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.

Thank you so much for all of your replies. There has been some really useful suggestions and great advice :) My partner and I had a long talk over the weekend over what to do about Eric. I contacted the shelter again and the owner has confirmed as I made her aware of the issues so early on that she will refund the adoption fee even though outside of the 4 weeks from adoption. She unfortunately didn't have any further suggestions bar making / buying a kennel so he has somewhere "safe" to hide if he felt threatened / scared during the day whilst we were at work. Eric, over the weekend was good as gold. He went to the dog park, met lots of doggie friends, had a blast. I read thoroughly the NILIF article. It was fantastic! I started to implement it Friday evening. By Sunday night Eric was sitting, not touching his food which was placed in front of him till I said he could, getting on his bed and staying there when told, sitting and waiting at the door until I said he could go in etc. He wasn't demanding attention or pushing our hands. He genuinely was behaving. Sunday afternoon we decided to concrete under the gate he had dug under and raise the gate which we thought he could possibly clear. We also reinforced the back door by building like a large fence panel with individual planks of wood and then screwing / nailing it to the door frame. Granted we couldn't get in or out of the door but we thought it would stop Eric getting in. I also went in search of and made new toys with cardboard boxes, bed sheets, treats, milk cartons etc. With bunnings, and toys etc, that was another $100 gone. Sunday night we decided to fast him so he was more food driven as per the vets advice. Monday morning he went for his usual 40 minute walk. Then just as we were leaving we gave him a big bone. By the time my partner made it home at 5pm the fence nailed / screwed to the back door frame had been completely ripped off and was lying on the floor. Thankfully the 3, yes thats THREE other layers to get to the door were in tact. We also have a kind of cane fencing in front of the wire fencing at the side of the house to make it look nicer - this now has a giant whole ripped into it. Tonight my partner is building a kennel for Eric so he has somewhere to feel safe, but to be quite honest and also since reading an earlier post, I am starting to think it's not separation anxiety. Yes he was previously following us around the house and wimpering when he heard us get home, but he doesn't show any signs of getting upset or stressed when he sees us getting ready for work at exactly the same time everyday. He just carries on kipping on his bed. He doesn't bark either when put outside?? Just in answer to an earlier comment / question. The vet has prescribed us some sedatives for him. They were first prescribed when he was desexed because even with the cone on he was forcing himself through the original small doggie dog just to get inside. I used the sedative once and it completely knocked him for six. He could barely stand. I couldn't use them after that. If I did as a last resort we'd have to trial the amount to give him because what we were told by the vet wasn't accurate at all. So, overall, we are coming to the end of our hope for Eric. I am so sad and can't help but shed a tear when I think of giving him back. I lost my basset hound in a bitter marriage breakdown last May, and my gorgeous collie x suffered major kidney failure and was put to sleep last December. Pickles is my partners dog and Eric was always going to be mine. It took a fair while for me to even contemplate getting another dog because I was so scared of going through that heartbreak again. The thought of saying goodbye to him is just devastating

The shelter owner has confirmed she will take him back if we are unable to help him and I would guess as a no kill shelter she will attempt to rehome only with an accurate description this time of the issues he has.

The shelter is a 8 hour round trip via car

I agree with all the above, but wonder if you are able to take a week off work first to see if you can retrain him? If it is separation anxiety, there are some great online resources that could help. Maybe as a last chance if you really had your heart set on keeping him. Unfortunately not. I had surgery the end of last year and have no leave at all left (actually I'm into minus figures! ) My OH is actually looking for a new job atm so if by chance he found something he might be able to have a week in between but it's lots of if's and buts.

Thank you. He is possibly the sweetest most friendliest dog I have ever meet. His potential is overwhelming and he has so much love to give. :) Will take your advice with the halti and take it slowly. TW's suggestions of TOT and NILIF are fantastic too. They worked really well with the boofer I had. It's a great read, for both you and your OH. You can find them in the training thread. It requires a lot of discipline on the human's part. He got pats and cuddles when he was settled, and not when he asked for it. (Trust me, when you have a wagging boofy face asking for a cuddle, it's MUCH harder on you than him, but it worked). TOT & NILIF??

Thank you. He is possibly the sweetest most friendliest dog I have ever meet. His potential is overwhelming and he has so much love to give. :) Will take your advice with the halti and take it slowly.

The period is 4 weeks which we are upon now and the owner of the shelter I notified of the major problems after they started happening after one week. Unfortunately the only suggestion was crate training. The shelter will take him back at anytime but obviously a refund on adoption fee is only within 4 weeks. I can't help but feeling I would have completely failed him but I just don't know if financially and timewise we can help a dog with these kinds of issues

You should see what a working police dog can do to a washing machine box. :laugh: If destroying a box a day stopped him destroying my furntiture, I'd let him have one!!! A washing machine!!

You know all of the behaviours you describe don't necessarily scream "anxiety" to me. he's not doing it every day. They could just as easily be explained by boredom and self-entertainment. The cupboard raiding is a case in point. I think you need to see a qualified (preferably veterinary) behaviourist pronto - it might actually SAVE you money. I think you've definitely found out why Eric was surrendered. Just out of interest, how much training and exercise does he get daily? Did he miss out the day before the last destructo dog event? He has a 40 minute walk / run every morning and we try and take him for either a 20 min walk in the evening or we''ll play ball / frisbee etc in the garden with him. The day before the event we had done the morning but not the evening due to my partner working late. I am unable to walk him on my own as he is so strong - he is trained in pretty much all aspects apart from lead walking. He is horrendous and pulls terribly. I wanted to book him in for classes but we have been cripplied moneywise due to numerous vets visits and damage done so far. We have had Eric for only 4 weeks, 2 1/2 of those weeks he had a cone on and was unable to exercise. I think that's worth exploring. If money is an issue, join a local community based dog training club if there is one in your area. It's usually as cheap as chips. What are you walking him on (what kind of collar/leash etc)? You should get a professional opinion but you might want to reconsider Eric's behaviour as not "freaking out" but "having fun" and provide better methods (to you) for doing so. Here's a suggestion to try.. head down to JB Hifi, Hardly Normal or the like and ask for some big applicance boxes (plasma TV, Washing machine etc). you can collapse them to bring them home but tape them back up again. Bunnings can be good too. Put one in the back yard for the day and see what happens. My guess is that you might think you've walked back in on an exploded recycling plant but ripping and tearing up something big like that will exercise his mind and body. I'd still do a behaviourist but I think you could consider stopping seeing him as a "victim" and starting to view him (channeling Life of Brian here) as a "very naughty boy". He needs more outlets for his teenage rebellion LOL and my guess is he's never been offered or taught them before you got him. Does he like balls? Sounds like the kind of drivey dog that someone would look at for scent detection work. Wow, all brilliant advice and comments. Highlights things I hadn't even thought of :) We have just literally purchased one of the halter leads which turns the head slightly if he pulls. I purely did this as a short term measure till we could sort some formal training Ok, googling local community dog training as we speak and think I might have seen one advertised a few months ago! Tomorrow I shall venture off to Jb Hi Fi and Bunnings for the boxes. The door was "torn to shreds" maybe it is the whole ripping up thing he likes? He LOVES balls! :)

I looked into three local possibilities - they are between $30 - $55 per day. We are still reeling from the recent costs and just simply can't afford that atm