The Orphanage (Owner #3)
- BuddysDream
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 6
Part 5 - Buddy's Time in the Orphanage
After Buddy almost 3 months with Owner #2, they decided they were not equipped to handle him anymore due to his aggressive behavior so they relinquished him to the Orphanage, who is considered to be Owner #3 due to the amount of time Buddy had to spend there.
At the time Owner #2 relinquished Buddy he was undergoing heartworm treatment. The combination of Buddy being so afraid of people and the extreme pain he was in as the result of his heartworm treatment made this transition to, and time in, the Orphanage very difficult for him. The best environment for Buddy to recover from his heartworm infestation would have been a quiet and comfortable home, not the chaotic environment of an orphanage. The fact that Buddy was so afraid of people and other dogs made this transition all the more difficult for him. This environment was not conducive to his recovery, medically or mentally.
From my discussions with several of the people at the orphanage I was able to learn that Buddy was very stressed and anxious throughout his time there. I was told Buddy:
· was anxiously pacing back and forth in his kennel for the majority of each day
· was acting fearful of people
· was reacting aggressively at times
· was guarding his toys
· had gone after several workers there resulting in many being afraid to handle him. I was also told that staffing schedules were at times difficult because they always had to make sure there was someone on the schedule who was willing and able to handle Buddy. There were a limited number of people who were able to fill that need.
I did see that Buddy was willing to walk up to a few of the staff there indicating that he had become comfortable enough with some of them to allow them to carefully touch and interact with him to a certain degree, and it was only those people who were willing to handle Buddy. This most likely was due to these individuals understanding that patience with Buddy, and interacting with him only at a pace Buddy was comfortable with, and not pushing him past his comfort level, was the way to earn his trust. However,
in the chaotic environment of the orphanage, there is only so much progress anyone could make with him there
due to the many stressors present. There were other people at the orphanage that I witnessed were not at all comfortable handling Buddy.
While the orphanage did the best they could, there is only so much they could do for Buddy in that environment. And even if the environment was not chaotic, with all the other dogs in their care they simply do not have the Time to dedicate to Buddy, or dogs like him, to be able to give him the care he needed. Additionally,
there are not many people who are actually experienced with handling or rehabilitating a dog that has progressed to the level of behavior issues Buddy had,
and some (not all) of the techniques that were being used on Buddy at the orphanage were actually causing him to become increasingly more fearful of people and therefore causing his behavior to get worse. This was not the intent of those involved, everyone involved really did mean well, but unfortunately, there is too much bad training and rehab information out there and sometimes those involved in animal care learn techniques from these unqualified sources.
In rehabilitation,
the most common mistake people make when working with a dog like Buddy is that they try to accomplish too much too fast,
which often results in setbacks that take far longer to recover from than if you simply worked at a very slow pace to begin with.
Buddy lived at the orphanage for a total of 5 months, with a short break at the 3½ month mark when he was briefly adopted. This was 5 months of severe stress that only caused Buddy’s anxiety to escalate and his behavior issues to get worse as a result.
Read Part 6 - Buddy's Brief stay with Owner #4
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A Valuable Resource
If you are interested in learning more about dog behavior, here is an excellent book written by the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists. I highly recommend everyone who has a dog, or is thinking about getting a dog, read this book. You will be glad you did.
Note and disclaimer: All information in the blog posts on this site is my opinion based on my own experience rehabilitating an aggressive dog. I am not a professional behaviorist or otherwise involved in the Veterinary profession. If you are dealing with an aggressive dog, I recommend you seek the advice of a Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist.
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