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...
Glad it didn't turn out worse for everyone. (I have to say, I loved the beer idea)
I know we've had some close calls as well and I'm sure it's just a matter of time for us as well.
I just hope I'm smart enough not to reach in and get hurt. (Everyone around here is guessing that I'm not that smart and I hate to go against them)
I'm certainly not traumatized by the experience LOL But I do wonder what would have happened if they didn't run to their crates. Would I have been able to break up a real dog fight? Mac is trained to go to his crate for breaks. And Bart now associates his crate with food so .... basically I got lucky I think.
oh yeah, shelter shock has worn off and here come the challenges. 'kay, this has to go one of two ways...lol...either there will be some jockey-ing for position, they'll recognize you as the authority (as they did when you told them "crate"), and after a few bumps in the road, things will all settle down...or not. just to be safe and to keep yourself safe, is it practical for you to keep a leash on one or both of them (at all times) for just a while until you see if you're gonna be lucky (which i bet you are)...or not.
i've got the "or not" side of the situation here, have to have two entirely separate packs...have two alpha bitches, and am, sorry to say, no stranger to dog fights. there are a couple of other ways you can be prepared to break up a fight, but when you're alone that's a big problem. maybe, for just a while, you should only let them be together when there is another person able to help, should there be trouble. that way you can be safe while you see exactly where this is going to go. don't get discouraged, this is way more common than you'd think. whenever i see anyone bring a shelter dog into their home where there are other animals, i always hold my breath for at least six months, lol...it'll all work out, but you have to be so careful to be prepared and do everything you can to avoid any kind of bite situation for yourself. good luck (and thanks for the kind words earlier in the thread!).
oh yeah, shelter shock has worn off and here come the challenges. 'kay, this has to go one of two ways...lol...either there will be some jockey-ing for position, they'll recognize you as the authority (as they did when you told them "crate"), and after a few bumps in the road, things will all settle down...or not. just to be safe and to keep yourself safe, is it practical for you to keep a leash on one or both of them (at all times) for just a while until you see if you're gonna be lucky (which i bet you are)...or not.
i've got the "or not" side of the situation here, have to have two entirely separate packs...have two alpha bitches, and am, sorry to say, no stranger to dog fights. there are a couple of other ways you can be prepared to break up a fight, but when you're alone that's a big problem. maybe, for just a while, you should only let them be together when there is another person able to help, should there be trouble. that way you can be safe while you see exactly where this is going to go. don't get discouraged, this is way more common than you'd think. whenever i see anyone bring a shelter dog into their home where there are other animals, i always hold my breath for at least six months, lol...it'll all work out, but you have to be so careful to be prepared and do everything you can to avoid any kind of bite situation for yourself. good luck (and thanks for the kind words earlier in the thread!).
I've been giving this a lot of thought. And I've been closely watching the dynamics between Mac & Bart, as well as, with us. I don't think the fight in the kitchen is a sign of Bart trying to position himself as alpha. Bart is completely submissive. I think Mac just gets tired of sharing sometimes and acts out. The fight was my fault because I wasn't watching the body language as I was preparing lunch. But I am confident Mac started it, not Bart.
I know its only been a little over a month but Bart is one of the best behaved dogs I've ever met. I just don't want people to think that rescue dogs are always the issue...ya know? The people advocating for Bart made it almost impossible for him to get adopted because of their evaluation of him. He's nothing like what they said. I know I know its only been a month...but he is not the dog they described. He's brilliant (learns commands in a day) and loving.
Perfect sense! I would try to keep the incidents where they might need to share to a minimum. Jax doesn't share...at ALL. In fact, if you have it then it must be hers. Seems like a big brother / little brother situation.
Perfect sense! I would try to keep the incidents where they might need to share to a minimum. Jax doesn't share...at ALL. In fact, if you have it then it must be hers. Seems like a big brother / little brother situation.
Exactly! In our scenario, Mac is the older 'cooler' brother and Bart wants to do everything he's doing.
You are right. We do try to keep the sharing to a minimum with toys & treats...feed in separate areas etc. What I meant was Mac is now sharing his house, his yard and his parents Even though he's been amazingly good with it...I think he has his moments when he's fed up. Just like any big brother.
My husband caught him peeing (not marking) this morning and ran him outside. I caught Bart peeing about a half hour ago and ran him outside. About 15 minutes after being outside he pooped in the house. Its true...every day its something new.
Don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining. I can handle this situation. It just kinda surprises me he'd start this after 6 weeks of not.
Other changes are he no longer wants to sleep with us and he now likes going into his crate. He's no longer afraid of being outside and tries to push his way out. It just freaks me out how much he changes from day to day.
I'll just say I sympathize with the going in the house thing. I'm working on it with my foster and it's not easy since she was kept outside in a pen. When we go outside, she just sits and watches me or chases Kaiser around so I can't even praise her for going to the bathroom outside!
How long have you had Bart now? He'll continue to change for months still. I don't think they are completely settled in until 4-6 months with you.
We were warned that Bart wasn't housetrained so we stayed outside all night until he finally peed so we could praise & treat him LOL and spent the next four days & nights doing it. Luckily we love being outside rain or shine
To answer your question, Bart's been with us 6 weeks. He changes every day.
Yeah, Bart has always rushed to get back inside. Assumed he was afraid he'd be left out there alone. But then he seemed to be ok with being outside and even pushed to get out there. But the heat has been crazy lately...I'm thinking he's afraid to be out there.
Mac will do his business rain or shine and we have no problem being out there with him. Mud or dirt...we are outdoor people.
Being an outdoor guard dog, the heat was probably torture. Bart's only known us 6 weeks...he doesn't trust yet that we won't leave him out there. So I think even if he has got to go his main objective is getting back in the air conditioned house. Can't blame him.
When I found the poop, he ran away from me towards the door and layed down, rolled on his back belly exposed and flung his paws. I think he knew he did wrong and was expecting punishment. What he doesn't yet understand is that there is nothing he could do that would make us hurt him.
I adopted my GSD, Max, six months ago and still find that each week brings new challenges. Last week, I had a fight in my backyard between two of my spaniel females and I was by myself. I had two female spaniels fighting, two other spaniels trying to join in and Max trying to join in and help out as well. Not a pretty sight and I could not get the fight stopped no matter what I did. Thankfully, my husband arrived home at that time and helped me separate the two girls and the others were able to be kept out of the major fray. One spaniel had some puncture wounds in her ears, but nothing major. All 8 dogs were outside enjoying a nice afternoon and all was peaceful while I worked in our small garden. My attention was diverted and I obviously missed some body language between the two females. Lesson learned.
I have also dealt with Max nipping at the neck of my neutered male spaniel. Like you, we watch the dogs like a hawk, but everyone once in a while, they suprise me. We crate, rotate with baby gates and try to make sure that we keep them all safe.
My adopted GSD had been tied outside too and it took months to get him to the point that I would call him "housetrained". With three other neutered males in the house, we sometimes find that we have had a marking contest on a chair leg or the washer/dryer. Like you, I just clean it up with an enzyme cleaner and go on. Max, my GSD, used to roll over and give me his belly as if he was expecting to be hit and I would never consider it. After six months, he no longer does this and seems to trust me.
Yesterday, I had a breakthrough with him. He allowed me to trim all of his toenails and clean his ears without requiring the assistance of my husband to fuss over him while I took care of the necessities. He simply laid down and let me do what needed to be done. This was the first time in six months and he got an extra treat for being so good.
Thank you for taking Bart in to your home and your heart. He is very lucky.
I adopted my GSD, Max, six months ago and still find that each week brings new challenges. Last week, I had a fight in my backyard between two of my spaniel females and I was by myself. I had two female spaniels fighting, two other spaniels trying to join in and Max trying to join in and help out as well. Not a pretty sight and I could not get the fight stopped no matter what I did. Thankfully, my husband arrived home at that time and helped me separate the two girls and the others were able to be kept out of the major fray. One spaniel had some puncture wounds in her ears, but nothing major. All 8 dogs were outside enjoying a nice afternoon and all was peaceful while I worked in our small garden. My attention was diverted and I obviously missed some body language between the two females. Lesson learned.
I have also dealt with Max nipping at the neck of my neutered male spaniel. Like you, we watch the dogs like a hawk, but everyone once in a while, they suprise me. We crate, rotate with baby gates and try to make sure that we keep them all safe.
My adopted GSD had been tied outside too and it took months to get him to the point that I would call him "housetrained". With three other neutered males in the house, we sometimes find that we have had a marking contest on a chair leg or the washer/dryer. Like you, I just clean it up with an enzyme cleaner and go on. Max, my GSD, used to roll over and give me his belly as if he was expecting to be hit and I would never consider it. After six months, he no longer does this and seems to trust me.
Yesterday, I had a breakthrough with him. He allowed me to trim all of his toenails and clean his ears without requiring the assistance of my husband to fuss over him while I took care of the necessities. He simply laid down and let me do what needed to be done. This was the first time in six months and he got an extra treat for being so good.
Thank you for taking Bart in to your home and your heart. He is very lucky.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience and challenges. Your dog fight experience sure puts mine into perspective. . I'm so glad no one was seriously hurt. I think its interesting that it was 6 months before he trusted you. Thats good to know. I think I had the false impression that Bart already did trust me because of how attached he is to me already. I felt really bad for scaring him like that. I honestly wasn't even mad just surprised.
The challenges that I've faced so far are small. So much easier than raising a puppy..where new challenges are still popping up after 17 months LOL. I think I find the experience more interesting than frustrating. What about you?
I go out with him on a leash. My husband pointed out that Bart likes to walk around quite a bit before pooping. I think I haven't been giving him enough time out there because of the heat. But, regardless, you're right back to the basics. I haven't put him back on leash in the house but I keep him gated in the same room. Like right now...he's crashed in his crate
Well its been about 2 months now and things are going great. Now that I'm consistently using the crates there have been no more fights or marking. Bart is the perfect dog.
The only issue is his skin. He's eating 50% Wellness/50% raw & fish oil. He doesn't scratch as much but his skin is still really dry and flakly/scabby. And he still smells pretty bad. We brush him often, but I haven't wanted to give him another bath because I felt it would further dry out his skin.
Today we are going to wash him with a medicated shampoo I got from the pet store...hopefully that will help. The only advice from the Vet was a continued healthly diet.
My Golden Doodle Gus has sebaceous adenitis and at times that is exactly how it smells. It is a genetic condition. I know Akitas are vulnerable to it as well as poodles. It's kind of rare and vets often don't know what it is. It isn't fatal and really is just more annoying than anything. With my doodle what happened was that he began losing some of his hair in patches on his back, then it grew back really coarse and wiry and darker, completely unlike the rest of his coat. Then he was okay for awhile. Then bigger patches on his back went bald and the hair never did go back. It looks awful, but it doesn't hurt him and doesn't bother him and the smell is very controlled if we wipe down the bare skin each day. It doesn't seem to itch once the hair is gone.
So we put a coat on him for vanity's sake when we take him out and about or when he is going to be in the sun much, and we make fun of his balding state, which he doesn't seem to mind as he has no dignity.
Your Bart may not have this, but I wanted to tell you about Gus just in case. I always feel like I'll gladly take a condition that just makes my dog look funny instead of one that causes pain!
I would definitely try a medicated shampoo first but I would get one from the vet.
When my horse was having skin issues that we couldn't get rid of, even with an iodine scrub, the vet gave us Malaseb shampoo and it worked like a charm. Malaseb Shampoo: Pet shampoo, Shampoo For Dogs & Cats - 1800PetMeds
Have they done a skin scraping? Any allergy testing?
hey, just stopped in for a minute, saw your'd posted and clicked on the thread to see what's up. SO glad to know everything's working out, the bart-man is a lucky boy!!! you might want to switch the wellness kibble to pinnacle trout and sweet potato (made by breeder's choice), which cleared up ALL the shepster's skin and coat issues in 60 days. and also everyone comments on how none of my dogs have any doggy odor. at all. none. truthfully, i wouldn't have believed it myself except that i saw it with my own eyes. actually i think it's about the best kibble made, very highly thought of by everyone i've ever spoken with about various foods. i also use solid gold seameal, which is a "green" food additive, and incredibly good for odor and nutrition. and the malaseb line of specialty pet shampoos should be called magic-aseb, because they work like magic and are wonderful!
skin scraping and allergy testing results would be good info to have.
Carrie: I agree with Jax. When I took care of my sister's dog, she had a skin problem that made her scratch, and then small scabs would form under the fur. The vet prescribed a medicated shampoo to me (sorry, I don't remember the name). When I bathed her (once a week), I would leave the shampoo on for 10 minutes. Those baths, plus some antibiotics, caused the scabs to go away and the skin stopped being so dry and having a smell to it.
Thanks for the detailed advice you guys. I appreciate it. I was hoping the skin issue would be cleared up now that the hook worm is gone and he's been on a good diet. But I do think its something more and time for another vet visit and new products.
Mike took Bart to the Vet Friday and they scraped and tested his skin (derm infection screening). The Vet said it is probably a bacterial infection and he gave us a steroid called Prednisolone and an antibiotic called Simplicef. They also gave him a dose of Revolution Dog and we gave them another stool sample to test. He told my husband Bart should start feeling better by the end of the weekend. The Vet said its unlikely that this is related to allergies because he had this condition when we got him. However, allergy testing is the next step…if this doesn’t work I guess. I wasn’t at the appointment and my husband didn’t really ask enough questions.
Our local pet store doesn’t carry Pinnacle so I bought a small bag of Fromm-Whitefish & Potato for now.
Thanks again for the advice. Only wish I would have pushed for a skin scraping when I originally discussed my concerns with our Vet.
Its been a crazy busy summer but I know there are many people who care a lot about Bart & Mac so I wanted to give a quick update.
The skin condition cleared up after the meds and ever since Bart has been the picture of health. He has the energy and enthusiam of a puppy now. Bart is the most affectionate and cuddly dog I've ever known. And Mac has been amazing showing him the ropes and sharing everything with him. They do everything together. It warms my heart.
Bart now loves being outside and swims in the lake right along with Mac. He even jumped in our friend's pool a few times. Doesn't seem to have any fears left..except for one that I don't feel comfortable talking about. But other than that, everything is wonderful and it feels like he's always been a part of our family.
Carrie
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