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About an Urgent Rescue Situation

22K views 180 replies 32 participants last post by  Mac's Mom 
#1 ·
Hi All, My husband was sent an email from a coworker who's daughter fosters for MADACC. She's looking for someone to take a GS/Akita mix dog who's "time is running out". My husband says the dog is in the custody of "animal control" We're both willing to take the dog in either as a foster or for adoption. My husband is making phone calls to find out what we have to do.
something just feels weird to me though. I don't know...
 
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#33 ·
:rofl: Well, that sure sounds like it's in a good way. Just remember that it takes a couple weeks for them to "destress" from the shelter environment and show their true personality. I wouldn't leave him out loose with your other animals until you are confident you are seeing the true him and can trust him.

btw...how's Mac?
 
#36 ·
Ok - Mac, Bart & Mike (my husband) are sleeping so I have a moment to tell the story.

Mac was so well behaved at the Animal Control facility today I was so proud...especially after what he's been through this week. Bart & Mac got along very well. The next thing ya know...Bart is in the back of our SUV and we are on our way home.

Bart's coat was matted and the smell of feces was overwhelming. But he conducted himself like a very well socialized dog...eventhough other than abuse he's had very little human contact and spent the last 6 weeks of his life in a cage. I was very impressed with him.

Mike brought Bart home and acclimated him to the yard & house while Mac accompanied me for a trip to buy a crate, food bowls, etc. While I was gone Mike gave Bart a bath without incident (except the stentch in my bathroom :)

When I got back we all spent a couple hours in the yard together. We tagged teamed it. I kept Bart on leash and Mike watched Mac. Bart is an affectionate sweetheart which I did not expect. We had an unexpected visitor and Bart approached him and welcomed pets from him. And believe it or not, there were fireworks on the lake. He didn't react at all which relieved me.

We've been in the house for 2 hours and the only problem was when they fought over a rawhide that we didn't hide.
 
#37 ·
At AC tonight I asked for an updated temperament test that I could be present for and they all looked at eachother and then at me like I was crazy...and said NO. It didn't really matter though, I already knew in my heart that if he was cool with Mac, Bart would be ours.

I understand that I will not know his true temperament for a month or two. And I totally get that I have to carefully monitor his interactions especially with Mac. The only thing I'm not sure of is how to potty train a 4 year old who has pooped in his crate for 6 weeks. I swear the smell of feces gagged me. I'm up for the challege and have already started researching it...but welcome advice
 
#39 ·
:congrats: on your new gorgeous boy! You have done a wonderful thing by giving him a home and I am looking forward to hearing more progress updates! :)

Sorry no advice on potty training except I *think* you have to treat him as if he were a puppy, ie: outside everytime he wakes up, after eating etc?

Also I hope Mac is back to normal now after his fishing experience! :hugs:
 
#40 ·
Bianca is right, you have to treat him like a puppy. Constant supervision and frequent trips outside. When you take him outside, tell him "go potty" and don't interact with him until he goes. While he's going, say "good potty" in an excited but soft voice (don't want to startle him and make him stop going :)). When he's done throw a party! "Good potty", pets and treats. He'll pick it up quickly and you'll have a dog that will go on command.

The few dogs I've had that went in their crate, never went in the house. The one only went in his crate because he had a bad whipworm inefestation and couldn't hold it.

You are going to continue seeing changes in Bart for up to the next year. You should have the majority of his personality around 2 months but there still may be more things that pop up after that.
 
#41 ·
Can you post some pics of him outside? I would like to get a look at his whole body. He doesnt seem mixed at all. Sounds like an even tempered East German maybe some Czech working line dog. Knowing how his mind is put together (bloodlines) can help too with getting to understand them. Even if he was at the shelter at 4 mos old, he still could be purebred.
 
#42 ·
Happy to hear Bart has a home now. As far as potty training Mac should also be a big help with that. When I got Callan she only had a couple of accidents in the house, otherwise she went out everytime Max did. When she pottied outside I treated her like a puppy.
 
#43 ·
Hi All, Mac & Mike are at the store. Bart is in his crate for a break :) (for me lol)

Thanks to you all for the support, kind words, well wishes and advice. When I was told Bart is not house trained and has no "house manners" my gut said that I should train him like a puppy. At AC they told me not to bother crate training because he would probably just poop in it. I told them I thought Mac would help teach him and they said that was unlikely. Eventhough they are much more knowledgable about Bart and animals in general, my gut said they were wrong about both. But it still really helps to hear it from the people here who I've come to trust. Thank you.

I read the posts with advice to my husband. He's so cute. He sees I'm drawn to Bart and keeps saying "Mac first..This is Mac's house...Don't ignore our son."
 
#44 ·
Oh and I'll post pictures later today when we're all back outside.

I saw his puppy picture from when he was 4 months old and he looked exactly like a GSD. But now he does look like a mix. Short snout and legs. The AC people said it appears that his growth was stunted in some way because of illness or malnutrition. I thought-maybe thats just not him in the original picture haha.
 
#48 ·
sounds like all's well and that he was meant to be a member of your family. gotta say i love it when somebody calls their shepherd their "son". bart is beautiful, i do see akita in his face, especially in the last picture. no matter tho, i used to be a "shepherd snob", this board helped cure me of that, and now i realize how totally unique the mixes can be, and how all dogs are so totally deserving of rescue. thank you for helping bart.
 
#51 ·
sounds like all's well and that he was meant to be a member of your family. gotta say i love it when somebody calls their shepherd their "son". bart is beautiful, i do see akita in his face, especially in the last picture. no matter tho, i used to be a "shepherd snob", this board helped cure me of that, and now i realize how totally unique the mixes can be, and how all dogs are so totally deserving of rescue. thank you for helping bart.
:) Bart does seem perfectly comfortable. He doesn't appear to be afraid of anything yet. He does flinch a little when we approach him to pet him so I just let him come to me for it...which he is already doing. He gives kisses too.

Yeah and I agree that it doesn't matter that he's a mix. He does look like a puppy next to Mac though.
 
#53 ·
Oh. He is GORGEOUS!! Thank you for rescuing him! I know when I first brought Tessa home, the first week or so went swimmingly, she was great! And then the problems started popping up so just be prepared. But I am sure you are going to do great no matter what!!
 
#54 ·
Thank you. He is a little cutey. I'm looking through old threads I remember reading but were not applicable to me at the time to better prepare myself for the next couple months. In your situation, what kinds of problems popped up? I am expecting that once Bart is more confident he may try to challenge us and Mac for alpha. :)
 
#55 ·
Hi
Bart is still doing well. His teeth are really worn down but he doesn't seem to have trouble eating kibble...just don't know if there will be any RMB in his future. His skin is really dry & flaky and his coat is like straw. He is scratching like crazy. He's only pooped twice since Friday night and its really loose. At the AC they fed a mixture of whatever food was donated and now he's eating Wellness with raw egg. Anyway, we're taking him to the Vet Tuesday if they can squeeze him in.
 
#57 ·
Tessa's teeth are in TERRIBLE shape. No front teeth, bottom canines are worn to the gum line, top canines are 1/4 the size they should be and all her back teeth are worn and rounded. She still eats anything and everything she wants. She LOVES marrow bones and they can keep her occupied for hours. I started with soft stuff for her but she found one of Dharma's bones early on and went to town on it. I realized then that I didn't need to worry about her teeth that she could eat. You may want to just try something small with him to start out and see if he can tolerate it. But you may be surprised, I was.
 
#56 ·
With Tessa, once she decided she liked me, she started resource guarding me. Dharma could not come near me without Tessa getting in her face, barking and growling. Fortunately that did not take long to really get under control. Also she ended up having pretty bad separation anxiety. She does fine as long as I leave her here with Dharma but if Dharma and I leave, well, lets say it's not pretty. The first time I did, I crated Tessa but I came home, she had managed to tear the entire front of the crate off (not the door but the whole front panel) and in her panic destroyed my fireplace screen, broke down the baby gate to get upstairs then broke down the one to get in the spare room and destroyed both sets of blinds in the windows.

I have never fully gotten her over the SA. She is never left totally alone anymore. If Dharma and I both are going to be gone, my uncle comes over and stays with her. She can pretty much get out of the crate if she really wants to. The last time, despite the fact I put zip ties all around the panels, she got the top bolt undone and squeezed her 90lb+ body out a 6in opening. That was after jumping around so much she turned the crate around 90 degrees. She is quite the Houdini.

I have also had some aggression issues where she will bully, growl and bark at Dharma. It is definitely worse if she isn't feeling well. So I make sure she goes to the vet at the first sign of anything wrong and make sure she gets her Previcoxx and glucosamine daily for her hips.

She is also food aggressive, so she has been fed in her crate from day 1. ALL treats were given in her crate for months. In fact to this day if she wants a treat, she will go sit in her crate and bark at me. The last month or so she has gotten better and can have treats out with Dharma now.

I also had an issue where at night when it was time to go to bed, she wouldn't let Dharma come up the stairs. It seemed like it took forever, I would have to stand at the foot of the stairs with her, blocking her so Dharma could go up the stairs first. Of course then Dharma would be wary and not want to go. There were nights I wondered if I would EVER get to bed. That has improved dramatically in the last few weeks. She just follows me up the stairs now and doesn't worry about Dharma.

Honestly, there were times when I was afraid I was in WAY over my head. But I also knew she had NO where else to go and I was her last hope. Even with VGSR behind me, she would be difficult to find another foster for. So I just kept persevering and never gave up. We still have our moments but for the most part things are good. She is worth it though. :)
 
#58 ·
With Tessa, once she decided she liked me, she started resource guarding me. Dharma could not come near me without Tessa getting in her face, barking and growling. Fortunately that did not take long to really get under control. Also she ended up having pretty bad separation anxiety. She does fine as long as I leave her here with Dharma but if Dharma and I leave, well, lets say it's not pretty. The first time I did, I crated Tessa but I came home, she had managed to tear the entire front of the crate off (not the door but the whole front panel) and in her panic destroyed my fireplace screen, broke down the baby gate to get upstairs then broke down the one to get in the spare room and destroyed both sets of blinds in the windows.

I have never fully gotten her over the SA. She is never left totally alone anymore. If Dharma and I both are going to be gone, my uncle comes over and stays with her. She can pretty much get out of the crate if she really wants to. The last time, despite the fact I put zip ties all around the panels, she got the top bolt undone and squeezed her 90lb+ body out a 6in opening. That was after jumping around so much she turned the crate around 90 degrees. She is quite the Houdini.

I have also had some aggression issues where she will bully, growl and bark at Dharma. It is definitely worse if she isn't feeling well. So I make sure she goes to the vet at the first sign of anything wrong and make sure she gets her Previcoxx and glucosamine daily for her hips.

She is also food aggressive, so she has been fed in her crate from day 1. ALL treats were given in her crate for months. In fact to this day if she wants a treat, she will go sit in her crate and bark at me. The last month or so she has gotten better and can have treats out with Dharma now.

I also had an issue where at night when it was time to go to bed, she wouldn't let Dharma come up the stairs. It seemed like it took forever, I would have to stand at the foot of the stairs with her, blocking her so Dharma could go up the stairs first. Of course then Dharma would be wary and not want to go. There were nights I wondered if I would EVER get to bed. That has improved dramatically in the last few weeks. She just follows me up the stairs now and doesn't worry about Dharma.

Honestly, there were times when I was afraid I was in WAY over my head. But I also knew she had NO where else to go and I was her last hope. Even with VGSR behind me, she would be difficult to find another foster for. So I just kept persevering and never gave up. We still have our moments but for the most part things are good. She is worth it though. :)
Its great that you were able to save Tessa. She's really lucky to have you. Thanks for the information and I will watch for signs of this.

Mac is 16 months, 90 lbs and Bart is 4 years, 60 lbs. Mac is resource guarding us right now. I made the mistake of letting Bart get too close when my husband was petting Mac. Mac freaked out, growled and showed his teeth. Bart was very submissive but didn't appear to be overly frightened by it. It will be interesting to see how the resource guarding progresses and I will watch for signs from Bart. Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope others do as well.
 
#60 ·
carrie, do you mean you're feeding raw egg in with the wellness kibble? i'm thinking that i remember that the albumin in the whites of raw eggs is not easily digested by dogs. perhaps someone else will comment on this and confirm (or not).

when i rescued the shepster his tail was like a rat, his coat dryer than straw, his skin was flakey, he had lick granulomas on both front legs, he was thin as a rail...after less than 60 days on pinnacle trout and sweet potato and solid gold seameal (which is WONDERFUL), his whole appearance had TOTALLY changed, coat luxurious, full bushy tail, NO BODY ODOR at all, lick granulomas gone. i LOVE this food and the seameal supplement. you'd think i worked for breeder's choice (who make pinnacle), and solid gold or at least owned a bunch of stock...but i don't...i've just seen first hand the results of feeding it. there is nothing like good nutrition to rehab these dogs!

i think it's just great what you've done for bart. he is a cutie.
 
#61 ·
carrie, do you mean you're feeding raw egg in with the wellness kibble? i'm thinking that i remember that the albumin in the whites of raw eggs is not easily digested by dogs. perhaps someone else will comment on this and confirm (or not).

when i rescued the shepster his tail was like a rat, his coat dryer than straw, his skin was flakey, he had lick granulomas on both front legs, he was thin as a rail...after less than 60 days on pinnacle trout and sweet potato and solid gold seameal (which is WONDERFUL), his whole appearance had TOTALLY changed, coat luxurious, full bushy tail, NO BODY ODOR at all, lick granulomas gone. i LOVE this food and the seameal supplement. you'd think i worked for breeder's choice (who make pinnacle), and solid gold or at least owned a bunch of stock...but i don't...i've just seen first hand the results of feeding it. there is nothing like good nutrition to rehab these dogs!

i think it's just great what you've done for bart. he is a cutie.
Yes I added a raw egg to one of his meals (Wellness kibble) yesterday and one today. I have always done this with Mac as well. But thanks for mentioning your concern regarding the possible digestive problems. I'll look more into that. I researched it in the past but might have overlooked something. And thanks for the information regarding what has worked for you in the past. I'm taking notes haha

Bart is soooo cute, sweet & gentle. I cannot believe the A-hole who owned him used him as an outdoor guard dog "because he looks like a wolf". My oldest cat is more intimidating than him.
 
#62 ·
The way I handled the resource guarding was I started by sitting on the couch and having both dogs sit in front of me with my legs between them. I would pet both of them at the same time. If Tessa so much as gave a low growl, ALL attention immediately stopped and I got up and walked off. I did this several time over the course of a day. It didn't take her long to figure out that if she acted out, I left and she didn't get any more attention. She was quickly learning to be quiet.

After that I graduated to sitting or standing in front of them while they were in a sit and petting one at a time. Making sure each dog got plenty of pets and attention. Again, if Tessa acted up, ALL attention stopped and I walked away. Again she quickly got the idea that it was in her best interest to not act up. She also learned that even though I was going to show Dharma attention, she would get some too.

Now, Dharma can come up to me to get attention and it doesn't bother Tessa at all and when Tessa wants attention she will also come up to me.

Good luck with them both!! I can't wait to see more pics!
 
#76 ·
The way I handled the resource guarding was I started by sitting on the couch and having both dogs sit in front of me with my legs between them. I would pet both of them at the same time. If Tessa so much as gave a low growl, ALL attention immediately stopped and I got up and walked off. I did this several time over the course of a day. It didn't take her long to figure out that if she acted out, I left and she didn't get any more attention. She was quickly learning to be quiet. ...
Thanks for the tips. Mike did this last night in the house and then later outside. Neither dog growled. Only Bart was on a long lead and I was holding it...just in case.
 
#63 ·
I have never really had any problems here but I am dealing with male/female. I do however always make Max first in everything, it seemed to help reassure him when Callan came that he was still number 1.

I would try the RMB and just see how he handles it, he may surprise you. If he has trouble you can still feed raw by either buying the frozen which has ground bone. Or you can use a pre-mix that you mix with meat that has the calcium. This is what I do for one of their meals.

As far as I know raw egg is fine as long as you give both the yolk and white together.
 
#64 · (Edited)
also concur that he looks purebred - many people at shelters etc think that GSDs must be tan with black blankets to be purebred....

I don't know enough about the way things work with the groups you are dealing with to offer anything other than encouragemnt!

Edit to add - ooops - didnt see there were several pages of posts!

Congrats on your new addition - get him on good food, checked for parasites adn in a few months he will be absolutely gorgeous!

Lee
 
#65 ·
Again, thanks for the posts. I soak everything in and take notes :). I know its because of the people on this forum that I've raised (still raising) a good puppy and will parent our new son not only properly but excellently.
 
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