Stray Dog

[Dusty]

Right now here it is 13 degrees,,,my little beagle is outside in his unheated doghouse,,,where he normally is,,,will bring him something heated up to eat about 8,,and let him loose to run about 9,he wouldn't have it any other way,,thingy

A neighbor did that also. One morning when he went out to the doghouse, he found that the dog had frozen to death during the night.

 

[thingy]

He did?,well,dogs die,,had beagles for many years,live in w.va.,it gets cold,never found one frozen or even damaged by cold before,,you gotta feed them good,,and give them a nice dry doghouse with plenty of straw,[A collie could get in his dog house but not now,its over 1/2 full of straw].
Dogs have been with us for a long time,most breeds are fine outside in below freezing temps,as long as he has a good place to stay,water and fed good.,,hounds are a tough dog,but not a house dog,,,would he rather stay inside with me,,probably,,,in this dogs case,doubt it though,,but does he have to stay in the house to survive good,,,no,,,,some breeds are not safe outside,,they are the ones who have been altered by people over the years,,,,,,course there is cold and than theres cold,,13 degrees is cold here,,we don't have to many nights where it gets that cold,,,now20- 30 below is another kinda cold,,would have to rethink my postion if I lived where it got that cold,,,,but,I don't,,thingy

 

[randy41]

we have 4 dogs that live outside all the time. musta been about 10 degrees here this morning. they all have their own doghouse with pine shavings as bedding and they do just fine and have been for many years. two of them are short haired and two are long haired.

 

[tallyho8]

Many dogs are not much different physically from Artic Wolves who survive on their own in the coldest climates of the earth.

 

[bmac]

Not to bore you folks, but I snapped a few pictures of Buddy. Wasn't easy as he doesn't stay in one place very long. I don't think buddy likes being fenced in. Until he came here, he had the run of the world. No restrictions, no discipline. Things have changed. While I'm sure he loves the attention and food he's getting, I think he'd like to be "back on the road". When outside, he runs around the fence and barks non-stop. Looks like he may be getting a bark collar for Christmas.

It was getting dark when I took these so they aren't great pictures. Had to photoshop them tolighten them up some.

 

[EddieWalker]

bmac,

He's a good looking dog!!!

Have you ever seen that show on TV called the Dog Whisperer? This guy is amazing at how he can figure out what's going on with a dog and how to fix the problem. Usualy it's something the owners are doing, but in your case, I don't see how that could apply since you just got him. But it's a great show and very insigtful.

Eddid

 

[Iowachild]

Not to bore you folks, but I snapped a few pictures of Buddy. Wasn't easy as he doesn't stay in one place very long. I don't think buddy likes being fenced in. Until he came here, he had the run of the world. No restrictions, no discipline. Things have changed. While I'm sure he loves the attention and food he's getting, I think he'd like to be "back on the road". When outside, he runs around the fence and barks non-stop. Looks like he may be getting a bark collar for Christmas.

It was getting dark when I took these so they aren't great pictures. Had to photoshop them tolighten them up some.

He is a good looking dog. One of the best dogs I ever had I "rescued" from a remote work site on our oil pipeline. She was hanging around the day we started work at the site gladly accepting any and all handouts. A cold rain came up in the night and the next morning we found the dog had spent the night there under the equipment trailer. She was a Doberman mix probably 9 months old at the time. We felt she had been a Christmas present that got too big and was dumped. I took her home that evening. She eventually weighed 80 lbs. and was one of the smartest dogs I have ever known. Great portector of my kids and an extrordinary campanion. The only problem we ever had with her was the fact she never seemed to get enough to eat. Any food left where she could get at it was hers. That included an entire carrot cake and a bowl of Halloween candy wrappers and all. Good luck with your new friend!

 

[Michael_E_Tx]

I don't think buddy likes being fenced in. Until he came here, he had the run of the world. No restrictions, no discipline. Things have changed. While I'm sure he loves the attention and food he's getting, I think he'd like to be "back on the road". When outside, he runs around the fence and barks non-stop. Looks like he may be getting a bark collar for Christmas.

Hey bmac, I'd sure encourage you to have Buddy neutered as soon as possible, even if, as the vet says, it might not alter his marking behavior.

Why? Well, here's the experience that we had with "Slim". When we bought our place, there had been a family living here as caretakers. Their little girl had a young yellow lab/pit bull, male. They couldn't keep him, wherever they were going when they moved on, and we took a stab at adopting him.

While Slim was thoroughly undisciplined, he was not a stray and had spent his whole young life (year to year and a half) on our place as an outside dog. He was a splendid looking dog, all white fur and black skin. He was smart. He was responsive and liked being around us. He began to take to common commands.

There was a problem though. Slim had reached sexual maturity. He was not neutered. We had been figuring, stupidly as it turned out, that if things seemed to be working out with Slim, we'd have him fixed and shots, etc. Well, our neighbor, who was in the habit of keeping many strays, had a female come into heat. Slim was off to the races. After about a day, they shot him with birdshot. He came home a mess, his whole left side covered in birdshot wounds.

We cleaned him up. He could hardly move. We wrapped him in blankets for the night. The next day, he was much better. He had some food and moved around enough to get the stiffness and limp out of his legs.

Then he was off again, or at least he was really determined to head right back there where he'd been shot. We chained him up in the front yard. Unfortunately, no fence. We live on the side of a hill in a clearing in the woods.

Here the story gets somewhat boring and sorta sad. Slim's wounds healed, although from that event forward, we called him Right Side Slim, because his left side was spotted with black skin/scars where he'd been shot.

The worst thing was that Slim did not like to be restrained and would not submit to it. His life had been pretty much as you described Buddy's, free and unrestrained. Our efforts at keeping Slim home nearly broke his spirit. You would have thought we started beating him. He became a very unhappy miserable dog. After a couple more months, we surrendered him to the Humane Society.

I'm glad you have a fenced in yard. I hope things work out with you and Buddy. Please give some consideration to the idea that "back on the road" really means a fierce desire to do what young sexually mature dogs want to do.

 

[bmac]

Eddie,

I have seen the dog whisperer. Amazing what he can do with dogs. Interesting thing is that when Buddy first showed up, I just left the garage door open enough for him to crawl in whenever he wanted and provided food and water. He could come and go as he pleased (hoping he would find his way home). No barking during this time.

Now, because we have assumed somewhat of an ownership position with him, we don't let him run free (we have leash laws in our county and he could get picked up by animal control, hit by a car, etc.). He is restricted to our fenced in back yard when he is out and he is crated when in the basement (no evidence he has been housebroken). And now he barks whenever he is out.

So, I think the dog whisperer would tell me that we've taken away his freedom and that is why he is so vocal.

I did spend some time with Buddy today trying to get him leash trained. He first bucked like a wild horse when I put the collar on him. After a while, he settled down a little. But, whenever I'd give him a little slack in the leash, he would try to run. We'll keep working with him.


Mike,,

Thanks for the great dog story. I hope Buddy adapts to family life.

 

[Thomas]

Morning bmac.
Nice looking dog indeed,and as soon Buddy realize this will be his kingdom he should settle right in just fine.