Seeing Opportunities for a Change Amid Problems

The National Nature Park Headquarters estimates that there are more than 500 stray dogs in the Shoushan National Nature Park. When gathered together, stray dogs are inclined to chase and attack wild animals, such as Reeves's muntjacs and Taiwan macaques.

In order to minimize the conflict between wild animals and stray dogs and protect the habitats of wild animals, for many years, the National Nature Park Headquarters has been actively promoting the "three don't policies": don't feed wild animals, don't abandon pets, don't bring pets into the mountain. Since there is limited space in animal shelters, the TNVR approach - trap, neuter, vaccinate, return - is adopted in an effort to reduce the number of stray dogs.

However, catching stray dogs is time-consuming and laborious, and this made the National Nature Park Headquarters wonder if there were other choices. The result was the "The Working Dog Development Project".

 Love Changes Everything

The National Nature Park Headquarters hopes to let the stray dogs at Shoushan enter people's homes to minimize the burden on the local ecology. The execution of the Working Dog Development Project began in 2019. In addition to guarding places such as orchards, factories, and fish farms, the working dogs also provide companionship as a part of their jobs.

However, the nature of stray dogs is different to that of domestic dogs. They are afraid of people and have their guards up against humans. This makes it very difficult for stray dogs to join human families. The National Nature Park Headquarters has been actively working with non-governmental organizations. First, Heart Of Taiwan Animal Care capture stray dogs with large fences, put the dogs through sterilization, parasite checks, and rabies vaccine administration. Then, the Taiwan Canine Education & Training Association selects human-friendly adolescent dogs with stable temperament for training.

In the first 2 to 3 months, the dog trainer has to be with the stray dogs all the time. Stray dogs are very much affected by pack atmosphere. Through everyday lives, their negative attitude toward humans are changed and a deeper emotional bond is formed. After this, the dogs will learn to adapt to their future working environments.

 

  Dog Adopters Wanted!

The National Nature Park Headquarters reminds the public that working dogs are not just trained to assist in guarding tasks, they also need mutual love and care to establish a long-term relationship of mutual trust.

People who would like to adopt working dogs or companion dogs are welcome to contact the National Nature Park Headquarters. A professional dog trainer will get in touch with you. Evaluations will be performed to select a dog with the befitting personality. This will elevate the compatibility between the dog and the owner. Then, the working dog training will be carried out to successfully match the dog and the owner. A new addition to your family is so close and waiting for you!

For half a year after the adoption, the dog trainer will give monthly home visits and consultations to help the dog learn about and familiarize with the environment, assist in building mutual trust between people and the dog, deepen the dog’s connection with the land, and to eliminate the dog’s sense of unfamiliarity.