Abused Dog

[southerngirl]

So Saturday I went to my nephews birthday party, it was the first time I've seen their new house.When I was looking around the backyard I noticed a dog chained up in the neighbors yard. It made me very mad I hate it when dogs live there lives on chains it is illegal in my county. So of course I had to go see this dog. I got up to him and saw he was way under weight. His ribs are very easily seen, his side sunk in and his hip potrude. Because of him not having any meat on him he has sore spots from lying on his bones. Also his water was disgusting there was a bucket of water that had algae in it and a food and water bowl just as bad. I dumped out the water bowl and refilled it. Than me and another girl jumped down into the dogs yard we dumped out the bucket and turned it over. We noticed inside his dog house has dirt and mud in it No blanket to keep him warm when it gets cold outside. You can tell his been there a while cause all around him was mud no grass(other areas of the yard had grass). The worst part was that they do not have a dog chain on this dog they have a what I believe is a LOGGING CHAIN. A logging chain is very heavy and must be weighing this poor dogs neck down.
I'm thinking about calling the pound to get him out of there, but I hate to do it cause he'll probably end up being put to sleep. He's such a sweet dog despite being treated like he is. It's gotta be better than living how he is. Isn't it?
Here's some picks of the dog, I've been calling him Ace it popped in my head the first time I saw him, fits him well. I believe he is a Black lab Mix.

 

[Anneke]

Poor dog...

 

[tigerlily46514]

ohhhhhhhh, that breaks my heart, i'd so call the local animal welfare league, in a heartbeat.
No hesitation. My fingers would be dialing right now...


Depending on what they find, they may take the dog away,
or
they may try to teach the owners better ways and then follow up on it, to see if the dog is being better cared for.

but, something better, some better changes, might occur for this poor dog.

Dogs deserve better lives than that.

 

[Dlilly]

If you could, maybe you could call the shelter and offer to foster? Or, try to find a rescue to help him??

I believe that him being put to sleep is better than him suffering there.

 

[tigerlily46514]

i doubt they put the dog to sleep, if you can find a "no kill" shelter,
but i like your idea about offering to foster the dog very much!

 

[Dogster]

Poor doggie!!!

 

[southerngirl]

I would LOVE to foster this dog he is such a sweet heart. He was wagging his tail like crazy when I was petting him. Sadly my dog Chase is a bit dog aggressive he does not like other dogs in the house. According to him it's his territory and I'm working on socializing Missy with other dogs. I am trying to convince my sister to take him in but she says she's not ready to have a dog. I'm going to start contacting humane societies in my sisters county and have the pound give the owners a warning. Hopefully this will make them realize that it is not acceptably to treat a dog this way.

 

[tigerlily46514]

SouthernG, you are right, if one has an aggressive dog in their home, they are not great candidates to be fostering other dogs. You are right, much as you want that dog as your foster, it is a good chance that despite your best intentions, you'd end up with 2 miserable dogs.

Yes, many ppl think their aggressive dogs have "territory" issues. Many bloggers love to mince up aggression into "territory", "fear", and so on. I once saw a blog with 14 "kinds" of aggression listed. wow.
My dog will aggress to most unknown dogs, even if he is shipped to China, some "territory" he has never even seen before, he will still most likely react to most unknown dogs in China, too.

But, you are right, we CAN make these dogs better,
we CAN help desenstize them to the presence of other dogs,
we CAN help reduce their aggression levels and raise their threshholds.

It's not the easiest thing in the world to teach a dog, but, it can be done, helping these kinds of dogs be less aggressive.

 

[southerngirl]

The problem is Chase is fine with any female outside of the home but if they were to come in the house he would attack. He tried to attack Missy when we first brought her home. Chase does not like any male dogs at all.
I really hope to find someone to take this dog in. I haven't been able to stop thinking about him since I saw him Saturday. One thing that helps is that my sister gives him some left overs for him and the girl that helped me water him is probably keeping his water fresh.

 

[tigerlily46514]

My aggressive dog is also fine with many female dogs. Most dog-aggressive dogs are better with most opposite gender dogs.
My dog also had to learn to be calm when even his best doggie friends came over to his house. He did, though. He'll still react to most unknown dogs, whereever he sees them, his house or out on the street.
Doesn't matter where Buddy is.

My dog does have many much loved doggie pals, of both genders, nowadays.
We had him a long long time til Buddy ever decided he could indeed, have a doggie friend.

He has some canine pals he ADORES, just whines and cries to see them! Just loves those dogs. Just loves 'em to pieces, and plays very nice with these known dogs that he has fell in love with. Some were dogs he previously loathed, some were dogs he loved on sight.

When i first got him, he hated ALL dogs, no exceptions.

Buddy is still dog-aggressive dog, despite having some pals now.

If Chase met an unknown dog on some street he had never been on before, would Chase react aggressively about that unknown dog? If so, it *sounds like" Chase is more than "territorial", imo.

 

[southerngirl]

All he really does is stare at the dog and I have to drag him away no barking lunging growling. He loves little dogs boy or girls. Also when he was younger he always slipped out of the house to play with the neighbors dogs. Though he used to have an issue with fighting with other dogs if me and my younger brothers were around but he doesn't do this anymore. Chase is fifteen years old.

 

[tigerlily46514]

oh, all your dog does is stare at the dog?

If Chase gets close, he is okay, he just stares at them?

 

[southerngirl]

Yes all he does is stares on walks but this is at a distance. If he were to get close I'm not sure what he would do. I always keep him at a distance. No I would not trust him at a dog park or allow him to greet another dog because when my friend lived in my neighborhood with her dog the two got into really bad fights and he and out previous dog Domino(his son) almost killed one another. Yes he does have some dog friends, one is a Dachshund. So I guess you could say he is dog aggressive .

 

[tigerlily46514]

Yeah, i think you have an elderly gangsta there, too! hee hee!
Someday, my Buddy Shawshank will also be an elderly gangsta, too. I do not expect Buddy to ever be 'normal', he's BETTER, he's much BETTER, but, he's still a gangsta. Buddy is plain ol dog-aggressive, here, there, wherever. It's who he is.

but, he's MY lil dog-aggressive dog, and i love him totally. I've learned more from Buddy than any of my 'normal' dogs. "Buddy needs me, and i need him."

If i get Buddy far enough away, all he does is stare, too. It's a stare which i can envision green laser beams shooting out of his eyes onto the 'enemy' dog. I can almost hear a scary type of sci-fi movie noise, too, as Buddy tries his best to melt the other dog with his stare.........ha ha.
Buddy gets stiff enough, he looks like i could pick him up by one leg, and he'd still be in a stiff stance, like a dog statue.

Still, many ppl prefer to say their dog is "territorial" or "protective" or "fearful" or lots of other words. I guess it doesn't much matter what words we use to label our lil gangsta dogs, so long as you do know what it is.

 

[tigerlily46514]

So Chase learned to accept Missy then? Is that right?

 

[sara]

I have the opposite. Oliver will try to attack any dog outside the home, but he totally accepts dogs INSIDE the home. Proof that Oliver's not dog aggressive, he's fear aggressive. Once he know's a dog wont try to hurt him, he's perfectly fine, and as I've never brought a dog into our home that's aggressive, he trusts that he's safe and is happy to meet new dogs here.

 

[mewzard]

I have the opposite. Oliver will try to attack any dog outside the home, but he totally accepts dogs INSIDE the home. Proof that Oliver's not dog aggressive, he's fear aggressive. Once he know's a dog wont try to hurt him, he's perfectly fine, and as I've never brought a dog into our home that's aggressive, he trusts that he's safe and is happy to meet new dogs here.

My foster dog is similar to this. He is fear-aggressive whilst on-lead. The centre and us had no idea of this when they gave him to us as the had always been wonderful with the dogs in the kennel and on the van.
First walk we took him on, saw a dog across the road and he tried to run away. Hit the end of the lead, spun round, growled and walked (stalked) forward then lunged barking at the other dog. He is fine with Oka in and out of the house. Was fine with a girl dog when on a long line. But on a short lead - Back off!!

We are going to teach him to wear a muzzle - to protect him, incase a dog scares him and he tries to bite....he is a wonderful boy in all other aspects and it would be horrible if he as PTS becuase of someone else not keeping control of thier dog.
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That poor doggie though! I hope that he is saved and kept safe.

 

[southerngirl]

Yes Chase came to except Missy. The two stopped fighting around the time she got pregnant with Chase's puppies(accidental litter). Sadly Chase would attack the two puppies we had left when they were about eight months. When he attacked one of the Puppies Missy would attack Chase protect them. Thankfully now Missy and Chase no longer fight though I would not call them friends. Missy is a bit of a brat and does not let Chase in my room I'm am working on that. Also she's a very jealous every time I try to pet Chase she goes crazy.
and Yes Chase is an elderly gangsta me and my family refer to him as a grumpy old man he's gotten worse in his old age, but we love our grumpy old man.

Mewzard I'm trying to find a humane society in my sisters county but I'm having a hard time finding one. I won't stop looking till he's safe also I'm calling the pound cause they will give the owners a certain amount of time to fix his leaving conditions if they don't comply the dog will be taken from them.

 

[tigerlily46514]

SO GLAD THAT MISSY AND CHANCE MADE A TRUCE!!!
I was hoping you'd say that!!

Yeah, Buddy comes to accept most any dog he has enough chances to get to know. He may learn to love them, he may just learn to accept them, but sooner or later, if i have access to the other dog enough, Buddy can learn to accept most dogs, one at a time....

some dogs, it only takes one meeting.
some dogs, it takes several meetings.
German shepherds takes professional intervention to have the two dogs meet.

the only type of dog Buddy can never ever accept, are the shy dogs, insecure dogs, that type of dog, he has not befriended a one of that type of dog ever yet, not a one. That type of dog feeds Buddy's "alpha-wanna-be" thing in his lil mind, and he becomes monstrous bully around dogs who will let him act that way. If Buddy is allowed to, he becomes a total terrorist around shy dogs.
Buddy's favorite types of dog personalities, are confident, laid back or easy going dogs,
and oddly, other bullies or rude dogs. Maybe other bullies speak "dog" with same accent as Buddy has? ha ha!

The few true alphas Buddy has ever met, Buddy turns into Mr. Respectful. too funny to watch.


Buddy is also more likely to accept dogs in his own home, than he is on the street. It used to be sure bet, that Buddy would accept a dog in his own home,
then he went through a jag of not accepting any dog in his home,
(that started after our friends shy dog came over, before i realized, Buddy can not do shy dogs)
now he is back to 50/50 chance after re-settling his boat after finding out how easy it was for him to terrorize that particular shy dog.

Buddy being aggressive
in the house,
or outside the house,
is still seen by *me* as "aggression",
and most others watching along, see Buddy's behavior as "aggression".

no matter where it occurs.

also, Buddy is not a shy dog, he is a dog-aggressive dog. It's a different disorder than shy dogs have. The neurochemistry and neurobiology is different, between dog-aggresssive dogs,
and shy dogs.

Shy dogs are often easier to get to accept other dogs, as Sara once said Ollie could almost go to a dog park on some other thread, and i believed her.
Still, many shy dogs have ongoing battles to ever accept other dogs, but MANY shy dogs are okay with most other dogs. It's humans the shy dog has way more problems accepting. There are shy dogs who have never had any trouble ever with other dogs, only humans.

Dog-aggressive dogs are easier to get to accept humans,
and now, any stranger can go up to Buddy and pet him, lean over him, stare at him, etc etc,
as Buddy has a different disorder than a shy dog has. A stranger could now even suddenly grab at Buddy, and he'd startle a bit, but not bite nor growl.

 

[tigerlily46514]

Mewzard, my dog is also more likely to put on a more impressive display of his aggression while on leash, too.

I've always thought of it a bit like a child hiding behind his momma's skirts,
and sticking his tongue out at another kid, kinda thing.....knowing his mom is there to prevent a full on fight from busting out.

If off leash, i suspect, Buddy does not feel as protected by me, so he is perhaps a tad less likely to invite as much fighting, since off leash, he is more "on his own".....but, i could be interpreting that all wrong...who knows.
Off leash, sometimes Buddy is a lil more hesitant at times to really go yelling, "You wanna piece of me? Bring it!" than he is when i am holding his hand, i mean, leash.

I've heard others say, the leash itself can interfere with dog-to-dog communication and body language.

Fences mess up Buddy, too. He almost always argues with most unknown dogs behind fences, as well. I hear this is common amongst dog-aggressive dogs, no idea why that is. Some say the fence interferes with their natural communication, derails it all, not sure.