PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic Dogs and more dogs

Many of you know that I love dogs as much as I love music. And many of you know I have a highly skilled dog who is trained in Human Remains detection.

Well, yesterday started out like any other day until I got the text. There was a dog, male GS at the shelter and they were going to put him down before the end of the day. Could I help? A bit later, and after a phone call or two, I had a basic history on the dog. Found wandering the streets and picked up as a stray. The shelter adopted him out twice and both times came back quickly. Second time, the adopters said he snapped at them which changed his status to non-adoptable. The people at the Wilson County Humane Society called me because none of their other fosters wanted to deal with a 100 lb, 2 year old intact male German Shepherd with a bite history.

So I went to the shelter to have a look and evaluate him. Long story short, the deputy at the shelter said he saw no sign of aggression and seemed happy that I was interested in him. I signed a paper and took him in the name of the WCHS.

I brought him home. BTW... my wife didn't find out until she got home from work and I explained it to her. Yeah, she's cool with it.

So, the plan is for me to keep him here for a few weeks and get him up to date on the vet stuff, possible neuter, and work on some basic obedience as he seems to have nothing in the way of obedience. No sit, no down, no here, no walk at heel. We're essentially fostering him until a proper, loving, forever home can be found and properly vetted to be sure they people know exactly what they are getting in this big boy.

Well, he and Lilly are dog reactive to each other so for now, I have to keep them apart and take turns walking one, and then the other. He's laying on the floor behind me as I type. So, the plan is to let him decompress from his former experiences and just be a dog. This morning, he showed us how loving he can be with kisses to both myself and my wife as we sat on the front steps having coffee. He's going to make someone a really good dog.

Yeah... I'd love to keep them all but that's just not possible, or should I say probable. Wife would have to ask if we could keep him.... I could never work at a dog shelter. I'd have at least a dozen dogs and no money or time ....... but there's a lot of work needed to get him to where he needs to be so whoever takes him is going to have to start from square one with this dog. I just started teaching the sit behavior to him. No wonder the adoptions failed. And approaching him the wrong way, yeah, I could see him thinking to himself.... I'm going to bite that stupid human if they do that to me again. He needs someone who knows and understands this breed and is willing to put in the work to get him to where he needs to be.

I've attached his picture in the file..... but if you don't see it, I have it on my facebook page if you do facebook.

Herb, You're just an ol' softie!

Pretty Shepard. I'm with you. I could never work at a shelter.

Really nice of you to take that dog in. He looks like a good boy! I completely agree it would not be good to work at a shelter. I would want them all!

We love our dogs too! We lost our border collie in July to stomach cancer, she was about 12. The wife and I and our Keeshond needed a new buddy and we got an Australian Shepherd puppy. We are all one big, happy family now....

From my birthday post a couple of weeks ago:

Steve that's fun to watch.

Thanks! It was fun setting that up. The pup loves to play so I would always start with giving her that toy. Then I would have to encourage the older dog to come play and they went with it. After having done that several times, they will now take the toy to each other to play. Amazing how smart dogs can be!

These are my babies. Mom and son.

...Deb

Nice looking dog. I could never work in a shelter. As a kid I had to put down a couple of dogs. Cried for a week.

The older I get the more I miss not living in the country. Not having a couple of dogs and a horse or two. Being more or less locked up in my townhouse due to Covid-19 makes missing the dogs even worse.

Living without a dog, living where you can not build a fire outside, living without animals in general, living where you can not go outside and shoot you guns, is a unnatural way to live for me.


Billy

I fall into the "stupid human" category.

Back in my younger days my wife trained to be an Animal Health Technician. They worked with strays, and at the end of the school year they had an event to find the animals homes.

The animals not adopted out at the end of the day typically went home with a student, since the other option was sending them back to the shelter.

That's how I got my first and only dog. He and his sister had been strays, and he was apparently the problem child of group.

I found myself reading a lot about dogs, and trying to apply that information. But book learning doesn't always translate into working knowledge, and while dogs aren't people, they're certainly individuals - one size fits all does not fit all.

Among his (many) bad habits were getting loose and nipping at heels. We were in the process of building a run for him so we could continue getting our mail - he had been getting out and going after the mail carrier - when he managed to escape yet again.

Not his fault, of course. If there was a way out, he was going to find it.

But this time, he headed for the local park, and got hit by a car. My very pregnant wife found him in the street, and had to load him into the car and take him to the vet, where he was put down because of his injuries.

All of which is to say: Kudos to you. Not an easy job, and not everyone can do it. Even one rescue makes a difference.

Very cute!

AI am headed toward that sad eventuality right now Billy. I have had this one for 13 1/2 years. This is "that one" that's going to tear my soul out. The hardest thing ever. And we all go through it. Sad fat that they live 12-14 years and we get 75-80.

Vet checkup today:

Age: approx 1.5 yrs old based on physical characteristics
General overall health is good.
Weight: 80lbs
Chip status: none found
Tick borne diseases: Negative
Heart Worms: Positive

So... I have to contact the Humane society and report his health findings and then I'm sure, proceed with the HW treatment and neutering. This means he will likely be here for at least another month, possible longer.

I will update this post as I find out more info. Vet tech also confirmed she saw little evidence of obedience training.

Started socialization training between him and my dog Lilly. Making good progress. Also started left side loose leash walking. Slow and steady.

A friend recently adopted a dog that showed up on his doorstep.

Dog went the the vet because he ate a tv remote and the batteries.

Vet tech brings the dog out and says, "You do know that your dog is a knucklehead, don't you?"

I would love to know what the dog did to get that designation.

...Deb

I love dogs. I was going to get one when I moved back up here on the mountain until I found it was easier to just steal my neighbors dog.

All he wanted is just to be paid some attention and have someone to talk to him.

He's laying under my chair now.

LOL.

I should add that the dog, (Hank, a big old chocolate lab), runs free and he goes where ever he wants to go.

He's really good about keeping the deer chased off from my tomatoes and cucumbers.

Bob, I know what you mean. My family had a dog adopt us.

A friend of mine that lived down the street from us was given a German Shepard when his brother was sent overseas. The dog continually ran away from my friend's house and would be found at our house. This happened so many times my friend talked to his brother and placed him under our care.

Herb my wife and I fostered a little lost dog last year. She just showed up on the front porch scared and in bad shape. We called all around and no shelter would take her. We washed her treated her for fleas and ticks. Fed her and got her in a program for adoption. The first night we made her a bed in a basket with soft things to sleep on and placed her in the bathroom. She never cried until morning when she wanted to go out. I walked her every day and every day she wanted to go to a certain spot on the street where I figure she was dropped off. We could tell she had recently been a Mom and seemed like she was also hunting her pups. That kind broke my heart, who could dump a young sweet natured Dog off to die and steal her babies. After her second bath on day two (she was a mess.) She hopped up on the couch and put her head in my lap.

In about a week a lady called and ask if she could see her. We met two days later, we talked and she seemed like a very special person. She wanted to take her home for a overnighter and see how she adapted to her other two dogs, and we agreed. The next day we get a call and she said that the whole family had fallen in love with her and she wanted to adopt the little gal. For a couple months we got pictures of her from time to time. The lady it turns out owns a small family farm out in the country and has chickens, some goats, and a few cows. The little Dog who we named harmony because of her very gentle and calming disposition has taken to farm life and was now her constant companion riding around the farm with her in the golf cart. She, harmony that is has also taken to mothering the other two small dogs. One just a year old and the other blind and around 13. So she gets to be the princess of the trio. I have to admit the day she drove off with her I cried like a baby for a few minutes as she had touched my heart as much as we did hers.

Herb I have always though that you seem like a special person, but this just confirms it. Well done.

I don't see me ever not having a dog, outside of the mourning period I will go through when Scruff dies. I can wait, but it sadly seems like she won't make it out of 2020. She is just kind of wasting away, yet no signs of cancer. She just has 14-year-old-(arthr)itis. As long as she eats, drinks, pees and poops, we're good. And as soon as she leaves, I will head out with my tiny trailer and get away from the dog ghosts in the house for a while. Then come home and start looking for the next one.

I know I could NEVER foster, because once a dog spends a night in my house, that's now my dog. Until one of us dies, that's my dog.

Any friend of dogs is a friend of mine - if only people were a little more like dogs. I see I have a lot of friends on this site - beyond the music connection !!! Great minds think alike : )

Another quick update. I found out that he doesn't like being in a crate during the daytime. Don't ask.....

So I set up the pen and put the covering back over it and he's got a place to hang out during the day outside and not in a tiny crate.

I'm waiting on the vet to call back to discuss the second HW test. They want to verify the first and try to determine the progression so the proper treatment can be administered. Practically no one will take a dog that is HW+ and is going to be sick for the first 2+ months not to mention the out of pocket hit from the treatment. So, he will likely be staying here for several months while the treatment is done.

I'll keep you all posted and get more pics as we find out what is going on.

Good for you. We love dogs and haven’t been w/o one in our 40 years together.

J&B