“Are you serious about adopting a dog? They aren’t that pretty; They are aggressive and they bite!” That was the response we get from friends when we mentioned that we would like to adopt instead of shop for a dog.
Murphy was not the first dog that caught our eyes. However we believe it must have been fate that brought us together.
When we first saw Murphy at SOSD Adoption Drive, he was a confident and friendly dog. However when we went over to his fosterer’s place for interaction, he was shy and scared of us. At that time, we did hesitated because we wondered if he could be that ‘perfect one’ then it dawned on us that it shouldn’t matter what colour, size or temperament. If we meant to adopt, we should open our hearts to any of them.
A homestay was arranged for Murphy. During the first week, everything went great! He had warmed up to us, asking for belly rubs and pats. It was in the second week when he bit us, he had resource guarding. We did not see that coming. Despite that, we decided to go ahead and adopt him, hoping that attending the Adore Training would help him. The team at SOSD and our Adore trainer also provide us the support we needed.
Even though we stepped up on his obedience training, training him daily, not only his behaviour did not improve, he was showing us aggression. Like most Singapore Special, he was masked in fear and because of his fear, he was afraid of strangers touching him, territorial, nipping, baring his teeth and lastly snapping. We are constantly worried when will he jump on random strangers during walks or when will he snap at us again.
It was then that we realised a well-trained dog doesn’t mean that he is Well-Behaved. Simply training a dog to perform basic obedience will not solve behavioural issues. We decided to engage a behaviourist to help us with Murphy’s issues. Through constant positive training, we understood our Singapore Special breed better and Murphy made remarkable progress.
We are proud to say that Murphy has come a long way and is now a loving foster brother to his foster siblings. Guiding them every steps so as to be ready to be rehomed.
Not all dogs who are up for adoption are aggressive nor do they have behaviourial issues like Murphy. Even if they do, with given time, patience and training, they make a fantastic companion and we found one in Murphy. ”
– Estee, Murphy’s Adopter
Looking to adopt?
Check out the dogs for adoption here – https://sosd.org.sg/adopt-a-dog/
