Steps To Take In Caring For Your Puppy Mill Rescue Dog

When you adopt a dog that was previously rescued from a puppy mill, you likely already know that they will have some odd issues that most dogs who have not been through such traumatic situations would not have to deal with. Before you panic and think that you cannot handle your puppy mill rescue dog's issues, both behavioral and health-wise, get to know some of the steps that you can take to provide the best possible care to your puppy mill rescue dog. You will find that your newly adopted dog is soon a healthy and happy addition to your family.

Take Them For A Dog Dental Cleaning

Puppy mill rescue dogs will not have received proper veterinary care for the vast majority of their lives. The rescue shelter from which you adopt them will likely have taken care of their emergent health issues, but some of the less urgent care will fall on you once you bring them home.

Your dog may have never had their teeth brushed or cleaned in all of their life as their sole purpose at a puppy mill would have been to reproduce and make more puppies to sell. As such, they may not be comfortable initially with you trying to put your hands in their mouth to brush their teeth. And, even if they are okay with that, a simple brushing at home may not help with the potential damage they have already suffered to their oral health.

To ensure that your new dog's teeth are as healthy as possible, you should take them to your veterinarian for a dog dental cleaning. At the vet's office, your dog will get an awake oral exam (if they are cooperative) and then, they will be put under anesthesia. Once they are under anesthesia, your veterinarian can take x-rays and thoroughly clean your dog's teeth as well as remove any rotted teeth or perform other restorative procedures as needed.

Be Prepared for a Lot of Training

Your puppy mill rescue dog has likely known almost no time in their life where they have not been confined to a cage. Because of this, it is highly unlikely that they are house-trained or even know how to properly interact with other dogs or people. Some puppy mill rescues have never even set foot on grass before.

So, be prepared for a great deal of transitioning and training with your new puppy mill rescue dog. You may want to hire a private dog trainer rather than take your new dog to training classes as the training class may be overwhelming for them. They will be too old for a puppy kindergarten class, but will need the basic level of training provided in such courses.

Plus, they will need to have some of their odd behaviors trained out of them. Some puppy mill rescue dogs will eat their own feces or eat small stones and rocks because they were previously starving and will eat anything that resembles food, for example. Others may be extremely skittish and spend a great deal of time hiding or cowering. All of these behaviors can be improved through patient and loving training.

Now that you have a few ideas on how to get started caring for your puppy mill rescue dog, you can get started in the process and be sure that your new dog has the best possible life moving forward.

To learn more, contact a company like Brian E Hall

Share