Stray Dog

thingy · Dec 6, 2006

Bird,that looks like a brand new carhart coat you got on there,looking good.
stray dogs,shot several,,never enjoyed it,none had a collar with a name plate,most never even had collars,,always tried to scare them off first,,but,didn't want another dog.
Dogs are a big responsibility that apparently many people are not up too.
My beagle is tied up on a run with a nice big doghouse with plenty of straw in it when nobodys here,he is watched pretty close when loose when we are here,,we have enough land that he can do his thing on without treaspassing[to much],,,he has a good collar with name tag and phone number on it,just in case,[never had anybody call me],,he is also tied up at night.
Alotta people will think I'm a dirty dog killer and cruel,many of those people will have a dog,turn it loose and expect it to stay on their 1/2 acre lot,,well,probably,don't care if it stays on their land or not,,won't have a collar on it,,and if they do,,no name or number to call,,and just act amazed if you tell them his dog is bothering you,,,back in the old days when they was less people,they was also less dogs,,now adays,more people,more dogs,,bet most never cared if one of their neighbors dogs visted every now and than,,its changed,,,thingy

bmac · Dec 6, 2006

Thingy,

Have you ever considered calling Animal Control? The end result for the dog might be the same (i.e. dead), but at least the dog would have a chance of (a) being returned to its owner or (b) being adopted. Shooting a dog simply because it is on your property without a tag seems a little harsh to me, unless there are aggrevating circumstances.

thingy · Dec 6, 2006

We don't have a dog catcher here,,now,[I guess to satisfy a law or something like that?],there is a man that I heard had that title,,,but don't think he gets paid,,just dog food,thats what I heard,,,people have told me there is no need to call him though unless its a beagle or hunting dog,,[he sells them],,and I know there is no pound or anything like that for at least an hours drive
And,I do try and run em off first,,but most I have shot are staved to death strays,,probably set off along our road,,have shot a few healthy ones,,but they wouldn't leave,,running deer around my house at night,,etc,,and they didn't have id collars on.
Its getting alot better as far as strange dogs goes though,,its amazing how people catch on and try and take care of their animals when there is a dog killer living not to far away.
I know my immediate neighbors dogs and have never shot one of them,,as a matter of fact,have loaded them a couple times in my truck and brought them back to them,that worked.
Yeah,I've shot several dogs,shot 3 or 4 of my own,but always have a dog,and always take care of it,[up untill that point when you either got to put it out of your misery,,or its,,kinda a cowboy thing,,,you know,,shoot your own horse when he breaks a leg,,not that I'm a cowboy,,but have watched alota cowboy movies,,,,thingy

1bush2hog · Dec 6, 2006

thingy - I'll bet you don't have much of a problem with trespassers either

thingy · Dec 6, 2006

No,ain't got a problem with treaspassers,,,,shot a pony one time too,,,[burnt him with about number 6 shot at about 50-60 yards],,burnt him good too,,he didn't die,,[wonder he hadn't though],,,my neighbor,1/2 mile down the road,who's gone now??,,,had about 1 acre,,had 6 dogs,and one pony,and never could count all the kids.
She let them all roam at will,pony generally included,,musta been the second night my dogs woke me up about 2 in the morning,,,cause pony was in the edge of our yard,,[we gotta big yard],,but like I say,,its owner lived about 1/2 mile away,,,got my 12 gauge,,ran it a ways off,,shot at its hind end,,,you could hear shot smacking,,,man that pony took off,,clip cloping out of ear shot,,next day,drove down the road,,the ponys owner was picking shot out of the ponys hind quarters,,,pony lived,,,,but never woke me up again,,,thingy

Paddy · Dec 6, 2006

Thingy,

I had neighbor's who had a boston tererior. She come over to play. Good dog and hrs of entertainment for my Great dane. We watched each other's homes/dogs while out of town.

Dealing with other folks lack of responcibility does get on my nerves. Sure I've had a dog "get out", but it's not an every day event. I have never had a fence. I do have a dog door though. When we both take off, I lock the door w' dogs in. I work out of my home and my dogs are always with me, except when the UPS/Fed-X truck arrives.

bmac · Dec 8, 2006

Well, no response yet to the signs we put out nor fron the animal shelter. Because we have other dogs that are being exposed to Buddy, I took him to the vet today for a checkup, shots and a microchip scan.

The vet estimates that Buddy is 1-1.5 years old. Other than being malnourished and having a flea infestation, he checked out ok. Buddy is a very loving dog, but, clearly, he has had little if any discipline in his life. He does not do well on a leash. If no one claims him, I guess this will be his new home. But, I will say we have our work cut out for us in the behavior area. He's like a bull in a china shop. Driving him to the vet today, I wondered if Buddy had ever been in a vehicle before.

Should Buddy stay here, he will be an outside dog. Because he is not ashamed to "mark his territory" anywhere he pleases, I don't envision us having him in the living part of our house. The vet said that even after neutering, it is unlikely that this behavior will change due to his age. However, with temps dropping into the teens last night and tonight, we are letting him sleep in a crate in the basement. Other than a little whimpering at first, he is handling the cage remarkably well.

That's the latest on Buddy.

Paddy · Dec 8, 2006

Bmac,

Good to here the up date. He does sound like a dumped dog. Hard to imagine the folks that could do that. Buddy sounds like a good dog and in good hands. You will be suprized what you can change in a dog.

Mine are in-door dogs with dog doors. The dog the wife found did not have basic dog-people skills. but with-in a short time was sleeping next to the bed!

thingy · Dec 9, 2006

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

Thomas · Dec 9, 2006

Morning bmac.
By the sounds Buddy still got some pup in him...another year or so once Buddy become more comfortable and knows where the line in the sand drawn,Buddy be the best watch dog one could hope for.

Dusty · Dec 9, 2006

thingy said:
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 · Dec 9, 2006

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 · Dec 9, 2006

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 · Dec 9, 2006

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

bmac · Dec 10, 2006

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 · Dec 10, 2006

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 · Dec 10, 2006

bmac said:
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 · Dec 10, 2006

bmac said:
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 ****** 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 · Dec 10, 2006

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.