This was a from a newcomer to a breed list I am a member of.  It illustrates beautifully why those of us who are deeply involced with breeding and showing get so hot under the collar about irresponsible and purely commercial breeding.

I have all the parties permissions to use their mails.

New member wrote:

"I am brand new to this list and am both happy and sad to be writing this email.
We have a new family member! Completely unexpected, but we are excited about him. Darwin is a 12 wk old Norwegian Elkhound. He was rescued from a client family of ours, and has had NO socialization!
His story: OH is a therapist who does in-home work with his clients.  Yesterday he was in someone's home to do a domestic violence assessment, and they wanted him to take this puppy, which they got last week, because it was peeing everywhere! Duh! Hubby said he was tempted, but passed it up...

I've been itching for a big dog (we have a 9mo old Italian Greyhound, Sadie, and 7 cats) So hmmm....a rescue? Twist my arm!!! All of our animals except Sadie were rescues. (not in the organized sense, just rescued by me!I'm a sucker and a softee) I convinced hubby that HE needed his own dog, and we called the family back.

ell, after seeing him the deal was sealed, not just because he was an adorable puff ball but because he is petrified of humans!!!  His "breeder" (who was not this family) does not socialize his pups at all! For the first 11 weeks of their lives they had no human interaction but someone coming out to dump food in their bowls. He said that he leaves the socializing for the new owner to do because "they are one man dogs!" I mean come on, there is a difference between socializing them and strong bonding!

Oh by the way, he is AKC registered. I'm sure his bloodlines are questionable, but oh well...The family bought him for $150 He is now Sageon's Evolution in Action (for obvious reasons!) Call name: Darwin This is day two with pup: When handled he totally freezes and goes almost catatonic, it is so sad. He only shows personality with Sadie.

We are feeding him out of hand, and tonight will try having him sleep with us. When you put him on the couch wrapped up in a blanket, he will stay there for hours...not even moving his head! The last two nights we did not sleep with him, and he was completely silent. Not like any puppy I have ever had the pleasure of being kept up all night by!! ;)

Rescue people: what do you do with the really scared ones? I am very oncerned about him because he is so young. I don't want this fear to be permanent.....
Suggestions please!!!"

One of the Rescue workers on the list replied with this interesting mail:

"I've been reading all of the posts from today and the list has quite a dialogue going! Some of the discussion is certainly pertinent for all pups, but I wanted to share some of the information that Pam  McNamara and I learned at a conference we attended. It was offered by a NJ group that is fighting puppy
mills in our region, and it concentrated on the behavioral problems exhibited by dogs bred in a puppy mill, and/or sold in a Petshop. Our experience with little Thor (from a good breeder), compared to our past puppymill fosters, has taught us that what our specialist breeders view as a given, rescuers view as  gift. John and I just watch him in fascination, he's so "easy" compared to some
of the headcases we've cared for in the past.

The presenter was a trainer in the Freehold, NJ area, who gives generously
of his time to a local shelter, assisting in evaluation and training. He also holds a Tuesday evening class that is open to any rescued dog or one in foster, free of charge. He's committed to giving rescued dogs every chance to make it. I was thinking over some of the things he spoke about in relation to Kristi's Darwin.

     The first thing that one has to consider is the quality of the breeding stock. None of the dogs used for breeding has undergone any genetic testing. It's unlikely that they even had basic veterinary care. Their nutrition is poor, they receive no regular exercise, and there is some evidence that these dogs are so stressed that they have elevated stress hormone levels, which can create problems in their young. The chemical changes in the mother can certainly have implications for the developing puppy fetus. That's for starters. They have no parenting skills, and in fact their pups are taken from them before they can even begin some of the teaching we take for granted. There is no Mamma dog training for bite inhibition, which is a real problem in these dogs. Excessive mouthing behavior is usually one of the reasons for early surrender. They bark excessively because their needs aren't met, and no one ever corrects the behavior. They're never taught to keep their den clean, and in fact are left in their own waste to the degree that they become desensitized to the smell, which makes housebreaking extremely difficult. Because they lack the early cuddling and socialization that we take for granted, and are in noisy brightly lit petshops with idiots banging on the glass, especially during the fear imprinting age, they develop "doggy ADD", and attachment disorders.

John and I have seen it in a couple of the younger fosters we've had, the ones that were bought from a petshop, dumped in the yard, and then shuffled off to rescue when the novelty wore off.  These pups don't even know how to respond to people. Our vet has compared them to children housed in orphanages, that
languish in cribs. They didn't respond to treats for training and there was one that I felt that I couldn't be sure even knew her name. They don't understand pack behavior because they've never been part of a pack, separated from their
litter and placed in individual cages at very young ages, so that they're more attractive to the buying public.

  All of these issues create some real training dilemmas for the rescuing
owners. Bonding, and creating a relationship with the dog has to be the first step to any training program. Finding a good trainer, one who uses flexible training methods customized to each dog is the key to success, and the most important gift you can give a rescued puppy is patience. Food issues, housebreaking and teaching bite inhibition can take a long time to accomplish. Each dog has to be allowed to set it's own individual timetable, and can't really be compared to other dogs because one really doesn't know what it's experience has been up to that point."

A reply showing that weith dedication somethings can be overcome:

"I have been reading all of the emails and while all of this early
socialization IS very important, even crucial, I am afraid you might be
feeling a little overwhelmed by now  and worried about your boy and his
future. I am going  to tell you of a 14 week old rescue our group placed. He
was found wandering (dumped) in a field and who knows for how long. He was
very skinny and obviously from poor breeding. No one knows what kind of
background he had but it couldnt have been good.
His adoptive owner today says he is the smartest, and best behaved of her 7
rescue dogs.  He not only stayed by her side while she had a long recovery
from a broken back but later alarmed the family when he sensed a
fire...lighting had struck a tree that fell in the neighbors yard and
started a fire. He is a hero, her best boy and greatest friend.
So follow the advice, to bond with your boy, and love him. Be patient and
slowly begin the socialization he needs at his speed. Puppies are very
resilient and I have great faith that he will come around and become a great
pet.
After all, look at all of your mentors! WE have a whole world of advice.
Listen to it all, take in what feels right, follow your heart and he will be
just fine."

Absolutely agree with you Our GSD rescue gets lots of poorly bred unsocialized dogs(Well GSDs are smart so they don't need training etc is the usual excuse)She & her staff have years of experience with GSDs & spend time & effort to pull these dogs around. It breaks my heart everytime the phone rings with a I want rid of my dog call, I always ask about the breeder & the usual reply is it was a one off litter, I got the dog secondhand, I forgot where I got it from or the breeder has moved, none of course have papers

Makes me want to spit feathers I don't know how our rescue lady manages

:(  :(  :(

It's so very sad. Sometimes I think dogs would be better off if we'd never domesticated them and left them alone to survive in packs. How can humans be so inhumane, putting money before welfare. I'll never understand animal cruelty

Great to know that some good souls are able to take on these poor mites and give them all the care they deserve - horrible to realise that any dog has to suffer such a start in life :(

Going to give all of mine a special hug.

Teri 

A friend of mine has a cross bred border collie (farm) who is just like these dogs.  The farmer couldn't be bothered with the pups and only threw them food thru the door of a shed where they were kept.  When my friend saw them they just cowered in the back of the shed blinking at the light :( :( :(  2 years on and the bitch is starting to be able to stay in the same room as visitors as long as they don't look at her directly.  This farmer has done so much damage its unbelieveable :(

In one way it is sad that these puppies do recover.  If they did not then the "trade" in them would end very quickly.

Sadly here is the tale of one who didn't recover :(

Marlene Oliver is an experinced breeeder owner.

"A year ago October, I removed from the breeder a 1-1/2yo Elkhound that was born, raised, & lived in the barn, that never saw the light of day,and whose only human contact was at meal time.  For 6-months I worked at rehab'ing this girl - she was terrified of everything and she wasn't coming around.

After 6-months I had a long hard talk with my vet (who had given 100% of her time in this rehab case); she shared a thought that did bring me comfort when making the decision to put Touie to sleep.  She said, "Think of the most scared that you have ever been in your life and imagine living it 24/7.

That is the fear that Touie is living every day and all day long."

Touie was a time bomb waiting to explode; I opted to put her down *before* she injured anyone.  This was the hardest decision I'd ever faced when putting a dog down.  It was the first time I put a young and healthy-in-body dog down - so sad that she didn't have a healthy and stable mind to go with the body.  Touie is at peace.  Her days at the Rainbow Bridge are free of fear and filled with trust - factors that she never before knew."

I think this latter situation is sadly more common, the dog ends up being put to sleep, or leads a miserable frightened life with someone who is willing to cope.  I do wonder sometimes whether never putting a healthy dog down is actially in the best interest of the dog. :(

I agree with you Brainless. Mental ill-health is as debilitating as physical ill-health, and to compel an animal to live a life of continual terror cannot be in its best interests. Not an easy decision to make though.