Last week, while my apartment was being renovated, I stayed with my friend and fellow puppy-raiser. Let me tell you, it is quite the production to pack up two dogs and a cat for a week-long visit, and not an experience I care to repeat frequently. My friend was as accomodating as possible, considering the dog drama she deals with on a regular basis.
Her canines include:
1 Belgian Shepherd, Summer, pet - dog aggressive
1 Smooth Collie, Wizard, ADS foster - friendly
1 Labrador, Maggie, Lab Rescue foster - dog aggressive
Since she introduced the Lab Rescue foster three months ago, her life has been one of baby gates, crates, and aborted attacks between Summer and the Maggie. Wizard has learned enough to be able to float between the two, however this past week he joined my pack on the upper floor of the house. Maggie stays in the living room or the car, and Summer now lives permanently in the kitchen. My pack lived on the second floor, so to take them out for a pee, we first had to move Maggie to the car, or through another baby gate into the basement. The animosity between Summer and Maggie is so extreme that a crate has to be placed in front of the gate to ensure there is zero contact between them.
After several days in this house, I was moving Maggie from the basement to the living room, after having put Willow, Wizard and Ace in the car. The crate was moved further back than was normal, but I figured Maggie knew the routine enough by now that if I opened the gate she would move into her regular space. Boy was I wrong. As soon as I opened the gate, Maggie dashed in the other direction, towards Summer. The gate sprang open, and I had to try to pull Maggie off Summer before she could do serious injury. Luckily I was able to grab her collar and pull her away before any damage could be done.
Now, Maggie is a very sweet dog, one on one. She is fun-loving and affectionate, and very food motivated so in principle she should be easy to train. However, she has been in and out of various foster homes for the past year. At one point she was adopted out, but someone stepped on her and broke her back leg, so she was taken back by the rescue. Her original owner bought her at a pet store, and surrendered her to the rescue becasue he didn't realize she would get so big. Maggie has been through about seven homes now, most in the past year. See her story here: http://www.lab-rescue.ca/Adopt_Me.html
I cannot imagine having to live my life constantly jumping over baby gates, crates, and the fear the one dog could injure another. I have heard of pit bull rescues operating like this, and I have a newfound respect for this type of dedication. I have to wonder about the quality of life for dogs who live in such stressful environments - yes they are better than in a kennel, or tied up in a backyard, but when the patience of both dogs and humans is shorter, how much can you really accomplish?
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