adopting a Taiwan Dog aka Formosan Mountain Dog (FMD)
our pup Ohio changed our lives 🥹🥹
Last year when I was pregnant, I got pretty depressed1 due to a variety of reasons, including fluctuating hormones and going off my schizo meds, so I decided to look into adopting a dog. It was hands down one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life and I wanted to share more about the adoption process, the Taiwan Dog / FMD breed, and the enriching experience our girl has given us.
Let me introduce our doggo Ohio aka Ohayo2, isn’t she handsome?
fun facts about FMDs & Ohio
🐶 history & personality traits
Ohio is considered a Taiwan Dog aka Formosan Mountain Dog (FMD) which are native to Taiwan, hence the name.
It is speculated that they have lived on this island for over 10,000 years, making them one of the oldest dog breeds in the world.3
They were originally hunting dogs living with indigenous tribes on this island and evolved over the centuries to become intelligent, loyal, and athletic companions. You can see in the video below, when she was ~9 months old, how fast and playful she is.
🖤 purebreds vs mixes
Purebred FMDs have full black tongues and black fur, and because they are extremely rare these days, they are mostly kept for conservation efforts in Taiwan. If you look closely at Ohio’s tongue in the first picture above, you can see it’s spotted, a telltale sign she’s a descendant of the original FMD mixed with other breeds.
It’s assumed FMDs have been on the island longer than humans, and as people started arriving from different cultures bringing dogs of other breeds with them, we now get the modern day FMD that come in many shapes and sizes. Personally, we haven’t done a DNA test for Ohio yet, but we think she could be a mix of Labrador (her floppy ears) and a Shiba Inu (her coat and curly tail).
🫧 grooming
Modern-day FMDs evolved through natural selection so they are quite capable of taking care of themselves.
I grew up with dogs in my family, including a Golden Retriever and a French Bulldog, so I’m used to dog smells, but Ohio doesn’t smell at all. Despite regular outings in rainy weather, on mountain hikes, and running around in parks and beaches, she doesn’t emit any smells. When we come back from walks, we wipe her feet but otherwise she stays quite clean by herself.
She goes through a coat change between seasons so we’ve bathed her to counter her shedding (so basically she only needs to be bathed 4x / year), and we give her dog-safe animal bones to gnaw on to help sharpen her teeth while naturally cleaning them.
Her claws are quite long so we try to cut and file them every few weeks because when she gets excited, she jumps up and can accidentally break through people’s skin. We need to do this often because the blood vessels in her nails are longer so we can’t cut them too short each time.
🤝 interactions with people & other dogs
FMDs are loyal and tend to be especially attached to one person but are still playful and friendly to other people they have met before. They can be wary towards strangers and we see it with Ohio.
Ohio bonded well with me her first night at home and she’s especially protective of me. She also warmed up quickly to Jack, to both of our families, and gets very excited to meet our friends. However, when there are strangers that come to our house, for example to fix our pipes, she’s very suspicious and will growl at them.
They are also pack animals so they do like the company of other FMDs. Ohio loves other dogs in general and whenever we take her to the dog park, she zooms through the gates and starts a huge chase with the other dogs. She prefers playing with smaller dogs but is getting better with bigger dogs, especially when she can outrun them!
🦮 walks & outings
We try to walk Ohio 3x / day for at least 30 mins each — initially it was because when she was younger, she couldn’t hold her pee for over 8 hours, but even though she now can hold her pee for 12+ hours, we still try to take her out 3x / day so she can get her exercise in, otherwise she gets antsy at home and will go crazy sometimes trying to get us to play with her.
We also try to take her to the dog park every few days to exercise and socialize. Walking her and giving her enough exercise are probably the most time-consuming parts of caring for an active FMD ~
Ohio doesn’t like getting wet, so when it rains, she’ll do a quick pee and then want to head home immediately. We’ve tried to get her to learn to pee at home on pads but she doesn’t get it / like it now that she’s used to going outside. We took Ohio to a swimming lesson once and she wasn’t a fan. You can see in the video below she’s trying to find a way to climb out because of how close she is to the wall 🥲
🥩 meals & snacks
FMDs are smart so they’re easy to train. Since they’re very food-driven, they can usually learn new habits through snacks as incentives.
With Ohio, we’ve taught her some of the basic commands like “sit”, (lie) “down”, “stay”, and “heel” with corresponding hand gestures. We’ve tried to get her to do more complicated tricks, like balancing snacks on her snout, but it seems like she thinks it’s beneath her because she’ll just walk away from the snacks instead of following through 🤭
We do a mix of dry dog food, canned dog food, and cooked chicken innards (in the same bowl) for each meal (2x / day) for Ohio. We started with only dry food but she started skipping meals, so we added canned food to her diet, but this would make her poops more runny. FMDs are used to being carnivorous (Ohio won’t touch any veggies or fruits) so we started going to the market to buy meat off cuts and chicken innards, and it made a huge difference in her poop health!
Overall, we love Ohio and would definitely adopt another FMD in the future if we have the capacity. We spoil her with plenty of snacks on the daily, but we think it’s ok because she’s not getting unhealthy nor gaining weight. She also gets to sleep with us on the bed and she has many, many toys. She deserves to live her best life because she’s one of the best parts of our lives ❤️
the adoption process
We found her through a Facebook page called Adopt dogs from Eve4 in a local FB group I’m part of. I highly recommend this org as they rely solely on donations and volunteers; you can tell they really love dogs and have a deep understanding with them. The process was smooth and easy, and they were warm, communicative, and helpful. Even to this day if we need any advice, they are more than happy to support.
They primarily help FMDs find forever homes in Taiwan and North America.
They have a network of contacts across Taiwan, i.e. with farmers who will call them when they see a lone FMD pup or an FMD stray hanging around their farms. The foundation will bring a few of their dogs to meet the stray and help them feel more comfortable5.
Ohio was found in central Taiwan after a typhoon and they estimated her to be 3 months old at the time.
Since many of their dogs are adopted by people living in the US and Canada, the foundation makes an intentional effort to help them be potty-trained, get used to people, learn to use a leash and crate, etc. to reduce the chances of the dogs being returned or put up for adoption again.
For first-time dog owners, they also tend to wait until the puppy is at least 6 months old before they set them up together for both sides to be better suited to take care of each other. Ohio was 7 months old when she moved in with us.
follow her on insta! @badgalohoh.
learn more about FMDs through the American Kennel Club and Wikipedia.
they also have insta » @adoptevesdogs.
FMDs naturally live in packs and oftentimes prefer the company of other dogs over humans. Ohio is definitely a dog’s dog and is more cautious around humans, especially children.
New addition(s) to the family! Ohio is adorable. I don't think most people in North America have heard of Formosan Mountain Dogs.