This is Joie. She is a Lakeland Terrier who started training Monday.
About two weeks ago I got an e mail from a rescue group asking for help. I replied with our standard offer. We will give a discount to rescue dogs from recognized organizations for dog’s that come in within thirty days of adoption. I also added that we will donate a free training package to any rescue Lakeland Terrier as part of our commitment to our breed.
Now Lakeland’s are rare so I was surprised to learn they had a mill rescue Lakeland. She got adopted this weekend and Jan called me on Saturday. Joie came in yesterday even though Jan had to come down from the Denver area.
Jan has a sister who lives here in Colorado Springs. Her sister, Debbie has shown Lakelands so Jan was familiar with the breed.
These rescue dogs are breeding dogs that are no longer used and are useless to the puppy mill. If they are not rescued they are put down.
The conditions for most of these puppy mill breeding dogs are horrid. Most are confined to a small cage or crate almost their entire lives. As a result they have never been socialized to people or dogs.
Usually working with this kind of a dog is a long and drawn out process. Some dogs come in to the center three or four times where all we do is let them get comfortable. There is no training, just desensitization to the environment. They not only have trouble making decisions, some of them literally do not know how to be dogs. So it can be months before we start. And sadly not all of them will make much progress.
So when Joie came in I was amazed at how confident she was. It was pretty close to a typical lesson I routinely give to dogs that have normal backgrounds. Joie and her new mom did well.
I think the reason she was so trainable so soon was one of the attributes of this breed. When they worked in England, they sometimes would get trapped and would have to wait days to be rescued. There are even stories of owners having to use explosives to get to them. To be able to lie in the cold and the dark is bred into them.
She will be back in a couple of weeks for her next lesson. She is a Lakeland, and they are the most challenging dog to train. So I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. After all she is still in the “honeymoon” phase of her relationship with her owner.
But whatever happens I’m pretty sure this dog will make it.
Doug
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