kirsty79

Apologies, brief on the info as breeder is on DOL. The issues suspected by the vet should definitely have been picked up by either the breeder or when vet checked. There are 3 main issues. Jaw - his jaw is clicking severely and his bite is very weak. This was the first thing picked up by our vet. He is unable to eat anything even remotely solid. His kibble is being soaked thoroughly yet he is still not really interested in eating. The breeder stated when we picked him up that he was eating really well. He is not (and I have kept his diet identical) Airways / breathing - his breathing is laboured and far too fast. His is regularly wheezing / gasping. He sounds like a dog would with a cold and blocked nose. Stomach - his ribs are showing, he looks small in size but his tummy appears very big and maybe swollen. He looks quite out of proportion. I noted this with the breeder all 3 times I viewed him and they assured me he had just eaten and that was the reason. We first noticed some signs the day after we got him (3 days ago).

Hello everyone, I have recently purchased a puppy from a registered breeder and picked him up 4 days ago. We noticed a couple of possible health issues with the pup over our first weekend with him. We have taken him this morning for his first check up with our local and usual vet. He is very concerned about some issues, which are being followed up with some blood tests and Xrays tomorrow. I haven't been in touch with the breeder yet as I want to have all facts, but my question is, what duty of care does the breeder have? The breeder advised us when we first viewed him he was the runt of the litter, however had been given a clean bill of health from their vet and was "eating really well". TIA

The separation anxiety I know can be worked on, however the main problem is the fact that my partner is now away 4 days of the week, every week and due to injury I can no longer walk the dogs. We can't afford a dog walker for 4 days of the week. When my partner is away Eric does not get the exercise he needs and therefore becomes more destructive and uncontrolable. I leave for work at 7.30am and get home at 6pm. He is bored during that time despite the company of our other dog, despite me playing and interacting with him before and after work and despite the numerous home made toys to stimulate him.

Hi Nina, Thank you for your reply. Have PM'd you. Kirsty

Hi Ams, The shelter owner did state he displayed no signs of this kind of behaviour whilst with her and I understand they are two completely different environments. However, it was only the day before we went and met Eric that she firstly "discovered" he wasn't desexed and she openly admited she had not tested him around other dogs or kids yet. I really don't think she did any kind of checks. I have previously had two dogs from shelters without any issues and I guess it was me being naive that meant it did not occur to me that we would have any severe problems. I trusted that a shelter would not be rehoming dogs with such issues. (lesson learnt). I kept her posted for approx a month, the best suggestion she came up with was to build him a kennel so he had a smaller place to retreat to if stressed. I emailed her asking for further advice but received nothing. I understand an anxious dog is not a happy one, but surely if we can find a home where he has company full time and the stimulation he needs, he will not be anxious or stressed or bored? I don't want to PTS without trying my hardest for him.

Hi Megan, Thank you so much for your reply. In my opinion, I think Eric is definitely rehomable - just to someone who can meet his needs better. We have already discussed that we would be 100% upfront with someone if we rehomed him ourselves - I wouldn't want someone else (or Eric for that matter)to go through the stress we have. When we are home there are no issues at all - he is extremely well behaved. He is also incredibly loving and surprisingly gentle for such a big boofer (although he does have his boisterous moments) He loves all people and all dogs and is a real smoocher. If I had to name his perfect home - it would be to someone who is either home full time, on acreage, has another dog / dogs and has time to exercise him for probably a good couple of hours every day. I too was reluctant on the idea of taking him back to a shelter or the RSPCA - he has already been through enough. I'm familiar with Pet Rescue - would I just be able to approach a rescue group via that way?

Yep, they had issues when they first got him http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/233958-updated-he-has-got-worse/ Seems like they've put so much effort into him though, trying to make him work. I hope you find someone to take him, my first suggestion would be to call the place where you got him from. Thank you Minimax. I made the shelter owner aware of the issues. She has said she would take him back. I then tried suggestions from Dolers which improved things slightly, I emailed the shelter owner saying I would keep her posted but never heard anything back.

Yep We have tried so hard - we have exhausted everything possible with financial restrictions

We got him from a shelter an eight hour drive (round trip) north from us. I'm reluctant to take him back there because they made the error rehoming him to us in the first place with fully checking his needs, personality etc. Whats to stop them not bothering to search for a more suitable home again. We are just south of Brisbane

Hi All, I was wondering if Dolers could offer me some valuable advice. My partner and I have had Eric for 5 months now. We got him from a shelter where he had gone to from death row at the pound. Unfortunately no temp testing or any behavioural research was done with him and he has turned out to be rather different to what was described to us and we are finding it very difficult to cope. We both adore him, he is an absolute sweetheart (albeit a little needy!) Eric was described as a 12 month old rotti cross who would be happy with just a bone and his own back yard to call home. We weren’t looking for a low maintenance dog but had to take into consideration that my partner and I both work full time. We also have another dog, Pickles, who we wanted some company for. We were fully prepared to be exercising on a daily basis and making the new dog a very large part of our lives. Eric is approx. 12 months old but the similarities end there from his description! We are fairly sure he has a working breed in him along with rotti, he is like the energizer bunny – he is just a big black beautiful bundle of energy, he has severe separation anxiety / behavioural issues which means he has destroyed furniture, our fences, our back door, plants, escaped the back yard, and got up to numerous other antics. We walk him every day for at least 40 mins and whenever we go out we provide him with several stimulating homemade toys. Both he and Pickles are inside dogs whenever we are home in the evenings, at night and at the weekends. He recently has developed a lick granuloma which we are hugely concerned has developed from boredom or a behavioural issue. He has been wearing a cone for over 2 months because he simply would not leave it alone. Finally after a period of treatment with cortisone tablets and antibiotics it seems to have cleared. Anyway, my partner now has a new job which requires him to travel away 4 full days every week. I have also suffered an injury to my Achilles which means I am no longer able to exercise the dogs. With my partner being in a brand new job (and having to take a pay cut) we simply can’t afford a dog walker to come in 4 times a week. We have no friends or family that could walk him whilst my partner is away. Even when he is walked Eric still gets up to mischief including digging holes and chewing holes in the fence. When my partner is away I literally dread coming home to see what damage Eric has done, because I know there will always be something. We keep coming back to the same conversation – that Eric really wasn’t the right suit for us. It is heartbreaking but I don’t feel we can offer him the home and attention he deserves. It sounds like such a cliché. But if I am completely honest, he has had more of a negative effect on our lives than a positive and it feels like we finally need to make a decision instead of the two of us muddling through, going from week to week, arguing over what to do. I desperately want to do what is right for Eric, and if we surrender or rehome him he deserves the time and effort to find him exactly the right forever home. So, how can we go about this? What is going to be best for Eric? Is the RSPCA the best option? or a no kill shelter instead? Should we try and rehome ourselves? Or is there a Doler that can perhaps assist? Thank you so much for your thoughts – I am at my wits end.

I have emailed the shelter owner to ask and will let you know :)

Dogs can go a lot more than 9 hrs. I had a girl who broke her leg and had to have it pinned. I lived in a basement apartment and getting her up the stairs was hard. The vet said she could go 26 hrs. Once a day worked fine. Have you somewhere inside he can't completely destroy though? My daughter and her boyfriend had thought that his mum and dad had taken their dog (9 year old large cross breed) with them to the beach house (as they usually do) but they had left him at home in the laundry. That was on the Friday night. They got up saturday morning, went out for the day, came home, went out for the night. And then discovered dog in laundry on Sunday morning. He had water and had been quiet and also hadn't toileted. Talk about feeling guilty though. No, nowhere he couldn't destroy so inside isn't an option After seeing what he did to the back door I have no doubt he will do the same inside to the doors or walls.

I wouldn't have Eric PTS no. As stressed as I am I believe he has so much potential, even if I can't give him the home he needs, someone who is more experienced or perhaps has the finance and extra time required must be able to. And he so deserves the chance. He is extremely obedient when we are home, is so fantastic with Pickles and other dogs, and he is so very very loving. I too also agree a month isn't long for a dog to be settled yet that was unclaimed at the pound by his owners, then rescued by a shelter and now in a new home, all in the matter of 3 months.

His last rampage was only the end of last week. My partner is currently working a stint of 16 days work back to back, we couldn't have taken him back to the shelter yet. I wouldn't be able to drive 8 hours on my own. When I adopted Eric I believe there was paperwork which stated should at any point in the future I want to surrender or I am unable to keep him then I would return him to that shelter. I thought this was normal practice but I am now questioning the shelter. The shelters owner hasn't mentioned anything about what she will do with Eric if I return him or anything about having him assessed

OH and I were thinking of this just last night :) We have the laptop just no where to put it. Because we'd need to see the back door the only area is the patio which has a giant wooden table on it - unfortunately, due to some toys left up there (and not put there by us) we know Eric gets up on to it often. The laptop would be in pieces in minutes. Will have a look tonight but I don't even think there is anywhere we could put a makeshift shelf to rest it on.