Puppy/Kitty Mill Rescue Formula

Puppy (and kitty) mills are places where animals are kept and bred strictly for profit, in most cases without regard to socialization or even sometimes basic health needs.

The animals spend their entire lives in cages, being repeatedly bred and forced to raise litter after litter of offspring, without any other kind of life, socialization with humans or other animals, or access to freedom.

The offspring of puppy and kitty mills usually end up in pet stores, where they are sold to an uninformed public without warning as to how they were raised.  These animals have serious behavior issues and often underlying health issues as a result of being haphazardly bred.

I'm not going to talk here about what can be done about puppy and kitty mills; plenty of good work is going on to address that. You can find out more about these initiatives online and at some animal shelters.

What I'm here to address is the unfortunate results that puppy and kitty mills produce -- animals in serious need of special kinds of help to be socialized and heal.

The one bright spot in this horrible situation is that all animals are responsive to love and kindness.  It may take time, but if you genuinely care about them and know how to treat them, they will respond to you and become a wonderful companion.

But please don't expect the same things of them that you would from a puppy or kitten that has been lovingly bred and cared for by an ethical breeder; they are worlds apart.

Animals that have come from puppy and kitty mills have never known kindness. They do not know how to behave inside a human house, with children or with other animals.  They will become frightened of noises, smells and movement -- because they have never seen or heard it before.  They are often used to being maltreated, sometimes yelled at or beaten.  They don't know that humans can be trusted -- so they don't.

Don't get angry at them if they don't behave the way you want or expect.  Don't punish them for not being house-trained, for example.  They won't be.

You will need to do a LOT of work, first to gain their trust and respect, and second to learn what it is that you want them to do.

Seek the help of a professional trainer, if you need one.  Watch training videos online that address how to work with an animal that has come from a puppy or kitty mill; the ones that are for simple dog training are generally not going to take you where you need, because they don't take into account the damage that's been done from the moment the animal was born until it reached you.

Imagine being kept in a cage for the first 2-3 months of life, and then being thrust suddenly into a bright loud space where everything is strange and frightening.  THAT's what you're dealing with -- no matter how cute it looks on the outside.  On the inside, it's probably terrified.  And you're going to have to do something about that.

This is where flower essences come in.  The patterns in this formula help the puppy or kitten understand that it's safe -- safe to learn something new, and how to work with you.  It also helps heal any abuse that may have happened.

This formula is also wonderful for animals that have been used in breeding for puppy or kitty mills; these adult animals CAN make wonderful pets, because they are so hungry for affection, attention and someone to honestly care for them.   You can make that work in your favor, with patience and understanding -- and with the help of the flowers.  Together, you can make all the difference.  Please do.