How My Former Puppy Mill Dog Changed All of My Pet Health Assumptions

How My Former Puppy Mill Dog Changed All of My Pet Health Assumptions

I’m the first to admit that I tend to go a little overboard for my pet’s care. After all, as a life-long animal advocate, I’ve seen too much inhumanity, too much pain, and too much suffering put on these animals not to want to reverse that in my own home. I’ve also seen how amazing, resilient, and inspiring they can be. Even for me though, some treatments can seem too extreme for some pets. When I’m faced with a serious medical decision, it can be difficult and stressful to decide what’s right. 

Recently, I found myself in just such a situation with my dog, Fiona. I hope that my story might help you in the future.

Meet Fiona, the former puppy mill breeder

Meet Fiona, perhaps the worst candidate for treatment (or so I thought). My little Fiona is an 11-year-old former puppy mill breeder who spent the first 7 years of her life in a cage, pumping out litters of (badly) purebred Italian Greyhounds. While her puppies were probably shipped to families across the country, she spent 7 years with little-to-no human interaction, affection, or medical care. By the time she got to rescue she was so emotionally stunted that — despite being smaller, younger, and healthier than many other adoptable dogs in NYC — she spent two years in foster care. She kept getting adopted and returned because she was so afraid to live like a normal dog.

I met Fiona shortly after her second anniversary with K9Kastle, a great rescue group I volunteered with at the time. I took Fi on as a foster to help with her socialization. I hoped I could work to get her to a place where she could bond with other people. Eventually, Fi and I got her there but also ended up falling undeniably in love on the way. So I “failed” as a foster mom and became Fi’s permanent “mom” instead.

Fiona’s fear of treatment

Two years later, Fi’s gone from the terrified pup who would duck for cover anytime someone moved, to approaching strangers on the street. (Thank you, bacon treats!!!) As she always did, she adores cuddles and chin scratches, but now seeks them out from people she doesn’t know. She’s even started doing a little post-poop dance and running in the mornings.

Fiona’s not without her scars. Recurrent urinary issues and frequent stress-related colitis are two of the biggies. It took over a year to find a secondary caretaker who she’d be comfortable with when I traveled to keep her from developing heartbreakingly bloody stools from the stress. She’s never learned to play but has found solace in stuffed kongs and rawhide chews.

Medicating Fiona can set her off, so her veterinarians have often opted for the “wait and watch” approach when anything new comes up. It’s not that they don’t want to treat her; it’s that treatment has often made the problem worse.  

So Fiona didn’t seem (to me) like the kind of pup who would be a good candidate for chemo. When we discovered a rare form of mast cell tumor in her gum I assumed treating it would mean destroying any quality of life she had left – something I wasn’t willing to do.

My decision to treat Fiona

I’d never gone through chemo with my dogs or cats before. I’d known others who had tried it, to varying results. However, I secretly always assumed that chemo would be a little extreme, even for me and especially for a dog like Fi. And, lucky or not, any time I’d battled the big “C” with pets before, chemo wasn’t a good option.

But then Fi’s diagnosis came back and, yet again, she started teaching me to throw all of my assumptions to the wind.

• The cancer was inoperable, but slow-growing
• A chemical released by the tumor was making her nauseated
• Chemo provided a small chance, but a bigger one than I’d assumed
• She had to be medicated for nausea and tumor side effects either way

I was given a GREAT referral to an excellent oncologist and had a quick crash course in mast cell tumors and chemo for dogs. The conversation was eye-opening and soon, Fiona started chemo.

Fiona’s amazing reaction has changed all of my assumptions

Fiona’s now two weeks in and, amazingly, doing better than she has in months. Her poop dance is back. She begs me and my partner and for pets. She comes running down the hall, ears perked, at “wanna go for a walk?” She hasn’t started running away from me when it’s time for her meds, yet.

We won’t know for a while whether the chemo’s actually doing anything, but for now, I’m just thankful to have hope and yet another lesson from my “little old lady.”
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PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ISSUES IN DOGS RESCUED FROM PUPPY MILLS

In general, commercial breeding establishments (CBEs) are operated like agricultural enterprises in which the dogs are regarded as livestock. Conditions in CBEs vary from modern, clean, and well-kept to squalid, noxious, and gravely detrimental to health. Common to virtually all CBEs are the following: a large number of dogs, maximal efficiency of space by housing dogs in or near the minimum space permitted by law, the breeding dogs spending their entire breeding lives—in most cases, years—in their cages or runs, group and solitary housing, dogs rarely if ever permitted out of their primary enclosures for exercise or play, no toys or enrichment, minimal to no positive human interaction or companionship, and inadequate health care. Many of the dogs in these facilities vocalize loudly and jump up at the front of their enclosures whenever a human walks by— behavior consistent with that reported in kenneled dogs and presumed to be an effort to decrease human-animal distance and facilitate interaction. Commonly reported conditions present in many but not all CBEs include cage flooring made of wire spaced too widely for dogs to walk on comfortably, accumulation of feces, strong ammonia odor, no windows, poor ventilation, inadequate protection from inclement weather and temperature extremes, contaminated water, and spoiled food, serious untreated medical conditions (particularly, advanced dental disease), collars and chains growing into dogs’ necks, extensive matting of hair, dogs showing compulsive behaviors, starvation, and deceased adult dogs and puppies. Some CBE operators debark their own dogs, using crude instruments or hardware inserted in the dogs’ throats to cause trauma to the vocal cords.

My definition of a puppy mill is Any breeding operation in which the emotional and physical needs of the dogs and puppies are not adequately met to ensure all the animals a reasonably decent quality of life.

Our study: Mental health of dogs formerly used as “breeding stock” in commercial breeding establishments. Applied Animal Behavior Science, 135:96–94, 2011

Behavioral evaluations of the dogs were obtained from current owners/fosterers using the C-BARQ questionnaire, which rates either the intensity or frequency of the dog’s behaviors. A total of 1,169 former puppy mill dogs were included in the study. The dogs had been living in their adoptive homes for an average of 2 years when the C-BARQ was completed.

When compared with a control group of pet dogs, former puppy mill breeding dogs were reported as showing significantly higher rates of health problems (23.5% versus 16.6%). With respect to behavior, puppy mill dogs displayed significantly higher rates of fear (both social and nonsocial), house-soiling, and compulsive staring; and significantly lower rates of aggression (towards strangers and other dogs), trainability, chasing small animals, excitability, and energy (Figure 1).

Five questions in the C-BARQ permit the participant to freely describe their dog’s behavior relative to the behavioral category of the question (e.g., general behavior/temperament problems; Situations where the dog is sometimes aggressive, is fearful, or anxious, and sometimes becomes over-excited; and Miscellaneous behaviors). Regularly encountered language describing the fear and fear-related behaviors included (some dogs are represented in more than one category): skittish (44); startles easily (10); always ‘on alert,’ ‘on edge,’ ‘on guard,’ and ‘hyper-alert’ (5); overly reactive, jumpy, or easily unnerved, frightened, scared, spooked, or panicked (27); frightened by sudden or quick movements or sounds (33); frightened of everything or almost everything (24), and frightened all the time under any circumstances (12).

Figure 1.

Factors with >30% difference between former puppy mill breeding dogs and pet dogs.

Several behavioral descriptions could be categorized as related to altered cognitive function. These included one specific question concerning Stares intently at nothing visible (increased 53.2% over the control group) as well as written-in comments describing signs (Table 1).

Compulsive behavior—

defined as “a sequence of movements usually derived from normal maintenance behaviors (grooming, eating, walking) that are performed out of context in a repetitive, exaggerated, ritualistic, and sustained manner—was frequently found in former puppy mill dogs. Most common compulsive behaviors include spinning; tail-chasing; self-mutilation; hallucinating (“fly-biting”); circling; fence running; pica; pacing; vocalizing and shadow/light chasing.” Pacing and circling were the two most frequently reported repetitive behaviors; 61 dogs showed one or both of these behaviors. Additional signs reported as “bizarre, strange, or repetitive behavior or behaviors” are presented in Table 2.

The psychological state that most obviously distinguishes former puppy mill breeding dogs from typical pet dogs is fear. As determined by their scores on most of the C-BARQ fear levels (fear of strangers, fear of stairs, nonsocial fears, and touch sensitivity), as well as written-in comments from their adopters, many of these dogs appear to experience regular and often persistent fear or anxiety, even after years in their adoptive households.

The abnormal behaviors observed in the former puppy mill breeding dogs in this study have multiple potential causes. However, the two explanations most consistent with the findings are stress-induced psychopathology and inadequate early socialization, and/or lack of exposure to environmental stimuli normally found in the lives of typical pet dogs. Stress-induced psychopathology can be caused by many different types of a stressful experiences, many of which have been identified in dog kennel situations. Confinement, lack of enrichment, lack of play, inability to escape from cage-mates, lack of positive human social interaction, excessive noise, noxious smells (e.g., ammonia odor from urine), temperature extremes, wire cage flooring, inadequate health care—all can be sources of psychological distress, suffering, and trauma. Inadequate socialization during the first few months of a puppy’s life leaves the social brain connections improperly configured for healthy and positive social relationships throughout the dog’s life. With rare exceptions, puppy mill breeding dogs are themselves conceived, born, and raised in puppy mills and live in throughout their sensitive periods for socialization. As a group, the puppy mill dogs in our study exhibit a variety of abnormal behaviors consistent with the effects of poor socialization and stimulus deprivation in early life. Other potential causes of the psychobehavioral differences in the former breeding dogs include maternal (prenatal) stress, early life trauma, and genetics.

Conclusion:

By demonstrating that dogs maintained in puppy mills were reported to have developed long-term fears and phobias, compulsive behaviors such as circling and pacing, possible learning deficits, and are often unable to cope fully with normal existence, this study provides the first scientific evidence that dogs confined in puppy mills for breeding purposes demonstrate impaired mental health and, as a result, diminished welfare.

Table 1.

Selected Examples of Written-in Descriptions of Altered Cognitive Function

• Stares intently at nothing visible (from specific item in the questionnaire)
• Always seems like she is in another world (clueless to her environment)
• Will put his front feet on the wall at stare at the wall
• Slow to learn
• Attention span of a flea
• Not aggressive - not friendly - just there
• If he were human he would be autistic
• Can’t focus
• At times she seems to regress into unknown fears and won’t come to me or even runs away
• She acts like she is autistic - no eye contact, scratches at the wall
• She has doggy dementia - gets disoriented
• She seldom shows any emotions at all - she is very stoic
• She has unprovoked and unexplained temper tantrums
• Will pawscratch at furniture when there’s nothing there
• Mild dementia/confusion/barks for no reason
• Best described by “lights on nobody home” - sort of autistic
• Dementia started recently
• Autistic-like, doesn’t show or accept affection

Table 2.

Selected Examples of Written-in Descriptions of “Other Bizarre, Strange, or Repetitive Behavior or Behaviors”

• Creates an imaginary line that he won’t cross
• Goes in and out the doggie door repetitively
• Sits on butt going around in circle snapping air
• Obsessively runs back and forth in yard until worn out
• Jumps and rolls on the floor and slams body on floor
• Moves forelegs in a stepping position while standing in the same spot
• Sometimes rips her own hair out
• Circling, has also thrown his body into walls
• Her toys must be in order, she will count them and pace if one is gone
• Self-mutilates
• Licks the air
• Licks other dogs repetitively
• Often sucks on cotton fabrics, towels, blankets at nighttime
• Really likes to hold onto my hand and lick

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ISSUES IN ANIMALS RESCUED FROM HOARDING SITUATIONS

Research and publications on animal hoarding have become more numerous in recent years, augmented by the recent television programs exposing the ugly world of hoarding to mass audiences. Animal hoarding differs drastically, however, from all other hoardings in one critical respect: the object of the hoarding can suffer. There is no concern for the welfare of hoarded magazines or old clothes. But there is such concern for the animals’ welfare. And yet, the emphasis in reports of hoarding continues to be on the human factors—the psychological, law enforcement, and penal issues, as well as the proposed warning signs for recognizing hoarders. The effects on the animals have received attention by some writers, but all of the information we have thus far has been anecdotal; no studies have been conducted. Arluke and Killeen, in their book Inside Animal Hoarding, have written that some media accounts make no mention of the animals’ poor health or suffering while other articles appear to de-emphasize the severity of animal neglect by providing few details about the animal suffering. The accounts may state how some of the animals are afflicted by respiratory diseases, eye infections, ear mites, fleas, and malnutrition, it only rarely did the reporter elaborate on or emphasize these conditions. The media’s focus is not on the animal suffering, but rather on the disgusting or horrifying state of hoarders’ homes.

Treatment and rehabilitation of animals recovered from hoarding situations is currently carried out in a way no different than for other animals with similar signs, whether those signs reflect physical or psychological problems. The critical question that remains to be answered is this: Does it matter whether the animal needing treatment came from a hoarding situation? For example, should the therapeutic plan differ between a human-fearful dog from a hoarding situation and a human-fearful dog with no history of hoarding?

Psychological Harm to the Animals

In humans, it is well-established that among a group of individuals all experiencing the same intensely stressful incident there will be a wide range of responses, from devastation to very little or no adverse effects. The same is seen in animals forced to endure hoarding situations. After the rescue, some of the animals interact with people and behave as if nothing unpleasant ever happened, while others show severe and persistent adverse physical and/or psychological effects of their ordeal. The varying degree of resiliency in stressful situations shows remarkably similar patterns between human and nonhuman animals.

The psychological harm for hoarded animals differs substantially from the physical harm in that a large portion of the psychological harm experienced by the animals occurs after they are removed from the hoarding situation. The events—including what the animal receives and doesn’t receive while in the hoarding environment—will contribute to the animal’s behavior and well-being once that animal enters the “normal” world, where humans provide loving care for pet animals. The animal’s adjustment to a “normal” world is highly variable among individuals, and depends on many factors including the animal’s temperament and personality, the length of time and severity of conditions in the hoarding environment, and whether or not the animal lived in the “normal” world before entering the hoarding environment (e.g., whether the animal was a one-time pet versus having been born and matured in the hoarding environment).

Psychological Harm While in the Hoarding Environment

The psychological harm while in the hoarding environment occurs in the form of emotional suffering (often referred to as “stress”) the animal is forced to endure and attempt to cope with. Accordingly, the conditions conducive to emotional suffering are the psychological stressors the animals are exposed to. Another aspect of harm from stressors involves the well-established interplay between the psychological and physical factors under stressful conditions. Psychological stressors, such as overcrowding stress, contribute to physical disease states through immunosuppression and impaired healing from disease and injury, which increase susceptibility to diseases and impedes recovery. Hence, the stress of, for example, crowding can be the cause of two types of harm: emotional suffering (the experience of stress) and the secondary adverse effects on physical health.

Emotional distress can result from the overcrowding, being picked on or intimidated by stronger individuals, and the inability to avoid or escape conflict with other animals who are a threat. A large body of research in animals has demonstrated that social defeat—being bested by a dominant conspecific in an agonistic encounter—predisposes to emotional states of suffering such as learned helplessness, anxiety, and depression. As noted on the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC) website, additional causes of distress include confinement for excessive periods or in extremely restricted space (e.g., small kennels or crates), inability to maintain normal postural adjustment (stretch out fully, stand upright without any body part touching walls or ceilings), uncomfortable surroundings (e.g., due to filth, dampness, heat, cold, hardness), extreme boredom, and unnatural light cycles (excessive darkness or constant light). Arluke and Killeen report that dogs in hoarding situations may demonstrate a neediness for attention from humans, suggesting that the denial of adequate human contact can for some dogs cause suffering after rescue (due to deficient socialization and subsequent fear of humans, discussed below) or for other dogs during the hoarding situation, through unmet needs for human social interaction. The differences between these two groups of dogs may, of course, be at least partially explainable by the dog’s socialization history, particularly whether or not the dog was formerly someone’s pet.

The distress experienced by the animals from exposure to these stressors is undoubtedly associated with particular behavioral signs; however, we lack an understanding of these signs because of the understandable fact that no studies have been done of the behavior of hoarded animals while still in the hoarding environment. Destroying furniture could be stress-induced destructive behavior in a hoarded dog, but it could also be the desperate effort of a starving dog to consume something. Cats that urinate outside the litter box may be doing so because of anxiety, but the behavior could also be because of the extremely noxious ammonia odor in the box. Conspecific fighting among dogs could be due to crowding stress or from competition over extremely scarce food resources. Stress-induced allogrooming could be the cause of alopecia in cats, but the cause could instead be any of the common skin disorders in hoarding situations, such as fleas, mites, or dermatophytosis.

Psychological Harm After Removal From the Hoarding Environment

The psychological harm that animals experience after removal from the hoarding environment has two causes: 1) the animal is unfamiliar with (i.e., not adapted to) the stimuli and events encountered “on the outside,” or in the “normal” pet animal environment, and 2) behavior that the animal performed naturally in the hoarding environment may be considered undesirable by human caregivers in the “normal” pet animal environment. Regarding point 1, the animal experiences psychological harm/suffering as long as the stimuli and events continue to be perceived by the animal as threatening, which may or may not diminish over time in the new environment. Regarding point 2, psychological harm will occur if the animal is resented, socially ostracized, or punished for performing the undesired behavior, which may or may not persist over time depending on the animal’s ability to change his/her behavior and on the human caregivers level of acceptance of any persistent undesired behavior.

One of the most important factors of the hoarding environment that contributes to post-rescue harm is the inadequate socialization with humans. Rescued hoarded animals frequently demonstrate fearful responses to humans, often resulting in even the gentlest handling causing the animal severe fear and stress. The animal may react with withdrawal, attempts to escape, or by freezing and “shutting down,” or they may respond in a manic frenzy of aggressive behavior toward any human in close proximity. These extreme fear reactions, particularly those involving aggression, greatly impair the animal’s chances of being adopted and also places the animal at a higher risk of euthanasia.

Animals in hoarding situations are not trained in any way, including housetraining for the dogs. Accordingly, many hoarded dogs are often not housetrained when they are adopted. As noted by the New York State Humane Association, since these animals are not familiar with the routine concept of cleanliness, routine methods used for housebreaking may not be successful. Lack of training also means that many dogs have never learned to walk on a leash and therefore cannot be walked on a leash, at least when they adopted. It has also been noted that if one of these dogs escapes they may be extremely difficult to ever recapture, thus particular care must be taken to prevent escapes from the house, yard, or while on any kind of exercise outing.

New York State Humane Association has also reported that because the rescued dogs have often been deprived of food and water for long periods of time, many of these animals have eating disorders. Often they will gulp their food and then vomit, or refuse to eat in front of anyone.

Descriptions from Owners of Dogs in Our Hoarding Study

In the pilot study group (n=16), “Behavioral, emotional, or psychological problems” were reported in 87.5% of dogs. Specific descriptions included:

• Extremely frightened of everything and everyone. Frightened to eat, even if by herself. Feral by all accounts.
• He was so fearful that he would fall over and scream at anything different in his environment. Painfully shy, eventually became aggressive with fear.
• Dolly does not like to be left alone—has to live with another dog. Likes to jump on me when she sees a cat. In general, likes to jump on me at other times. She is very attached to me. When I take her to PetsMart for a bath and brush she hates it when I leave her but is happy to see me when I come back. I have to be near her when she is eating her breakfast and dinner.
• No socialization emotionally shut down, had never been inside a home before, and all normal living experiences were foreign to her.
• Withdrawn from humans and animals. Afraid of moderate to loud noises, refuses to go outside. Hid under furniture, and acted like he was constantly in trouble or danger.
• Not social with humans, afraid to climb stairs, afraid of being outside.
• Very, very scared. Wouldn’t stop trembling.
• She went 2 weeks to a rescue group and then to me where she had toilet training problems, separation anxiety, and crate fears.
• Extremely afraid of people, no self-confidence, total unfamiliarity with steps, toys, and surroundings, extremely frightened, would not eat only enough to stay half-alive.
• When we went to adopt her she was laying at the very back of her cage facing the wall. All of the other dogs were up at the front of their cages, jumping and barking as if to say “pick me.” She had to be dragged out of her cage to “visit.” She warmed up after she was out. She freaked out at having a collar put on her or being put on a leash. She had no idea how to “take a walk.” She would roll over and “play dead.” She was afraid of everything. She had no idea how to go up or down stairs. She slept nearly on top of me the first night (a thunderstorm). She protected her food dish from our other dog and then nosed her out of hers. She has come a LONG WAY in a year. And yet she is very gentle in many ways. The animal rescuers were worried about her trying to “eat” the cat, but she was more curious, she loves the cat. She does not really know how to play, but she is getting better at it.

PSYCHOLOGICAL RECOVERY AND PROGNOSES FOR SUCCESSFUL REHABILITATION IN RESCUED PUPPY MILL AND HOARDED DOGS

The success of rehabilitation of rescued puppy mill and hoarded dogs covers the full range from complete success—in which the dog shows full recovery and demonstrates no signs of having endured any adversity—to complete failure—in which the dog never heals emotionally to live in any state of comfort around human beings. Some dogs, due to a total lack of human socialization during their early life-sensitive period, can never overcome their fear of humans. The unabated fear can cause the dog to always avoid and hide from humans, which clearly reflects a poor quality of life for the dog. Other behavioral issues, such as housetraining, can in many but not all cases be improved or fully resolved. Our recent study on the adoption of former breeding dogs from puppy mills has shown that improvement in fear levels and housetraining can take many years, sometimes achieving complete resolution of the problem and sometimes achieving only partial resolution.

On the positive side, many dogs rescued from puppy mills and hoarding situations exhibit no trace of psychological harm, and show all signs of fully enjoying life immediately upon adoption. Many other dogs show dramatic recovery – some quickly and some slowly – to a point where by all measures they have an excellent quality of life. Finally, we know from surveys that the vast majority of people who adopt these animals are extremely satisfied for taking into their homes one of these very special and brave little survivors.