Boisterous Dog

[Vehs]

thanks guys, I am catching up with her on the weekend so will let her know your thoughts

[Dory the Doted One]

I think they should engage a Behaviourist that can come and look at the situation, and then gauge the owners willingness to work with what they have.

If they can't or won't or don't have the ability to, THEN the question of rehoming should come up.

[poodlefan]

Poodlefan what\'s wrong with dogs from the pound? I have rescued both my dogs from the pound and they are great companions-people just need to do their research as mentioned before about the breeds, not the place you get them from. The pound my 2 were brought from both came microchipped, wormed and with desexing vouchers (they were too young to already be desexed) so are just as good.

It might pay to bear in mind that I made my original comment about where people should source their rescue dogs and nothing about the dogs themselves. If you chose to take my comment personally or as some kind of insult to your dogs you might like to consider that not everyone has had the success you have. This thread is a case in point. So rather than bridling and taking a swipe at me, perhaps you need to consider a perspective beyond your own experience.

What's wrong with pound dogs? Generally nothing or little that some training can't fix.

However, inexperienced dog owners lack the skills to temperament test dogs. Hell, even very experienced dog folk are hard pressed to know exactly what a pound dog is going to be like a month after its sprung.

You can't really know what a dog is like until you see it OUTSIDE the pound environment. How would you know if its a fence jumper, a resource guarder, cat aggressive etc.

Pound temperament tests are indicative, not certainty. Breed research won't tell you anything specific about the temperament of the individual dog in the run that you're looking at. It's even less helpful for crossbred dogs and dogs of indeterminate breed. That's mainly what you get in pounds. Furthermore, temperament is not based solely on genetics. Environment and experience shape it also. Both of those factors may be completely unknown when looking at a pound dog.

I stand by my comment. I would always recommend people who wish to take on a rescue dog go to people experienced with dogs who've had the ability to observe them in a home situation.

The consequences of the picking the wrong dog for your home can be distressing or they can be tragic. I know because I see these dogs roll up to my dog training club with owners desperate for help with problems they didn't know they were taking on and I hear the stories of families devastated by the wrong dog selection. I have also had one of my dogs attacked (requiring veterinary treatment) by a dog recently adopted from a pound by an owner clearly incapable of understanding or controlling its aggression.

I say leave the rescuing to the experts and support them by sourcing your dogs from them. If you consider that uncalled for or 'not nice enough', so be it. All I said is I recommend people get a rescue dog from someone with the knowledge and skill to match one with them rather than taking the riskier option of sourcing direct from the pound. I fail to see what was nasty about that. Its certainly a better option for the dogs than bouncing back into the pound because the new owner made the wrong choice.

Edited February 24, 2011 by poodlefan

[Jed]

I have cavaliers, and I have had some rescues - bull breeds too. Cavaliers are quite brave, and also foolhardy, they don't seem to understand that another dog may kill them. The rescue pinning the Cavalier is a bad look, imho, and also that he is teaching the Cav to be dog aggressive.

A lot of breeds are compatible, but Cavaliers are not compatible with every other breed. They work with my boxers, as long as the boxers are brought up from pups with them, but I would NEVER introduce an adult boxer into our pack. And Cavalier breeders have not been keen on selling me a cavaler to live with boxers.

I don't think these two dogs should ever be alone together, and I believe the owner should consider rehoming the larger dog, or there will be tears. It will be too late when the Cav is seriously injured or worse .

You may be able to stop the larger dog pinning the Cav - but is he going to be reliable enough to leave alone over years with the Cav?

Hard decision when you love both dogs, but consider the welfare of the dogs first, and the worst case scenario.

[rubiton]

The mixed breed dog sounds like it needs to be taught manners - does she ever discipline the dog herself when it plays rough? Defiantely contact a good behaviourist to assess both owner and dogs.

However why on earth was a kitten added to a household with two young dogs? Obviously the dogs have not been brought up around cats so why introduced one now - not a safe option of the kitten/cat - they are seen as prey by movement orientated dogs and you cant just tell them to 'play nice'.

[Vehs]

My friend had a trainer in a few weeks after my post and he believed that the staffy was the better behaved of the two dogs and they went on a strict NILIF type of routine to get them both to settle down. The staffy did really well, the cav not so much - however they are now both better behaved.

The kitten was another matter and she recently rehomed him. He did seem to cope well with the dogs (except for the few nights after his new family was found and he was waiting to be dropped off - typical!) The dogs are kept outside during the day and come in of an evening, but the cat was stressed the entire day peeing and pooping all over the place! (also the cav was raised around cats, not sure about the staffy)