Meet-up With The Former Puppy Mill Hovawarts

Not just your average Hovawart meet-up happened yesterday. It was the dogs rescued from the former Danish puppy mill !

The event was hosted by the "Dyrenes Beskyttelse" shelter, in an attempt to keep in touch with the families and help where they can. Not all could make it, as there was a snow-storm obstructing traffic. I think in all there were still around 15 dogs and 40 people, a great turn-up.

The dogs, now ranging from 4 months and up, were first allowed to burn off some energy and play with each other, and mingle with all the people. It surprised me how easy they initiated contact and I don't think there wasn't a pup that didn't rushed up to me to say hello. Not something I would have expected from former puppy mill dogs, and an impressive example of a dog's resilience and how great these dogs are actually already doing.

As the group swelled, I noticed the late-comer - blond Bob - was slightly impressed by the sight of such a large group of dogs and people clustered together, before he jumped head first into the melee of arms, legs and paws. I think that took him a whole second to think about, brave little fellow, just 4 months old now.

And you could already see all their different personalities shine, and yes, they were all rumping and playing and gave everybody a little prelude of some rough play to come, when they get older. Once they all burned some energy, we went inside - yes, the dogs too -, where I was given the opportunity to tell the Hovawart tale.

We talked about the breed's characteristics, behavior, socializing, training, meeting other dogs, every day care, and more. The new dog parents were very curious and asked many questions. Some about the practical things they deal with now, but also what lays ahead, being an owner of a Hovawart and a former puppy mill dog at the same time.

My impression was that "Dyrenes Beskyttelse" has found some awesome families for the dogs. Each one of them displayed a lot of committment. A couple of them were actually former Hovawart owners, that had a puppy from the puppy mill before - although they didn't know at that time it was a puppy mill -, how awesome is that and what a leap of faith.

During the inside session the dogs still behaved nicely, and that made today a great socialization event for them as well. And they were a great help for me too. When we reached to the subject of "bullying", a pup decided to start humping the house-labrador of the shelter. I could rest my case. Next subject.

Meeting all those wonderful people with their wonderful dogs today, was without a doubt, exhilarating to be a part of. I still wish I could be a fly on the wall with them all. I furiously wish them all the best going forward.

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For the latest and how you can help, visit the page Stop Danish Hovawart Puppy Mill.