What do you do when ..

Yappy

Yappy Dog
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#1
.. some jerk abandons their dog right in your own backyard :eek:?

Hi guys, I need some advice..

Two nights ago someone decided to throw their dog over our fence, along with the dog's toy.
The entire backyard area is very secure and enclosed from neighboring yards, and if you could see it.. you could agree it would be very /unlikely/ for a dog to get in without help.

The problem with the dog is, we have two dogs of our own. The bigger dog of ours doesn't get along with him very well(they are roughly the same size; but the strange dog is definately old... and older). With the small dog, she makes growling sounds when she wants to play which get mistaken for wanting to fight with him. They have all been getting into many fights. They do have occassions where they explore the yard together, and the small one will run beside him.

When he first came in, we were thinking we should just take him to an animal shelter. Now we don't know, because all the animal shelters in the area do not have a "no kill" policy. (We would like to take pity on the poor guy).

Should we just continue to be patient and work with the dog in hopes he will warm up to us?

Also, he looks like he is part Belgian sheepdog... and he's very shy. But he is becoming a little more friendly as the days go by.
 
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#2
I, for one, would love to see you give the poor guy a break. It sounds like he really needs one. He's just been badly rejected, and it will take some time for him to get through the confusion of being completely uprooted and grieving for his lost loved ones. (Isn't amazing the way dogs love even people who don't treat them well at all?) Sometimes it's hard to remember that dogs do grieve and they need a chance to do so.

If he isn't neutered, I'd strongly suggest going ahead and having it done and have your vet give him a quick check for heartworms and overall health. I'm assuming that your dogs are spayed/neutered. Reassure your dogs, but at the same time include this new one. That begins the process of understanding that this dog is now "family." That's a concept that dogs are very, very good at - better than we are lots of times. Be liberal with treats, but make everyone sit down or lay down before receiving one, and be sure you reinforce the pack order; your bigger dog receives the first one. Just be sure they all get petted and made a fuss over.

Really, after only two days, it sounds like things are going well. If he is part Belgian, well, they tend to be a bit shy at first, but once they get acclimated you couldn't ask for a more loyal, loving, devoted and intelligent companion. They also tend to be non-aggressive with other dogs. From your post, I get the impression that although there is some "fighting," no one is getting hurt, which tells you a lot about this dog's desire to fit in.

Good on you for giving him a warm welcome; an older dog, especially a larger breed, is almost certainly doomed at a euthanizing shelter. Keep us posted on how things are going!
 
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Cidney

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#3
I would like to just once ask people like this who abannoned their pets - WHY?!?!?!?!?

I just dont get it, would those same a-holes abannond their kids like that? I was at Petsmart this weekend and the person I was with talked me into looking at the dogs up for adoption in cages. One dog was a 7 year old Polm and the sign said "owner had to move and couldnt take him". At least he wasnt abannoned but still, how can you give up your pet and not know his/he fate? It broke my heart to see that dog in the cage and I cant imagine what they must think.

God bless you for taking him and trying. I hope it works out. I still think about that Polm in the cage, i asked my hubby if I could go back and get him but he will not let me, I should just do it anyway!
 

Desteny

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#4
Speaking of people abandoning pets, when I went camping 2 months ago, my dad and I went into town to pick up some ice and film and on our way back (the camp sight was about 50 miles out of town), the truck in front of us almost hit a small dog. We pulled up next to it and saw it was emaciated and matted. We couldn't leave it there, so after an hour of trying to catch it, it FINALLY let my dad pet it and he got our dog's leash around it. We brough tit back to the camp sight, and nobody expected us to bring a dog back. All we had was a pair of scissors, so my dad started cutting its hair off while I occupied Bishop (my dog) because it didn't seem to like him.
In the process of cutting it's hair, we learned that "it" was a "she". There was a vet camping at the camp site and told us that there was more than likely an underlying problem with her, since she had been in the wild for a long time. Long enough to mat all her hair. We spoke with the park ranger and she said that there was a non kill animal shelter in town. My dad decided to take her there, since neither dogs got along. My dad stopped by the ranger station before he went out there to ask if they had seen her before. They said that about 8 months ago, a pregnant female dog, about 100+ pounds, was dropped off. They didn't see her for a couple of months, and when they did, she had 2 pups with her, a male and a female. They caught the male, but were unable to catch the female pup and the mother. The mother wouldn't come near them, and the pup was too smart and wouldn't go near anyone with a leash (she did the same thing with us when she saw the leash), So, after hearing that, my dad went to the animal shelter and told them about it and they didn't believe him. They thought he was lying and that it was our dog, we just chose not to take care of it. I guess the fact that she was wearing Bishop's collar had something to do with that. Anyway, she was cleaned up, spayed, named Annie, and adopted out to a family. I was really glad to hear about that.

I hate it when people just abandon their pets. :( It's so wrong, in my opinion. If you are wanting to keep the dog that was dropped into your lap, Yappy, I say good luck! But, not everyone has the time or the money to care for more pets than they already have. I don't know what you should do, really. If you didn't want to keep him, there is nothing wrong with that. My recomendation is that you find a non kill animal shelter, or even a responsible family member or friend that would love and take care of an older dog. Good luck to you, Yappy.
 

Desteny

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#5
Serena said:
I will be very honest, I have spent a fair amount of time in the rescue field, and even "no kill" shelters put animals down, unfortunately this is a little known fact. If every "no kill" shelter actually followed that policy, they would soon be overrun.
Not trying to be rude or anything, but the two shelters I volunteered at never put an animal to sleep due to overcrowding or the fact that they couldn't adopt it out. The first shelter I volunteered at but two animals down in 2001 due to the fact that one 2 week old kitten was had a disease (don't remember what) and was going to die a slow, painful death, and another dog was overly aggressive and bit four staff members while they were cleaning kennels, feeding, and walking it. The other kennel didn't have to put any animals down last year.
I live in a fairly small town in comparison to others, and I don't know what it is like in the biger cities, but that is what the no kill animal shelters are like in my town...I didn't know it was different in other places.
 
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#6
I've been through the early days of bringing in another dog twice, and if a real fight, not a little squabble, hasn't broken out in the first day or so, I would say everything will be ok.The first time was when I got my Put mix pup. Everyone got along fine at the Vet, where I got him (The vet got stuck with a bunch of pups with staph infections on their chins), but the first night home wasn't great. My Lab glared and growled at him all the time. My other dog just basically ignored him. It was about the same the next two nights, then the lab just ignored him almost completely, except to make sure he was put in his place every so often.

On the fifth day, we took all three dogs to the vet, and Thepup started chewing on him and he rolled around on the floor and played really well. After that, the pup and him were great buddies until the Lab's health went sour and he seemed to get some kind of dementia near the end. Give it a try!!
 

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