelter has a spunky cairn terrier who is so friendly and social that you would never know he came from a mill situation. His age is estimated at 7. On the other hand, we just finally placed a Pomeranian who had been with us for many months because he was so fearful that he would not respond to anyone but a few staff members.

A common issue you will have to be prepared for is extreme lack of socialization, meaning that everyday sights and sounds can send the dog into a panic. I worked with one 2 year old puppy mill dog who was palced through a breed rescue, for whom the sounds of people talking outside in the neighborhood terrified her. she had a host of other triggers and was referred to a behaviorist for help with an anti-anxiety medication so that she could begin to relax.

Separation anxiety is another common problem, but it seems that if the mill dog is adopted into a house with other dogs, sep anx is less likely to be an issue. In my experience, most mill dogs (especially the toy breeds) are very social with other dogs.

Thinking ahead and working with a shelter or rescue that has done an accurate behavioral assessment will go a long way towards helping you make a wise choice. Know what you can and cannot work with. Will you have the patience to work very slowly with a fearful dog? Can you accept that your dog may never be even close to a "normal" companion dog?

Setting things up at home ahead of time and planning for how you will manage daily necessities like house training, a safe place to sleep (you can't usually crate a mill dog, since they have been urinating and defecating right where they live), and safe handling are all on your agenda, just as it would be with any dog. But with a mill dog, the fact that you may not be able to just slap on a collar and leash and go for a walk, presents special challenges. For this reason, I recommend that dogs wear a well-fitting harness and drag around a leash for the first few weeks or months so that you can guide the dog and keep him safe and avoid having to grab him by the collar and scare him, and possibly get bitten.

In a training DVD we released earlier this year, my colleague Leigh Siegfried and I present our Mission Dog strategy taking adopters step by step through transitioning a puppy mill dog into a home. You might want to check it out at www.missiondog.com

Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 8:58 am Post subject:

i have a puppy mill rescue, have had her for 6 months.
no matter what i try she will not play catch. she will not play with toys at all. i have tried putting food in the toys, peanut butter in kongs she won't go near. the other dog has tried to interest her in her favorite ball, dropping it at her feet then playing. (they will wrestle together, but when she brings out the ball play ends) she will carry very high value treats around so i dont' think its a jaw problem. she also has a terrible fear of bouncing balls (esp basketballs) . any ideas how i can get her interested in playing with toys?

Liz's Answer:

You didn't say the breed or approximate age of your rescue. That info might help explain, since there are breeds who just won't pick up anything in their mouths. They won't chase, won't pick up, won't do anything! The way you explained things, it doesn't sound like the dog is afraid of the objects -- does she shy away from them and try to avoid them, or does she stand with a ball right under her front feet and ignore it?

A tip for trying to interest her in a kong or other food-stuffed toy: if she is as uninterested in peanut butter, try turkey spam. If that doesn't work, cream cheese, canned tuna, and so on..as long as you try fillings that are healthy and not spicy or too full of sugar, try a few and I think you'll strike on at least one that will work. If she can start to at least interact with an enrichment toy, that will be a great start.

Her fear of bouncing balls -- can you arrange for none to bounce around her? At least for now, or until you can help her with that? There is a great article on desensitization and how it works here, that anyone with a puppy mill dog would find helpful:

http://www.kuvasz.info/kuvaszfear.htm

Posted Wed Dec 09, 2009 11:32 am:

she is a lab. or at least primarily a lab. about 4 or 5 years old. she has taken to chewing on empty water bottles when she can get them. but putting a cover on them and she's uninterested again.
as for any kind of ball or toy she will sniff at them but not shy away unless one is thrown then she immediatly cowers. if the toy is on the ground she will not move away but won't look at it. as for different foods doesn't really work she's not that food motivated i'll put her favorite treats inside a toy and nothing.

Liz's Answer:

Oh, it figures she would be a Lab! Well, a Lab who won't pick up a ball is definitely not normal. Knowing she's a Lab and based on the info about a few apprehensive behaviors (fear of strange objects, won't eat when it's associated with those objects, seemingly not too food-motivated (Labs are generally very food-motivated), and sounds sensitivity, plus her age (she has a fearful temperament and she is a middle-ages adult), You may want to explore the possibility of some anti-anxiety medication to help her learn to relax in her new environment. Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine has a wonderful remote behavior consulting service for those who live too far to visit an animal behaviorist. It's very affordable and can help with a wide range of behavior problems in puppy mill dogs, or any dog. Check out this link: http://www.tufts.edu/vet/behavior/clinical.shtml
Your own vet can also prescribe medication, but most vets are not behavior specialists and may not know the best way to diagnose and treat behavior problems.

Good luck!

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:21 pm Post subject:

Hi Elizabeth, thanks so much for being here!

Since they are used to defecating in a crate, I was wondering if you had any suggestions on house breaking a former mill dog?

Also, what would be considered a safe sleeping area and what is the best way to keep them from going to the bathroom there?

Liz's Answer:

Hi Kelly, Management is the first thing; by that I mean setting up the dog for success however you can. The same advice I'd give a young puppy adopter, but without the crate. I've been surprised by how many mill dogs can be carefully crate-trained, but carefully is the key. Before you can even consider a crate, you'll need to see how the dog does with being clean generally. I like using a standard exercise pen that can be found at any pet supply store or online. Get one tall enough that the dog can't jump out, and big enough inside to accommodate the dog, a crate with the door left open and a blanket inside, and enough space for the dog to go at least four of his own body lengths away from the crate (this will be the emergency potty break area). Toys and chewies should be placed inside the crate, and you can also feed him his meals in the crate. A water bottle can hang from the crate or the exercise pen.

The pen should be in an area where it's convenient and the dog can be near the family. A large kitchen is ideal, or a smaller kitchen can have a baby gate instead of the pen.

You can put potty pads, a dog grass mat sold as indoor potty areas, or even newspapers if you have nothing else, on the side furthest away from the crate.
When you're home and can't watch the dog, he'll have to stay in the pen. When you're not home, and overnight, ditto. When you are home and going about your business, you can have the dog drag a leash attached to his harness, and you can hold the leash or tie it to a chair leg so he will be close by. Once an hour, when you're home, take him out for a potty break, and be sure to reward with a few very small, yummy treats (cheese or hotdogs work great). Praise alone does not have the same effect as food, and you could delay success if you rely on praise and petting as a reward. If you see that the dog is "holding it" while in the pen, even after a few hours, you can start crate training and eliminate the pen as soon as the dog is crate-trained. I don't recommend crating a dog for more than 4-5 hours straight, except overnight if the dog is old enough or otherwise able to "hold it," and its exercise and social time has been met for the day. Lots of people (me included) put the crate in the bedroom so the dog will feel comforted by sleeping with its human family.

Hope that helps!

Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:36 pm Post subject:

I was wondering if you had suggestions on ways to get involved in helping fight puppy mills? I'm not in the position to adopt right now, but would like to do something to help these pets. Thank you!

Liz's Answer:

Great timing Debby -- an article just appeared in USA Today about your interest, and here is the link: http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/pets/2009-12-09-puppymills09_ST_N.htm

Depending on where you live, there might also be local rescue groups or shelters that are taking in dogs from raids all over the country. (The shelter I work with, Washington Animal Rescue League in DC, does this). You can use Petfinder to locate your local groups, then contact them and ask if they need help with caring for dogs, fund-raising, collecting toys, blankets, and treats for the dogs, promoting adoptions, public education -- there is bound to be a need for something! Volunteering is a great way to support the efforts of local shelters and rescue groups. Thanks!

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