Returning a dog to the breeder - Questions/Rant

[~Jessie~]

Originally Posted by JessLough

These.

Remember, Teal said HERSELF that she was having a hard time giving "it" BASIC care, she said HERSELF this "animal" is not easy to live with.

I honestly don't think that people thinking the dog got into such a state with her is jumping that far. She was having a hard time even bothering to feed him!

Do I think she purposely did it? No. Do I think she meant for it to happen? No. Do I think she should man up and admit that maybe it happened? Absolutely.

ETA: Personally, referring to a pet as "it", "animal", etc. is not a sign of a person who is caring properly for a dog or cares for it's well-being.

Hell, I've had my fair share of rescues that I absolutely did not get along with. I still managed to feed it, give it the attention it needed, and call it by it's name (I'm using "it" now as general, not a specific animal).

Very much this.

I had a foster chihuahua mix a few years ago that I did not mesh with at all. He was a great dog... but not my type of dog. So what did I do?

Well, I took him to the vet multiple times for his bad skin and stomach problems. I bought about 10 types of food trying to get him regulated. Once I had him for months and he was healthy, I started looking into homes for him to be adopted to.

Oh, and he slept in our bed.

I just can't imagine neglecting a dog because they aren't my "type," especially when it's a puppy who just wants love. Heck, filas aren't my type of breed and I think Collin/Bullseye sounds perfect. I love velcro dogs that follow me everywhere and just want to be loved.

[~Jessie~]

Originally Posted by Red Chrome

Even if this was a strange angle/bad lighting/odd positioning of the dog, you can literally count every single vertebrae in that poor dog's spine and each and every rib. That's not something that happens from just being kept lean.

[monkeys23]

I admit not knowing jack about sighthounds, but there have been quite a few pics of Bukra that make me want to stuff food down him.

What happened to that fila pup is flat out unacceptable.

My girl Scout is extremely hard to keep weight on and judging from pics many of her relatives from the same bust its probably a genetic trait. She's very slowly and steadily gained weight the past two years with me and I'm beyond ecstatic that she's finally to where her ribs are actually muscled instead of washboardy. Her previous owners even treated her well and everything, but she looks totally different now than she did when I first took her in. I believe a large part of that is how active we've been in addressing her anxiety issues and baggage. She never had consistent digestion on commercial food, so I guess real food helped her freakishly sensitive tummy. Tripe especially seems to really be a key diet component for her. She will never be "normal" in many ways, but **** I wouldn't trade her for the world.

And while for the most part Lily is a real easy keeper, when she started having issues on commercial food she dropped muscle and her coat got crappy... I addressed it by trying out feeding her properly balanced raw and she's more filled out muscle-wise than she ever has been before. The answer might be different for a different dog (such as Adrianne finding the right food for Sloan), but these are still things that need addressed.

That poor puppy.

[Doberluv]

Remember, Teal said HERSELF that she was having a hard time giving "it" BASIC care, she said HERSELF this "animal" is not easy to live with.

That and the part about every interaction being hell is very sad indeed. I don't think every interaction has to be hell with any dog if a person knows what the heck they're doing in the area of training. I've dealt with dogs that were very difficult or not my type, but I can't imagine only giving it basic care nonetheless. It's the extras...besides the basic care that shape a puppy into a lovely adult dog...when it's done diligently and correctly. Some of the traits mentioned that were annoying are frequently just puppy traits. Even a lot of independent breeds don't start out that way...naturally, because who ever heard of a baby being independent and not caring about or needing nurturing. That's why they tend to follow you around and act a little appeasing. That mild appeasing thing...the going over on it's back is part of growing up. It doesn't necessarily mean the dog is cowering. Sometimes puppies just do that even in fun or like they're being silly....a mild appeasement gesture wouldn't make me think the puppy has a weak temperament. It's a dog thing. Not a breed thing...besides little variations or variations in degree. jmo. This puppy could very well turn into a confident, un-fawning or whatever they're suppose to be like as it matures. Hopefully, the early socialization period wasn't screwed up.

[RD]

Originally Posted by AdrianneIsabel

Sloan was too skinny.





I also took her to the vet (like the breeder supposedly did), ran every test we could think of, and changed her food until we found something that didn't make her poop liquid. Malinois are notorious for scrawny puppies but she was too skinny for comfort.

Being that skinny can happen but why wasn't the owner taking the pup to the vet out of concern? Did they just let it go knowing the pup would be going to a new home soon and it's easier to let the new owner deal with it?

Speaking of skinny puppies, Eve was this way. Extremely thin, skin and bone and muscle - which wasn't much to speak of considering she was a pup. It BOTHERED me, even though she was extremely healthy, to see that my dog appeared to be in poor condition. I don't see how people can just let it go.

This is a skinny, healthy dog. This was at her thinnest, and I was mortified after seeing this picture.



You'll notice that same extremely thin dog looks far more normal when photographed from the front in a sitting position.



The dog in the posts above (not Sloan but the Fila) is emaciated and does not look healthy to me in the slighest.

[monkeys23]

Oh and my little foster guy Spaz (now Zack) I took in I totally did not mesh with AT ALL, but I still miss him and the little booger slept on me every single night and was right on my heels 24/7 (even more so than my girls and they are really velcro lol) and I kept stuffing lots of high quality food down his little furnace. He ate as much as Lily does and she's twice his size lol. He also would not leave me cat alone, but we managed it fine. He annoyed the crap out of me half the time, but I really do miss him a lot. He is where he needs to be though.

[Doberluv]

Gosh, I don't know why you guys with skinny dogs are even comparing them to this starving, emaciated puppy. There's no similarity whatsoever. Their coats look good too. I had a GSD who didn't eat much. He was given all he wanted, just didn't eat much. There was nothing wrong with him the vet said. He was high, high energy and wasn't into food that much. So, he was quite lean. But he still had no resemblance to that puppy's look. As he got a little older, he started filling out better. There's no question about this puppy's condition at all...When talking about emaciated and a dog that's lean...well, the two things are as different as day and night.

But I still can't say who's (or what is) responsible because there isn't any conclusive evidence that I've seen, so I won't accuse anyone in particular at this time. It might look a certain way. But in this country, one is innocent until proven guilty. Well, not always, but it's suppose to be that way.

[monkeys23]

Originally Posted by RD

Speaking of skinny puppies, Eve was this way. Extremely thin, skin and bone and muscle - which wasn't much to speak of considering she was a pup. It BOTHERED me, even though she was extremely healthy, to see that my dog appeared to be in poor condition. I don't see how people can just let it go.

This is a skinny, healthy dog. This was at her thinnest, and I was mortified after seeing this picture.



You'll notice that same extremely thin dog looks far more normal when photographed from the front in a sitting position.



The dog in the posts above (not Sloan but the Fila) is emaciated and does not look healthy to me in the slighest.

You don't post enough Eve pics.

[BostonBanker]

I interrupt this thread to say how much I miss baby coyote Eve.

Carry on.

[Red Chrome]

Originally Posted by Doberluv

Gosh, I don't know why you guys with skinny dogs are even comparing them to this starving, emaciated puppy. There's no similarity whatsoever. Their coats look good too. I had a GSD who didn't eat much. He was given all he wanted, just didn't eat much. There was nothing wrong with him the vet said. He was high, high energy and wasn't into food that much. So, he was quite lean. But he still had no resemblance to that puppy's look. As he got a little older, he started filling out better. There's no question about this puppy's condition at all...When talking about emaciated and a dog that's lean...well, the two things are as different as day and night.

But I still can't say who's (or what is) responsible because there isn't any conclusive evidence that I've seen, so I won't accuse anyone in particular at this time. It might look a certain way. But in this country, one is innocent until proven guilty. Well, not always, but it's suppose to be that way.