My family is looking to adopt a Potcake puppy within the next few weeks. I'm just trying to see if anyone has one and what their experience is with them. They sound like truly wonderful dogs and I just wanted to see what other's experiences were. Any suggestions or things you wished you knew before hand. Thanks!
Well, we adopted our little Potcake. He arrived on Wednesday night by airplane with a wonderful family that was coming back from visiting friends on the islands. He is getting along very well with our family. The experience with adopting him was wonderful and very easy. As far as comments about adopting locally, I understand that local dogs need homes too. It wasn't a question of that for us. It's the same thing as when people adopt children from other countries instead of this one. The conditions that these dogs come from to start life off is deplorable and heart breaking. We felt that this was the right choice for our family, and we now know it definitely was. George is a sweet little puppy that is eager to please and incredibly smart. It's only Friday, and we got him Wednesday and he has already learned how to sit on command. We look forward to many years with our George, and recommend Potcake Place to anyone that would like to help a puppy in desperate need of a forever home. Please feel free to contact me if you would like any information. I would be glad to provide any or contact info. Thanks Everyone!!!
I am a professional dog trainer and have 2 clients with Potcake Dogs and they LOVE them! The dogs are both a little skittish initially but warm up to visitors quickly (neither family did much active socialization with them as puppies though) and they do very well with other dogs. The dogs are both pretty quiet and clean as well. I have actually thought adopting one int he future after the experiences I've had with these dogs.
what is a potcake puppy?
In response to Sherry: http://www.potcakeplace.com/index.php
I have no experience with these puppies, however.
I would be very careful adopting a puppy from any distance away, particularly (but not exclusively) from another country. You don't know anything about the care they have received, the genetic background, trauma, etc.
You would be just as well off, and maybe more so, if you contacted your local humane society to find a dog that needs a home and whose medical care has been supervised and whose personality has been observed in the shelter, particularly its relationship with other people and other dogs. It's also a lot less expensive.
In my experience, the individual dog's personality is more important than the breed. Some breeds are notoriously not good for families (e.g. Dalmatians) and others have common genetic problems (e.g. golden retrievers with hip dysplasia), but otherwise you really have to choose based on the individual dog rather than generalize by breed.
My vet told us to try to observe a puppy with its mother if possible - if by 6-8 weeks the mother was still extremely protective, the dog might have somewhat more aggressive tendencies. She said to give the puppy a toy or treat and then take it away - if the pup showed any aggression, she said NOT to get it for our son. It was great advice and we got a wonderful and warm, loving dog.
These stories of dogs in other countries really tug at the heart strings, but there are many emotional stories of dogs needing rescue right here in our own back yards. Unless you can truly control all of the factors in bringing a dog here from abroad, and unless you don't mind the expense, please look into something closer to home. Good shelters and breeders will have some sort of guarantee in place, and you will have legal protections.
Interesting - I had to google it. From www.potcakeplace.com:
"'Potcake' is the name given to the dogs of The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. It came about because the locals fed the caked remains of the cooking pot to the dogs.
Potcakes are rescued from around the islands of the Turks and Caicos. The spay/neuter programs are not keeping up. The feral dog population of the islands is growing, and more and more litters of puppies are being found as well as individual pups at a loss without their littermates. They may be found by tourists whilst they are out exploring, or locals in their back yard, whilst they are working on construction sites, or driving around the island.
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Good luck with the puppy! I've never heard of this!
I had a friend that adopted a chihuahua lab cross from the bahamas, it was a great little dog and she had no problems with it! She had three girls under four at the time and it was fine with all the kids in and out.
