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Originally Posted by addevo  Your comments about how the mill dogs have to rely on their survival instincts just to get food and water was a real eye opener for me. I've been saddened by the lack of love, socialization and medical care that they suffer, but I never thought about the day-to-day struggle for food and water that they must also go through just to survive.
We also have a former puppy mill mommy dog, and she definitely bears the physical and emotional scars of her previous life.
Though she has bonded well with my husband and me, and is a snuggle-bunny now, my husband likes to point out that our 7 lb little Tina is the only one of our animals that has ever drawn blood from either of us. They were walking past a construction site, and Tina snatched up a chicken bone she found on the ground. My husband tried1 to take it out of her mouth, and she chomped down on his thumb. He came home with his hand elevated, blood dripping down his arm. Whereas our other dogs will let us take things out of their mouths, we've learned our lesson with Miss Tina! I'd just assumed it was because she didn't realize Jim had her hand there, and that the bite was an accident. I never thought about the fact that she probably had to fight for her food before, and isn't about to let even US take anything away from her. |
That must have been a shocker for you. Lucky for her you didn't let it dissuade you. Others would have made that a deal breaker and returned her. I just pictured multiple dogs in one cage and nobody checking to see who gets their share of food and so it's every dog for itself. Makes you wonder how many of those initially rescued and evaluated have to be put down and not adoptable because of their food aggression.
I believe it was Megansmomma, in her excellent sticky in the training section pointed out the reason so many rescues are 'poop eaters' is because they can't get to the food and that is what they are reduced to...our rescue Bridget has been caught doing that. She is very timid at meal time and I have to feed her up and away from everybody else. If she is eating and one of the other dogs goes anywhere near her she is gone like a shot, so clearly she was one of the have nots....A more dominant dog, pregnant or not, seriously hungry...yeah, I could see fights to the death.
Isn't it wonderful to have one of these rescued babies and watch them 'unfold' for you, even if it's a slow process...congratulations on yours...